It wouldn't be the desert without Camels

So, I was out doing a training mission with my squad when a herd (?) of camels came strolling by. It was almost unbelievable. Of course we had to play with them. I got out of my Humvee and was just standing with the guys when one walked right over to us. Fantastic. So we all goofed around, took pictures and a couple of videos before it decided to be on its way. The whole time I was thinking... despite the heat and endless miles of absolutely nothing but sand still didn't hit me as hard as a camel walking up to our patrol... I'm in the desert.

So, the next thing that really made me think i was in the desert was this...

That's right.. not a serious one, but a sandstorm indeed. This was about 8 in the morning just the other day, just outside the berm of the training area. Thank God for goggles. Needless to say, respiratory infections are no fun. I woke up at about 140am or so, because sleep wasn't all that easy, and was already a little congested. This... this definitely made it worse. At the same time I was hating it, it was actually kind of cool - almost, surreal. Regardless, thank god for good goggles.

The heat is something that I can stand, and really has not bothered me. I drink about 9 or so liters of water a day. I sweat a lot, but I'm used to that anyway. Again... It is only spring, so it is bound to get worse.

So right now, I'm sitting in the computer center just working on this and uploading more pictures and reading the news. I'm guessing I'll have a couple thousand pictures by the time I leave here.

I like the news. It comes with being opinionated.

Here is what I think about the headlines thus far today:

"Risk Suicide to Quit Smoking?" - Isn't this kind of counterproductive (yet, it doesn't take as long)?

Iran: U.S., Britain Helped Mosque Bombers - Unfortunate attack, but don't blame us that we didn't help you... you should probably stop sending weapons to Iraq.

Maryland Woman Fined $310 for Killing Police Officer - Excuse me?

Prospective Juror in Pot Trial Caught Smoking Joint - Not for it... but hilarious...

Genes Reveal Platypus Even Weirder Than Suspected - Honestly? You think? Look at the name?

Nude Hiker Tells Women He Was 'Getting Close to Nature' - how about go to a zoo, smell a flower, plant a tree or mow your grass... all of those seem like healthier choices... I hope he walked through poison Ivy.

Anyway, enough for now. I will update again before I leave. I hope all is well with everyone and I miss you all.

You can view more pictures at http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn36/bulldog2c/

Camp Clark, Fort Dix, and New York....

I guess it has been a little while since I have written anything, but the Internet really, really sucks here. So, I will tell you what has gone on since I have started training at Camp Clark, Missouri. Just a little note, there is some information that I am not going to be able to write about on here.




I started this wonderful journey convoying down to Camp Clark, MO from the armory in St. Clair. While we were there, we did a ton of IED (improvised explosive device training) and just normal - basic training - type of stuff. We also did chemical training (see my in my chem suit below), combat drills, FOB work, and firearms. There were some issues with a lot of peoples pay and military insurance, but it got fixed as quick as they could... I guess... They sent us to Camp Clark for this new pre-mobilization training, so they could put us on state orders instead of showing federal orders for a longer time.. Which makes them look better for not having soldiers deployed for longer times... The food wasn't typical military food... It was worse. Actually, I would have had a joke about it, but it makes me too mad... Also, the military - in their infinite wisdom - had us training in Missouri in February to prepare us for Iraq.... Here are a couple of the pics I took there.

So, after twenty-some odd days in that place, we flew to the the greatness that is Fort Dix. Now when I said that, I had a hard time not smiling. Seriously though, it surprised me that there was a national terrorist incident here, look where it is, they're already dead. Now, it could just be this post, but it seems like there is nothing at all to do here. Now, that being said, there is a lot to do within an hour each way: Atlantic City, Philadelphia, New York, DC. All pretty cool places.
Fort Dix was the first stop on federal orders. We came here to go through federal mobilization training, to assist us in learning our job over there and to further our skills learned at Camp Clark. We worked with all of the weapon systems, did A TON of IED training, and lived on a mock Forward Operating Base (FOB). At the FOB, we lived in tents with wooden floors. It really wasn't all that bad due us having heat and electricity, but it was pretty dirty and dusty all of the time. Our latrines were Mr Bobs, same as Johnny on the Spots, out showers were actually in shower stalls in the back of a trailer to big truck (which wasn't bad, usually clean and always had hot water). It was about a football field to walk to though. Wind sucked... It actually blew down the tent down from us the housed another platoon's squad.

We did have some down time, but we trained about every single day from the time we got there, until the time we went on pass and I came back to StL - maybe one or two days off in between.
We learned a little bit of Arabic, and trained daily with natural Arabic speakers, which was a definite positive. It gave us a lot of experience using interpreters and how to be culturally aware of certain words and actions that could cause problems. We also did a ton of convoy training, some of which I deemed useless, but nonetheless. We would leave the wire (the FOB) in a convoy en route to all of training sites. We would then get hit by inert IEDs and and attacks by mock insurgents. Sometimes it was fun, other times... eh...

So anyway, our training ended with a well deserved four-day pass, in which I went back to St. Louis and spent time with my family and friends one more time before I left. It definitely was a good time. The weather was great the entire time. It pretty much culminated with a large family and friend barbecue which turned out well.

Once we got back to Fort Dix after the pass, we didn't do anything for a couple of days. The other day they took us on an MWR (moral, welfare and recreation) trip to New York, one of the places I have wanted to go to since I was younger. You can see the pictures here: http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn36/bulldog2c/ . It was definitely a good time. Some of us worked some magic with the police and security guarding the WTC Ground Zero site, and they let us in to the secure area where only construction crews and family members are allowed. I think it made the people standing around the fence pretty mad. I will go into more detail on my thoughts, really just to conserve time before flying out (I now leave in a half hour).

So, now its 1900 (7pm) on 30 Apr 08, and I am in the day room awaiting the bus to pick us up to go to the flight line. Definitely more updates to follow.

If you wish to email me, you can do so at pjwatson104@gmail.com