Henry's Web Log

Here's a quick overview of the accommodations at Camp McCrady, my two-week home during my preparation for deployment.

Yesterday's events included heavy weapons training. That is, training on weapons of large mass and firepower. Not heavy like intensive. Unless you're on the receiving end of the weapon. We worked with the M2 (50 caliber, in use since WWI), and the Mark 19 (in use by the Navy since Vietnam, adopted by the Army in the late 1990's). The Mark 19 is a medium-velocity grenade launcher, practically hitting anything you can see. l After a lunch of bbq ribs, corn, lima beans and apple cobbler (nice!), we received our flak vests with insert plates, designed to stop ammunition up to 7.62mm (squad-level machine gun caliber). The new helmets are a little tougher, and lighter, than the Kevlar I had with Va Tech ROTC.
I would have been signing for weapons this morning, but 7 of us needed to head back for our over-40 physicals. Officers get the 9mm pistol, plus the M-16. My understanding from the class ahead of us that the weapons are mighty old and very loose- meaning they're not very accurate. That's OK though: we want the accurate ones to be in theater, not here in training. This isn't a long-term issue: just for the remaining 8 days we're here at at Camp McCrady.

Last night, a buddy and I drove into Columbia for dinner. At a wifi hotspot in the historic downtown, I attempted a video call with Lisa, Eric and Ethan. They could see me, and we could talk well enough, but I couldn't see them. We'll troubleshoot that, but the news was pretty good: both boys are doing great in school. Special praise to Eric for straight A's this first grading period!!! And Ethan's grades will come out in about 3 more weeks. On the other hand, Ethan's recovering from a fever, and Eric is coming down with something.
It sounds like their weekend is just packed with activities: Cub Scout spookeree, paintball, and a Boy Scout popcorn sale at Walmart. I miss them already. The video call is going to be a great way for us to stay close once I'm overseas.

Lights were out at 10pm last night, and lots of snoring was happening in our open-bay barracks. UGH! Suddenly, we're woken up at 4am. There are three Lieutenant Colonels in our group, so as a Major, I dodged the bullet of being class leader. That means I'm not the guy who has to turn on the barracks lights at 4am and deliver the pleasant news that our urine will now be tested for illegal drugs.

Everybody forms up, and really has to pee. But 3 are missing, and we can't start till everyone's present. So we wait and 20 minutes later, we're only missing 1, and we proceed anyway. A few soldiers have paid $10/night for separate quarters, and they were supposed to know to be at our little event. It's an observed pee in the Army: nothing up your sleeve.

Next, the schedule said we'd have Physical Training (PT). Our class leader said, "Do it on your own" and we went our different directions. I found a gym and worked up a good sweat, mixing up from my aerobic run yesterday. Breakfast was relaxed, done by 6:30am, and not much to do until our first 8:30 appointment. I start to open up my PC, but there's a bus headed to the inprocessing stations, 1.5 hours early. Why not? It's better than sitting around, even for a chance of getting more stuff done.

We'll stop to let the enlisted soldiers begin receiving their uniforms. Officers have to buy theirs, and they'll give us time for that this afternoon. Most folks have been in civilian clothes thus far. I believe we're down to 45 of us- only one was sent home so far.

One Captain with us has an interesting job: he supervises inmate cooking at a federal prison. Good pay. He told me over dinner that it's all about image on the inside. You never want to be embarrassed, or put down in front of others. Status is king. So the Captain told me he was called up, went through the family good-bye process and took a leave of absence from his prison job. But here's the deal: he's got something going on medically and the VA has already awarded him 30% disability. The first doctor here said he could deploy, just see one more station. But not until Friday. He's very serious about ensuring he deploys, because to return to his prison job would be a complete loss of respect for his authority. I can see his point: it's one thing to come back to friends and family and say, "guess what? I'm back." That would take some adjustment and explaining, but would pass quickly. Not the case for him: it'd pretty much be the end of his civilian job.
Yet for him, his disability would have been on file, so why mobilize him if it's likely he wouldn't be deployable? The answer may be that the military has so many different positions, that a 30% disability as an infantryman may be only a 10% disability as a medical support person. I saw him on the PT track last night. He's serious about making it work.
The prison climate is not unlike what I was reading in one of the CALL books (see my 9/15/08 post) highlighting the importance of respect and saving face among Arabic cultures. You should never put down someone in view of others, and really, only suggest small changes when in America you might otherwise cuss up a storm. The leadership axim that "you praise in public, correct in private" touches on the idea. Since leadership is about influencing the behavior of others, this highlights the importance of being culturally sensitive whether it's in a Federal prison or the sands of Iraq.

Yesterday's waiting started at 5:30 am in the chow line, then a dark bus trip to the main post. Visits included immunizations with 5 shots for me, and appointments for more shots on Wednesday. And Monday night started a fast for me, since I'll be needing the complete, over-40 physical. Yeah, the one Bill Engval relives so vividly. I must say, however, that the numerous stations and briefings have been relatively relaxed and respectful: we're not new recruits, but experienced veterans. They have rented two or three reasonably comfortable tour buses to move 46 of us around, and they do their best to keep us fed, healthy, outfitted, and properly moving through this pipeline.

I went for a 3-mile run on my own and found the PT track, some of the National Guard training area, and an after-hours club called the "Impact Zone"-- but it's only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They have a better wifi than the barracks, but I'm thankful we get any kind of Internet on post at all. Ft. Dix had zip in 2007, and a flaky setup at best this past summer. My arms are sore from the shots! In the dark!

Day 1 of inprocessing camp. Monday. I've already finished the novel I brought. It occurs to me that the popular Army warrior exclamation of "hoo-ahh" is quite possibly an acronym, properly spelled "HUAW." Can you guess?

It's "Hurry Up And Wait." And wait. I bet you thought from the title that I must be really motivated. Well, I am enthusiastic about serving the military. But that's not what's happening yet.

I started in uniform, the digital ACU (Army Combat Uniform) because I have mine up-to-date from recent camps, ROTC functions and generally staying involved. Probably 60% of our class doesn't have uniforms at all because they've been out of the Army too long. There are 46 of us starting off. I've been warned that maybe half will be REFRAD: released from active duty for various issues. But it's a pretty fit looking bunch of us. Lots of senior NCOs and field-grade officers: folks who've been in the military for almost 20 years.

I'm at 19 years myself, 1 year before being eligible for retirement benefits. I'm not thinking about retirement right now, but open to possibilities that develop over the next year.