Show me a claymore and I'll show you the start of unique counseling session.
We support a lot of medical people who run counseling and stress clinics for our guys over there. Here's a report from one of my favorites..
-Rog
Greetings from combat outpost Z.... The week started off in typical fashion and so I decide to check flights out of O-E (home base) to see what the next thing smokin as it is dubbed. Turns out it happened to be Z... which is particularly tough to get to since it is probably one of our furtherst forward posts that we service. And so I jumped at the chance to get back to see my guys along with an arm load of care pack boxes. Z....is tough to describe, it is nestled between three mountains which can make life here,,,,,, busy.
One of the interesting aspects is since we are pretty much out here in the woods we are now only allowed, but encouraged to become proficient on all the available weapons systems out here I get the opportunity to fire off some pretty interesting weaponry. Yesterday I ran through a hundred or so rounds through the Mark 19 (a belt fed grenade launcher, today I am going to ask about shooting the AK47 and 50Cal. I will ask about the AT-4 (rocket launcher) but who knows if they will pony up on one of those. Maybe making big booms is just a guy thing but it makes trips like this kind of fun. One of the big benefits is it gets me interfacing with the local troops; anything you can do with them like blowing stuff up gets the conversation going and it so far it has lead to 3 formal counselings, and 10 informal counselings, so that my friends is a good thing. Plus,,,,, I still get to blow stuff up. Whew hewww!! Show me a claymore and I'll show you the start of unique counseling session.
Z....is pretty,,,, austere. They have a bag that you fill with water for a shower, if you feel so inclined to have a HOT shower it is only limited by your imagination as to how you will warm up the fill water. Some people microwave it, other toss the water in the on top of the hesco barrier, by 1400 you have luke warm water. That will only work for a while longer due to it getting colder now. The chow,,,,,, hall,,, well it is not a chow hall. There is no hall for which to chow at, only a kitchen about the size of an apartment's kitchen, a blanket draped over the serving line to keep the light inside. Hey we have to practice 'light and noise discipline" so you can't let light beam off into the night. Sleeping quarters, tough to describe if you haven't been to basic training. Twenty plus guys head to toe, three rows wide, two rows high four people deep on plywood planks. I feel like a can of tuna on a shelf,,given the shower situation you can see a rustic picture beginning to come into focus.
I really don't care it's not like one person smells like roses and the other like, well,,,, not roses. We all are one big stinky family of war fighters who are trained to exact America's vengence. We'll worry about the Olfactory factor when someone is around that we are trying to impress. I will try to download some of the pictures, they truly are worth a thousand words. At any rate, I may try to head to the next location in a few days, or maybe not, just have to see what air is available over the next week. You all be good, keep the home fires lit.
Msgt D
-Rog
Greetings from combat outpost Z.... The week started off in typical fashion and so I decide to check flights out of O-E (home base) to see what the next thing smokin as it is dubbed. Turns out it happened to be Z... which is particularly tough to get to since it is probably one of our furtherst forward posts that we service. And so I jumped at the chance to get back to see my guys along with an arm load of care pack boxes. Z....is tough to describe, it is nestled between three mountains which can make life here,,,,,, busy.
One of the interesting aspects is since we are pretty much out here in the woods we are now only allowed, but encouraged to become proficient on all the available weapons systems out here I get the opportunity to fire off some pretty interesting weaponry. Yesterday I ran through a hundred or so rounds through the Mark 19 (a belt fed grenade launcher, today I am going to ask about shooting the AK47 and 50Cal. I will ask about the AT-4 (rocket launcher) but who knows if they will pony up on one of those. Maybe making big booms is just a guy thing but it makes trips like this kind of fun. One of the big benefits is it gets me interfacing with the local troops; anything you can do with them like blowing stuff up gets the conversation going and it so far it has lead to 3 formal counselings, and 10 informal counselings, so that my friends is a good thing. Plus,,,,, I still get to blow stuff up. Whew hewww!! Show me a claymore and I'll show you the start of unique counseling session.
Z....is pretty,,,, austere. They have a bag that you fill with water for a shower, if you feel so inclined to have a HOT shower it is only limited by your imagination as to how you will warm up the fill water. Some people microwave it, other toss the water in the on top of the hesco barrier, by 1400 you have luke warm water. That will only work for a while longer due to it getting colder now. The chow,,,,,, hall,,, well it is not a chow hall. There is no hall for which to chow at, only a kitchen about the size of an apartment's kitchen, a blanket draped over the serving line to keep the light inside. Hey we have to practice 'light and noise discipline" so you can't let light beam off into the night. Sleeping quarters, tough to describe if you haven't been to basic training. Twenty plus guys head to toe, three rows wide, two rows high four people deep on plywood planks. I feel like a can of tuna on a shelf,,given the shower situation you can see a rustic picture beginning to come into focus.
I really don't care it's not like one person smells like roses and the other like, well,,,, not roses. We all are one big stinky family of war fighters who are trained to exact America's vengence. We'll worry about the Olfactory factor when someone is around that we are trying to impress. I will try to download some of the pictures, they truly are worth a thousand words. At any rate, I may try to head to the next location in a few days, or maybe not, just have to see what air is available over the next week. You all be good, keep the home fires lit.
Msgt D
posted by Rog at 3:56 AM
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