Training III

Yesterday: Pistol Sharpshooter (a middling score)
Today: Rifle Range, Intro to Combat Tactics. Fun.
This Afternoon: Gas Chamber. Not fun.

Oh, and two more shots yesterday.

Training II

Ran through a CFT and the rollover trainer today and I am a beat puppy. (A CFT is a Combat Fitness Test: a half mile run in boots and cammies [you'll notice I said 'run' and not 'comfortable jog'], lifting a 30 pound ammo can over your head as many times as possible, and a crazy 'maneuver under fire' course.) I got through the run with ten seconds to spare. (Hey, if the minimum wasn't good enough it wouldn't be the minimum.) Then we went to the ammo can lift. I'm thinking that 30-35 lifts would be good enough to score well and still not pull a muscle and screw up the next event. So I'm counting the lifts for this willowy female Lance Corporal and she pumps out 60. Oy. Then she counts for me. I quickly change my plans and do a face saving 63 lifts. The next event is fun but exhausting. Here at the DPC they use a permanent CFT course with lanes already marked out. Of course, that means that the grass has been worn away and we're crawling in mud. But you sprint, low crawl, high crawl, zigzag through cones, grab a wounded buddy and drag him back through some zigzags, transfer him up to a fireman's carry, drop him back at the start line, pick up two ammo cans, run (or walk in my case) back down the course, throw a dummy grenade, do some push ups, then pick up the ammo cans again and run (or walk quickly in my case) back to the start line. Like I said, crazy. And to make it even more fun I had to carry a bigger guy than me. But at my age I get about 6 minute to pass with the barest minimum points. I did it in 3:30. So that was successful.

Then there's the rollover trainer. Hmmm... I have to take back my Disneyland comment. First you buckle yourself in to the seats of the interior mock up HMMWV. This thing rests in a gimbal that spins it around at a decent but unhurried pace. They spin you two or three times and you end up hanging upside down in your seat belt or scrunched up against the door or something. Let me tell you, this is a very disorienting position no matter how Joe Cool you thought you were before. The light's at a different angle, the shapes of ordinary things are not like your brain thinks they should be, blood is rushing to your head, and you're probably carrying your full body weight on the top of your helmet. Oh, and you have a rifle to maintain control of. You find the latches of your seat belt, which never seemed to be where they were supposed to be, and unbuckle while unsuccessfully trying to prevent yourself from becoming a completely discombobulated lump of humanity on the roof of the vehicle. Then you have to manhandle yourself into a logical position, keep in mind that there are three other people trying to do the same thing, and figure out which door can open. Then you unglamorously haul yourself out and set up security positions. Repeat seven or eight times.

Tomorrow: Pistol Range. Even if it rains that should be an easy day.

Training

Now we enter the training phase of my time here at the DPC. This afternoon we had a familiarization class on crew served weapons and and introductory class on the rollover vehicle trainer. Tomorrow we get into a mock up of a tactical vehicle and sit in it while it gets rolled a few times. Then we get out of it without killing each other. Sounds like a good candidate for a new ride at Disneyland.

Oh, and more shots today. Yea.

More Handy Tips

1. Don't bother bringing an empty seabag to Supply. They're very good at arranging the gear you get by stuffing it into other things.

2. If at all possible, stay at the Lejeune Inn. It's right in the middle of mainside and the BOQ is quite a ways away. Getting a non-availability statement is easier if you don't make a reservation at the BOQ and go there to check in after a few days have gone by and everyone else has taken up the rooms.

3. Take a contrarian view of standard Marine thinking and don't do complicated things like Supply and Medical 'first thing' in the morning. Everyone is doing them first thing in the morning. Save your mornings for checking into the B.S. stuff like MCCS and PMO. Do the major muscle movements later when the lines have drawn down.

Supply

Went to Supply (Sorry, 'Central Issue Facility'. Who comes up with these stupid names?) today and got all the gear that they said I was supposed to have. It is an insane amount of stuff. I brought an extra seabag just to hold gear and I don't think it will be big enough. The main problem is that if I use my seabag and the huge pack I was issued I'll be going over the baggage limit to fly commercial. Since it seems like I got the complete combat load for Afghanistan. I'm getting in touch with the people I'm going to be working for and double checking on what I need. Djibouti is supposed to be a permissive environment after all...

Medical II

Here are some handy tips:

1. If you are a Marine reservist deploying overseas then you need to do whatever it takes to get your medical records in your hands before you leave. Don't listen to anyone who says they will be transferred "automatically." In fact, when you mention this at the DPC, be prepared for the room to burst out in a healthy chuckle.

2. If you know you haven't had very many shots then do whatever you can to get some of the live viruses administered before you report to the DPC. There's a 28 day wait between them and if you need more than two, you're screwed.

3. Learn to like waiting rooms.

Deployment Processing Center

Other than being next to impossible to find in the gloom of early morning, with little to no signage and an unmarked S-1 entrance that's hidden under a stairwell, things are running fairly smoothly here at the DPC. They have their check-in procedures down and you finish with S-1 to walk across the parking lot and sign up for training events through the S-3. Then you get your billeting arranged while here at CLNC. I'm sitting down with the MarForAf LNO after lunch and then starting my run through medical. Medical should take most of the week and all my field training will take most of next week. There's also a list, much longer than I had previously thought, of online courses you have to run through. Those can be done on my laptop at my own pace and they have printers in order to print off certificates. They also have a bank of unclassified computers that we can use.

There's a large group of Marines, mostly going to a new Brigade HQ that CENTCOM is standing up, and they are sort of clogging the system this week. No worries though, I'm pretty sure I'll be here for a month anyway. Another friendly LtCol pointed to my check-in sheet and said that it's basically a scavenger hunt. You finally figure out exactly what building and room you have to go to only to find that the person is out until tomorrow. That sort of thing. Really, the big hold up for most people seems to be medical and that's probably how it will be with me, waiting for all the live vaccines I have to get.

So it's been an interesting day one and it's only noon chow.