The Happenings

I haven't posted any pictures of what we ARE doing...only posted about all the sitting around. So here's a taste of the training we have done. My preferred method of transportation...marching the troops. While nobody else seems to like it, I LOVE IT! It builds moral, unity, coordination, and reduces our carbon footprint. With only 50 pounds of body armor, it makes for a good workout as well!

Riding in an up-armored Hum-vee. It's heavy, powerful, and gets 2 miles to the gallon!
My view from the back seat. Usually, back seat riders are called "window lickers."
Just enjoying the view from our place in the convoy.

CBRN Training. Gas Mask fitting, MOPP (Mission Oriented Protective Posture) training, and Chem/Bio/Nuke decontamination.

The after-effects of the CBRN decontamination kit. There was no added value in this training except for the enjoyment of the staff watching us get nasty covered in charcoal dust. We still have black boogers a week later from this exercise. This is the entrance to the city of "Balad" where we walk the streets winning the hearts and minds while carrying weapons. Around every corner was a booby trap, sniper, or an IED in every trash pile. The point was to be vigilant but plenty of "non-combatants" were killed that day in training by my crew.

Just a little hands-on training on how to search and seize a person...either an EPW (Enemy Prisoner of War) or a civilian who passes through a checkpoint and triggers our "spidey senses" as out of the ordinary.

You had "Jerry" for the enemy in WWI and WWII, "Charlie" during Vietnam, and here is one of our Chiefs playing the role of "Jimmy Jihad." He's about to be searched and seized, and an inspection method called the "credit card swipe"...not fun to perform or to receive!