Thursday, March 02, 2006 8:29 AM
jfitzer
Doing the impossible...
... for the ungrateful.
It's been a while since I've posted anything of real substance, but that's because I can never really find time to sit down and write anything. We came back from a rather uneventful JRTC rotation, and now we're just finishing up last minute tasks before we hit the sandbox. Personally, i just wanna get over there and get it over with. I feel like we're getting restless, and most of us just wanna get over there and quit wasting time.
JRTC was fairly useless for us. Supposedly the training is more to evaluate "higher," but last time I went I got some decent training. This time, I spent a lot of time sitting in the passenger seat of a HMMWV, or in a guard tower. We could have done all of this at Shelby, where we had showers and laundry. I am starting to get the feeling that the Army (much thanks to the American Public) is spending WAY too much on gadgets and "safety" and not enough on training.
If you're watching the news, it's getting pretty nasty over there. I can forsee a resurgance in ground combat over there, and I don't think we're prepared for that as a unit. My platoon will probably do fine since we're all former active duty infantrymen, but the national guard artillerymen we're with are probably gonna have a rougher time with it.
*Stopping here for now to eat chow. Back in 15 minutes or so*
I worry about a lot of little things. Things like individual, squad, and platoon tactics we're good on. But small issues like supply having its head up its ass worry me. If I need something for a mission and it's inoperative or unavailable, I'm not fully mission capable. As a team leader and NCO, I have a responsibility to keep my guys alive and safe, and anything that hampers that is a problem.
It worries me that my weapon is unserviceable and has been for months. I've submitted the paperwork, and it still hasn't been fixed.
Anyways, hopefully these little things will be fixed soon. Changing gears for a minute... A lot of people have asked what they can send in care packages. I'll post up a list of things my guys ask for once I get in country. I'd advise against sending anything now since I'm so close to leaving, but once I get in country, my guys would love to get some goodies. I'll let y'all know.
I've got a lot of things to think about, both during and after this tour in Iraq. I'm more comfortable behind a machinegun than a desk, more at ease in a Blackhawk than in a city bus, and I'm pretty damn good at what I do. I may think about staying in the military in some capacity.