Fire On The Mountain

Well, here it is, Sunday morning, staring down the barrel of another long week. But that's okay, do what needs to be done, I guess. I'm realizing how little time I actually have left here, though I know I'll be coming back home again. That, however, won't be useful information in the year I'll be overseas. Tomorrow is a long day of paperwork, all of which needs to be done before I deploy. Getting out of the lease isn't a big issue, and I can probably set up something for the car. I may end up just putting it in storage, assuming it'll be okay there. At this point, due to the volume of stuff I have to move, (admittedly not much, maybe a room full) I decided to go with a mover, if anyone will move that small an amount of stuff up to CT. Some of it gets FedExed, the rest seems either too heavy or too bulky to send that way. But things will get done, and at some point I'll need to get packed for leave as well- that part I'm actually looking forwards to! I'm noticing a couple gray patches in my hair when I look into the mirror, which isn't a big deal, I usually keep it shaved for the sake of convenience. It's also convenient, I suppose, that it covers gray hair, but I don't really care too much about that. Who do I have to impress, anyway? Besides, evidently I still look like I belong working the gate in a nightclub every time I put on a black t-shirt, at least that's what I'm told. I'm still quite the gym rat, not that I'm self-absorbed, just that there's really not much else to do around here! Except read books and watch movies, also both a good way to pass the time. I've been plodding through a couple uneventful novels, kind of journey-of-self-discovery type of things. Not bad by any measure, but not really that epic. Maybe my literary sensibilities are jaded, I don't know.

I did catch a very good movie this weekend, Insidious. It has shades of The Exorcist, except in a different vein. It was a good one, very psychological and creepy, not relying so much on blood and gore as it did genuinely weird stuff going on. A kid learns to astral project at an early age, not even aware that he's doing it since he does it in his sleep. He picks up a handful of astral nasties along the way, and a good movie ensues. Highly recommended, but very creepy.

There are more pressing matters in my life at present, though. There are boxes to move, and a trip down to Fort Bliss soon to get issued equipment- new armor, all that good stuff. Why are we traveling there, instead of sending the equipment we need here? Good question. There's probably some (unknown to us) rationale for it. Why do we need all this equipment? Well, first off it's a new, more effective camouflage, and more effective armor. Second, because it helps keep everyone on the same page as to what was issued and what was not. I for one need a first aid kit (that hopefully I'll never need to use), as well as various other pieces of equipment. I hear we're being issued M4 rifles rather than the longer, heavier M16s. With long arms, I find the M16 to be a little more comfortable to use, but I suppose by and large that's a matter of opinion. I'm not sure of the range on the M4, though a shorter body and shorter barrel do mean marginally reduced range- the M4 is better designed for close combat, not the sniper shots you can get off with an M16. There are also M9 9mm pistols, though I don't think these are issued to anyone but officers. Why that is, I don't know. Curiously, the pistol does not have the same long-range capabilities of either the M4 or 16. Like most things in the Army, there's probably a reason for it. I've never fired one, and friends of mine who are much more knowledgeable about handguns than I am recommend a larger caliber, however. I don't own a gun, and seeing as the only time I actually use one is training or combat, I guess it doesn't matter. For home defense, I guess a large enough kitchen knife would do, or a tactical knife, perhaps even a Kabar. Call me old-fashioned, I think the psychological effect of a well- wielded knife cannot be overrated.

But anyway, it looks like in the world of politics, it's the same old story. What's going on with this? I found myself thinking, if we displayed that type of incompetence at our jobs, we'd be court-martialed. We draw salaries from the taxes people pay to do a job- are we not expected to perform that job? Yet our elected 'representatives' draw a salary in largely the same way- and have continuously and consistently failed to accomplish their jobs! I can't speak sedition due to my position, but can disagree with the President's decisions. I do, however, have to follow them. I think Capitol Hill has become little more than a circus- nothing gets done except wasting our time and money. These people are behaving like a bunch of fools, while nothing changes. What is it that the government provides us to warrant us continuing to support them? At the risk of getting in real trouble, I'll put out something a former drill sergeant once told me- words to the effect of that we have the weapons and the training- if there's going to be a revolution, we'll be in a pretty good spot to negotiate. We to a one have sworn allegiance to this country, and to the Constitution, and to obey the orders of the President. Our loyalty does not lie with a corrupt and useless government- rather it lies with the people we are sworn to fight for and defend, and the leader of those people. However, said leader needs to get it in gear and start doing what he too took an oath to do- lead, support and watch out for the people of this nation. Oath-breakers are not looked upon kindly in any walk of life. But at any rate, that's about all the news from this corner of the continent. I'm looking forward to somewhat cooler temperatures and down time in Connecticut very soon. Stay well, and be sure to beat the heat! Stay hydrated, don't get sunburned, and don't drink the Tenafly Viper! I'd avoid the Thunderbird too, but that's something of a matter of opinion.

Revenge of The Phoenix, Part 9- The Final Chapter

Last night was a late night- doing something productive? Not really. Actually I was up for most of the night watching movies, figuring a little unwind time would be good for me. On last night's list was Resident Evil- Extinction first up- setting up for yet another sequel, it's getting pretty far detached from the premise of the original games, but still, is an interesting follow-through of the original premise. The virus that was unleashed somewhere in North America in the original game and movie spreads, first to surrounding Raccoon City (do they ever say if there's any rationale to that name, or it just sounded cool?) then to the rest of the world. How it crosses the oceans is not really explained, but then again, it is a biological weapon, so I guess we just go with it. It focuses on the side project the Umbrella researchers were working on, known only as Alice. Alice never appeared in the original games, but is a woman who was massively and deliberately infected with both the virus and some kind of suppression agent, giving her super powers- strength, agility, and apparently the ability to regenerate from most minor to moderate injuries. At one point an Umbrella stooge, she now kind of goes freelance, bopping across North America and occasionally running into other survivors, who have become scavenging nomads, on the move to prevent too many zombies from finding their location, and relying on the tried-and-true formula of bullets and running away. For fans of the games, this isn't too bad a movie, expounding on continued experiments and exactly what the virus can do and can't do, and more evil-megacorporation weirdness. So not bad if you're in the mood to see some zombie fights and the creepy mad-scientist labs these movies are known for.

Next up was Sucker Punch. I'm not sure what to make of this one- but it was very good. Focusing on a young woman who is committed against her will to a mental institution and identified only as Babydoll, she either was insane to start with, or quickly gets there. Threatened with an impending lobotomy, she alternately fights to escape or drifts off into her own fantasy world, more often than not both at the same time. Actually, lobotomies were quite common at the time this film (as near as we can figure) takes place. They're quick and easy, and make psychotic patients extremely docile. For those who have never seen this performed, (and you're not missing much) a lobotomy involves taking a long metal spike and pushing it into the eye socket. Not into the eye- your eye is a fluid-filled membrane, and is pushed out of the way. The spike then enters your brain through the ocular foramen (the hole in the back of your eye socket where the optic nerves connect your eyes to your brain) and straight on back into your brain. Done incorrectly, this will kill you. Done correctly, it will knock out virtually all aggressive or violent tendencies, pretty much all your intelligence and higher brain functions, and some of your fine motor skills. This procedure is rarely if ever done today, as the brain damage is irreversible. However, at one time it was used to control patients, and recommended as often as aspirin for a headache. Not a bright chapter in the history of psychiatric medicine, I'm afraid.

But back to the movie. Our young anti-heroine builds layers of imagination, first creating a kind of weird burlesque club she's held captive in. Her method of fighting here is to dance, and when she does, she becomes involved in yet another level of imagination, where all kinds of bizarre things happen. There are mechanical steam-driven zombies, armed robots, dragons, and a mash-up of historical times and places that makes for a generally good movie. The point this tries to convey is, what's real and what's not? How is the world we imagine any less real than the one our bodies live in? I found myself cheering for this Babydoll, as she grew in confidence and understanding, going from a scared little-kid type of character to a cold and calculating manipulator to her captors, and a caring friend towards her fellow inmates. The ending can't be described exactly as happy, but somehow is. Babydoll realizes she needs five things to escape- a map of the asylum, something to start a fire with, a knife and a key, and something else that isn't clear at first. This last provides a touching ending, though if you're anything like me, you'll have to sit down and think it over. So I'd definitely recommend this one, if for nothing else, the cool special effects and odd premise. Just don't make the mistake that I did and rent a Blu-Ray when you have a DVD player- doesn't work, I found out, and wound up making a second trip to the store. Laugh, and the world laughs with you, as the saying goes.

This is turning into a long entry, it seems. But on one final note, Tabatha pointed out something I had perhaps been subconsciously avoiding- I need to get a lot of personal stuff packed up and moved out of this apartment sooner rather than later. Not like this week soon, but I'd better get cracking on it. The reason being, I can break the lease as soon as I have my deployment orders- I've never seen a lease that doesn't have a military clause in it, and my current one is no exception. I can't leave everything here, because the lease will be up about two or three months into the deployment, and that would mean paying rent on a place just to store my stuff in. We're looking to get out of here anyway- it's been an endless string of maintenance issues- plumbing, heating, you name it. The management has been once in a while quick to respond, otherwise we'll be hanging fire for a week or so. Sounds to me like it needs a longer-term fix- they're patching up problems as they arise, instead of investing to take care of a larger and more pervasive need for upgrades to the property. At any rate, point being, I have a few large boxes to pack, and a few odd pieces of furniture I'd like to keep with me. How to ship it? Get a moving company? Will the Army reimburse for that? I'm not positive, I'll have to look into it. I don't need a big box truck, but no one I know with a truck would drive all the way down here, nor would I ask them to. Ship it? This is possible, and would probably cost in the same neighborhood as a moving truck. I'll have to look into it, as books (the most cumbersome things I have to move) are not light when you put a lot of them in a box. But at any rate, my dear Tabatha offered to store them for me while I'm out fooling around in Afghanistan. Hopefully she will go through them first and see what would be of use to her- after all, by that point we'll be married! I'm guessing a good deal of the altar supplies and such will get put to good use, too. I received a laundry list of stuff we'll need, and managed to procure almost all of it- and shipped it to Tabatha instead of myself. Actually, both of the companies I ordered from are geographically closer to her- that probably doesn't matter in the least for shipping, but it'll hopefully assure that the packages get there in time for the wedding. As it is, I'm expecting my luggage to be searched. I have a box full of candles and candle holders I'm planning on putting in my suitcase, which I suppose might very well have an unfortunately similar shape to an explosive device when that bag is x-rayed. I'll put a note on it saying go ahead and search this, but PLEASE wrap it up the way you found it! There is a very curious chemical in use now for film and such. Putting film through an x-ray destroys any images it had on it, so instead of doing that, the security people use a chemical swab, like a q-tip. It will react with most explosive agents, turning a purple color if they are present in even a slight trace. So if your film canister doesn't turn purple, it's not a bomb. Amazing what we can invent! At any rate, time to get to work- there's a good deal to do in the next 18 days! I'm looking forward to slightly cooler temperatures, even factoring in the humidity. Stay well, friends across the internet, and d0n't drink the Tenafly Viper!

Nurse Rozetta's Adventures At The Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama

In case you couldn't guess, we're running low on creative titles here at Deep 13 for these posts. One half is from an Alice Cooper song, the second from a Rob Zombie song. At any rate, I'm back from the field, which was eight kinds of exciting. It was mainly infantry maneuvers and convoy maneuvers- very demanding, but I'm proud to say Third Patrol (yes, my patrol, in case you were wondering) really raised the bar. Way to go, Wolverines- hell yeah! It was hotter than blazes out there, though- we didn't have a day below 100 degrees. The Army did display a flash or genius with their MRAP vehicles- Mine Resistant Assault Proof vehicles, which are smaller than the old Bradley fighting vehicles, but bigger than a breadbox. They have air conditioning. I suppose this may actually have been something of a necessity, as being assault proof, they lack windows that open. In the back, which is basically a big armored box, are small windows covered with slats to deflect a blast. The glass itself is double-paned and bulletproof, and the windows don't open. In hot sun, without air conditioning, they would turn into an oven and probably roast us alive. But not to worry, there is a cooling system! There is also a gun turret, which means the gunner stays cool from the shoulders down. The turret itself is a little heavier than the simple ring system we had on some of the older vehicles- it's actually driven by an electric motor and joystick control, which is just as cool as it sounds. There's also a manual crank too, should the battery run out on you, but you need to take the crank handle out when it's running on electricity, or difficult-to-explain-to-a-spouse bruises may result. But the exercises went very well, and we had a good deal of fun on our off hours. We did have a combatives tournament in the barracks, which was a new experience. I learned getting body-slammed flat onto a wooden floor is kind of fun, and doesn't really hurt anywhere near as much as you'd think it might. I got up from that, amazed at the physics of it, but lost the fight anyway. But it was a good fight, and I have to hand it to an opponent with greater skill than my own.

And I finally got my leave paperwork put in! This would be very much a good thing, as if I didn't I would face the wrath of my fiancee, and besides, no way I'm going to miss this curious wedding! It's going to be a day to remember, and far too long in coming! There have been the occasional snags, but I'm hoping against hope everything is all set now. First it was a transfer to Charlie, and the first experience I had there was in the field. Granted, it turned out to be a positive one, but it would mean that Charlie would be handling my leave. So I got back from the field, filed the paperwork just in time, and now am tracking down needed supplies for the wedding. One of which was a sword. It's game on when weaponry and true love meet! Okay, seriously, it's just for ceremonial purposes. I'm glad we have the internet, though, because it makes tracking all this stuff down easier. The sword is, I have to admit, is a nice one. It's a Celtic design, which is interesting- during the time of the Celts and Romans, it seems hand guards had yet to be utilized. Yet the Celts and Romans were highly effective at disposing of enemies. A hand guard, as the name suggests, is the horizontal section of a T-shaped sword hilt. But at any rate, I wasn't able to find a ceremonial sword (the main difference being a blunt edge), so went with a fully functional one. I have a pretty good idea where that sword will end up if I don't make it to this wedding, at any rate.

Speaking of the fun-loving Celts, it reminds me of something that happened out in the field. We were at a class on IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices-very nasty affairs), with one particular civilian instructor, whom we all agreed was a little on the eccentric side. Actually, the general consensus was batshit insane. He did know his history, however. He noted that the Roman empire was not able to conquer Afghanistan, which is true. He also was of the opinion that the Roman empire could have taken the Army in a fire fight. Possibly, though I'm fairly certain the advances in firepower and munitions would factor into that as well. Also true is the fact that much military formations and movements were developed by the Roman armies. Roman tactics relied heavily on ground forces formed into a phalanx- picture a huge column of soldiers with tall wooden shields with spears pointing out in front of them, and you can appreciate how this was effective. It is true, they failed to take Afghanistan, however. The main value of Afghanistan at the time was that it was situated in the middle of important trade routes. The Afghans, then as now, took some exception to being conquered, and Rome was not able to do so. Also true, but not mentioned by our instructor, was the fact that the Celts (my ancestors) liked to sack the Roman border. They continued to do this until the Romans gave them gold to not sack them. So not only were the Celts pretty tough customers, they also apparently developed the first racketeering scheme in ancient history. I would like to have seen that negotiation-

Roman General: "Ok guys, look. We'll give you gold, and you leave us the hell alone. How does that sound?"

Celtic Chieftan: "Well, gold was kind of the whole purpose of attacking you in the first place. So you're telling me we get the gold, and we don't attack you?"
Celtic Accountant: "Boss, that actually will save us a lot in labor and manpower. I think it's a good deal."

I'm not sure what the ancient equivalent of an accountant was, but as long as there have been societies, they've probably needed accountants.

As the day draws near, I'm looking forward to seeing my lady love again, and doing something I should have done a long time ago- not go back to Connecticut, but move forwards into a new chapter of this long and convoluted life. Perhaps, looking back, it'll all make sense in retrospect.

Rock Steady

Well, you probably didn't hear it here first, but I'm going from 696th FSC to Charlie Battery, effective Monday morning. This should be a job, but a good one. Charlie is getting ready to deploy, and now so am I. The mission will be one of several- perhaps route clearance, AKA not getting you or anyone else blown up, perhaps convoy security, or perhaps regular old infantry mission- kicking doors, detaining combatants. Not shooting combatants, however. This seems to be a popular misconception- the people our troops encounter in the Middle East are really not that gung-ho; actually, the encounter usually runs a little something like this- they see they are outgunned, they surrender, are detained as gently as possible, asked questions, and the Army will do their level best to ensure their security and the security of their loved ones. The whole thing is a big mess, it's true. But it's getting to be a workable mess, and hopefully a recovering mess.

But at any rate- what does all this mean? Well, on a mercenary note, it means extra pay- combat pay and hazardous duty pay, possibly separation pay as well. In addition to my everyday salary. It also means a 12-month deployment, meaning I'll be in a war zone for 12 months, doing this mission or that mission. This works for me. The worst thing about the Army, garrison or deployed, is sitting around doing nothing. Running life-risking missions is much preferable to that. I'd like to think I have a little bit of an edge, assuming I can dig back into the far-gone days of basic training and remember all the 'extracurricular' stuff our former Special Forces drill sergeants taught us. In other words, the odds of me coming back in one piece, perhaps a little more dinged up, are extremely high. Should I be worried? Well, in all honesty, I am. I'm leaving behind loved ones, and though this is motivation to stay alive, it's also not an easy thing to do. But I did get a little pep talk from my first sergeant- in a nutshell, go over there to Charlie, train as hard as you can, and once you've given everything you've got, give more until the mission is done.

Now, having said that, please everyone note- the order to deploy HAS NOT come through yet. We're on standby for the time being. It looks like more than likely we'll be heading out in a manner of several months, but this is not a definite yes yet. But at any rate, it'll be good to get out there and do some real training! It may sound odd, (long time readers are no doubt used to weirdness on here by now) but some of the training is actually pretty darn cool. Fun? I don't know if that's quite the right term. But I went to training and shared a room in AIT with a guy who was a self-confessed adrenaline junkie. This is actually a real term, and most military develop the condition to some extent or another. This does not mean go out and do something stupid, like get yourself or your team killed! It does mean you come to almost enjoy either real or simulated danger. Training provides a good outlet for this- this is why after a mission, sitting around base camp or on the truck ride back, people always joke, BS or come up with bizarre stories, some of which may actually be true. It's important to come down from the state of mind required for military operations. There is a high instance of substance abuse in the military, which may be related to this. Not that I view this as an inevitable consequence, and I don't believe the brass does either; rather, it's a call for people to find an outlet. It could be just a game of Spades, could be a workout or run on your free time, or even just letting yourself unwind at the end of the day. Some people actually do not know how to do this, and I'm glad to say resources are available in the military to educate people on how to do just that.

But I'm going off topic. We'll more than likely be going to Afghanistan, assuming all goes through. Out in the desert? Well, I've already been to the desert, though admittedly not in Afghanistan, but have weathered a sandstorm of biblical proportions. Depending on the mission, we may well be up in the mountains. The mountains are not like the desert, that is, apart from the fact that they're mountains. Actually, it's much much colder in the mountains. Given the option, I'd rather go there- I'd prefer the cold to the heat! Speaking of which, we have our epic heat continuing here. It's been in the hundreds for the past month, with no rain in the past two months. It makes me wonder, as weather fronts seem to change course to avoid Lawton- they'll come down from Missouri or central Oklahoma, or up from Texas, heading straight for south central here, and veer off to one side. Given the option, I would do the same- too much ghetto around here, not enough fabulous. So a deployment will be a nice way to get the Lawton out of Hell for a few. At that point, I'll be looking at reenlistment- I guess it'll depend on how the deployment goes- if the deployment goes. Here's hoping! But to all my family and loved ones out there- guys, I won't be leaving any orphans or a widow behind. That much I promise, no matter where the road leads.

I'm coming home, so keep a bottle of Mad Dog in the fridge for me, and avoid that Tenafly Viper! Okay, actually you can skip the Mad Dog too- I'll just mix some Kool-Aid in with the transmission fluid in my truck and call it good. Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

London Calling

Quite the adventures these past couple of weeks! Well, comparatively speaking. We've been pretty busy, being a forward support company and all. Charlie battery has been going here and there the last couple of weeks, and we're their main means of transport. The missions have generally been go out, pick up troops, drop them off, and then go get supplies and run them out. There's a military regulation (one among thousands) that says you can't transport troops and tow a trailer, and can't transport cargo and troops. This does make some degree of sense, though like many things in the military, is a bit of overkill. Generally our trailers are tame little 400-gallon water trailers, and the cargo is ice and/or MREs. Ice is for one of two things- the medics will use a couple bags of it to keep some sheets wet and cold, used for the occasional case of heatstroke- not fun, believe me. I didn't get 'iced' when I had heatstroke, rather managed to pull it together enough on my own to go sit in the shade and get some water into me. Still, a condition best avoided. The rest of the ice goes in the aforementioned water trailer, which contains water for drinking purposes. It's just one more service we like to provide, and to maintain the reputation of one of the best and most efficient support units on post.

Today we wound up with extra trucks, which was unusual. We headed up to the pickup point to pick up Charlie's troops, only to find there were about 10 people there! We had come out with four trucks, expecting the whole battery to be ready to roll. So obviously some of us were not needed. I was in one of the old trucks, and we were one of the ones to go back, as we were not needed. However, like I said, this truck is old. I always thought there should be a bumper sticker on the back- instead of "This Truck Climbed Mt. Washington", something along the lines of "This Truck Survived D-Day", or "This Truck Made It Through The Tet Offensive", something like that. Actually, during the Tet offensive, I think the Army was still using the (much missed) Deuces, but you get the idea. At any rate, we were ready to go- we went to start the truck up, and heard a bang, about as loud and very similar to a blank round going off. What that was, we didn't know- something with the truck? We noticed the truck was now no longer running- not a good sign. I went over to the side of the truck and looked under it, thinking the transmission had finally gone, which it had been threatening to do for about a week. Why the transmission would bang and cause the truck to shut down didn't occur to me at the moment. A look revealed no obvious damage, and no new leaks. However, there was a weird smell, somewhat like sulfur. It turned out there was a major short circuit somewhere along the electrical system. This would generally be what we'd call a major pain in the ass. I noticed the battery gauge was reading next to nil, and couldn't get a reading at all from the individual battery cells- unlike a car battery you can open the individual battery cells and check for fluid, as well as use a handheld test device to check for a charge. So we had to pretty much jump the battery, which is always fun. When you connect the cables, ideally you shouldn't hear the thing crackle and spark, which is what we heard. Finally, we got the truck running and moved back to the motor pool, parked, and shut down. After that, there it sits, awaiting repair. I didn't see anything really obviously wrong, meaning the short could be anywhere- nothing obvious was there, like corrosion, a blackened wire or burned-looking components, or a lack of fluid in the batteries. Well, sounds like a fun project, anyway. I can recall starting a vehicle with a shorted relay, which was most interesting. A sergeant showed me how to do this, as a last resort- take a screwdriver, lay it across the terminal posts, crank the vehicle, and watch the sparks fly! Make sure this screwdriver is from the truck's equipment box, as it tends to get rather burned in the process. Very cool.

Well, it looks like the week grinds on- this afternoon, more picking things up and putting them down, (an integral part of the job), then tomorrow, more of the same. Friday I get to close out the motor pool, oh frabjous day. Well, could be worse. Yesterday we had to check an entire line (20-odd vehicles) with four people, and of course nitpick them to the nth degree, as that's what our superiors were doing- "Find something wrong with these vehicles, they are old enough that none of them is in mint condition". Brilliant. Well, that's why they don't pay me the big bucks. Have a great remainder of the week, and I'll continue holding it down here.