Sunday, February 14, 2010

Camp Atterbury definitely has industry

I love Camp Atterbury compared to Camp Shelby. By the way, I haven't updated in a while because internet access here is spotty and I've been feeling lazy. Anyhoo, just the fact that we don't have to go outside and walk to another building just to use the latrine is awesome. The snow and ice kinda sucks though. It gets really cold in the morning and when the ice starts the thaw during the afternoon, everything gets a bit muddy. The gym and dining facility here are awesome. Also, we finally got our unit assignments. The rear party here have been very courteous and have treated us very well. For once, we seemed to be appreciated and welcomed since we have been mobilized. Up until now, it felt as if we were a burden that needed to be dealt with swiftly and harshly. I guess the National Guardsmen here appreciate that we are going to augment their units and deploy with them. Oh, by the way, I found out that I am going to be assigned to HQ. The unit is sending about a dozen of us to be part of ETTs (embedded training teams) so that we can support and mentor/train the ANA and ANP. Sounds like a really fulfilling assignment to me. The only downside is that we are going to an austere location. Word is that we have to set up a FOB and then start building up the infrastructure for that region. I've heard stories about ETTs and their mentees coming under attack by the Taliban. I don't quite know how I feel about that, but I guess I'll have to deal with it eventually. Oh, another downside is that we are all going to be split up. Well, I'm going to be separated from the others, rather. All of the other medics and most of the guys that I went to Camp McCrady with are attached to BSB (brigade support battalion). I think that they will be sent out to aid stations or they will run convoys mostly (I am not too sure yet). There was some talk about the other guys wanting me to switch unit assignments with some other guys, but I dunno how I feel about that. I mean, I want to stick with the guys that I've been training/living with for the past month, but then again, my unit assignment might be a once in a lifetime experience. I may never get another chance to work with foreign nationals in this capacity. Oh well. I think that I'm going to get some chow soonish. By the way, we finished our SRP (for the most part) and we get to start real training tomorrow. We get to start off the week with HMMWV rollover training and I think that we draw our weapons on Tuesday (we actually get to keep these and deploy with them). I can't wait to actually train and have some fun.

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