Archive for June, 2007
It’s travel day today. We got to the airfield just after midnight, and the plane left at 4:30 AM. We had a stop to refuel in Canada, then flew to Germany. I got to see icebergs from the plane as we left Newfoundland. It’s now 4:15 PM EDT, but just after 9 PM local time [...]
We’re leaving tomorrow. We had a great picnic today with the unit and some of the families. Members of my church, NorthHaven Church in Norman, quickly responded to a plea for some funds to finance the meal. We cooked hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork, ribs, and chicken. We played volleyball and tossed some horseshoes. It [...]
Sheri, Rachael, and I are spending four great days in Philadelphia. It has sure been nice to spend some time with them and to get away from all things Army. We spent the day today in the Philadelphia Art Museum. They have an excellent collection of Asian art, Medieval art, and an especially nice [...]
We leave today for a four-day pass! Tomorrow will be the first day off that we have had since May 6. Everyone is tired, but in great spirits and excited to see our families. Sheri and Rachael are flying to Philadelphia to meet me there, and we will spend four great days together. Very soon [...]
We just finished a three day exercise that was the last major training event we will have before we leave the states. The hours were long, so everyone is pretty tired. The exercise involves simulations of different scenarios that each section could face. Someone watches your response, and evaluates your actions. For me, the tasks [...]
We moved out of the tents and back to our barracks. That means we’ve moved back to the land of porcelain toilets and good internet connections. One is low-tech, the other high-tech, but both definitely beat no-tech. Everyone is excited to be out of the woods (literally, not figuratively). At our last staff meeting at [...]
Training is almost over. We just finished a three day exercise that covered base defense and combat convoy operations. Since chaplains can’t carry weapons, I was tasked to be on the first aid/litter team for the base defense part and a driver on the convoy. It was fun, but a little stressful. When ordered, we [...]
Thanks for the comments and messages. It’s nice hearing from all of you, and each comment lifts my spirits more than you can know. Right now, my computer access is fairly limited, so I can’t respond to each one.
Blessings…
It’s been a couple of days since I’ve been able to get online. Friday, I went on a dismounted (no vehicles, the Army still speaks in horse cavalry terms) IED defense range. We were simulating a combat patrol down a road and into a village, and encountered three IED’s on the route. When we found [...]
A good deal of our training here is designed to prepare us for one of the primary threats: the improvised explosive device, or IED. When we go anywhere outside the FOB (forward operating base), we have to move in a tactical convoy of at least two vehicles. Each vehicle has a driver, a person in [...]
