Home on the Range Parts 2, 3, and 4

Two weeks of NARMY training down, less than a week to go… though still have no idea of when I fly…  find out Monday night.  

Did a few more long days at the rifle range doing fun stuff, and am getting pretty good with the M16, but I will not have one in theater.  Also fired some machine guns (20 or so rounds on three different weapons) just to get familiar… though we will not normally man these, you never know someday you may be in a convoy and your gunner is hit and you might have to man the gun in an emergency.  Excellent training, though not very efficient.  For example, we spent all day Wed at the range – arrived at 7am, did not start shooting until 9am (range safety crew was late), and then were there ‘til 4pm because everyone had to shoot.  For 100+ people, 15 shoot at one time, for about 30-45 minutes, the rest wait…  and wait.  They don’t let us bring phones or iPods along, so there is not a lot to do.  I shot around noon, they did a bit of training for us while we waited, and the rest was sitting around doing – nothing.  Upside is very low stress and some good nap time in the sun, but on some level it is frustrating because it is soooo wasteful.

7.62mm MG in turret

50 cal MG – heavy duty and loud!

Impacts downrange

And waiting…

An eclectic bunch of folks going through the course with me.  Besides ship drivers like me, as well as pilots, there are a lot of different ‘professions’ here – nurses, doctors, lawyers, engineers, supply corps, intel, and even a couple of chaplains.  All except the chaplains qualify on the weapons – I was surprised that medical folks would be armed, but they are responsible for protecting their patients.  About 15% of the group are women.  My barracks is mostly senior folks who are married with kids, so in the evening after chow pretty much everyone is on a computer or phone. 

Today we had some time off, so I wandered into town and savored a Starbucks.  Possibly my last weekend in the US for some time, so good to enjoy suburbia. 

Last few days will focus on convoy ops and urban combat, as well as gear issue / turn in and final packing.  I could be leaving as soon as mid-week and in country by next weekend!