From the beginning...

16 May 10

I arrived in San Antonio International about 1720 hrs. Luggage always seems slow here…took about 30 minutes and then I took the 7 min. walk outside to Terminal 2 to the USO. There are plenty of signs but the walk can get tiring if you are dragging a lot of luggage. Some guys rented carts to haul their stuff to the USO and await the bus. It was probably worth the few bucks. The USO is small with very light snacks but functional. Check in with the USO desk personnel and tell them you are going to Bullis and they will give you the latest scoop as they know it.

Apparently the 1700 bus was late and the 1900 that I hoped to get on did not arrive until 2030 hrs. It was more than an hour before our bus, with its leaky A/C system, blaring loud 60s-70s made it to the camp. It was almost funny as we listened to Barry Manilow, Sonny and Cher, and “The Candy Man.” It felt like we were on our way to summer camp.

Upon arrival we were not met by a commander or anyone who spoke with authority. Eventually someone said to unload your bags and go inside the K-Span where we would in process. Although the personnel folks were not very clear and spoke as if we knew the layout of the camp, it was not too difficult to give them whatever paperwork you hand not already faxed to them, “skim” the camp rules and procedures book (would take ½ hour of you actually read it), and get your tent and squad assignments. You’ll have a squad leader assigned that is an SNCO and an assistant squad leader that is a CGO…although they don’t know that until they arrive. Next you go to the TOC (a trailer about 20 paces from the entrance to the K-Span) where you will get M-16 mags, pouch, a protractor, a compass and perhaps a few other minor items if necessary. The you go to a trailer back towards the camp entrance about 200 paces away. There you will pick up a helmet, body armor, and a sleeping bag. After than you are on your own until class at 7 am. Advice, directions, and a camp tour were lacking but someone who arrived earlier will help you out.

While waiting for the bus I grabbed a salad from the Cinnabon that was near the entrance of Terminal 2. I am glad I got some dinner because the best the camp had to offer was an MRE if you asked for one and you will get plenty of those 3x per day for the next 10 days. If you arrive late I recommend you eat a good dinner first.

It appears there are about 6-8 per tent and when you get there folks will be putting their stuff up and trying to get organized. The tents are temper tents with A/C and a hard rubber floor. We also have a small locker with 5 cubbies so bring a lock if you want to store your valuables…my 15.6” laptop fit just fine. The only other amenities you will have is a cot and power outlet.

Things I wish I had brought: A couple of hangars to help organize. A pillow and a bed sheet. The sleeping bag is hot yet it is nice to have at least some covering as the A/C kicks on and off. Maybe one of those thin fuzzy sleeping sacks would be an excellent solution. It is a matter of personal comfort.



17 May 10

I got up at 0545 to shower, eat my first of many MREs, and show up at my class in “full battle rattle” by 0700. Perhaps I can be quicker tomorrow. Apparently each day starts at 0700. Did not get a good night sleep with no pillow, hot/cold tent, late roommate arrivals, non-Temperpedic cot.

Today was easy with orientation, rules, gear ware, comm/radio procedures, weapons refresher. Tomorrow we have ½ day of aggressive course of fire.

We finished by 1600. I went to the gym tent for about an hour. The gym is decent but it was a bit hot…the A/C couldn’t keep up. Hopefully that get’s fixed. Then again doubling as a sauna is an efficient way to lose weight. After that, cooling off, shower, talking with other “campers” and dinner. I then went to the tent to read a little and start writing my notes when the wind kicked up something fierce…the tent was flapping hard. There was lighting in the area so we evacuated to the K-Span which is also the classroom. I was hoping to get a good night’s sleep…with some luck the storm will pass and I will not be sitting in my PT gear in a chair all night. The good news is we got the AV system working and have Master and Commander playing.

There are some “morale computers” in the classroom but they did not pay the internet bill so they are down right now. They are trying to get it re-activated but apparently the service is intermittent. I don’t believe you will be able to pirate WiFi while here. My Verizon Blackberry works just fine. Other folks seem to have service too…anywhere but the classroom. This K-Span seems to be blocking all signals.

Things I wish I had brought: A small back pack or pouch that clips to my gear for bug spray or sun screen, or small note pad, or pen, or various and sundry items that you can’t get at when you have your body armor on and an M-4 in your hands. The M-4 is always in your hands and the first couple of days w/o a sling. They took the slings away so we would get used to carrying it correctly. I think a Camelback that has some storage is an ideal solution…but you don’t necessarily want a huge one. Also a small pocket knife with a clip in addition to your Leatherman …handy for opening MREs and easier to get at. Some D-Rings or carabineers (2-3) to clip gear to your body armor or even your Camelback to your body armor. A water bottle. The Camelback is awesome but sometimes you don’t want to lug it around or it is attached to the body armor and not handy. Besides, you can mix Gatorade and dozens of MRE drink mixes in a bottle but not a good idea in the Camelback.

I brought some cheap fake Crocs from Walmart. I like these a lot more than flip flops for showers. The roads are too rocky for the 3 minute walk from the tents to the showers…and I think it is a camp policy not to walk around in “shower shoes.” However the “Crocs” handle the roads and shows with equal aplomb. Ugly as sin but effective. I give them two thumbs up.



18 May 10

Thunderstorm and lightening last night chased us out of our tents and into the classroom for several hours last night but when we finally got back to the tents we slept like rocks. The Col in our tent had the temps down to the mid-60’s so I wrapped up in my mummy bag and slept well until 0511 when the Col got the warning again for lightening w/in 5 mi so I just got up and got ready because I could not sleep while waiting to be rousted out. Turns out the lightening didn’t get any closer.

Today we spent the first ½ of the day shooting at pop-up targets all the way out to 300m. It was pretty cool. We each shot about 170 rounds. We were in full armor with helmet and it was hot so I was sweating profusely while shooting. It fogged my eye protection and then the sweat was just running down the lenses. Recommendation: fog treat lenses and then pull them away from your eyes a little to allow some air flow. Also, I learned afterwards that you don’t actually have to wear eye pro while shooting so I would have ditched them after they got bad. I seriously could not see the far targets ½ the time. Also, with the body armor it is hard to get a good solid position with the butt stock and your shoulder. If you don’t get that solved your stock will move and the gun might hit you in the nose. We had about 3 bloody noses today. The solution is to square your shoulders when facing down range instead of being at an angle. You might have to collapse your butt stock a notch but this works and may save you a bloody nose.

Sure wish I had a small bag or pouch that could handle a few snacks, sunscreen, and knee and elbow pads. I had to use a “combat Walmart bag” today. It worked but was not sexy.

The second ½ of the day we talked about IEDs in the classroom and then did an IED petting zoo, then walked a trail identifying IEDs and then drove up and down a road in the back of a truck identifying IEDs. It was mostly interesting because this is one of our real threats and you got to get out, and walk around with guns like you were on an Army patrol!

We got done today about 1730. I hit the gym, did a FOD walk of the camp, cleaned my weapon, had some dinner, got a shower and chased a mouse around our tent. He got out but I found his nest and got rid of it. They are serious about no food of any kind in the tent areas. We have a vermin problem w/o food in the area…only worse if you have snacks.

The shower tonight was cold. The heater never kicked on even after the “run two sinks” procedure. Then at the end of the cool and refreshing shower the power went out. It was the GFCI outlet outside the shower tent by the heater…the kind you probably have in your bathroom. Just push the reset button and at least the lights and fans are back on.

Watch your MRE consumption…lots of calories. The new MREs have shakes, pudding, cookies, candy in addition to the main dish and packet side. You can get fat even though you may be sweating like a pig. The shake packets have 460 calories alone! For dinner I just grabbed a few things out of the left over boxes and that was more than enough. They did bring in some pears and oranges today. It was good to add some fresh fruit to the diet. You need to stay healthy here. I recommend you take a 500mg of Vitamin C with each meal anyway. You can’t OK on C and there are 100 reasons why it is very good for you.

Remember to bring some liquid laundry detergent. They don’t allow powers in the high efficiency front loading washers. The good news is there are plenty of washers so and so far we have time in the evenings so you can launder often. Probably don’t need to bring a gazillion pairs of everything. I am guessing you can get by with two ABUs if you wash every few days. Hey, everyone is a sweaty so you might be able to stretch the uniform a day or two.

Plenty of showers also. Haven’t had to wait. However, out class of about 60 folks are the only ones here. Apparently there might be other classes on going at times so you might have assigned shower times and more competition for laundry if there are more groups on sight when you are here.

Getting to bed tonight by 10pm!

19 May 10

Slept good last night. The Colonel is keeping the tent at about 63 degrees. I am getting used to my rolled up towel pillow.

Today was a classroom day. We spend the first half of the day reviewing self-aide buddy care, and then learning care under fire and tactical combat care. Lots of real and disgusting photos and videos of faces blown off and the person still alive, sucking chest wounds, arterial bleeding on pigs that have been wounded, etc. Hope you don’t mind the bloody stuff. In addition to the IED stuff, this is probably the next most important info. Apparently later in the week we will, perhaps even tomorrow we will be tested in the field with moulaged personnel from Lackland.

The second half of the day we did the classroom portion of learning about small unit tactics. This will be interesting to practice and put into play in the field. Apparently that will be a good portion of the day tomorrow.

Hit the gym again today. Need to work off those MREs. I am getting better at food discipline but it doesn’t help to sit in the class all day with all the MRE snack items and dessert like drink mixes.

Got a hot shower and did laundry. Remember to bring liquid detergent only. The HE or High Efficiency type is best for these front loaders.

You can check out a canteen here so that can be your bottle if you want. In addition the canteen cup comes in handy for mixing stuff or for getting coffee for you coffee drinkers.

Again, having a handful of D-rings or similar is very hand for hooking stuff to your body armor or even for attaching your Camelback to your gear. Also, having some way to clip your Camelback drink tube to a strap or something on your front is nice so it is not always flopping around.

Your bathrooms are portapotties but they have been kept fairly clean and the smell as not been bad…This is surprising because typically these things reek and are disgusting.



20 May 10

Hands on, out of class from the get go today. The first ½ of the day we did foot patrols in V and file formations, laid down covering fire when under attack and egressing positions, low crawled on our faces, etc. It was kind of fun even though the gear is a bit heavy but we did get out slings back. Recommendation: Don’t but bulky items like your first aid kit on the front of your body armor. Low crawling and getting in the prone position to shoot are hampered if you have a bunch of gear attached to your front. Plus, whatever is on your front might get scraped off as you crawl or go from running to a prone position in one quick “smooth” move. With knee pads and elbow pads no clothing items got torn up although we did get dirty. You could probably sneak an extra box of blanks if you wanted to have a little more fun shooting today. Also, if you have the M-4s, make sure you have the yellow blank firing adaptor and not the red one. The red is for M-16s. They look the same but apparently there is a difference. I got a red one and had problems with my gun jamming today. The “tap, rack, fire” or even the “pull the mag and jamb your fingers in the well to poke out the stuck rounds” while under fire was probably and useful exercise. Reminds you to take care of your weapon.

The second ½ of the day we did four combat casualty exercises: mortars with death, personnel extraction and sucking chest wound, UXO with blown off limb, accident with compound fracture, and a bullet wound while under threat of enemy fire. Some folks got their uniforms stained with the fake blood but supposedly it washes off. This was kind of fun also. It is a training environment and you don’t get yelled at if you don’t do it perfectly. Just have at it, do you best and it will be fine. Again, the gear gets a little heavy and you will definitely be soaking wet but it felt good to do some hands on type work.

Due to all the time in the gear and the marches today I decided I had enough of a workout and skipped the gym but to be honest I could have gone. We finished up around 1630 today.

Good news, they are pulling out the cots and putting in beds. We might get some tomorrow or the next day. Should be more comfortable than the cots. So, you will likely have a twin bed when you get here so you might want to bring bedding or just throw your sleeping bag on top of the mattress since they will check out a sleeping bag. Who knows, maybe they will have sheets in the future?

21 May 10

Today started off with a few hours of navigation in the classroom with maps, compass, and GPS then a few hours with full gear traipsing around the hillsides navigating. Fun but hot and sweaty. Suprisingly a few folks had some trouble keeping a heading. Recommendation: Don’t just use your compass. Look at the map, the features along your path, and the contours especially. The compass should help but as you near your target you should be able to dead reckon.

In the afternoon went to the vehicle roll over trainer. Basically you are seat belted in a Hummer body on device so they can spin it around in a roll over simulation. They turn you sideways and on your head and you have to get out with all your gear on, grab you weapons and set a defensive perimeter. It is kind of fun but a little challenging when you and dumped on your head and have to pop the seat belts and crawl out a different door or hatch because yours is jammed. Here is the key: Know where your door handle is, open the door first, if it will open, and then pop your seat belt. If you pop your seat belts first you will be more disoriented and have lost some of your leverage for getting the door open.

We got the beds tonight and did and self-install. We will sleep more comfortably tonight!

Also, we took up a collection and the SRO, a Colonel, worked out a deal to get pizza picked up. It was a nice change but in reality the MREs are not that bad and we are in a rhythm of eating the bits and pieces. Also, the leftover boxes broken down into about 6 different boxes has been a big hit as people often just eat out of those and don’t even open up new MREs.

One of the guys brought movies on his hard drive and has been showing movies each night. He did not bring Stripes but it was voted the unofficial favorite to watch if we had it. Given what we are doing here Stripes and Full Metal Jacket quotes seem to fit at varying times. If you are so inclined, you might want to bring those.

22 May 10

Today started off with a little classroom time on convoys and then we broke up into three five vehicle convoys and did some IED and hostile encounters. We got hit about 4 times taking casualties and loosing vehicles each time but after an event was over, the dead or injured tended to, relocated and the med evac and EOD calls made, we were all restored and proceeded down the dirt road again. This took all morning. In the afternoon we did the same thing except on paved roads and at higher speeds. The bottom line is IEDs are hard as heck to see. You have to do your best looking out for them but what is more important is what to do after you get hit.

I was blown up once and had to be drug out of the right front seat through the driver’s door and stuffed in the back of another vehicle. Later I ended up having to do the same thing for someone else. He weighed at least 50 lbs more than me but with the adrenalin rush I was able to yank him by his body armor out of the front passenger seat and out through the door behind the driver’s seat. After than I needed help dragging him down the road and putting him into the back of another vehicle. We burned a hole in his uniform by dragging him down the street which he complained about later. I guess I could have left him in a burning vehicle?

Although we were in full gear and hot and sweaty today, I still hand the energy to hit the gym pretty hard. It felt good, besides, what else is there to do in the evenings but make phone calls, do laundry, take a shower, and eat more MRE deliciousness?

The beds take up a lot more space in the tents but they are far more comfortable than the cots. We have been getting wind in the evenings and tent rattling and slapping has been a bit noisy as well as the AC kicking on and off but the sleep is adequate.

23 May 10

We were able to store the weapons at the camp and go to Lackland by bus today at 0830. I am sitting in the Starbucks or equivalent getting internet as I type. The bus will come back at 1500. In the mean tiem one can wander around the BX, Commissary, Chapel, etc. for the day. Although you are not supposed to leave the base, if you had friends in the local area, I would plan on having them meet you. Just don’t be late for the bus!!!