Once a week....can he sustain this?

Enjoy....

Video time...

Another video created by our in-house photo and video guy.  Enjoy.

Where do I start?

So, it has been awhile since I have written anything and much has happened.  I have written this a few times and have just kept adding to the list for when I was able to complete something.  It took me getting sick (my allergies got the best of me) and being restricted to barracks that provided enough time to straighten out my thoughts and put them on paper. 

First off, we are all finally together here in wonderful Camp Atterbury, Indiana; both the CA team, and the other parts of the PRT.  It has been a crazy trek to get here, but it has finally happened.  We have all finished our language training and I again confirmed that I was destine to only speak one language; Immersion is the only way for me (and it sounds like the others too; except SPC Archuleta and SGT Carlson who picked it up pretty well).  I/we have (re)learned quite few phrases and have a good handle on the customs (again), just waiting to get in country and use them. We are working on more language training as the weeks progress, so we should be in better shape when we get in country.

We then moved on to what could really be considered continuing education for Civil Affairs.  More culture and history followed by an introduction to all of the civilian run (government and non-government) players on the battlefield and how they are operating.  For me, it was really good to get an update on the current operational environment and ask questions of the guys that are directly in contact or have recently returned from Afghanistan.  It was a bit frustrating to have to sit through with those that are hearing this for the first time and assume that they were the first one to ‘get it’ and felt the need to share with the class their ‘revelation’ as if they are now an expert. So is the life of a CA Operator.  We are used to it and are ready to answer questions when they arrive.

Shooting time!!!  This is when we all put in long days and really don’t care.  The whole team did very well.  The infantry guys were impressed and that means a lot.  Don’t take that as a slight on them, they are a very close knit group, and we need to prove ourselves to them.  SPC Archuleta smoked the M203 Grenade Launcher, so she got big props from the heavy weapons infantry squad we will be working with over the next year. We (CA) have qualified day and night on pistols, rifles, and some variation of a machine gun. This ends up being the highlight of our training since we don’t get a lot of time on drill weekends. I say that not having done any of the training that is “CA centric” (another one we ironically don’t get a lot of either) that is on the schedule.  It will all be fun in the end, and we will never turn down an opportunity to practice with no consequences other than a group laugh.

Tonight as I finish this up, our personal protectors of our freedom of movement will have to redo a task that will keep them from getting very little sleep in the next 48 hours.  It is a bummer that a silly misunderstanding discovered late has caused so much turmoil, but our guys just ‘rucked up’ and will get it done.  Good luck boys, shoot straight and stay warm.

CPT Love

FYI - For those that follow me on FB, I have made a change to my profile name.

It isn't a lot, but it's something....

This was created by our assigned Public Affairs Team.  it is a bit more than our first week; let's call it our first week of ranges.  I am keeping a running log of what we have been doing, but need still need to sit and line it all up and write something coherent.  The mood will not be lost....

CPT Love

Whoa....

Not ignoring everyone, just have not had a lot of time to compose something coherent.  Give me a few more days and I should have something good composed.

This too shall pass....

Sorry for the delay, some of us have made a move to Indiana and the internet access setup is a little different.  Even as I type this I am trying to figure out how to post it.  Regrettably, it will be a bit before we get some pictures posted; I/we just don’t quite have a solid way to get them uploaded….yet.  That will change once we get everyone in the same place and can get the pictures in one spot.

Even though we are not all co-located, we are all conducting Language and Culture training.  Speaking for just for me, It has been a while since I have dealt with the Afghan languages (Dari and Pashto)….I still have some Arabic stuck in my head (the irony is, for the first two months I had Dari and Pashto stuck in my head when I was in Iraq).  I am by no means proficient in any of the languages, but the Pashto (and some Dari) is starting to come back (I had some Dari training before our last deployment).  The cultural discussions are good for brushing the dust off and help make the transition to the Afghan ‘state of mind’; I am basically learning/refining my abilities to conduct myself in the most effective way.  We are also starting to meet some of the other people that we are going to be spending the deployment with.  So far it is just our Air Force personnel that will be supporting us on the on base medical functions (Physicians Assistant (PA) and two medics).  The rest will follow on soon enough.

Speaking of AF medical personnel…this war is getting too small.  I have run into the PA that I had with us on the last Afghanistan rotation I was on.  The thing that makes it so crazy is that she is in the Air Force! They do these overseas rotations much different than we do, so to run into her 5 years later on a deployment on the same schedule is just crazy.  She won’t be going to the same base I am this time, but was actually offered it during her in-processing (that would have been WAY too weird).

Those of us in Indiana are doing our best to make the transition less stressful.  We are having to remember how to live in a close quarters barracks environment with near 24/7 exposure to each other.  Dealing with the guys that snore, sharing limited shower time, and community everything isn’t exactly something that comes automatic regardless of the number of years of Army experience any of us have.  It isn’t like we are back in basic training again, but many parallels can be drawn comparing the first two or three weeks of that against what we are going through now.  For instance, little things like having people that like to smack/chomp/pop gum like a 14 year old jr high girl, add in some rank with different reporting channels/armed forces and tempers can get short…quick (this is my personal favorite/current hell).

I'm poking the other team members about blogging what is going on with them, but they are a little shy about it.  Little help

CPT Love

A Sick Joke?

As our first week is drawing to an end, I look back it find it weird to say we are 'deployed'.  We are in a hotel...it has an indoor water park in it; a water park! It has slides, and a lazy river; the whole shebang.  Lambeau Field is right out my window and a 15 min walk away (Brett Farve's restaurant is right there too).  We have gone to hockey games (Juniors hockey; 'kids too good for high school').  I don't mean at all to sound like we are out partying the whole time.  I then remember, on a personal note, Dan and I were both in the Philippines supporting Balikatan 2010 at this very time a year ago.

At the end of the day, I do know that very shortly it will all change.....but for now we will do our best to enjoy it.

We have done quite a bit of training (Project management, team building, etc) and have plenty more in front of us.  Everyone at this unit has been really helpful and has made us feel quite 'at home' here. It will be kind of weird spending this roughly 90 days with them all day every day and then not see them for a year as we "go off to do great things".  Our (AZ unit) group has such a diverse experience level coming in.  Some have no deployments, some have only Iraq, some have only Afghanistan, and I have both.  At times, I struggle to make the comparisons and I have to be very careful when talking of Afghanistan since I have left there almost 5 years ago.  Through it all, we all ride the same emotional roller coaster; the duration of the peaks and valleys is all that separate us....and how we react to it of course.

Keep an eye on the site layout.  We are adding and 'tweaking' different aspects of the page as more information and capabilities become available.  Some will start as placeholders and then be expanded as we get the final piece of info to fill it out.  We are always looking for suggestions for improvements that will help us better tell our stories, so feel free to make a comment or send an email.  We are so 'in the moment' that a lot of times we forget what we know and what you don't know.

CPT Love


PS - We are working on posting some pictures.  Have to figure out how we are going go about it.

And so it begins....

Greetings.  I hope this reaches you all in good health.  As we make all of our final preparations, I know I needed to take some time out and get this started.  In the coming months, these pages will contain the trials and tribulations of all the Officers and Soldiers of the 492d Civil Affairs Bn who's home station is Buckeye, AZ.  Once a month and for two weeks a year, we come from all parts of the Great State of Arizona (some even come from neighboring ones) to train for worldwide deployment.  This will become a 'living' documentation of those excursions.  Feel free to share this site, comment on posts, and generally 'stalk' us as we travel the world.  Welcome.

CPT Love