Last Week in Texas!

I can't believe it has finally arrived!  Our last week in Texas!  First I'll post a couple of pictures from our graduation I was able to get from my dad's camera...

(This is part of Alpha Company 187th Medical Battalion)

 (I'm in this picture if you look hard)

It was another busy week, a couple of cool things but overall, just another week and I'm glad it's over!  We had Monday mostly off because the group was touring BAMC and the Center for the Intrepid.  I have toured the hospital already so I just went to the Center for the Intrepid.  It's a state-of-the-art rehab facility, I've been there before but wanted to go back because of how cool it is.  I also had some time to take care of some things for my apartment, set up the electric company, schedule my household goods to be delivered, and look into internet and cable.  I also found out my apartment was partially remodeled after the last tenants moved out and I now have brand new appliances!  Really excited about that!

Tuesday we had a bunch of briefs during the day and got out early because some of our presenters couldn't make it and had to reschedule.  We learned about research, I guess none of us have done that before so they needed to teach us...wait...we all did that in college...

Wednesday we had our Video Teleconference with our gaining unit.  All of us going to Walter Reed got to meet the director of Nursing as well as some other people we will be meeting when we get there.  We were able to ask anything we wanted and got a lot of good information about what to do when we get there as well as what cell service has the best coverage and lots of other random questions.  Since everyone had different meeting times with their units, our hour-long meeting was all that was on the schedule for the day so we got another admin day!

Thursday our group presented our book report. Yes, we had to do a book report. Our book was called Leadership and Self Deception...it was pretty good. Our entire platoon read the same book and then we had to present to the other platoons; we did a skit just to make it interesting.  The afternoon was really cool, we had a panel of 5 Wounded Warriors come in and talk to the group about their injuries and experiences both on and off the battlefield and their thoughts about the medical care they received.  It was really interesting!

Friday morning we had a few more last minute briefs and then we had out-processing!  Kinsey and I decided to go out for dinner as one last night out and then we came back to the hotel to pack up our stuff.  It didn't take as long as I thought it would either!

Saturday morning I got up early to grab some breakfast, load up the car, and start driving.  I made it all the way to Lebanon, Missouri before I stopped for the night.  Sunday I was able to stop in Springfield, IL to see Karli again, we went to lunch and hung out for a couple of hours before I started my last leg home.  Got home about 8pm and now I have the next week and a half of vacation before I start driving out to Maryland on the 9th.  Not anything exciting to talk about while I'm at home so I'll continue posting once I start my journey east!

FTX 3 and Nurse Track Week 1

It's been quite a week and a half since I last posted.  We finished our last week in the field, graduated from BOLC, my parents came to visit and we are half way through our first week of Nurse track already!  Time flies!
I'll back up to last week, we had Monday off for Columbus day, yay for three-day weekends!  That was really great to catch up on sleep and take care of a few admin items that had been put on hold while in the field.  I also went with a friend to one of the local malls for a little while.  Didn't buy anything but it's always nice to get off post for a bit. 

Tuesday: Our wake up call was set for 0200!  We didn't actually have to do anything until 0900 that morning however the contract buses we use to get to the field were already book for 0500 so we had to leave earlier.  At least we were all able to get several more hours of sleep once we reached the FOB.  The rest of that day was spent in our role 1 scenarios.  Role 1 consists of 'in the field' medical treatment.  We were out on our convoy and got a radio in that there were casualties that needed medical attention.  We stopped where we were, jumped out of the trucks, secured the area and set up a triage, treatment, and evacuation area and within 4 minutes we were ready to accept patients.  We then had another truck roll in with 5 patients.  I was the triage NCO for the simulation.  It was a lot of work but at the same time was exciting to be practicing what we might actually experience with our jobs.  On our way back to the FOB we had one more run through in which we pulled over and had 4 minutes to set up the site but that was it.  We didn't get more casualties, we just got set up then packed up and headed back for the day.

(Sabs taking a nap...I mean defending...our convoy)

(We were waiting for our simulation to start so we decided to bury Slack in the rubber pit)

Wednesday: In the morning we had a company run at Camp Bullis, about 3 miles or so, not too big of a deal.  After we got back, our platoon had our Role 2 simulation training.  Role 2 consists of a FST (Forward Surgical Team).  Our platoon started out in the hospital, I was working as a nurse in the Patient Holding Area.  After patients were seen and treated, either by the treatment team or the surgical team (or both), they were brought to patient holding tents until evacuation.  We initially had 4 casualties brought in by ambulance, then another 3-4 casualties, also brought in by ambulance.  Then as we were slowing down, there was a mass casualty, IED exploded and we were flooded with 21 more patients (all being played by members of 6th platoon).  Despite not be able to take full advantage of our resources, they did bring in a blackhawk helicopter to simulate evac.  It was pretty sweet.  Then we had a lunch break and switched places.  6th platoon set up to care for patients and we got to be the casualties.  I was given a patient card that said I had a gunshot wound to the right thigh with a comminuted fracture (which means the bone splintered in many pieces) and arterial involvement.  If I didn't receive care within 15 minutes I would bleed out and die.  It was really interesting to be a casualty because it was the first time I was able to follow the entire process of treating a patient.  Previously, I had only seen what came through my tent, this was a way to go from start to finish.  My situation was prioritized as urgent surgical, so I was taken from treatment into surgery and then transported to patient holding for evac.  The whole day was a great experience! 

(The Nurses of the Patient Holding Area)

(The Blackhawk they brought in)

Wednesday evening we headed back to Fort Sam as we had completed our field training.

Thursday morning we turned in our field gear at CIF (Central Issuing Facility), turned in our text books at the classroom, and had graduation practice on the parade field.  Mom and Dad came to visit as well so I met up with them in the afternoon!  We had lots of fun together!  Thursday night my parents and Kinsey and I went to dinner at a restaurant called Saltgrass on the Riverwalk.  Delicious food and they had Beergaritas too!  Then we wandered up and down the Riverwalk for a while before we decided to take a guided riverboat tour.  The Riverwalk actually is a loop and is about 1.8 miles long.  The city is able to lower walls and drain the river, which they do once per year to clean it. 

(Dad's Beergarita at Saltgrass)

(Headed out on the Riverboat tour)

(San Antonio Riverboat Tour)

Friday: We had an admin day to take care of stuff on post.  I didn't have anything to do so I was able to give my parents a tour of post and BAMC (Brook Army Medical Center), we went to the AMEDD Museum on post, got some Taco Cabana for lunch and then went downtown to tour the Alamo.  After the Alamo we got dinner at Waxy O'Conners Irish Pub on the Riverwalk and stopped for some ice cream at the shop next door. 

(An old ambulance in the AMEDD Museum)

(A MASH Helicopter!!)

Saturday: We ran some errands on post in the morning and toured the Fort Sam Houston Museum and then headed out to the Natural Bridge Caverns just outside of San Antonio.  Very cool caverns, we went on a guided tour (military get a complimentary ticket on the Discovery Tour) and it lasted about an hour and 15 minutes.  The tour guide talked about how the caverns were found by some college students who crawled through holes  that were 11-22" in diameter.  The first tunnel they crawled into was a dead end and had a family of raccoons living at the end and the second one uncovered one of the several huge cavern rooms.  I have to say, I don't think I would have ever crawled into one of those tunnels and especially not after I found raccoons at the end of the first!  After that, Kinsey and I introduced mom and dad to Sonic happy hour!  (half off all drinks from 2-4pm) and then we headed out to find dinner.  We ended up at a restaurant called The Hofbrau Beer Garden at the Quarry Market.  Amazing food, great outdoor seating and they also had Beergaritas, though they didn't have much alcohol in them.    

(Me in the Caverns)

(Family time in the Caverns)

(Kinsey and I with our Beergaritas at the Hofbrau Beer Garden)

Sunday we split up for the day.  Dad really wanted to tour the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.  Mom had originally said they weren't going to go there so I didn't put in for a pass to leave (we have a 50 mile radius around post we can travel to without a pass).  So they went there for the day and Kinsey and I used our coupons and went to Sea World for the day.  It was a great day!  We saw a Dolphin/Beluga whale show, 2 Shamu shows, went through a haunted forest, saw a pit of 17 alligators and watched a plethora of penguins splash and swim in their habitat. 

(BELUGA WHALES!!)

(Pacific White Sided Dolphins)

(Shamu and BABY Shamu!!)

(Shamu doing back flips)

Monday: Graduation Day!!  We formed up at the parade field for our 0800 ceremony.  We wore our ACU's and the whole thing lasted about a half hour.  After the ceremony we had a little time for breakfast and then had some out-process briefs and the rest of the day off.  I went with my parents to the Historic Quadrangle on post.  It was the old Fort Sam where back in the 1800's, Geronimo was held as a prisoner.  (I might have a couple of graduation pics to post later if I can get them from Dad)
Around 1400 on Monday afternoon, Mom and Dad decided it was time to start heading back to Wisconsin so we grabbed a quick bite to eat and they took off.

Tuesday: We started Nurse track today.  It's a long day of briefs starting at 0800 and going until 1700.  We were briefed by several top leaders in the AMEDD department, including the 3rd highest ranking nurse in the Army who is stationed here at Fort Sam.  Because it was a day full of important people, we had to wear our dress blue's.  Needless to say it wasn't the most comfortable day of sitting around in skirts, heels, and jackets but we survived.  Most of the briefs covered the same topics so it wasn't very interesting. 

Wednesday: Our second day of Nurse track.  We started off with PT this morning, it was pretty relaxed PT, we went on a 20 minute run with just 5th platoon nurses and then headed back to the hotel for breakfast and a hot shower.  Temperatures down here are finally cooling off, we're down into the 50's in the early morning so PT is pretty cool, and today we only made it to about 76!  My favorite weather!  Today was another long day of briefs, haven't really learned anything new but at least we got to be in ACU's for the day.  After our long day, Kinsey had an equally long day in her track so we decided we needed to hit up happy hour at Taco Cabana and get margaritas!  Yum!  And only $1.50 too! 
Thursday: Another morning of briefs.  After lunch wasn't too bad though.  We started off watching the movie Baghdad ER.  It's an HBO movie that documents life in a FST (Forward Surgical Team) in Afghanistan.  VERY intense movie and definitely not for the weak-stomached person but we finally got a good look at what we might encounter.  After that we had a LTC speak to the group about her experiences on a FST, she had some incredible experiences and I was definitely interested!  I want to get an ER specialty and this would top the cake for experience!

Tomorrow we have the day off!  Those that need to get BLS recertified have that, there is also a tour of BAMC and the Center for the Intrepid...a state of the art rehab facility at Fort Sam.  I've been to both already and don't have to go tomorrow, nor do I need to recertify my BLS but I'm going to tour CFI again because of how cool it is.  I'll post pictures on that later.

That's all for now!

Drink a 5th! FTX Week 2

(This is our Platoon Flag, also referred to as a Guidon, the Guidon bearer, [the person who holds the flag], takes it everywhere with them and always stands at the front of the formation)

(5th Platoon Picture-I'm in the first row all the way to the right)

Well we all made it back alive from our second FTX week.  It was a very busy week for everyone but also a lot of fun...well...most of it...

We started off on Monday morning with formation outside the hotel at 0350.  Just as the buses showed up to transport us to Camp Bullis, so did the police...lots of them...with their lights and sirens going like crazy.  After a little commotion, a guy from 4th platoon was pulled out of the formation, hand cuffed, and taken away!  We didn't know what happened so on the bus ride we started making up rumors about why he got arrested.  Later in the day we found out he was speeding on post because he was going to be late to formation and didn't pull over when the cops tried to stop him.  He didn't get in any trouble and our commanding officer even laughed at him and the cops...the real story wasn't nearly as exciting as what we had made up though!

After we got to the FOB, we got an MRE (Meal-Ready-to-Eat) for breakfast and lunch and then had to go draw our weapons for the week.  We all wish we didn't have to have the weapons on us...it's a 24/7 thing, wherever we go, so does our trusty M16.  We sleep with them, take them to the port-o-potties, to chow, everywhere.  I laugh because I feel like I'm at camp again, we're like little kids except instead of getting in trouble for being out of our tents after dark, we are sneaking around hoping we don't get caught without our M16's!  The common thing to do is leave it with a buddy.  If we need to head to the bathroom, we tell our battle buddy it's under the cot and take off without it. It was working out well until people started to lose them.  Then we all got yelled at and now we can't leave it with our battle buddy anymore.  We still do sometimes anyway though.  We're such rebels!

Back to Monday. 9mm qualification day!  I was pretty excited for this day because I really like the 9mm and I'm not a bad shot with it.  We had to shoot 17 out of 30 to qualify and I shot a 21!  Woohoo!  I thought I did a little better than that but I was really happy.  The safety officer at my post said I shot really well, a lot better than most!  This took most of the day to complete. 

(9mm Qualification Range)

While we were rotating groups through the qualification range we also had various convoy classes to attend.  We also picked up our pro masks (gas masks) for our CBRNE training the following day. 

We decided to change our platoon motto as well.  We used to say "Plead the 5th" but we decided to change that to "Drink a 5th!"  We felt this was more fitting for our platoon, then we tried to convince 6th platoon to follow up our motto with "And a 6-pack!" but they didn't think it was nearly as funny as we did...

Tuesday: Started the day with chow and then 5th and 6th platoon formed up to walk to the gas chamber...felt more like a death march though.  We were told it would only be a 3/4 mile walk, turns out it was closer to 2 miles.  Needless to say, I got several blisters and my feet did not enjoy the rest of the day in my boots.  The gas chamber sucked.  We started off going in with our gas masks on, so we could see that they worked like they were supposed to.

(Me in my gas mask)

Then we did some jumping jacks...so the gas could really get on our skin.  Then we had to take the masks off, say our full name, rank, a fake social security number, and where we were from.  It burned every inch of skin that was exposed, mostly my neck and hands.  I took a big breath inside my mask and took it off, got through everything I was supposed to say but had to take a breath on my way out.  Then my lungs were burning as well as my throat and eyes.  Once outside we're told to walk (NO RUNNING), flap our arms to get some of the gas off of our clothes, open our eyes, and face towards the wind.  No wind in Texas though!  It took about 10 minutes for everything to stop burning and the feeling of throwing up to go away.  The only plus side of the gas chamber was that my sinuses were completely cleared out, because it had all come out and was now on my clothes.  Sneezing and drainage also goes along with the gas effects.

(This is me flapping and trying to open my eyes)

It was entertaining to watch everyone come out and go through the same thing.  One person passed out inside, they think she had her mask on too tight and she had to be carried out.  The talk of the company though was a girl in our platoon, she went in with my group, this was her 6th time going through the gas chamber from various training courses and she said she had panic attacks at the previous 5 and figured this would be no different.  Sure enough, right in the middle of our jumping jacks, she starts to panic, throws her mask off, kicks the door open, and proceeds to run about 500 meters at a dead sprint.  No one could get her to stop running and no one could stop laughing.  After the gas chamber we had lunch, then had some more training relating to treating casualties of a CBRNE attack.  Then we had to walk back to the FOB, blisters and all.  We were all really glad when that day was over!

Wednesday we had convoy training and it was a blast!  We started out at the simulator.  Our platoon was divided into groups and from there divided into Convoy teams.  My team of 5 was in truck number 2.  I was the driver's bodyguard.  It was a really cool simulation, each vehicle was in a separate room and there was a 360 degree screen around it so we could see all the other vehicles and what they were doing in a video game format and we could drive the HMMVW and the screen would respond to everything we were doing.  We had to avoid IED's, shoot at insurgents that were attacking with our M16's that were also hooked up to the simulator (reminded me of Mario Duck Hunt but with way better weapons!), and complete our mission to get from point A to B.  Unfortunately our group failed miserably.  Good thing we were just learning!  A couple of our vehicles got blown up, 5 people from another truck were shot, and another truck may have accidentally run over some children.  Aside from those minor details, our truck was the only one that didn't royally screw up; it's a team effort however, and we got a "D" for convoy operation!  haha, we weren't actually getting graded for anything, we just were getting some experience. 

After that adventure, we headed out to the rollover vehicles.  One of the most common causes of injury and death in the military is due to vehicle rollovers.  All the vehicles are so top heavy because of all the armor that they roll very easily.  We were taught how to secure our weapons in a matter of seconds and brace for the impact.  The instructor then turned their joy stick our vehicle spun in circles.  I got nailed in the head by the fire extinguisher, and even though it was made of hard rubber for the purposes of our activity, it still hurt.  Once the vehicle stopped rolling, we were locked in except for one door (out of 5 possible, 4 passenger doors and the gunner hatch up top).  We had to release our seat belts and drop down to the "floor" of the vehicle, which was actually the ceiling and then find the door, get out and secure the area.  Lots of fun!! 

(This is the rollover simulator right side up)

(And here we are up-side down!)

Our third convoy activity for the day was an actual convoy mission.  We were each assigned roles (mine was in the back of the second vehicle, as a lookout and also radio correspondent for our driver and tactical commander), given our mission, loaded up in the trucks, and headed out.  Several people in our platoon were pulled out beforehand to act as insurgents, and IED's were placed along our route for us to identify and respond to.  We did have one KIA on our truck, the guy on the left dismount failed to find an IED.  We were also given a magazine of 10 blanks to use if needed.  I never ended up getting to fire my weapon, all of the attacks came on the opposite side of the truck but it was still a lot of fun. 

(Me manning my convoy post)

Normally, the cadre have pyrotechnics set up all along the route for blasts, however, since the state of Texas is at risk for spontaneous combustion with even leaving a cigarette butt burning on the ground, they had to leave their fireworks at home.  Oh well...would have been cool though.  After we completed our mission, we had to set up a landing zone so our wounded could be evacuated out.  After we got back to the FOB they flew in a Medivac Helicopter to teach loading and unloading and safety when working around them.  That was pretty cool to see up close. 

(This is what the helicopter looks like) 

Thursday: This was the busiest day of all!!  We started out with land navigation, my partner, Slack, and I were pretty confident in our skills.  We had 3 hours to find 3 of our 4 points.  We found all four points in about 2 hours and walked about 3-4 miles.  Each point is identified on a post, and there is a punch at each post with a letter and number so you have to punch your paper and write down the letter and number (alphanumeric) to get credit for that point.

(Slack and I ready to start land nav)



After land nav we had classes on the various hospitals we might encounter in theater then we moved on to Warrior Leader Task testing.  We had to clear, disassemble/reassemble, and do a functions test on our M16 in under 4 minutes; clear, disassemble/reassemble, and do a functions test on our 9mm in under 2 minutes, assemble/set up a radio, program the frequency, and call our neighbor, and lastly, send a 9 line Medivac request in under 5 minutes.  These are considered 'Go/No Go' activities.  You either get it on the first time, or you do it again until you get a 'Go'.  They really aren't that hard and almost all of us got first time 'go's' for everything.  There were a few people (some of the new reservists) that got 'no go's' on almost everything and we can't figure out how because we've had 2 weeks to practice everything, with the cadre there to help whenever we needed it.  They'll have to figure all that out later though, can't graduate until you pass!  After those tasks, our platoon went back on tent detail and built 2 more of the Alaskan tents in the blistering afternoon sun.  We grabbed dinner after that and then immediately formed up to start night nav.  Slack and I partnered up again, we had 4 new points and 4 hours to get at least 3 of them.  After we plotted our points on the map, we decided that rather than count our steps and shoot an azimuth, to find our points, we were just going to 'eyeball' it.  We skipped our start point and just headed to the first marker.  We were hoping to get there before it actually got dark to make it easier but we didn't.  We still found the point and then quickly moved on to find the other three and make it back in 2 hours, without shooting a single azimuth or counting a single step!  Just in time to go to bed.  Another 3-4 miles of walking bringing the daily total up to around 6-8...

(Slack and I headed out for Night Nav)

Friday: Finally!  We got to turn our weapons right after breakfast because we were leaving the FOB for our Combat Support Hospital (CSH-pronounced CASH) training.  We got an introduction on the construction and building of a CSH and then a quick tour. 

(This is the CSH-Same tents as what we sleep in but these are all connected)

We were each assigned a role in the hospital (mostly related to our actual professions) and then we proceeded to take on casualties and run the hospital as we would if we were in theater.  I got the role of an ICU nurse. 

(This was our ICU tent)

There were 5 of us to run the unit and care for the 'patients', I floated between the critical patients and the ones that were stable and waiting for transport and then also acted as a runner to the lab and pharmacy. 

(Our 5 man ICU team!)

Our 'patients' were members of 6th platoon.  They were given cards with injuries that we had to treat.  It was pretty fun, we ran it relatively smoothly, although one guy was able to sneak a weapon in and shot our psychologist.  The ER team was able to stop the suicide bomber and his wife from entering.  After this training ended, we headed back to the FOB where we had a little free time in our air conditioned tents (perfect for a nap), loaded up the buses, and headed back to Fort Sam!
We have a 3-day weekend this weekend - yay Columbus Day!  Tuesday morning we have formation at 0250!!! and we head back to the field for all day Tuesday and Wednesday and then we are done with the field!  We have to turn in our gear at the end of next week and practice for graduation and graduation is next Monday!  After that we have 2 weeks for our nurse specific training before heading for home!!

Sleep Is A Crutch: FTX Week 1

This past week was our first FTX (Field Training Exercise) week in the field.  Monday we had some last minute things to take care of, then we went to the armory to draw our M16's for the week, packed our bags, and loaded the buses.  Our field training takes place at Camp Bullis, it's about an hour away from Fort Sam Houston.  Once we made it to Camp Bullis we continued through camp until we made it to our FOB (Forward Operating Base). 

 (Some of the tents on the FOB)

We got situated in our tent, got our gear stored, had formation, and then finally, around 2100 got our MRE's for dinner! 

 (This is our tent, Tent 16!)

(This is my corner of the world)

  (Some tent mates hanging out in my corner of the world)

We didn't stay up too late because reveille was at 0400 every day!  It is dumb that we have to get up so early because first formation isn't until 0515, then we have free time until chow at 0600, and then another break until we form up to start our day of training, usually around 0730.  So by 0730 in the morning every day, I already had been up for 3.5 hours and had 2 naps in.  Don't know why they can't organize any better than that but that's how the Army works, so that's what we do!

Tuesday: We had land navigation training today.  Really boring stuff because it's nothing new, but we all played along, plotted our points on the map, and then headed out as a group to find our points.  Next week we have our land nav qualification in which we have to plot our points with our partner, and find 3 of 4 points in 4 hours.  We also will have night nav, in which we do the same thing at night, but only have to find 2 of 4 points in 5 hours.  Nothing hard at all and the course is self-correcting.  My partner and I have everything down so we will be good to go on that.  Our platoon was on Hand Wash Station detail Tuesday and Wednesday.  We had to fill the hand wash stations with water, soap, hand sanitizer, and paper towels outside the port-o john and the mess tent.  Nothing terribly exciting but it needed done. 

(Coming back from Land Nav)

Wednesday: We headed out to one of the M16 ranges to zero our weapons.  We each got 6 magazines with 5 rounds each to zero.  Once we did that we got training on the M9 and then it was more hurry up and wait.  I was done for the day by 1030, it all depends on when your group gets through each training session.  I happened to get on the range right away and through my M9 training early but since there were close to 250 of us, everything takes a while.  Since I was done early, I sat in the shade on the bleachers, read my book, ate some lunch, and took my 3rd nap for the day.  Around 1400 everyone was finished so we headed back to the FOB for our afternoon details and dinner.  After dinner we have time to do whatever we want...even though there is nothing to do.  I was only able to find one area of the FOB where I get a cell phone signal so most of the evening was spent in the tents chatting with people, reading, and sleeping.  Bed time is usually between 2000 and 2100.

 (Part of the range)

(Slack and I relaxing by one of the trucks)

There is a pogey bait truck that comes around the FOB almost every day and sells sodas, candy, burgers and fries, lots of food to make up for the bad chow that comes from the mess tent.  The line is usually really long so I only got a soda one afternoon when I was trying to cool down. 

Thursday: We had a practice qualification for the M16 at a ballistic range.  Only a few targets at various distances, we had a total of 80 rounds to shoot.  To qualify, you have 20 rounds in a prone supported position (resting on sand bags), 10 rounds prone unsupported, and 10 rounds kneeling.  So we had 2 sets of qualification ammo to shoot in 8 minutes.  The cadre at my lane said I was shooting really well and I thought I was as well, I was pretty steady and hitting a lot of the targets.  We also had different stations in which we learned about some of the various medical vehicles we may encounter in the field, how they are loaded and unloaded and some of their capabilities.  I was quite impressed with some of them, very high tech.  The first we saw was a HAGA (Heavy Armored Ground Ambulance), which is part of the MRAP (Mine Resistance Ambush Protected) family of vehicles.  A couple of the cool features it has are hydraulic lifts for the litters so personnel don't hurt themselves lifting in the confined space and a V-Shaped hull which deflects IED shrapnel.  It also has state-of-the-art exterior and interior lighting systems, the lights are natural lights so they don't distort skin color, which allows medical personnel to observe patient skin color and monitor their condition better.  (Had to throw in the info on the lights, I'm a bit partial to lighting! :)    

 (This is a HAGA)

After the HAGA we looked at the Stryker MEV (Medical Evacuation Vehicle).  No V-shaped hull but heavily armored to withstand blasts from IED's.  This one also has the hydraulic lifts inside.   



(This is the Stryker MEV)

Finally, we talked about loading patients in the basic HMMWV ambulance, and the 2 1/2 ton trucks, commonly referred to as the Deuce and a Half.  These are not high tech, most don't even have air conditioning, but they are primarily used for transporting patients around the FOB.

(This is the HMMWV Ambulance)               

(This is the Deuce and a Half)

After vehicle information and a few practice runs loading patients, we were done with that training for the day and we headed back to the FOB for some chow and relaxation.  Thursday night we got some incredible storms.  It started raining buckets about 1900, tons of lightening and thunder too.  The tents were rocking back and forth in the wind and then the flooding started.  Our tent was on a bit of a slope (and my cot is on the high end) so the other ended started filling with water quickly.  After some quick rearranging, we got all the cots out of the water and everything off the floor and then sat back to let the storm roll through.  The floor has a plastic mat over it so we could see the water on our end of the tent running underneath but it never came up through so we were happy about that.

(Me and some of my friends on the truck headed back from the range)

Friday: Up early again and we headed to a different range for the day to qualify on the M16.  It was actually cool and comfortable for a change.  Every other day was over 100 degrees, instant sweat, but today we had a breeze and it was in the 80's.  In order to qualify you have to hit 23 out of the 40 pop up targets.  I did not qualify, in fact, I only know of 3 people of about 200 that did qualify.  I was disappointed at first that I only shot a 14 but after knowing that no one else did well either, I was pretty content that I hit 14!  It was a ridiculously hard range, some of the targets didn't pop up, others couldn't even be seen.  None of the prior service guys in our platoon qualified nor did the police sniper from 6th platoon.  Good thing graduation from our course doesn't rest on qualifying or there would be a lot of us repeating it!  After we did that, we had time to eat our lunch and then we went back to the FOB until the buses came to take us back to post.  We had about 4 hours before the buses came and our platoon was on tent detail for the week so we started the process of tearing down old tents and putting up new ones.  It took us about three hours to put up two tents, very involved and a lot of hard work but we got them done.  We will have two more to put up each of the next two weeks.  One of the cadre told us during the day when we all were dragging that sleep was a crutch and we didn't really need it...most of us begged to differ though! 

 (Out for an evening stroll with my trusty M16)

(Building Tents!)

This weekend was spent showering, sleeping, doing laundry, and packing for next week...busy busy!

Tips:  A few things to bring with you in the field that you might not think about: bug spray, sun screen, flip flops, a small pillow, a utility tool/knife, and most importantly, lots of baby wipes as there are no showers!! 

Side Note: For those that are wondering, the red thing on the end of the M16's in some of the pictures is called a BFA (Blank Firing Adaptor).  When we are in the field our M16 is with us at all times.  We take it to chow, to the bathroom, we sleep with it...everywhere.  The BFA is on it whenever we're not shooting at the range, I guess it's just there to make sure we don't shoot each other, even though we have no ammo.