Have Gun Will Travel... (Part 1)

As I write this I am sitting in a Starbucks cafe sipping on an iced cafe mocha.  From the inside I could be in any Starbucks in any city in America, but if I look out the window I see only the tan, monochromatic, dusty landscape that is Camp Virginia, Kuwait.  This base is like the modern equivalent of a wild west town.  It has the bare essentials.  No running water in the barracks, only port'o potties and a shower trailer with non-potable water.  Instead of street lights, there are construction lights powered by diesel generators to light the town.  In the middle is a kind of town square with a Starbucks, barber shop, some fast food trailers and an exchange.  More on this place later...

Our sendoff from Camp McCrady in South Carolina was great.  With our bags packed a massive storm moved in as we prepared to get on the bus to the airport..  A group of Motorcycle Veterans known as the 'Patriot Riders' were there to escort us to the airport.  I really appreciate those men and women for doing that.  Even though it started to rain pretty hard, they escorted us to the airport in style.  Once at the airport we were welcomed by a group of veterans, boy scouts, girl scouts, family members, and even a local beauty queen.  They had snacks and goodies for us to take with us onto the plane.  As we were called up one by one to board the plane we were flanked on both sides by veterans and well wishers as we walked down an aisle of American flags, handshakes and even hugs and thanks.  We loaded onto a chartered Delta aircraft that the flight attendants had decorated with American flags and the like.  'Please stow your weapons under your seat with the barrels facing outwards' cracked a voice over the loud speaker.  I have never before boarded an airplane with a rifle and a knife on my person.  I got a bit of a chuckle over that.   

Our first stop was Bangor, Maine.  We were greeted by a few veterans at the airport as we got off for our two hour layover.  After calling home I made it over to the bar which they had opened just for us.  The Captain in charge dictated a two drink maximum, so most of us ordered two drinks.  The bartender, god bless her, had a heavy pour.  I got back on the plane and fell fast asleep. 

Next stop: Shannon, Ireland.  Once again we had a two hour layover with a two drink maximum.  I have never been to Ireland before, but I have always wanted to go.  Even if it was only for two hours at the airport bar, I had to have my two pints of Guinness in Ireland.  For those of you who know me well, you know that this had to happen.  Our last beer for many months. 

We arrived in Kuwait at 10PM on Thursday, local time - starting our 'Boots on the Ground' clock (beginning the countdown to when we can leave).  We were ushered into buses and driven to Camp Virginia where we will spend the next few days before departing for our ultimate duty stations.

What kind of training? ...Army training, sir.

As our training finally winds down here we got to do convoy training today.  It was a nice rainy and muddy day so we got extra dirty.  I got to be gunner of one of the trucks, which meant that I got to shoot belt-fed blanks from a M240 machine gun mounted to the top of the Humvee during a scenario.  Pretty cool.  The weather has been strange here.  Today was rainy, a couple of days ago was cold (high only in the 50's) and before that it was sauna-esque hell. 

Training days start early with a hot breakfast.  This includes some sort of pork product, a banana (always banana), eggs (which I skip), and grits (it is the South after all).  I did not grow up eating grits so I was a little perplexed by them at first and while I may have grown more accustomed to eating them, I am still not sure what one should really do with them to make them taste good.  The dining facility on this base is actually quite good by military standards, but on these mornings we start before the dining facility opens, so this is what we get. 

After a day of training we must clean our weapons.  I am now pretty darn good at disassembling cleaning and reassembling my rifle and pistol.  I love the smell of CLP in the morning.  (The empty seat in the  center is where I sit). 

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine...

We are only allowed to wear 2 types of uniforms here through the week, our army uniform or our Navy PT uniform (after we are done for the day).  We must carry our weapons with us at all times, or have someone else watch it (as we did during our BBQ below).  I feel kind of like a dork in the Navy PT gear, but no one would say so while I'm packing heat.  It is nice to get out of those combat boots for a while too.  I think that I should name my rifle.  After all, we will be spending a lot of time together over the next year.  Any suggestions?

This is the full 'Battle Rattle' that we have to wear during a lot of our training.  It consists of a flack jacket, helmet, gloves, knee and elbow pads, M4 rifle and M9 pistol. This stuff is heavy, and in the hot and humid South Carolina weather this is not very comfortable.  I am also wearing a camelback  for water as well.  I feel like I must sweat my body weight each day, so I need to constantly replenish my fluids.  On Saturday we spent about 13 hours on the firing range, wearing this stuff a large part of the time.  We completed our pistol qualifications and some rifle firing.  I qualified for the sharpshooter ribbon, I missed 'expert' (the highest) by 4 points.  Not bad considering what I was wearing and the sweat pouring  into my eyes.

On Sunday our barracks decided to have a BBQ to celebrate our one day off.  We were allowed to wear our 'civies' off base that day if we wanted to.  The guy who runs the galley, or 'dining facility' (DFAC) as the Army calls it, gave us some burgers and dogs to grill and we 'borrowed' a grill from the administrative building.  We all chipped in for sodas and chips and stuff.  It was a nice time. 

Sunday was of course also the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a reminder of why we are all here training in South Carolina right now, preparing to go to war.

In the 'NArmy' now.

I am now in South Carolina at Camp McCrady on Fort Jackson Army base to begin my Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training (NIACT).  This program trains Navy people like myself in basic combat skills so that if anything bad happens over there we will at least have some idea of what to do.  There are sailors here that will be travelling to Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti, but the vast majority will be heading off to Afghanistan.  For the Afghanistan and Iraq bound sailors we are issued Army Combat Uniforms (ACUs) like the one above since we will be serving in Army commands, hence the nickname 'NArmy.'  From here on out we will have to wear this uniform or our Navy Physical Training uniform (PT gear) at all times.  Alcohol is  prohibited from here on out as well because we will be handling weapons. 

The accommodations here are a bit spartan.  As you can see behind me in the picture we are staying in open bay barracks - not a lot of privacy.  The lower bunk behind the brown chair is mine.  So far I can say that the food is pretty good, and the people are nice... and hey, there is even wifi access.  The real training begins tomorrow. 

NMPS Port Hueneme

 My week of processing here at Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS) Port Hueneme is winding down.  It was a pretty efficient process.  After having a cavity fixed and an immunization I am good to go.  Now I am getting ready to fly out to Fort Jackson, SC tomorrow.  I will spend the rest of the day doing laundry, haircut, packing my seabag carefully with my new Army uniforms, and perhaps a group BBQ later. 

There was a decent amount of downtime built-in, in case people needed to take care of requirements.  Since most of us were squared away, we were able to take off early and go to the beach at Point Mugu one day.  Pretty nice.  I have definitely enjoyed the weather here.  60's and 70's the whole time.