29 Palms

Here is an update of what I’ve been doing for the 2.5 weeks. Unfortunately, there is no internet access at the field camp where we are staying, but I am able to have 1 day of liberty to main side and therefore be able to do this.

Our unit has been training mostly in the basics of infantry because it is said that is where a lot of mistakes are made. Spent sometime doing BUST (Basic Urban Skills Training) like clearing rooms and building. Learning about satellite patrolling, through a city, which involves individual fire teams of a squad taking a street each. We also did EMP (Enhanced Marksmanship Program) to better our firing skills in confined spaces. This weekend, we begin our RCAX (Revised Combined Arms Exercise) which involves a lot of live fire ranges on the squad, platoon, and company level. After that, we are being shipped to March Air Force base for SASO (Security and Stabilization Operations) training and that involves basically what we are doing in Iraq right now: policing operations. At the end of SASO, we will be doing a 3 day exercise of it which involves role players, setting up a firm base, and conducting security patrols. After that, we are going to be pretty much done and waiting for further word of our fly out date.

Life here at 29 Palms kinda sucks; we live at a field camp which has hooches that have a hard rood, but sand floors. So everything I have is getting covered in dust. I get to sleep on a cot most nights and it is really cold at night here. It uses to be in the low 30s, now it is in the low 40s at night. Oh, no heaters in the hooches. It does warm up quite fast when the sun is out; like 70s sometimes. I am starting to get used to life here, so I don’t hate it as much as I used to, but still miss home. I try to go to church on Sunday’s, when they let us, but it is not very good. Try and merge Protestant, Catholic, Roman Catholic, and have a Lutheran chaplain. It leans more towards Catholics than anything I think.

Funny thing about here is that the base in Iraq, where we are supposed to be going, is better than this misery. I hear that it will have hard floors and roofs, internet access, and better chow compliments of Halliburton. Plus, locals are contracted to clean our rooms; a nice added benefit of being in a combat zone I guess. That’s it for now. I will post again next month if they don’t take away our liberty to Las Vegas again (1st had 4 days liberty, then no liberty, now 2 days).