For God and Country

This week has been truly for God And Country as BG Sinclair so eloquently reminds us. The Army definitely got their money out of us this week. This is an endearing term used in the military when you worked either for no pay or more put in more than normal. And this they, meaning Riley definitely did. It began with more Cultural Immersion Training which was absolutely outstanding. We actually was able to put into action the training we received as a mentors by practicing role-play with our instructors... In the picture below, depicts LTC Wright and SGM Elvington conversing with supposed Afghan officers and interpreters.. This really gave us a good idea how to utilize an interpreter and also to respect and converse with the ANA. This mobilization has also allowed me to get to know some outstanding officers and NCOs, and LTC Wright is definitely one of those officers. He is a get it done man, he simply gets it done. He is practical and thinks things through. A great man and officer..... His NCO SGM Elvington together makes a strong team.....

We also had our range qualification this week, which made for some very long days and nights. Long hours coupled with wearing the heavy body armor and kelvar helmet, took a toll on our bodies... We all were dragging at the end of the day.... The day started at 0530 and ended most nights between 0130 and 0200 in the morning..... The below pic depicts me PRIOR to the weapons range. I had a smile then, but that night, one was hard to find.....

Also pictured below is my battle buddy, MAJ Gregory Haselden. He and I are generally always close by each other...He is not only a good friend, but a great officer...... He is my Dari language instructor... just kidding.. we are giving it our all.

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of some of our ETTs going through some automation training, prior to deployment. As the G-6, it is my responsibility to assist in the training of not our the ANA, but US soldiers as well. I coordinated with JFCOM, (Joint Forces Command) to assist us in providing training on theatre specific software training that we will utilize in country. The training went great. Below is a picture of some of my fellow SC soldiers in class....

Cultural Immersion

This past week for our URF has been dedicated to Cultural Immersion Training. As previously stated some of our soldiers from South Carolina is in different groups or URFs. That is how they divide us up to complete the required training. Some of them went through weapons qualification, while we went through CI Training. In my opinion, Fort Riley does a wonderful job to prepare us for the task at hand. Cultural Immersion deals with a plethora of subjects from Language Training to briefings from native Afghans on the country and culture. The below pic is one of our classes.

The other pic is a picture of the the FOB, and some of the building/billets that we live in. The FOB is like our McCrady Training Center. This is the Kansas National Guard's training area that is being upgraded to support the MTT/ETT Mission. As they upgrade, many standard facilities are just not there, like a Mini-PX, as you can see from the three white trailers pictured above, that is our PX for Camp Funston.... This is quite strange to me, as we are Class 19, which means that 18 other classes have gone before us.... It does not appear that they are going to put too much money in improving the FOB, as Fort Riley have lost the MTT/ETT Training Mission to another post.. So things like a gym, PX, cable will probably not even show up....

Part of our Cultural Immersion Training involved TCP, (Traffic Control Point) Operations. The above pictures was our URFs training. Traffic Control Point operations deals with how to establish a Hasty Traffic Control Point, which covers how to search suspects, as well as how to search suspect vehicles for possible weapons. This probably was one of my most enjoyable classes. But realistically, this can be quite dangerous to perform in a combat zone. There are so many hazards and things that can go wrong. Everyone must be alert at all times. The lives of fellow soldiers and civilians is at stake if mistakes are made...

The last picture I will leave you is a picture of the RCAG. When you live in close quarters, train constantly, eat with your team, you get to know them. You learn so much about your fellow soldiers. In my opinion, COL Cannon, Commander of the RCAG/ETTs did an excellent job screening and placing the personnel assigned this mission. We all work so well together, everyone on the team is a team-player and will do anything to help the other, even if it is not in their area..... I pray this continues..... We have excellent leaders in every position and our boss definitely allows us to do our jobs. We can't ask for more. He fights for us and we work hard to ensure that we complete EVERY mission/task given. We all recognize that we represent not only ourselves, but we represent the State of South Carolina and the entire National Guard as we perform our mission.

Until next week, continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.... URF#8693.... "The RCAG"

Life on the FOB

The FOB is our training base for our tactical training. We are into our 30th day of deployment and the training is definitely intensifying.... Our FOB, (Forward Operating Base) is named FOB Army Strong or Camp Funston.... The wear of this heavy body armor definitely makes training more intense. This past week, we began our physical conditioning, (getting use to wearing IBA during rigorous training activities). The IBA is not only heavy, it restricts your movement, where you don't have the range of motion as without having it on.... The below pic shows me with full gear/IBA, with our individual weapons (M-4/M-9).

The RCAG, which is my group is very blessed to have great leaders, one of them is SGM Bobby Albert. SGM Albert is a State Trooper from the Gaffney area, and definitely a great leader. The below pic indicates SGM Albert giving us some instruction. One of the big challenges for us this week have been the constant changes to the schedule and location of training. For many this could be very frustrating, but we have continued to a positive attitude to changes. We know that we are on 1ID turf and what they say goes. One of the biggest complaints for soldiers training here has been the lack of internet access, no local gymnasium, and no access to television except for in the dining hall. They, (meaning Fort Riley) don't seem too concerned to fix these issues timely... Either way, we are working through these shortfalls.....

Another great team member is MSG Smithey on Admin NCO from Mullins, SC... He is always willing to help in any way. It is great to have him on the team..., also below Smithey is our group photo.... This is the entire team, minus MAJ Krell, whom is already in theatre.....

The last picture is our group photo..... Class #19, URF 8693..... Would have been a excellent photo if not for the amateur photographer getting the shadow in the picture... Needless to say, we are standing strong, with the help of the Lord above. Please keep us in your prayers....

From Shorts to Coats

One thing that is a surety out here in Kansas is the reliability of the weatherman/news. If the weatherman says that is going rain, you better take your raincoat. If he says it is going to snow, you better buy your boots. These are the most reliable news people I have ever seen. We had 68 degree weather on Wednesday and then snow and freezing temperatures on Thursday... WOW.... As for the training, we are continue to complete our deployment briefings, to ensure we fully understand our Code of Conduct. We had assorted briefings from Sexual Harassment to how to treat prisoners, as well as our actions if captured. All of these briefings were extremely important. It really hits home to you, and everyone was attentive, as this is the real deal...

The above picture is part of the group outside the dining facility on main post. This is after 68 degree temps the day before. These are not your average weathermen...... They got it going on.....

URF#8693

We are identified at Fort Riley by our URF. My group is URF #8693.... This past week's training had been dedicated to our draw of equipment and deployment briefings... so the challenging part of our training is forthcoming. Our group is really becoming a TEAM... that I am thankful..... As indicated in the below picture.. Notice the smiles!!!!

I am so proud to serve with this group.... we have some many personalities that make-up #8693. The picture shows the group waiting to draw our ACU's, (Army Combat Uniforms). We waved the cold for almost two hours before we got in the door, and we still had smiles.... WOW!!!

We have received four duffel bags worth of equipment. One cannot physically carry all the stuff we got. One thing that we got was our IBA, (Individual Body Armor). This thing weighs about 50lbs. You talking about heavy, but this is one of the necessary evils. You don't mind wearing if it can save your life... We drew cool things like optics for our M-4s, Oakley Sunglasses, several hats, gloves, boots, underwear and socks.... We got some good stuff, but we also got stuff that they wanted to get off the shelf, that the army no longer uses..... (not so good huh!!!!) but that is how it is. We are adapting the motto of "Gotta Be Flexible!!!", better to say adaptable on this one.... because we are finding ways to adjust to the Army's shortfalls in things like lack of Internet cafes, television, phones, and just doing ordinary administrative work...

This is my he-man photo with my IBA on... flexing my muscles... Truth of the matter is that yes, I am working out, almost daily. You have to sustain a good level of physical fitness to carry this much weight on you and do your training/expected tasks.... I enjoy working out, one thing the military do have is great gyms and good equipment.... well we do up here on Custer Hill. They are working to get facilities down on Camp Funston, were we will be next week and throughout our training... Anyway, SFC Walsh and I are keeping it together.... facing several challenges in the communications arena, but learning quite a lot.... As you may know, technology moves quite fast, and communications platforms constantly change to keep up, as you want the best comms platforms down-range as they have available, so it requires training, which we don't mind. Here is a pic of SFC Walsh putting his vest and IBA together...

Well until next post, "Keep Your Head Up!!!" and know that God is still in control.....

You Call This Acclamation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many of us love snow, and the cold weather.... I am getting acclamated they say..... The great thing about this is that we all want to be here, everyone of us... It is great....However, we all miss home. They say home is where the heart is.....We are finding that home is where you make it. We have moved twice and a third time comes in two weeks..... I think I have a "T" in this task....

We are beginning to get into some of the theathre specific tasks we need in Afghanistan... Fort Riley is home to the Big Red One, there is so much history out here, I hope to get an opportunity to tour this wonderful post.. We are hearing about several changes in country... We are trying to remain focused and take one day at a time... Time is passing fast, I just pray that it continues to go by fast....

D-day

Since my last post, we have deployed to our mobilization station. The hardest part of this past week was the departure. Saying goodbye was so hard. Most of my family was present to see us off. The media was also there and was able to capture several interviews with me, as well as my family.... See pics of departure from Columbia Metro.... When we left Columbia, it was 60 degrees, as we started our desend to Fort Riley via chartered American Airlines Flight, we realized that all bodies of water were frozen. We knew then, that we were in trouble. Everyone started finding extra clothing for what we knew would be a dramatic change in weather. Riley did not let us down.... We arrived to 18 degree weather with snow in the forecast.... This week at Riley have been dedicated to in-processing to ID our readiness for deployment. We did medical/dental/finance/and records checks. Almost everyone of us had to get at least 3-4 shots to include the dreaded Small Pox.....(15-16 punctures). The most difficult part for me was adjusting to the cold. Every day this past week temperatures only got up to 18 degrees... (I would go outside and my ears would feel as though they were going to fall off). Other than that, many things have gone right for us. Our great state did a great job preparing us for the SRP, (soldier readiness process). Some states had significant problems, files and many records were not loaded into the system. We did not have that problem, this is a credit to our state.... I guess I need to learn more about Kandahar....WOW.......