Michael 还说他已得到美军的奖学金,完成任务后将回学校攻读NAT (Normal Accident Theory)方面的博士学位。祝他好运,没有Accident,包括Normal Accident。
Hello Everyone!
Hope all is well. Just wanted to check in and update everyone. Well, after weeks of intensive training, I'm still alive! J I'm glad to report that the weather in Wisconsin is finally getting warmer even though it's almost May. The cold weather training has been quite an experience. I really do miss the clear, wa rm, and beautiful weather in AZ. All I can say is cold weather training sucks! (pardon my choice of word). I'm surprised I still have functioning toes, fingers, and ears. We've been training with the new issued interceptor body armor (IBA) and it seems to weigh a ton this time. Imagine carrying your body weight plus an extra 40 lbs for 8 hrs everyday. The IBA includes side and shoulder plates for additional protection which we didn't have during my last deployment. We also have elbow and knee pads too. Not that my job description requires me to kick and knock down doors (goodness hope I don't) but I suppose more protection is better than less. Some of the training was really fun though. The HUMVEE roll over, urban ops, weapons simulator, weapons qualification, convoy ops, etc. was fun. Night fire really tested our shooting abilities because the targets were really hard to see. Tracer rounds helped out a lot and served as guide. On convoy ops, reacting to ambushes and IEDs under extreme and chaotic environment was quite an interesting experience. You definitely have to love the profession of soldiering other wise all this may seem miserable.
After weeks of individual and collective unit training, the last requirement culminated with a command post exercise (CPX) in command and control. Considering that the unit training was physically draining, the CPX was more mentally draining. It was pure 8 days of being locked in a secure environment and conducting a fast pace war gaming exercise (12-16hrs a day) testing our ability to plan and execute a war as a brigade staff. You can almost equate the CPX to "Abu Graib" but for staff soldiers. You're locked inside the four walls and only get out when you need to eat or use the restrooms. It wasn't physically abusing but it sure was mentally.
Now that we've validated our training requirements, the reality of going to war is starting to set in. We're getting a few days off to relax a little before the fly out. I'm told we will have internet connection where I'm located in Afghanistan so I will be able to stay in touch with everyone via email.