Recently in Military Category

I have arrived at a place called Camp Adder. A wonderful little desert town in the middle of nowhere. Life is quiet here, comfortable, with all the amenities of home. We're currently waiting to move to our actual area of operation. While it is comfortable here, most of us are bored to death. It'll be better to be employed which should come soon enough.

Travel from Buehring to Camp Adder was relatively uneventful. Stopped briefly in Baghdad and then continued on to Camp Adder. We were basically up all night. However, the rooms at Camp Adder are quite comfortable so it was pretty easy to get a good night's sleep and catch up.

I had turned in a small load of laundry at Buehring which I had to leave behind. That leaves me short on underwear, t-shirts and socks. For some reason the exchange here at Adder doesn't have any of those items in my size, in stock. Things are rather primitive where I'm going so it would be good to have at least a week's worth of underwear and socks. Right now I have about 5 days worth. I'm hoping to fix that before I leave or my new nickname will be Stinky Smittie. I'd prefer not.

Soon we'll push out to our area of operation and begin the real work.

310 days left on this deployment

I'm on the airplane, flying back to Fort Dix. Leave is over. It will be approximately a year before I see my family again. It is likely to be an exciting year, at least for me. I expect that my son will change dramatically over the next year. He's in that time of transition from little boy to man. I'll miss a holiday season but another group of soldiers will be home for the holidays as a result of our going.

I will see two elections. Provincial elections will be held soon. National elections are scheduled to happen some time next year. Efforts to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the improved security that the surge afforded continue. Pushing the local, provincial and national governments to assume their role in leading and providing for the nation will be a core component of our mission. I hope that we are able to get beyond the rebuilding of basic infrastructure and begin to see the building some of the higher level structures that promote economic growth and a maturation of the social and cultural environment. Small businesses, social venues, parks and sporting events. As the security improves and citizens feel safe to walk the streets they are able to move from simply surviving to enjoying life and even celebrating life. I'd like to see a large wedding. I'd like to see a concert. I wonder what their parties will be like? I would like to see the community or communities I work with move from a characterization of fear to one of life in all its facets.

A significant part of the motivation and enjoyment of serving in the military is being part of something bigger than me. I am going to participate in the building of a nation. One nation was torn down and now a new nation is being built. We don't spend enough time understanding that. My family participates in something bigger than them through me. The challenge before me is to share the experience with my family so that they feel they too are a part of what I am doing and catch the excitement. Much like those whose parents and grandparents served in World War II feel a connection to that great effort. Especially those who can remember their loved ones going off to war and coming home.

So, tomorrow morning I'll wake up in the barracks. I expect tonight will be loud and disrupted with soldiers coming in drunk and loud. Tomorrow we will begin the next phase of deployment. These are the worst parts of deploying. Life is better once you've arrived in your AO and you can focus on mission and day to day operations. We'll be there soon. Let the day count begin.

aloha

Training is complete. I, along with the rest of the unit, have put all the appropriate checks in the appropriate boxes so that someone, somewhere believes I am now qualified to go wander around in a "combat zone". We were fortunate enough to get an opportunity to take six days leave so that we could make our way home to visit friends and family one last time before we leave. And thus, I have been home for the past few days enjoying time with my family. It is nice to be home. I am also excited about what is ahead. I will miss my family and friends terribly but there is something very exciting and satisfying about being a part of something bigger than yourself.

I expect that when I return to the Army in a few days, things will be quite different. Jumping through training hoops defined by others is over. The focus will shift to getting packed and ready to go. I am sure the first day or two will be harried in order to make sure we're ready. I expect that once we are in fact packed and ready to go, we will wait. That's what the military does. We hurry and then we wait. But, for now my focus is on enjoying these last few days with my family.

As a family we are ready for what is to come. We've been through this once before and it is easier the second time through. We have a better understanding of what to expect. There is a certain peace in the knowledge that comes from having done it before. This makes it easier to enjoy whatever time we get together because we are not stressed out about the departure. So far, it has been a very peaceful and enjoyable few days. Everyone has adjusted schedules to afford more time together but there is less pressure on that time. We have been able to simply enjoy each other's company which has been nice. I'm very proud of and grateful for my family. I think it is very cool that the family is strong enough to handle military life. Even Reserve Military life which, I believe, is harder on the family than active duty.

aloha

So, it's been a week. I've gone through all the initial in processing stuff; finance, medical, dental, etc. I've been deemed suitable for sending to war, though I can only wonder at the criteria used. I got four shots. Fortunately, I didn't have to repeat the smallpox experience for which I am very grateful. That sucked. The vaccination is good for 10 years. I'm kind of hoping that I'm done with deployments by the time I'm due for a another.

I am somewhat needle phobic. Me getting poked bothers me a little bit. Watching other people get poked bothers me a lot. I have one more experience to go through that involves needles. Not sure when but at some point I will need to take the Combat Life Saver course. This course teaches the fundamental advanced first aid required to keep a wound soldier alive until s/he gets to the trained medical folks who can actually save his life. That's a good thing. Learning to start an IV. Passing the class requires actually starting an IV on a live person. Your buddy starts one on you and then you start one on him. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to like it. I might also get to have an airway inserted up my nose. Sounds like an E ticket ride.

Found this article today. Presents an interesting summary of the situation in Iraq after the surge.

That said, it's still an open question whether the surge accomplished its main goal: of providing breathing space for the Iraqi government to regroup.

Iraqi politics has been a bastion of corruption, deceit, and intrigue for over forty years. Iraqis must learn a whole new set of skills to function in a new society in which the government is a servant to the people and not the other way round.

aloha

So, I finally got my official, from the President, pack your crap, you're going to Iraq, involuntary mobilization orders. This past Thursday I showed up, as ordered. For the most part it was a non-event. Several of the other soldiers teased me about joining late but in large part, I simply fell in step with everyone else. During the month that everyone else was out in the field training and being miserable, I did manage to get in to the unit office and complete the necessary paperwork so that I was ready for deployment on Thursday. Most of the activity on Thursday and Friday centered around fixing pay problems and after action reports from the previous month's training. Most of which did not involve me.

Tomorrow we will travel to Fort Dix to begin the mobilization process in earnest. Should be a lot of fun. Once we get into the rhythm of things, I really kind of like being Army. I absolutely hate goodbyes. I have that to look forward to tomorrow morning, or very late tonight depending on your lifestyle. The really early morning flights will put us into Fort Dix in the early evening which means we might get a reasonable night's sleep tomorrow night, which would be cool.

Today is day three of the deployment.

Smittie

I am a member of the 445 Civil Affairs Battalion, US Army Reserves. We have known for some time now that we would be mobilizing. Over the past few months the command has been hammering out the details of exactly how that process would play out. At the end of June we recieved pre-mobilization active duty for training orders (pre-mob ADT or pre-mob) with a report date of 21 July 2008. The orders were for 38 days. The purpose of pre-mobilization orders is to provide the unit with some additional time to train and prepare for the upcoming mobilization. Typically, the unit goes from pre-mob orders to actual mob orders without a break. It can be argued that pre-mobilization orders are an end run around current SecDef policy which says that Reserve and Guard mobilizations will be for a maximum of one year. Interestingly enough, the orders usually read 400 days. Kind of have to wonder where the extra 34.7575 days came from?

My employer has been very supportive of my military service. Out of my respect for that support, I try to be as timely as possible in informing my employer about upcoming military events that will require my absence. As soon as I recieved a written copy of my orders, I submitted them to my employer. My employer made accommodations for the fact that these are not involuntary mobilization orders but are in conjunction with involuntary mobilization orders. So, they gave me the benefits that I will recieve once I am on the actual mobilization orders. With everything in place for me to go on a military leave of absence and report on 21 July 2008, I took one week's vacation to spend time with my family before things started getting crazy.

Today, Friday at 1417 (2:17 pm) I recieved an email telling me that my orders to report on 21 July 2008 have been cancelled. I am not to report on 21 July. New orders will be issued with report date of 01 August 2008. This is because there is no money to pay us for 38 day. I called my command to confirm this because I really could not believe that they were cancelling these orders at 2:17 in the afternoon of the Friday before we are suppose to report. My employer expects that I'm going to be gone for a year to 14 months. Imagine his surprised when I called him Friday afternoon. Fortunately, I am employed at a large corporation. I explained the situation to my manager and asked if he could find work for me to do for another month while the Army holds a bake sale or something to raise the money to pay us. I want to point that no one from the 445 CA BN called my employer to explain what happened and apologize for the inconvenience and trouble caused them. The Army apparently thinks that is my job.

I have some options in how I choose to respond to this. I can simply do what they, my chain command, asks. Whatever day they finally arrive at, they'll cut a new set of orders, I can resubmit those to my employer, have them redo everything and then show up as ordered. Or, I can refuse the orders. At some point the actual involuntary mobilization orders will show up. I can't refuse those but those are pretty solid and reliable. People like the Secretary of Defense's office have to sign those. It's much more likely that someone has already made sure there's money in the bank to pay us.

So, what is the cause of all these problems and drama? The unit could simply wait for the official, from the President, pack your crap, you're going to Iraq, involuntary mobilization orders. The one year clock would start the day we report. We would spend a couple days or a week at our home station, getting everyone and everything together and ready to go. Then, we would move to a Mobilization Site (Mob Site). There we would process into the active duty Army (medical, dental, payroll), get issued whatever new gear and complete the required training cycles for deployment. Then we would move to green ramp where we would wait for an airplane to take us to wherever we're suppose to go. All told, it would be about 100 to 130 days for us to get to doing the job we're suppose to do, where we're suppose to do it. Because we can only be moblized for 12 months, we need to leave the place 30 to 45 days before our clock runs out so that we can be out-processed in time.

The purpose of pre-mobilization orders is to reduce the amount of time spent at the Mob Site. Reduce that 100 to 130 days. By doing training on voluntary pre-mobilization orders, the amount of time spent at the Mob Site can be reduced. Keep in mind, the total amount of time the soldier spends on active duty is increased by the number of days on the pre-mobilization orders. So, if a soldier goes on 45 day pre-mob orders, the total time spent on active duty will be 445 days. The primary purpose of pre-mob orders is to increase the amount of time the soldier spends "boots on the ground," "in country". Pre-mobilization is not intended to make things better or easier for the soldier or his family or his employer. Pre-mobilization benefits the Army.

The problem comes in that, the money for pre-mob orders does not come from Big Army but rather from major commands. In the of 445 CA BN, that would be U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (USACAPOC). Apparently, someone only today discovered that there is not enough money to do as planned. If we simply wait until the involuntary orders arrive, the money comes from Big Army.

To my knowledge, no other branch of service does this. When I mobilized with the Navy in 2003, there were no pre-mob orders. Everyone showed up when the involuntary mobilization orders said to. We recieved the orders 30 days in advance. The Air Force guys that I've talked to have no idea what I'm talking about when I say pre-mob orders.

aloha

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: family, military life

This morning I took my daughter to breakfast. As a normal teen with a normal teen schedule, we don't see each other as much anymore. She doesn't hang out at home as much. Going to breakfast was her idea, relayed to me through Mom. Does it work that way at your house? After breakfast we went to the auto parts store, picked up a case of oil and order some parts for her truck. Made an appointment to get the truck serviced. Dad stuff.

It was nice. We talked about politics. This will be the first election in which my daughter can vote. We talked about Iraq. We talked about her social group. Mostly, I just enjoyed spending time with my kid and studiously not thinking about the fact that I will not see her for a year. She says the family will be alright this time. I think she'll play a part in making sure everyone is alright this time. We talked about the past. She thinks she had a pretty good childhood. She knows her parents love her. She knows it's pretty cool to have parents who love and care about her. We talked about the future.

On the one hand, I will miss my daughter and the family very much. However, their support and strength is part of why I have chosen to do what I do. We ran into a friend at the restaurant. He asked my daughter how she felt about the deployment. She said she was fine with it, it's what we do. He made the observation that deployments are part of the military family culture. It's what we do.

aloha

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: family, military life

Top of the Hill
Originally uploaded by smittie

I took my son out four wheeling today. Neither one of us mentioned it and maybe he didn't even think of it but it was part of my saying goodbye to my family. I didn't even dare to think that out loud until now.

We stopped on the way to pick up lunch. He got mac & cheese and ribs. I got a roast beef sandwich. We sat at a table in the picnic area in the off road pack and ate while the tires deflated. The off road park was empty. We had a good time but it wasn't as fun as when there are other people there. We drove to the highest point in the park with is part of the ritual. We drove a few more trails. Pretty soon my son said, "it's ok if we head home." So, we did.

This is definitely the hardest part of deployment. The period when you know you're going, you're training to go but you're still in the states, often fairly close to home. The military member is torn between the military team which will become the surrogate family and the real family. Things actually get easier as the military member moves downrange. Communication methods and routines are established with the home front, team member meld into their surrogate family roles without the competition of real family members to worry about. But, for now, it is stressful to try to balance time with the family against the demands of the military to prepare for deployment.

I'll miss you, son. I can't wait to go off roading with you again.

aloha

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: military life

Yesterday was my last day at work for a while. I'm on vacation for the next week. And, on 21 July, I will be on active duty for training (ADT) in preparation for deployment with the 445 Civil Affairs Battalion. The next couple of months will be spent in preparation for deployment.

When I was deployed in 2003, I managed to write something here pretty close to everyday. There were a couple of months where I was out on special missions but for the most part, I wrote an entry everyday. This time around I hope to be a bit more interesting. Last tour, I was responsible for keeping the communications working for a Naval Coastal Warfare unit. This time out, I'll be a lot more involved with the Iraqi population. I'm looking forward to it.

Iraq Provincial elections are scheduled to happen in October or November. National elections are scheduled for 2009. I'll get to see some or all of that. I think that will be cool. Of course, I'll also get to experience America's political struggle over the war in Iraq as well. On the up side, I will probably be out of the country for the final months of election year's foolishness here in the States. I think that's kind of cool.

My family is better prepared this time. Everyone has been through a deployment and knows what to expect. My daughter is old enough now that she pretty much takes care of herself. She drives which means Mom can hope to get some help with taxi duties.

This tour I will be exposed to significantly higher risks. My last tour I spent most of my time not even in the country where the war was happening. This tour, I'll be pretty much right in the middle of it. I'm getting what I wished for. During my last tour, I said that if I did another I wanted something farther north that allows me to be more involved with the Iraqi culture. I seem to have fulfilled that prophesy. I will be much farther north and my job is to engage with and understand the people of Iraq. I'm looking forward to it.

During my last deployment this blog saw a pretty significant increase in readership. However, because I didn't have tools in place to track how many people were reading my blog, I only roughly understood that there was increase. I was not able to look into the details of that increase. So, this time around I got several tools in place so that I can keep better track of readership statistics. This involves both web readers and news feed readers. If you read my blog via the news feed, please make sure you update the feed URL to http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmittiesRamblings. Thanks.

This next week I plan to get a few things done in preparation for deployment and do fun things with my family. My daughter and I are going to go out for breakfast at least once. My son and I will get out to Hollister Hills Offroad Vehicle Park at least once. My wife and I will get away for a few dates. The following week I'll be a soldier but it will be a 9 to 5 ish job. Death by PowerPoint and papercuts. The part of deployment I hate the most. There is a schedule that goes out beyond two weeks but, in typical Army style, it'll change before we get there.

aloha

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: military

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., wants to make eligibility for the Combat Action Badge award retroactive to Dec. 7, 1941. The CAB was created in recognition of the dangers of fighting a new kind of war with a new kind of Army. Congress should leave the CAB alone.

read more | digg story

The Combat Action Badge is awarded to non-Infantry soldiers who engage the enemy in combat. At least, that is what the requirement is supposed to be. The award is authorized for action on or after 18 September 2001. The award is the center of controversy within the Army ranks. Some feel that only Infantry or, possibly, Combat Arms soldiers should be awarded for involvement in combat.

The editorial by the Military Times correctly identifies the key factor that warrants the establishment of the Combat Action Badge. Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom put forth a very different battle space than previous wars. In Iraq today, enemy combatants will not engage Infantry or Combat Arms units because they know they cannot defeat them and they will likely be captured or die in the engagement. Rather, enemy combatants find ways to engage what are traditionally less prepared, less trained personnel. They are typically easier to hit, produce higher casualty rates and are less likely to counter-strike with significant effectiveness. Soldiers other than Combat Arms are significantly more likely to find themselves engaged in a firefight in today's conflicts. Therefore, it stands to reason that they should be recognized for having stood that test, just as the Infantry has recognized its members who are battle proven with the Combat Infantry Badge.

The CAB reflects the very different nature of the conflicts we are engaged in today. The CAB is not about some aspect of war that has always been present, like the Purple Heart or the Medal of Honor. The CAB awards the performance of soldiers in unique aspect of modern combat. Congress needs to leave the CAB alone.

aloha

[posted with ecto]

Technorati Tags: military