Military

Day 80 Camp Spearhead has something of a MASH quality to it. There’s a movie every night. Usually a pretty good one. Tonight was The Human Stain. Pretty good movie. Not the kind of movie I really like. Too much thinking involved. I like the pure unadulterated entertainment movies. There’s the Chief of the Watch … Read more

Day 79 I’m sitting here waiting for another session of GMT (General Military Training). This is an interesting Navy concept. You are forced to sit through ill prepared presentations presented by people who are not entirely prepared to give the ill prepared presentation. None of this is really the fault of the presenter. In most … Read more

Day 77 So, after yesterday’s entry I got motivated and finished Sue Grafton’s B is for Burglar. Good book. Excellent ending. Relatively clean which I appreciated. By clean I mean that I would let my daughter read it. Now I have to decide which book to read next. Mr. Kneif’s works are always tempting but … Read more

Day 75 On Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners It saddens me that American military personnel are acting in this manner. I was hoping that we would be above this kind of behaviour. Coalition forces ought to handle themselves in a manner that sets the example for the world to follow. Coalition forces ought to treat prisoners … Read more

Day 74 Back in camp, standing watch, dealing with all that comes with being “in the rear”. Today we attended General Military Training (GMT). Topics covered; Sexual Harrassment, the grievance process, Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Combat Stress and Suicide. Fascinating stuff. No, really. Camp seems the same as when I left but it seems … Read more

Day 73 Survivor: The Professional Edition 20 some military personnel are put on some remote station with no amenities, a very vaguely stated mission and a minimal equipment load out. There’s no prize money for the successful team. It’s all part of days work. Failure simply isn’t considered. My participation in Survivor: TPE was one … Read more

Day 51 Somehow I apparently did not make a post for yesterday. Not sure how that happened. Also be aware that I will be away for a while. I would suggest check once a week for the next month or so. All of my friends from 3rd ACR are beginning their trip home tomorrow. I … Read more

Day 49 This kind of stuff is the mission of my detachment. From what I’ve read of the news reports it sounds like the forces in place in Basra were successful in defending the port. I see that oil was flowing again from the port facilities hours after the attack. The news reports state that … Read more

This is the second entry for day 48. I did one yesterday and thought I had posted it. I guess maybe I was pretty tired when I was trying to get it done. In any case, it didn’t get posted so here’s my second attempt. _________________ Day 48 I had the day watch today. It … Read more

Day 47 The midwatch wasn’t too bad last night. Around 0500 I had real trouble staying awake. I finally got to bed around 0800. Slept until 1030. It’s now 1925 and I’m still feeling pretty good. On Sunday I’m going out to shoot crew served weapons from boats. Should be an exciting and interesting experience. … Read more