Training

Training is trucking right along....I have learned more Army lingo than I could have ever imagined to include such word and terms as I have translated below;

Galley=Chow Hall

You Tracking?=Are you paying attention? Do you understand?

Lets break...every 40 minutes

Glow belts=Safety reflection belts we must wear from dusk till dawn

Weapon appreciation-bringing it with you EVERwhere you go

Latrine=bathroom or as the Navy calls them, 'heads'

Cattle Car=large vehicle much like cow trucks

More acyronyms than I can shake a stick at like NVGs (night vision goggles), EST (simulators), PMI (something about instruction), ACU (uniform), etc....

50 Caliber Simulator

The Army is strange in its ways...but its still been fun playing soldier. This week was the biggest perk with Humvee drivers training completion. I can successfully operate an M1151 HMMWV independently. It was like being able to mudd in the coolest 4 wheel vehicle ever. We did a few night drives as well, and I was able to take some sweet pictures as below. The NVG's can play tricks on your mind, but the view is awesome.

Night Vision Goggle View of skyline

The rest of the past few weeks have been hit or miss with our schedule. We continue to have lots of white spaced time and days off. They have created more unneeded courses, like 50 cal (fun, but will never shoot one) and such to fill our space. Once we have gotten a day pass to Seattle, and we are scheduled to have 2 overnight liberty periods before we leave. Most all of us are of course excited, but eager to get over to Afganistan as well. We are replacing a crew that is waiting on us to get there and have thus been extended. Still glitches in communications, but its all good. We'll be there in the next few weeks. Still no definite word on departure, but sometime before 11 March.