Week 2

Our training was very relaxed this past week with our small group but our conditions in the barracks became drastically worse. We usually needed to wake up at around 0630 and were released at 1500. This would have been ideal if it wasn’t for the 100 plus junior enlisted that reported for duty on Sunday. On Saturday we had five soldiers on our 50 bunk side of the barracks. On Sunday the barracks was filled to capacity with stinky soldiers who, with all the testosterone in the air, grunted away into the wee hours of the night. When they finally fell asleep their grunts were replaced with the echoing sound of their tongues slapping the backs of their throats. On top of that, the soldier above me tossed and turned enough to shake a few months worth of dust and debris onto me through the chicken wire-like grate supporting the top mattress as I tried to sleep. With a different training schedule, the class 15 soldiers woke up at 0400 and often shook me while I had my headphones on and blanket over my head to “wake me up” for their 0500 formation. The highlight of the week was when a soldier defecated in bed one night and left turtle heads in the shower. I almost took a shower with my NBC protective mask on. Please note that complaining isn’t usually part of my agenda but is Army Standard Operating Procedure.

This week was more eventful since we were all done with SRP. On Monday we did a classroom land navigation review, a standard first aid class and a M16 EST(Engagement Skills Trainer) session. Land Nav consists of using a compass, map, protractor and terrain knowledge to plot routes and navigate to waypoints. During the first aid session we covered basic field and pressure dressings, sucking chest wounds, tourniquets, emergency tracheotomies and hemostatic agents.

I learned that day that all rifle and light machine gun rounds used in theater by the US, and most of the enemy, are “tumbler” rounds. Instead of spinning and going straight through the target, the bullet tumbles after impact. This is a great round for us since it reduces collateral damage in CQB(Close Quarters Battle) situations, as it won’t penetrate walls easily, and does significantly more damage when we get rounds on target. If the bullet hits center mass it will bounce around inside the body before it exits from some random spot. Since the enemy also has these rounds I will just have to hope that, in the small chance that I do get shot, they hit my ballistic plates which stop 7.62mm(AK-47) rounds. Another interesting fact I learned is that we are not supposed to, with a few exceptions, perform CPR in theater. Army regulations state once CPR has been initiated it cannot be stopped until the casualty is MEDEVAC’d(Medical Evacuation). The reasoning behind this directive is if the one medic on a MEDEVAC transport must perform CPR on a soldier that has a small chance of surviving, the medic will not be able to treat other critical casualties who need care. Although I understand this is to ensure efficient allocation of our limited medical assets it’s hard to overlook the fact that we are declaring some soldiers dead when there are still chances of reviving them. On a lighter note, EST is a weapon simulator with a big projection screen, a laser system for targeting, and a pneumatic compressor for simulating weapon actions(recoil). We grouped, zeroed and qualified with M16s on the simulator and called it a day. The next day we did the same thing with real weapons.

I didn’t perform as well as I’d hoped on the qualification but the HEAT(HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer) session we went through was useful. We fired eighteen rounds in three round groups at a 25 meter target while adjusting our sights with the goal of getting a 4cm diameter shot group which represents center mass on a human target at 300 meters. The barrel on an M16/M4 is angled so bullet trajectory is at the same height at 25 and 300 meters. I had tight groups but couldn’t get a solid zero because I kept shifting my cheek weld when checking the target after each group. I’m going to go back to putting my nose on the charging handle when I get an M4 so this won’t be a problem again. The qualification consisted of eight pop up targets ranging from 50 to 300 meters that randomly popped up forty times. We shot 30 rounds in the prone unsupported(laying down with no support for the weapon) and 10 kneeling. I ended up achieving a measly 26 which, while still barely qualifying, is far from the 35 minimum I used to get. Excuses aside, I hope I get a decent amount of trigger time on the M16 platform before we deploy.

The HEAT system is a HMMWV body on hydraulics that simulates rollovers. Since HMMWV rollovers are quite common the HEAT allows us to get a feel for a rollover so we don’t panic; which could be deadly if underwater or in a combat situation. We were tilted to the rollover limit angles for the two main types of HMMWVs and were then flipped upside down screaming “Rollover, rollover, rollover!” Hanging by the seatbelts we unbuckled and fell onto the roof which was more disorienting than I’d imagined. It was a bit hard to get right side up in the cramped space with all our gear on but we eventually all evacuated the HMMWV. Although the training was very short I feel it will be very beneficial in the event of a rollover.

On Wednesday we went over MOUT(Military Operations on Urban Terrain), SINCGARS(Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System), the 9-line MEDEVAC and calling for indirect fire. We mainly covered room clearing for MOUT but I probably won’t be doing much of that since Afghanistan is mostly rural. We assembled the SINCGARS radio, went over basic setup, and covered standard radio etiquette and protocol. The 9-line MEDEVAC is just a standard format for providing information to medical teams when a MEDEVAC is needed. “Call for fire” is the method we use to call in artillery and mortar support. In short, we give grid coordinates and our direction; adjusting after each round until we acquire a 50 meter target bracket where the barrage will be lain. In Afghanistan, instead of large artillery batteries, there are single 155 mm Howitzers placed all over the mountains to cover more ground with overlapping fields of fire. I’m guessing that this is more effective since there is no front line and, with the rugged terrain in the north and east, it will take too long to move guns into position when contact with the enemy is made. We will likely use indirect fire often but calling for fire is usually performed by the radio man.

Thursday we had an IED(Improvised Explosive Device) class and preparation for our convoy training on Friday. IEDs are constructed from a wide range of devices and explosives from grenades wrapped with rubber bands set in cans of gas to multiple charge molten copper setups armed by cell phone and triggered by infrared sensor. They are hidden in anything from a coke can to a dead body to a live suicide bomber in a vehicle. Afghanistan is on the primitive side since it is a third world country but it still has effective IEDs. The most common there are pressure plate triggered IEDs since they are effective and easy to hide on all the dirt roads. The explosives are often munitions left over from the cold war. IEDs are the biggest threat since the Taliban will not fight us toe to toe. I heard that over 85% of US casualties in the Middle East are caused by IEDs. IEDs in Afghanistan usually initiate ambushes that follow the IED with small arms and RPG(Rocket Propelled Grenade) fire. After we locate them and start returning fire they will usually retreat.

Convoy training is focused on the detection of and reaction to IEDs. We were going to run on a nice course with buildings, OPFOR(Opposing Forces) and pyrotechnics set up. After being given a scenario we assigned duties and planned out our procedure for the convoy. It was a bit unorganized since we were just a bunch of soldiers thrown together with different jobs and no SOP for things like security and ambush reaction but we did what we could. On Friday we did a pretty good job. We spotted 3 IEDs before we hit them: one buried in the dirt, one in a rock pile, and one vehicle borne IED. When we made a stop at an Iraqi Police station we had some trouble though. While I was watching the front a few suspicious Iraqi nationals approached from the rear. At the same time, a vehicle we were warned about approached from the rear and got close enough to detonate his explosives. Immediately after, one of the Iraqi nationals detonated the explosives strapped to his waist and pyrotechnics started going off all around us. Unfortunately I didn’t see much of it since I was on the far end of our convoy and my security sector was towards the front, away from the action. Nevertheless I think it was a good learning experience for everyone.

Friday was also the day I left South Carolina. After getting our orders and packing up we headed to the airport at around 1300. I had another cav scout to accompany me on my journey to Fort Knox. Our flight wasn’t until 1955 but another soldier had a flight at 1430 and our drill sergeant wasn’t about to make the half hour drive a bunch of times for us. After transferring through Charlotte, NC we arrived in Louisville at around 0030. Some soldier accidentally took my duffel and after the soldier came back we found out the Army liaison office was closed already. We waited until 0200 for our ride and got to Knox at around 0300. We then basically washed up, ate breakfast, and waited to get picked up by our training troop until around 1000. Our troop ended up being in the Cavalry Scout Basic Training squadron. After we got there we dropped our stuff off at the barracks and immediately headed out to start training. On Saturday! Boy was I worried what the next two weeks would be like. You all will have to wait until my next post to find out ;D

Thanks for tuning in!