Man just got back from a great 4 day pass back home. I was able to see allot more people than I expected but was also able to do some quality relaxing. It sure did bring to light that it is the simple things in life that you usually end up missing. Things like just sitting on a porch with your best friend drinking coffee and not really talking about anything but yet talking about everything while waiting for a stove to be delivered ( I bailed before that happened because I wanted a nap ). The simple fact of jumping into a car and having the freedom to go anywhere you want without having to ask permission. The fact of being able to go anywhere at any time at night and being able to find stores and restaurants that are open past 8pm. Ice cubes in all my drinks was very cool, literally. Being able to sit around and not have to worry about when your next hard time was ( a particular time you had to be somewhere) and not worrying about getting attached to some sort of detail ( work party/group for a particular task ). Hell , just driving down the highway playing music without headphones on and the windows down was wonderful ( a huge thank you to all that let me borrow their cars :). I do have to say that having not had a bad hangover in quite a while I sure did notice how I did not miss them.
The first night home was kind of strange for me.I always feel as if I am some sort of time traveler when I travel a far distance in one day, especially when I do it and I am in the Army. One day I am in a classroom wearing a uniform getting a class on when it is okay to shoot people and the next day I am at home having drinks ( with ice) with all my friends. The first night out I felt more like a bystander on the fringe of the crowd than I did a participant. Everyone was sitting around just like always talking about the previous workweek and stuff they were planning to do this summer. And I was just kind of sitting there absorbing it all feeling out of place. Part of it is that it is difficult to really explain what it is like in the Army to a group of people that have never been in. After years of this I have decided that it is not possible and the best you will be able to do is share a few funny stories and have a laugh. That is one reason I am glad to have this blog as I feel it helps to explain the military and what we do a little more clearly than a typical bar conversation.
Where as the pass was awesome and a much needed break it was actually kind of cool to get back. Most of us just want to get over there and start doing our job. This is something we have been training for and working towards for over a year now and all the training is now becoming redundant. Not to mention that the big Army stupid bus apparently rolled into town while we were gone. Apparently the active duty Army unit that is stationed in the barracks around us is not fond of a deploying National Guard unit in their midst. Not just any Guard unit but an Airborne Guard unit. We all think that it is beret envy as the unit here is a leg (non Airborne / not cool enough to jump out of airplanes ) unit. The regular Army wears black berets, Airborne units wear a maroon beret, Rangers wear a tan beret and Special Forces wear a green beret. The Army wearing black berets is something fairly new. A few years ago some general in the pentagon ( probably a leg ) decided that everyone should be allowed to wear a beret not just special units.The command Sergeant major that is stationed here has started nit picking all our soldiers, apparently he does not like when we choose to put on our berets before going outside and when we decide to take them off as we go inside. Basically you have to wear headgear when you are outside and take it off when you go inside. I guess the fact that we put our berets on as we are walking outside and taking them off as we enter buildings as opposed to coming to a complete stop either as we enter and leave to do it annoys him.He went so far as to go to our CO ( commanding officer ) and complain to him as to when exactly we should put our berets on, bottom line Stupid Army bus.
So the pass went great except when I finally got to the Seattle airport. They lost my bag and my bag only out of the whole flight. I found this to be somewhat suspicious as I had allot of newly purchased Army gear in my bag to include a pretty fancy brand new combat rifle sight for my M-4. The M-4 is the standard issue rifle in the Army these days, it is basically the same thing as an M-16 which the Army has used since Vietnam except it now has a shorter barrel and a collapsible stock. It also has rails that cover the barrel that you are able to attach different types of accessories to the rifle such as fore grips, flashlights, bi-pods and that sort of thing. The Army issues us a combat sight for our rifles but I really do not like it and chose to buy my own, besides I can use it on my rifle at home so it is not just a one year use item. Anyways after not seeing my bag on the carousel I had to go to the baggage claim desk to find out they had no idea where my bag was. After I explained to them that I was leaving for Iraq in several days and that I was really, really, really not happy that they did not know where my bag was and explained to them how much money it was going to cost for them to replace the items it miraculously showed up in their computer as still being in Michigan. I had to go pick it up from the airport today and to my surprise everything was in there which I was pretty happy about.
So that about sums up my four day pass experience I will try and put in another entry before I cross the big pond. If not it may be several weeks before I am able to access the interweb again. Until next time..........
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Yakima
Yakima is proving to be NTC ( national training center -Ft. Irwin California )all over again, a brief flurry of activity for a couple of days and then sheer boredom for the rest of the time. Our training at Ft. Lewis was fast and furious and we kept busy and learned all sorts of great stuff. Then we came here to Yakima to do field maneuvers to show 1st Army that we know what we are doing and are ready to deploy to Iraq. It is an actual test in which you can actually fail. If you fail you have to stay at the MOB station for a longer period of time and keep retesting until you pass. We saw an engineer company from Mississippi that was MOB'ing out of Ft. Irwin when we were at NTC in March that had been to every MOB station in the US for the last six months and still had not passed. Heard of another unit from North Carolina that barely passed MOB and got to Iraq but were actually kicked back to the US 5 months into their tour because they were so ate up (ate up = not worth a damn).
The problem with this field problem is that it is scripted by the big Army , 1st Army. It might be great for a regular Infantry unit but it is not really suited for what my unit does. The other problem with it being scripted is that nothing can be added to the scenario once it starts. So on the first mission the teams went on 2ND platoon had a truck break down. We got all geared up to go out and retrieve it and bring them another vehicle but we were not able to because it was not in the "script" which I think is absolutely retarded. So basically all the Infantry teams get all this training in the field and my section and the transportation section are stuck in the rear with nothing to do because the Army did not understand how our unit was set up. I guess we will just get to practice in the real world in Iraq.
The captain has been frustrated by the "scripting" of these exercises and has pretty much forced himself into the scenario which is cool as it gives us something to do. For the last three days we have actually gotten to leave the base and pull a couple of missions. I have been riding in the turret as a .50 cal machingunner on our up armored humvee. It is all very exciting for the first couple of hours but can actually become exhausting work. First is the simple act of climbing up and down from the turret wearing all your gear. Not to mention mounting the gun which weighs about 110 pounds. About half of your torso sticks up above the roof but you have some protection from the turret armor. The only exposed skin you really have is your face and neck so you get a nice sunburn. It is also very tough on your feet as you are pretty much standing the whole time wearing all your gear and getting bounced around. But I do have to admit that there is a certain amount of feeling almighty standing behind that huge gun, I am a war monger I know. Have not had a chance to fire but I have had lots of practice cleaning it. I have been riding in the last truck of the convoy pulling rear security which gives me the austere privilege of eating all the dust from the first 3 vehicles.
The worst part of Yakima has proven to be the chow hall. It is run by a civilian contractor and the food is absolutely horrible. For breakfast I pretty much just eat oatmeal,bacon and pancakes ( if they are not rock hard that is). Everything else they have is pretty much crap. No one eats the eggs anymore because we have figured out that they are recycling them. Some mornings they have "breakfast burritos" which are just the eggs, bacon and sausage from the day before. We don't get lunch , we are supposed to eat MRE"s which is something I just started doing here in week two because I have been starving to death. I had an MRE today which was 5 times better than any food that I have had in the chow hall, that is just sad and should not be an issue in this day and age. I don't know when the Army stopped using its cooks but it is time to bring them back. When you had cooks assigned to your unit they actually cared about what they served and the food was a s good as they could make it using what they had. Now with these civilian contractors its all about cutting corners for profit, a seriously sad state of affairs. Yesterday I was totally starving having not eaten lunch and very little breakfast. I go to dinner chow and they have a choice of burritos or lasagna, I chose the burrito because they looked good. Unfortunately they were total shit, turns out they had used the chicken fried steak from the night before and chopped it up and put it into the burritos. It actually made me sick, even the 1st Sgt. hated it, he took 2 bites then threw it away. And if all that was not enough we actually have to pay for the food. The Army gives us a food allowance every month but when you eat in a chow hall they subtract a certain amount of money for every meal you sign in for. So not only does the food suck ass but I have to pay for it, got to love the Army.
Another crappy thing about Yakima is the wind and dust, why anyone would choose to live here is beyond me. I actually think the dust here is worse than it is going to be overseas. That is a bad statement since we are going to a desert where there is no greenery whatsoever. I will be seriously surprised if all my electronics live through my entire deployment.
Alright, gonna go to the gym and burn off some aggression.
The problem with this field problem is that it is scripted by the big Army , 1st Army. It might be great for a regular Infantry unit but it is not really suited for what my unit does. The other problem with it being scripted is that nothing can be added to the scenario once it starts. So on the first mission the teams went on 2ND platoon had a truck break down. We got all geared up to go out and retrieve it and bring them another vehicle but we were not able to because it was not in the "script" which I think is absolutely retarded. So basically all the Infantry teams get all this training in the field and my section and the transportation section are stuck in the rear with nothing to do because the Army did not understand how our unit was set up. I guess we will just get to practice in the real world in Iraq.
The captain has been frustrated by the "scripting" of these exercises and has pretty much forced himself into the scenario which is cool as it gives us something to do. For the last three days we have actually gotten to leave the base and pull a couple of missions. I have been riding in the turret as a .50 cal machingunner on our up armored humvee. It is all very exciting for the first couple of hours but can actually become exhausting work. First is the simple act of climbing up and down from the turret wearing all your gear. Not to mention mounting the gun which weighs about 110 pounds. About half of your torso sticks up above the roof but you have some protection from the turret armor. The only exposed skin you really have is your face and neck so you get a nice sunburn. It is also very tough on your feet as you are pretty much standing the whole time wearing all your gear and getting bounced around. But I do have to admit that there is a certain amount of feeling almighty standing behind that huge gun, I am a war monger I know. Have not had a chance to fire but I have had lots of practice cleaning it. I have been riding in the last truck of the convoy pulling rear security which gives me the austere privilege of eating all the dust from the first 3 vehicles.
The worst part of Yakima has proven to be the chow hall. It is run by a civilian contractor and the food is absolutely horrible. For breakfast I pretty much just eat oatmeal,bacon and pancakes ( if they are not rock hard that is). Everything else they have is pretty much crap. No one eats the eggs anymore because we have figured out that they are recycling them. Some mornings they have "breakfast burritos" which are just the eggs, bacon and sausage from the day before. We don't get lunch , we are supposed to eat MRE"s which is something I just started doing here in week two because I have been starving to death. I had an MRE today which was 5 times better than any food that I have had in the chow hall, that is just sad and should not be an issue in this day and age. I don't know when the Army stopped using its cooks but it is time to bring them back. When you had cooks assigned to your unit they actually cared about what they served and the food was a s good as they could make it using what they had. Now with these civilian contractors its all about cutting corners for profit, a seriously sad state of affairs. Yesterday I was totally starving having not eaten lunch and very little breakfast. I go to dinner chow and they have a choice of burritos or lasagna, I chose the burrito because they looked good. Unfortunately they were total shit, turns out they had used the chicken fried steak from the night before and chopped it up and put it into the burritos. It actually made me sick, even the 1st Sgt. hated it, he took 2 bites then threw it away. And if all that was not enough we actually have to pay for the food. The Army gives us a food allowance every month but when you eat in a chow hall they subtract a certain amount of money for every meal you sign in for. So not only does the food suck ass but I have to pay for it, got to love the Army.
Another crappy thing about Yakima is the wind and dust, why anyone would choose to live here is beyond me. I actually think the dust here is worse than it is going to be overseas. That is a bad statement since we are going to a desert where there is no greenery whatsoever. I will be seriously surprised if all my electronics live through my entire deployment.
Alright, gonna go to the gym and burn off some aggression.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Active duty Vs. Reserves
This entry is mostly a description of the differences between active duty and the reserves. I am astounded sometimes by the lack of knowledge about the military and how it works in the general populace of the United States sometimes so I figure since I have this blog maybe I can explain some of that to those that are interested.
Whenever you sign your first contract with the military whether it is the Army, Air force, Marines, coast guard, Navy or any reserve unit you are signing an 8 year contract. I will use my experience as an example, when I enlisted for the first time it was for 3 years of active duty. When I got out I had the choice to serve the 5 years in either the Army Reserves or in the Inactive reserves (IRR). The Army ( or national guard) reserves means you go to a weekend drill once a month usually for a Saturday and Sunday and you also have to serve two full weeks during the summer months. The in-active reserves just means the Army keeps all your contact info on file for those 5 years and in case they need extra body's they can call you up and re-activate you to active duty. That happened to my friend Jim for Desert storm, one day he was sitting on his couch and he got a phone call and two weeks later he was sitting in a tank on his way through the Iraqi desert. When you are in the active reserves you can also be called back up for active duty which has obviously been the case in the last several years with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I chose to join the active reserves when I got off of active duty and served those last 5 years of my 8 year contract and then some. Once you have completed those 8 years you are done unless you decide to stay in. I have heard stories in the last several years of the Army trying to call up soldiers past their 8 year contract but I believe all those folks fought it and won in court as a breach of contract. The only difference between the National Guard and the Army reserves is that the National Guard is State funded and the Army reserves is government funded. To add to that the National guard gets some money from the federal government but not a lot. When the National Guard gets activated for active duty those soldiers become part of the regular Army and are paid federally.
When I was serving with the 82nd Airborne division on active duty we used to make fun of all the reservists and National guard and back then they kind of deserved it. That was during peacetime when the last time a reserve unit had been called to active duty was for Vietnam. But these days I consider the Guard and Army reserves to be actually more difficult to serve in than active duty. The differences are that when you are on active duty the Army is your life and job and that is all you have to worry about. You get up every morning and do PT you go eat chow then you report to whatever area you work in. At the end of the day you go back to the barracks and your day is done. You usually get weekends off unless you are in the Field ( on training maneuvers) and you get to enjoy all the federal holidays that everyone else enjoys. Plus you get 30 days off every year in which you can take leave and go home or go traveling. It really is just like having a job with the slight difference that you may have to go to a war and you have to obey lots of rules.
In the reserves you only get that one weekend a month and those 2 weeks in the summer to train on all your military skills and you are expected to be proficient in your job at all times especially these days with all the call ups. Also you have to maintain your PT to the Army standards which I can tell you is allot harder than it sounds. Basically being in the reserves in my eyes requires 3 times the discipline as the active duty does. Plus the fact that you have a whole separate civilian life that you have to maintain. It is also harder for the families when the reserve soldiers get called up because they are usually going through their normal lives then their spouse or whoever has to get up and drop everything and take off for a year. Allot of states have developed new laws in regard to the amount of deployments that their National guard units can be called up. In Michigan if you get called up for a year you cannot be re-deployed for a minimum of three years from their return. Individual soldiers can volunteer for more deployments if they want but the government cannot call up whole units for three years. Those laws were put in place because the Army was calling up units for 15 month deployments then calling them back up only several months after they had returned. Another law that has been put into place in the last year is that units cannot be called up for more than 12 months at a time.
________________________________________________________________________________
I am going to add to this posting because it by far gets the most hits. One of the most frequent questions asked is " what should I do, active or reserves" well that is a tough question as there can be so many variables. It really depends on what you are looking for. Did you just graduate high school and you are unsure what to do with your life? Cant find work, unhappy where you are at, need to make a change? Have a job and a life but just looking for more? Want a little adventure in your life?
As you can see there are many reasons people consider the Military option. From a personal standpoint, I reiterate personal standpoint. I think that unless you have a job you are happy with or you are in school and just looking for a little extra money to help you pay for college that everyone that joins the military should strive for active duty first. For one thing going from active duty to the reserves is easy, but going from the reserves to active is actually very difficult. Don't ask me why, it does not make any sense to me either. Maybe it is my military mindset but why do something half assed, this is not to say that there is anything wrong with the folks that just go straight into the reserves. But if you are not sure what to do with your life or you are looking for a change going active would be your best bet. It can be a scary decision for sure, but thousands of people do it every year.
One thing I do want to make clear, and once again this is from a personal standpoint. Do not entertain the thought of or join the military because you think someone else expects it of you or wants you to. If you are going to do it make sure it is for the right reasons. Also do not go into it thinking it will cure all your woes. A good friend told me once "no matter where you go, there you are" words to live by.
Whenever you sign your first contract with the military whether it is the Army, Air force, Marines, coast guard, Navy or any reserve unit you are signing an 8 year contract. I will use my experience as an example, when I enlisted for the first time it was for 3 years of active duty. When I got out I had the choice to serve the 5 years in either the Army Reserves or in the Inactive reserves (IRR). The Army ( or national guard) reserves means you go to a weekend drill once a month usually for a Saturday and Sunday and you also have to serve two full weeks during the summer months. The in-active reserves just means the Army keeps all your contact info on file for those 5 years and in case they need extra body's they can call you up and re-activate you to active duty. That happened to my friend Jim for Desert storm, one day he was sitting on his couch and he got a phone call and two weeks later he was sitting in a tank on his way through the Iraqi desert. When you are in the active reserves you can also be called back up for active duty which has obviously been the case in the last several years with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I chose to join the active reserves when I got off of active duty and served those last 5 years of my 8 year contract and then some. Once you have completed those 8 years you are done unless you decide to stay in. I have heard stories in the last several years of the Army trying to call up soldiers past their 8 year contract but I believe all those folks fought it and won in court as a breach of contract. The only difference between the National Guard and the Army reserves is that the National Guard is State funded and the Army reserves is government funded. To add to that the National guard gets some money from the federal government but not a lot. When the National Guard gets activated for active duty those soldiers become part of the regular Army and are paid federally.
When I was serving with the 82nd Airborne division on active duty we used to make fun of all the reservists and National guard and back then they kind of deserved it. That was during peacetime when the last time a reserve unit had been called to active duty was for Vietnam. But these days I consider the Guard and Army reserves to be actually more difficult to serve in than active duty. The differences are that when you are on active duty the Army is your life and job and that is all you have to worry about. You get up every morning and do PT you go eat chow then you report to whatever area you work in. At the end of the day you go back to the barracks and your day is done. You usually get weekends off unless you are in the Field ( on training maneuvers) and you get to enjoy all the federal holidays that everyone else enjoys. Plus you get 30 days off every year in which you can take leave and go home or go traveling. It really is just like having a job with the slight difference that you may have to go to a war and you have to obey lots of rules.
In the reserves you only get that one weekend a month and those 2 weeks in the summer to train on all your military skills and you are expected to be proficient in your job at all times especially these days with all the call ups. Also you have to maintain your PT to the Army standards which I can tell you is allot harder than it sounds. Basically being in the reserves in my eyes requires 3 times the discipline as the active duty does. Plus the fact that you have a whole separate civilian life that you have to maintain. It is also harder for the families when the reserve soldiers get called up because they are usually going through their normal lives then their spouse or whoever has to get up and drop everything and take off for a year. Allot of states have developed new laws in regard to the amount of deployments that their National guard units can be called up. In Michigan if you get called up for a year you cannot be re-deployed for a minimum of three years from their return. Individual soldiers can volunteer for more deployments if they want but the government cannot call up whole units for three years. Those laws were put in place because the Army was calling up units for 15 month deployments then calling them back up only several months after they had returned. Another law that has been put into place in the last year is that units cannot be called up for more than 12 months at a time.
________________________________________________________________________________
I am going to add to this posting because it by far gets the most hits. One of the most frequent questions asked is " what should I do, active or reserves" well that is a tough question as there can be so many variables. It really depends on what you are looking for. Did you just graduate high school and you are unsure what to do with your life? Cant find work, unhappy where you are at, need to make a change? Have a job and a life but just looking for more? Want a little adventure in your life?
As you can see there are many reasons people consider the Military option. From a personal standpoint, I reiterate personal standpoint. I think that unless you have a job you are happy with or you are in school and just looking for a little extra money to help you pay for college that everyone that joins the military should strive for active duty first. For one thing going from active duty to the reserves is easy, but going from the reserves to active is actually very difficult. Don't ask me why, it does not make any sense to me either. Maybe it is my military mindset but why do something half assed, this is not to say that there is anything wrong with the folks that just go straight into the reserves. But if you are not sure what to do with your life or you are looking for a change going active would be your best bet. It can be a scary decision for sure, but thousands of people do it every year.
One thing I do want to make clear, and once again this is from a personal standpoint. Do not entertain the thought of or join the military because you think someone else expects it of you or wants you to. If you are going to do it make sure it is for the right reasons. Also do not go into it thinking it will cure all your woes. A good friend told me once "no matter where you go, there you are" words to live by.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Age and rank
Easily one of the hardest parts of being back in the Army has been my age in relation to my rank and other peoples rank. Due to some of my more extravagant behavior in previous enlistments I am not holding much rank in the Army at the moment. Also the spot I am in at this company does not offer much in terms of advancement but I chose to stay in this unit for deployment more than promotion. Anyways, being a 42 year old private in the land of 24 year old Sergeants has proven to be a test of my maturity. Which by the way has noticeably improved over the years as I have not had any incidents (yet). Not only is it hard for me but it is also difficult for the younger Sergeants as they definitely feel uncomfortable telling me what to do. As a matter of fact for the most part when I am working with them I inevitably take charge and run the detail ( work group working on a specific task ) because sad as it may be I have noticed that alot of the younger NCO'c ( non-commissioned officers or non-coms or enlisted) really have no idea how to lead. With all the constant deployments and retention problems in the Army these days the armed forces have been using promotions as a way to keep soldiers in the Army. This is a good way to keep the force strength up but in the long run it is a bad way to run the Army. To me it seems that the rank of Sergeant is the Army's new rank of Specialist ( a specialist is considered an overpaid private). Here is a brief intro to the Army's rank structure:
Enlisted-
E-1 Private
E-2 Private w/one stripe
E-3 Private first class
E-4 Specialist
E-5 Sergeant
E-6 Staff sergeant
E-7 Sergeant first class
E-8 Master sergeant
E-9 First Sergeant/Sergeant major
Officers-
0-1 2nd Lieutenant
0-2 1st lieutenant
0-3 captain
0-4 Major
0-5 Lieutenant colonel
0-6 colonel
0-7 General (1 star,2 star, 3 star, 4 star)
Currently I am a lowly private first class although I have been told that a promotion is on its way which for me only really means a pay raise which I am fine with. I am hoping to get my Sergeant stripes while we are overseas. Currently in the unit there are about 15 people around my age that hold the same rank as me if not lower so it makes it a hard life on those younger sergeants.
It is of my opinion that the quality of soldiers currently in the Army is on both ends of the scale from top of the line soldiers to bottom of the barrel soldiers. This has a lot to do with the recruitment standards that the Army used over the last several years to get soldiers to stay in the service or recruiting off the street. It used to be if you had any major mis-deamoners on your criminal record there was no way you could get into the Army. But for several years they dropped that requirement and were accepting people that had as many as 2-3 felonies on record. Starting last October which is the beginning of the Army's fiscal year they dropped that practice and have since gone back to the policy of no waivers to get into the Military. I am grateful I came back in when I did because if I had waited I might not have been able to get in. Not that I needed any waivers or anything but the process would have been a lot more difficult.
To be honest when I came back into the service in early 2008 I would have considered myself one of the bottom of the barrel soldiers. having lived as a civilian for the last 12 years I had absolutely no military bearing whatsoever. It has been a pretty big adjustment for me being back in the Army. I am happy to say that over this last year and a half I have improved my soldierly ways quite a bit. I actually wish that they had made me go through some kind of boot camp to come back in as so many things have changed since the last time I was in. All the issued equipment is new and has actually changed several times over the years. Not only has all the gear changed but also all the soldier tasks have changed completely, it is like being in a completely different Army.
One major change in the military that I am not so fond of and this may come as a shock to some that know me is the lackadaisical approach the Army has come to adopt. Everything is about the soldiers comfort these days which is nice in some ways but there is a definite lack of discipline. You know it has to be a change if I am complaining about it due to my previous exploits in the military. Maybe I have just gotten older in the ways of my thinking, I do not know, but the Army seems to have fallen into the ME generation in full force. Simple things like keeping your personal areas cleaned up and having all your gear squared away ( making sure all your gear is in working order) does not seem to be much of a priority in the Army these days.
Enlisted-
E-1 Private
E-2 Private w/one stripe
E-3 Private first class
E-4 Specialist
E-5 Sergeant
E-6 Staff sergeant
E-7 Sergeant first class
E-8 Master sergeant
E-9 First Sergeant/Sergeant major
Officers-
0-1 2nd Lieutenant
0-2 1st lieutenant
0-3 captain
0-4 Major
0-5 Lieutenant colonel
0-6 colonel
0-7 General (1 star,2 star, 3 star, 4 star)
Currently I am a lowly private first class although I have been told that a promotion is on its way which for me only really means a pay raise which I am fine with. I am hoping to get my Sergeant stripes while we are overseas. Currently in the unit there are about 15 people around my age that hold the same rank as me if not lower so it makes it a hard life on those younger sergeants.
It is of my opinion that the quality of soldiers currently in the Army is on both ends of the scale from top of the line soldiers to bottom of the barrel soldiers. This has a lot to do with the recruitment standards that the Army used over the last several years to get soldiers to stay in the service or recruiting off the street. It used to be if you had any major mis-deamoners on your criminal record there was no way you could get into the Army. But for several years they dropped that requirement and were accepting people that had as many as 2-3 felonies on record. Starting last October which is the beginning of the Army's fiscal year they dropped that practice and have since gone back to the policy of no waivers to get into the Military. I am grateful I came back in when I did because if I had waited I might not have been able to get in. Not that I needed any waivers or anything but the process would have been a lot more difficult.
To be honest when I came back into the service in early 2008 I would have considered myself one of the bottom of the barrel soldiers. having lived as a civilian for the last 12 years I had absolutely no military bearing whatsoever. It has been a pretty big adjustment for me being back in the Army. I am happy to say that over this last year and a half I have improved my soldierly ways quite a bit. I actually wish that they had made me go through some kind of boot camp to come back in as so many things have changed since the last time I was in. All the issued equipment is new and has actually changed several times over the years. Not only has all the gear changed but also all the soldier tasks have changed completely, it is like being in a completely different Army.
One major change in the military that I am not so fond of and this may come as a shock to some that know me is the lackadaisical approach the Army has come to adopt. Everything is about the soldiers comfort these days which is nice in some ways but there is a definite lack of discipline. You know it has to be a change if I am complaining about it due to my previous exploits in the military. Maybe I have just gotten older in the ways of my thinking, I do not know, but the Army seems to have fallen into the ME generation in full force. Simple things like keeping your personal areas cleaned up and having all your gear squared away ( making sure all your gear is in working order) does not seem to be much of a priority in the Army these days.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Apology
My apologies for the screwed up layout of the text. I tried to rearrange the post in to the correct order and in the process the text layout got screwed up. Future posts should not be so spread out.
The decision
The purpose of this blog is to create a space for me to formulate all my
thoughts on my decision to go back into the Army reserves and to
specifically go to Iraq on a deployment. It is also a good medium to keep
all my friends informed on what is going on with me during my deployment.
I first broached the subject of re-enlisting with my friend Sean in early
2007. We were both in a state of flux in our jobs and our lives at that
time and that proved to be the catalyst for the most part in out decision
making process. That wasnt all of it of course, our friend Clint was
currently serving in the National Guard at the time and the thought of all
of us in the same unit was pretty appealing.
For myself personally there were so many other factors in my decision also.
Money, boredom, college money, my idealist veiws and just a major dis-
satisfaction with my life up to that point. For a good period of time
before I came to the conclusion of re-enlisting I just seemed to be free
floating through life with absoloutly no direction and a sort of malaise
and I really did not like it. The Michigan economy and the United States
for that matter were /are in a horrible economy work was slow and to be
honest I was very dis-interested in what I was doing as far as work went. I
have spent the last 20 years of my life doing construction which I always
felt was not up to my standards. In other words I felt I was wasting my
talents, the only problem was I was not sure what those talents were. Not
to say that construction work is beneath me or anyone for that matter as I
have many friends in the industry and I consider them all to be able minded
and extremly smart. But construction was just something that I started
doing when I got off active duty in 1989 and I just kind of went with the
flow. With the economy in the state it was, and is, I was finding it
extremly hard to get work and was increasingly doing jobs that I really did
not want to do but was compelled to do such as concrete and roofing. The
Army and deployment was an extremly easy solution to all my financial
problems.
Not only was it a quick fix to my financial problems but it also offered
new college money. Since I was a moron and did not use the GI bill that I
had from my first enlistment I will now have a second chance, not to
mention the fact that the new one is so much better. Hopefully moronic
activity will not consume me when I return and this time I will actualy use
it this time. So I have covered money, boredom and college money now for
the confusing idealist veiws.
Hopefully some of this will not upset or agraviate any of my friends but
one of the many other reasons I came back in was I was tired of the way
most of America was going about their daily lives as if nothing else was
going on in the world. A day has not gone by since the beggining of the war
in Afghanistan and Iraq that I do not think of the men and women who are
serving over there and in the armed forces in general. Part of that is from
being a veteran myself, having served in operation Desert Sheild / Desert
Storm I know what it is like to be away from home serving your country
during a war. It is a huge sacrifice and I just think that too many
Americans take that service for granted. I felt that I was becoming one of
those people taking it for granted and in some twisted form of idealism I
felt for some reason that if I was over there then my friends would have to
think more about those wars and the people serving in them. Because as it
stands right now with our all volunteer Army the only people truley
affected by the war on terrorism are the friends and family of the soldiers
who are serving in them. As I write it and re-read it it sounds extremly
self centered and selfish but be that as it may that was one of the many
other reasons for my volunteering to go on this deployment. Also, and I
have heard many other prior service veterans say the same thing, hearing
about how overburdened the armed forces were and the many repeat
deployments that our service men and women have been going on I just felt
that I should pitch in. Now I am not going to become a pariah and try and
make it sound like I did this all for the soldiers and my country. As I
have previously stated and written down money and college were prime
motivators.
Dont get me wrong I love my country and I am proud to be serving again. I
have done my fair share of bitching about the current state of our country
and our leadership or lack there of in the last several years. Having
travelled to many third world countrys in my lifetime and seen how horrible
other governments and peoples living conditions are America is the best in
comparison. America has its problems but they pale in relation to alot of
other countrys.
thoughts on my decision to go back into the Army reserves and to
specifically go to Iraq on a deployment. It is also a good medium to keep
all my friends informed on what is going on with me during my deployment.
I first broached the subject of re-enlisting with my friend Sean in early
2007. We were both in a state of flux in our jobs and our lives at that
time and that proved to be the catalyst for the most part in out decision
making process. That wasnt all of it of course, our friend Clint was
currently serving in the National Guard at the time and the thought of all
of us in the same unit was pretty appealing.
For myself personally there were so many other factors in my decision also.
Money, boredom, college money, my idealist veiws and just a major dis-
satisfaction with my life up to that point. For a good period of time
before I came to the conclusion of re-enlisting I just seemed to be free
floating through life with absoloutly no direction and a sort of malaise
and I really did not like it. The Michigan economy and the United States
for that matter were /are in a horrible economy work was slow and to be
honest I was very dis-interested in what I was doing as far as work went. I
have spent the last 20 years of my life doing construction which I always
felt was not up to my standards. In other words I felt I was wasting my
talents, the only problem was I was not sure what those talents were. Not
to say that construction work is beneath me or anyone for that matter as I
have many friends in the industry and I consider them all to be able minded
and extremly smart. But construction was just something that I started
doing when I got off active duty in 1989 and I just kind of went with the
flow. With the economy in the state it was, and is, I was finding it
extremly hard to get work and was increasingly doing jobs that I really did
not want to do but was compelled to do such as concrete and roofing. The
Army and deployment was an extremly easy solution to all my financial
problems.
Not only was it a quick fix to my financial problems but it also offered
new college money. Since I was a moron and did not use the GI bill that I
had from my first enlistment I will now have a second chance, not to
mention the fact that the new one is so much better. Hopefully moronic
activity will not consume me when I return and this time I will actualy use
it this time. So I have covered money, boredom and college money now for
the confusing idealist veiws.
Hopefully some of this will not upset or agraviate any of my friends but
one of the many other reasons I came back in was I was tired of the way
most of America was going about their daily lives as if nothing else was
going on in the world. A day has not gone by since the beggining of the war
in Afghanistan and Iraq that I do not think of the men and women who are
serving over there and in the armed forces in general. Part of that is from
being a veteran myself, having served in operation Desert Sheild / Desert
Storm I know what it is like to be away from home serving your country
during a war. It is a huge sacrifice and I just think that too many
Americans take that service for granted. I felt that I was becoming one of
those people taking it for granted and in some twisted form of idealism I
felt for some reason that if I was over there then my friends would have to
think more about those wars and the people serving in them. Because as it
stands right now with our all volunteer Army the only people truley
affected by the war on terrorism are the friends and family of the soldiers
who are serving in them. As I write it and re-read it it sounds extremly
self centered and selfish but be that as it may that was one of the many
other reasons for my volunteering to go on this deployment. Also, and I
have heard many other prior service veterans say the same thing, hearing
about how overburdened the armed forces were and the many repeat
deployments that our service men and women have been going on I just felt
that I should pitch in. Now I am not going to become a pariah and try and
make it sound like I did this all for the soldiers and my country. As I
have previously stated and written down money and college were prime
motivators.
Dont get me wrong I love my country and I am proud to be serving again. I
have done my fair share of bitching about the current state of our country
and our leadership or lack there of in the last several years. Having
travelled to many third world countrys in my lifetime and seen how horrible
other governments and peoples living conditions are America is the best in
comparison. America has its problems but they pale in relation to alot of
other countrys.
The process
Early 2007, the initial discussions were about what we wanted to do in the
Army if we went back in and we both came to the conclusion that what we did
not want to do was any kind of support job which both of us had done
previously in the service. We pretty much came to the mutual decision to
join the Airborne Infantry unit that Clint was in partly because Clint was
there and also there was good intelligence that they were going to be
called up for deployment. We both were joining the Guard again specifically
for deployment. The summer months of 2007 were a flurry of phone calls and
internet searches of what infantry units and or combat units that were
available in the guard and were on the list for deployments. For a red hot
minute it looked as if I would not be able to join Clint’s unit and that
brought a whole new flurry of activity trying to find a good unit to go to.
I looked at joining a leg ( non-Airborne) unit out of Detroit but was
warned that they were ate the fuck up (not worth a damn) and also a
mechanized Infantry unit on the west side of the state but the commute was
too much for me. Eventually it all worked out and both Sean and I got into
Clint’s unit.. I mean if you are going to do something big like re-
enlisting at age 41 you might as well go big, right? I looked at it all as
a mid life crisis and since neither of us could afford a new sports car we
would go back into the Army as Infantry. So we went to the local
recruitment office in Ypsilanti and told the recruiter we wanted to re-
enlist as Infantry which caused a lot of raised eyebrows, especially when
we told them what unit we wanted to go to. We actually went to see the
recruiter several times and called him several times before we committed to
anything. Having been prior service we wanted to make sure we did not get
screwed over which unbelievably still happens these days. We ended up
signing a 2 year contract with no bonus as they could not find all our
previous service records. (which ended up working very well for me)with a
guaranteed Infantry slot.
Everything else was a smooth ride except when it came to the medical
portion. The recruiters sent us to a private clinic in Wixom for our
physicals instead of the local MEPS ( Military in processing station) . It
was nice to not have to go through the MEPS process with all the other
recruits but the doctor we went to ended up being some kind of retard.
Basically true to government form they use the lowest bidder for those
types of services and it shows believe me. There were a couple of close
calls medically but we both finally passed after having to go to our
individual doctors and setting some things straight. Which was a huge
relief to both of us and also to the recruiters as we had passed all the
other tests with flying colors. As a testament to the able minds of my
friends both Sean and I passed the ASVAB (Armed forces entrance exam) well
above the average which is funny since we are both high school dropouts
with no college. To give an example when I went to take my test I was in a
van with 4 other people all of which had recently graduated from high
school, only one other person passed the test and he just barely passed.
This is sad as the ASVAB is not that hard of a test and the computer
version that we took has somewhat of a curve to it. As you answer questions
they either get harder or easier based on your answer. For example if you
answer the question wrong the next question is easier and if you answer
correctly the next question is harder. I just figured that the ones that
did not pass must have spelled their names wrong.
So finally after several small bumps in the road Sean and I went down to
the recruiters office and raised our right hands. Not only did we get to
join the National guard for 2 years but we also got these cool pens with
built in laser pointers and a nice coffee travel mug, what a deal.
Army if we went back in and we both came to the conclusion that what we did
not want to do was any kind of support job which both of us had done
previously in the service. We pretty much came to the mutual decision to
join the Airborne Infantry unit that Clint was in partly because Clint was
there and also there was good intelligence that they were going to be
called up for deployment. We both were joining the Guard again specifically
for deployment. The summer months of 2007 were a flurry of phone calls and
internet searches of what infantry units and or combat units that were
available in the guard and were on the list for deployments. For a red hot
minute it looked as if I would not be able to join Clint’s unit and that
brought a whole new flurry of activity trying to find a good unit to go to.
I looked at joining a leg ( non-Airborne) unit out of Detroit but was
warned that they were ate the fuck up (not worth a damn) and also a
mechanized Infantry unit on the west side of the state but the commute was
too much for me. Eventually it all worked out and both Sean and I got into
Clint’s unit.. I mean if you are going to do something big like re-
enlisting at age 41 you might as well go big, right? I looked at it all as
a mid life crisis and since neither of us could afford a new sports car we
would go back into the Army as Infantry. So we went to the local
recruitment office in Ypsilanti and told the recruiter we wanted to re-
enlist as Infantry which caused a lot of raised eyebrows, especially when
we told them what unit we wanted to go to. We actually went to see the
recruiter several times and called him several times before we committed to
anything. Having been prior service we wanted to make sure we did not get
screwed over which unbelievably still happens these days. We ended up
signing a 2 year contract with no bonus as they could not find all our
previous service records. (which ended up working very well for me)with a
guaranteed Infantry slot.
Everything else was a smooth ride except when it came to the medical
portion. The recruiters sent us to a private clinic in Wixom for our
physicals instead of the local MEPS ( Military in processing station) . It
was nice to not have to go through the MEPS process with all the other
recruits but the doctor we went to ended up being some kind of retard.
Basically true to government form they use the lowest bidder for those
types of services and it shows believe me. There were a couple of close
calls medically but we both finally passed after having to go to our
individual doctors and setting some things straight. Which was a huge
relief to both of us and also to the recruiters as we had passed all the
other tests with flying colors. As a testament to the able minds of my
friends both Sean and I passed the ASVAB (Armed forces entrance exam) well
above the average which is funny since we are both high school dropouts
with no college. To give an example when I went to take my test I was in a
van with 4 other people all of which had recently graduated from high
school, only one other person passed the test and he just barely passed.
This is sad as the ASVAB is not that hard of a test and the computer
version that we took has somewhat of a curve to it. As you answer questions
they either get harder or easier based on your answer. For example if you
answer the question wrong the next question is easier and if you answer
correctly the next question is harder. I just figured that the ones that
did not pass must have spelled their names wrong.
So finally after several small bumps in the road Sean and I went down to
the recruiters office and raised our right hands. Not only did we get to
join the National guard for 2 years but we also got these cool pens with
built in laser pointers and a nice coffee travel mug, what a deal.
Back in the Army
Holy crap what was I thinking joining an Airborne Infantry unit I must have
a closed head injury, I swear. I thought it would be no big deal to get
back in shape for the Army, boy was I wrong. It was and has been a long
process. Apparently when you eat, drink and smoke cigarettes like a rock
star you cant just go out and run 2 miles with ease. Besides the age factor
of waking up in the morning all sore and tired without having done any
physical activity the day before. Did I not look in the mirror and realize
that I was 40 pounds overweight and that I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a
day. Having to work construction during the day and trying to work out at
night did not work well for me. When you have been on a ladder all day, or
pouring concrete , roofing or mudding drywall going running when you get
done is not really an option, maybe if I was 20 years younger. To say it
was a shock to the system is putting it mildly. Also it was a complete
mental thing for me as I had been in the civilian world for 12 years and
did not have so much of a military mind about me. It was been a long road
to say the least.
I had my first drill weekend with this unit in February 2008 and just now
in my second month of Mobilization (June 2009) am I truly able to work out
,lose weight and really get back into running. I used to absolutely hate
running, partly because it is hard and not nearly as fun as hanging out at
the bar or on the couch but also because I had to learn how to do it all
over again. I know that sounds silly but for the last year I have really
struggled with running. I would not breathe enough and the smoking did not
help (finally quit after trying to for over a year) and when I would run I
ran flat footed. It was really rough on my knees and back. But now that I
am in a position to run everyday I have finally been able to fix those
problems and actually enjoy running now which is something I never thought
would happen. So if you are sitting on your couch and decide to join the
Army I suggest you find some way to get free money or unemployment checks
so you can dedicate yourself to working out. Maybe explore getting a sugar
momma or daddy or sell blood but definitely quit smoking and start running
your ass off.
The Army now is nothing like the Army that I was in back in the late 80's
early 90's. The computer age has finally caught up to the military both in
equipment and in the personal. Back in the day when you were done with your
duty day you would sit around and talk with your buddies, play cards or
read a book. Now and days its all about the gadgets from laptops to iPods.
Not only are the gadgets prevalent but the kids in the Army these days are
the computer generation. This is a good thing, as much of the equipment in
the military is electronic something or other. In the old days an Infantry
soldier pretty much just had to be able to walk a lot and shoot his rifle.
In this day and age they not only have to do that but they have to be able
to operate navigational computers, communication computers, and all sorts
of other electronic equipment. When I was with the 82nd Airborne in the
late 80's we never had radios in any of the trucks we drove. these days
every vehicle has a radio in it. Not only do you need to know how to
communicate on the different radio systems but every soldier has to be able
to program them and call in all sorts of reports. My head always seems to
be swimming with all the new stuff I had to learn coming back into the Army
this time. A lot of this is all due to the current wars we are in at this
time. An Army that has been at war for 7 years is a lot different form an
Army that has been in peace for 7 years.
The amount of equipment that each soldier gets issued is also staggering,
and most of it is brand new and even some of it you get to keep as it cant
and should not be re-used by others. From camel back water systems to
oakley blast resistant sunglasses. When I was in before you were not
allowed to wear any type of sunglasses now it is a requirement and you
pretty much have to wear them all the time. I have been issued Gerber
leatherman tools, several camel backs, several sets of glasses, all manner
of cold and wet weather gear, an awesome new sleeping bag system which sure
beats the hell out of the old green cotton one, brand new body armor, a
rifleman's vest which I can attach all sorts of things to with the MOLLE
system. All of it it is very impressive.
My only complaint is the damn camo pattern which is all ACU. The most
absolutely useless camo pattern ever thought of by man or woman as the case
may be. I am convinced that some general and several politicians sold their
souls to some defense contractor and are getting rich off their stock
options for agreeing to use this pattern. The only camouflage property's
the ACU covers are if you are hiding in a gravel parking lot filled with
light green rocks or if you were trying to hide inside a rain cloud. Since
I have never seen green rocks and I cannot fly my opinion is that this camo
pattern sucks ass. Especially in a desert enviornment, what the hell were
they thinking making a loam green camouflage for our Army which is fighting
in not one but two different arid desert countries,losers.
My other complaint is all the damn Velcro on the equipment and on the
uniforms. The Army went Velcro crazy, its like they just discovered it for
the first time and decided to use it for everything. All the pockets on my
uniform use Velcro as the fastener, except of course the rear pockets still
have buttons which if you ask any soldier for the last 20 years are the
ones they would have voted to replace. And of course as many know all your
unit, combat patches, rank, name tapes and military organization are Velcro
patches. But all your skill badges such as Airborne, CIB ( combat
Infantryman's badge) Air assault and all that are subdued pin on badges
which are a pain in the ass. They are nice if you like being periodically
stabbed in the chest by the push pins when the backings fall off, I myself
am not into body piercings and do not find any enjoyment in it at all. The
cargo pockets, which in my case and most cases as far as I have heard are
only fastened with 2 small Velcro patches yet all the other pockets have
whole strips. The end result is that when you have stuff in those pockets
and kneel down the pocket opens and all your shit falls out. They should
have put the buttons on the cargo pockets and the Velcro strips on the back
pockets, that way when you sit on a hard surface you would not have 4
buttons leaving imprints on your behind. The zipper on the front of the
shirt is nice but I do not understand why they did not use zippers on the
pockets. I mean this is supposed to be a battle uniform, it is not very
tactical when you are trying to be quite and you have to open a velro
pocket to see your map or get something out. That is if you can even get to
the pocket, your chest pockets become useless once you put on your body
armor because the openings are in the center of your chest as opposed to
being on the outside of your chest so that you could access them.
When I first read about the uniforms I remember reading some General
stating that this uniform would be cheaper for the soldier because you
would not have to pay to get your patches sewn on, LLLLIIIIEEESSSSSSS!!!!!
The Velcro patches cost three times what the sew on patches did. Not to
mention that you are supposed to remove all the patches and badges when you
wash the uniform, I did that for a while now I just wash them with all the
patches on as taking them off and putting them all back on is a pain in the
ass. Which brings me to washing them, don't even think about using a dryer
sheet or washing anything else with them as the end result will be a large
round ball of Velcro nightmare with bits of dryer sheet stuck on
everything. I think the people that came up with this uniform should be air
dropped smack in the middle of an Al-Queada base camp and try and hide. It
could be a new reality show called "Trying to hide in loam green camouflage
in the middle of an enemy base camp in the fricken desert" or "how not to
lose your head in Iraqisatan".
a closed head injury, I swear. I thought it would be no big deal to get
back in shape for the Army, boy was I wrong. It was and has been a long
process. Apparently when you eat, drink and smoke cigarettes like a rock
star you cant just go out and run 2 miles with ease. Besides the age factor
of waking up in the morning all sore and tired without having done any
physical activity the day before. Did I not look in the mirror and realize
that I was 40 pounds overweight and that I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a
day. Having to work construction during the day and trying to work out at
night did not work well for me. When you have been on a ladder all day, or
pouring concrete , roofing or mudding drywall going running when you get
done is not really an option, maybe if I was 20 years younger. To say it
was a shock to the system is putting it mildly. Also it was a complete
mental thing for me as I had been in the civilian world for 12 years and
did not have so much of a military mind about me. It was been a long road
to say the least.
I had my first drill weekend with this unit in February 2008 and just now
in my second month of Mobilization (June 2009) am I truly able to work out
,lose weight and really get back into running. I used to absolutely hate
running, partly because it is hard and not nearly as fun as hanging out at
the bar or on the couch but also because I had to learn how to do it all
over again. I know that sounds silly but for the last year I have really
struggled with running. I would not breathe enough and the smoking did not
help (finally quit after trying to for over a year) and when I would run I
ran flat footed. It was really rough on my knees and back. But now that I
am in a position to run everyday I have finally been able to fix those
problems and actually enjoy running now which is something I never thought
would happen. So if you are sitting on your couch and decide to join the
Army I suggest you find some way to get free money or unemployment checks
so you can dedicate yourself to working out. Maybe explore getting a sugar
momma or daddy or sell blood but definitely quit smoking and start running
your ass off.
The Army now is nothing like the Army that I was in back in the late 80's
early 90's. The computer age has finally caught up to the military both in
equipment and in the personal. Back in the day when you were done with your
duty day you would sit around and talk with your buddies, play cards or
read a book. Now and days its all about the gadgets from laptops to iPods.
Not only are the gadgets prevalent but the kids in the Army these days are
the computer generation. This is a good thing, as much of the equipment in
the military is electronic something or other. In the old days an Infantry
soldier pretty much just had to be able to walk a lot and shoot his rifle.
In this day and age they not only have to do that but they have to be able
to operate navigational computers, communication computers, and all sorts
of other electronic equipment. When I was with the 82nd Airborne in the
late 80's we never had radios in any of the trucks we drove. these days
every vehicle has a radio in it. Not only do you need to know how to
communicate on the different radio systems but every soldier has to be able
to program them and call in all sorts of reports. My head always seems to
be swimming with all the new stuff I had to learn coming back into the Army
this time. A lot of this is all due to the current wars we are in at this
time. An Army that has been at war for 7 years is a lot different form an
Army that has been in peace for 7 years.
The amount of equipment that each soldier gets issued is also staggering,
and most of it is brand new and even some of it you get to keep as it cant
and should not be re-used by others. From camel back water systems to
oakley blast resistant sunglasses. When I was in before you were not
allowed to wear any type of sunglasses now it is a requirement and you
pretty much have to wear them all the time. I have been issued Gerber
leatherman tools, several camel backs, several sets of glasses, all manner
of cold and wet weather gear, an awesome new sleeping bag system which sure
beats the hell out of the old green cotton one, brand new body armor, a
rifleman's vest which I can attach all sorts of things to with the MOLLE
system. All of it it is very impressive.
My only complaint is the damn camo pattern which is all ACU. The most
absolutely useless camo pattern ever thought of by man or woman as the case
may be. I am convinced that some general and several politicians sold their
souls to some defense contractor and are getting rich off their stock
options for agreeing to use this pattern. The only camouflage property's
the ACU covers are if you are hiding in a gravel parking lot filled with
light green rocks or if you were trying to hide inside a rain cloud. Since
I have never seen green rocks and I cannot fly my opinion is that this camo
pattern sucks ass. Especially in a desert enviornment, what the hell were
they thinking making a loam green camouflage for our Army which is fighting
in not one but two different arid desert countries,losers.
My other complaint is all the damn Velcro on the equipment and on the
uniforms. The Army went Velcro crazy, its like they just discovered it for
the first time and decided to use it for everything. All the pockets on my
uniform use Velcro as the fastener, except of course the rear pockets still
have buttons which if you ask any soldier for the last 20 years are the
ones they would have voted to replace. And of course as many know all your
unit, combat patches, rank, name tapes and military organization are Velcro
patches. But all your skill badges such as Airborne, CIB ( combat
Infantryman's badge) Air assault and all that are subdued pin on badges
which are a pain in the ass. They are nice if you like being periodically
stabbed in the chest by the push pins when the backings fall off, I myself
am not into body piercings and do not find any enjoyment in it at all. The
cargo pockets, which in my case and most cases as far as I have heard are
only fastened with 2 small Velcro patches yet all the other pockets have
whole strips. The end result is that when you have stuff in those pockets
and kneel down the pocket opens and all your shit falls out. They should
have put the buttons on the cargo pockets and the Velcro strips on the back
pockets, that way when you sit on a hard surface you would not have 4
buttons leaving imprints on your behind. The zipper on the front of the
shirt is nice but I do not understand why they did not use zippers on the
pockets. I mean this is supposed to be a battle uniform, it is not very
tactical when you are trying to be quite and you have to open a velro
pocket to see your map or get something out. That is if you can even get to
the pocket, your chest pockets become useless once you put on your body
armor because the openings are in the center of your chest as opposed to
being on the outside of your chest so that you could access them.
When I first read about the uniforms I remember reading some General
stating that this uniform would be cheaper for the soldier because you
would not have to pay to get your patches sewn on, LLLLIIIIEEESSSSSSS!!!!!
The Velcro patches cost three times what the sew on patches did. Not to
mention that you are supposed to remove all the patches and badges when you
wash the uniform, I did that for a while now I just wash them with all the
patches on as taking them off and putting them all back on is a pain in the
ass. Which brings me to washing them, don't even think about using a dryer
sheet or washing anything else with them as the end result will be a large
round ball of Velcro nightmare with bits of dryer sheet stuck on
everything. I think the people that came up with this uniform should be air
dropped smack in the middle of an Al-Queada base camp and try and hide. It
could be a new reality show called "Trying to hide in loam green camouflage
in the middle of an enemy base camp in the fricken desert" or "how not to
lose your head in Iraqisatan".
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