BOLC II Update…

I have now been at Fort Sill for 5 weeks, 4 of which have been training.  Tomorrow I enter the last week of training, 24-Hour Combat Operations.  We are living out of a Forward Operating Base and running continuous missions from 1200 on Tuesday to about 1800 on Thursday.  Friday is our final training day in which we will march back in from the FOB, a march between 9-10 miles.

The past two weeks have been busy with weapons training, Land Navigation, and MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain).  We spent a day at the Heavy Weapons Range shooting the M249 SAW, the M240B, the M2, the MK-19, and the M203.  I’m really glad I had the opportunity to shoot these same weapons while at Ft. Knox, because the limited supply of ammunition only allowed us to shoot approximately 15-20 rounds from each weapon.  On a machinegun, that number of rounds disappears in about 2 seconds.  After weapons day, we had a day of practice land navigation.  We paired up, I was partnered with my Westpoint roommate Vikas Bakshi, and were given 8 points to find in 5 hours.  The course was extremely easy and we found all 8 points in just under 3 1/2 hours.

Thursday we ran a convoy operation in which we had to react to an ambush initiated by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device).  I was Alpha Team Leader and was in the lead truck, the truck hit by the IED.  We were disabled and took 3 casualties that had to be moved to the rear Evac vehicle.  We then maneuvered to destroy the enemy and continued on our original resupply mission.  That night we went to bed early in order to rest up for the Record Land Nav Friday morning.  We woke at 0215 for our convoy to the Land Nav site at 0300.  The ride is about 45 minutes in the back of an LMTV (Light Medium Tactical Vehicle).  We arrived around 4, stepped off at 0430, and had to be back NLT (No Later Than) 0930.  I plotted my points and headed off.  As it turned out, the Record course was even easier than the practice course.  The terrain was more open and you could see a number of points from the top of any hill.  I made it back at 0715 with all 8 of my assigned points, the first to finish.  From there, we headed back to the barracks to clean weapons and get released for the weekend.

I took advantage of the time off to make a trip down to Dallas to do a little looking around and shopping.  The main attraction was the Cabela’s in Fort Worth.  I was able to find a scope and rings for the T/C Encore Pro-Hunter that I got for Graduation.  Thanks for the gift card Stroh’s, I put it to good use.  I opted for a Nikon Omega w/ BDC Reticle in Realtree camo to match the muzzleloader.  The rings are camo as well.  Other than that, it was a pretty relaxing weekend.

This past week was all MOUT.  We started with the basics, moving along buildings, down streets, and through choke points as well as breaching doors and moving up and down stairs.  We progressed first to clearing individual rooms, then single-story buildings, multi-story buildings, and finally small towns.  To make it even more difficult, we cleared the practice area, Liberty City, at night as well.  We also had enemy combatants placed strategically throughout the city.  They tried their best to complicate the missions by throwing smoke grenades, firing pop-shots, and throwing hand grenades.  Overall, it was the best week at BOLC II, because the cadre gave us the freedom to run operations on our own which kept morale much higher.  Not to mention the three 28″ round pizzas that we were able to sneak-deliver to the FOB for one dinner.  This was the first week that I’ve actually learned anything in the course.  Every other week has been straight review.

As busy as we were, the weekend came quickly.  Everyone was hungry for some good food, so we decided to head to Meer’s.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Meer’s is a 100 year-old country store and restaurant that was voted as having the best burgers in Oklahoma.  They have their own herd of cattle and use all their own beef.  They also have a delicious Meer’s Gold lager that is served in a 22oz. bottle.  A good 15-18 members of 2nd Platoon showed up to Meer’s on Friday night ready to eat.  We started with some Texas Sticks (Fried Pepper and Onion Sticks), Fried Greenbeans, and Fried Green Tomatoes.  I ordered the Famous Meer’s Burger, an 8oz burger served on a large kaiser roll.  After filling up on the meat and veggies, we finished off dinner with a couple orders of Fried Peaches and Cream.  I would have to say it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.  I will definitely be going back this weekend.

On Saturday, Billy Katanik, Jay Park, Pete St. John, and I went to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge to take some pictures and scout out a good lake to do some fishing.  We drove up to the top of Mt. Scott, crawled all over the rocks, and snagged some good pictures.  We found a couple lakes and finally decided on Lost Lake.  As are most of the lakes in the refuge, Lost Lake is a man-made lake hidden in the small hills on the prairie.  We found some great spots to cast from and knew we had found our spot.  We returned there today to catch some fish.  Jay struck first with a small Large-Mouth Bass.  The weather was not really cooperating and the clouds spit on us a few times.  As we were getting ready to head to a campsite to grill up some burgers and brauts for lunch, I hooked the champion fish of the day, an 18in Bass.  While I was on the grill, Pete snagged one about the size of Jay’s.  Billy left the lake without making a catch.  We planned to stay the majority of the day, but the weather took a turn for the worse and the rain came.  We hung on for about 30 minutes, but the combination of wind and rain made it a bit to cold to stay comfortable, so we left.  All in all, it was a fun outing that I hope to repeat in the future.

Now I’m counting down the days until I can leave Oklahoma and head back home, if only for a day, on my way to Fort Lee and the Quartermast Basic Officer Leader Course III.  I’m getting pretty tired of talking to Karrisa on the phone.  Skype has been an added pleasure, I’ve been able to see her a few times on the weekends, but it doesn’t compare to being there in person.  12 Days and I’ll be home.

The collection of pictures includes ones from US Weapons, the LMTV’s, Night-Fire, Meer’s, Mt. Scott, and our Fishing Trip.

Oh BOLC II…

Let me begin by first saying that I realize it has been nearly 2 months since I have last updated this page, oops.  Now that we have that out of the way, I can talk about what has been going on since the last update.

From the middle of July through the very beginning of September, I was the assisstant to the Executive Officer of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 46th Infanctry (a basic training company).  In this role, I mainly just followed around the XO to numerous meetings and made appearances at most of the training events.  More often than not, I was involved in the training in some capacity.  Given our lack of the required number of Drill Sergeants, I often filled in as a range safety during the many weeks of weapons training.  I had the opportunity to experience Basic Combat Training (BCT), something that you do not experience as an officer that commissions through ROTC.

Aside from living in the Radcliff, KY Econo Lodge for a month and a half, I really enjoyed the time I spent with Echo Company.  I had the opportunity to experience things that ROTC did not afford, including shooting a number of weapons systems such as the M249 SAW (5.56 Squad Automatic Weapon), the M240B (7.62 Heavy Machine Gun), and the M2 (Ma Deuce, .50bmg).  I also got to use varied night-vision, laser devices, and holographic aiming devices.  I crawled behind the privates during the night infiltration course, one of the final tasks of their field training exercise in which they must make a 100M crawl through the sand, under concertina wire and over logs, all the while having live 7.62 machine guns fired over their heads and C4 explosions erupting all around.  It was fun while it lasted, but by September I was ready for a change.

The perfect combination of holidays/paperwork/loopholes allowed me to come home from Fort Knox on a Friday, rather than a Tuesday and gave me 3 extra days at home that I enjoyed.  I was able to meet up with some friends from High School and realized how fast our lives are really going.  It seems that every month or so I hear about another person in my class that is engaged or married.  But, as quick as I arrived home I had to be back on the road.  Luckily, Karrisa was willing to ride with me the whole way to Oklahoma and risk flying home, hoping to avoid another disaster like the one she had to endure when flying home from Fort Bragg, NC last summer.

We left Thursday afternoon, because she needed time to repack after a business trip in Gettysburg.  She spent more than 10 hours in the car that first day.  We started out and decided to stop by Simply Smuckers on the way down RT 30.  We met up with Kate, wandered around the store for a bit, had a smoothie, grabbed some uncrustables, and headed out for Indianapolis, IN.  We checked in at the Staybridge Suites and did our best to find some dinner.  It was nearly 9 by the time we got our food from Red Lobster.  We crashed and prepared for the next day’s drive to St. Louis, MO.

The drive from St. Louis to Indianapolis was quick.  We wanted to have the time to check out the Gateway Arch and wander around the city.  The weather didn’t really cooperate, however, as the high that day was in the 60’s and the clouds were thick.  We still managed to go up into the Gateway Arch and explored the museum hidden underneath.  The Crowne Plaza wasn’t as nice as I was expecting, but nice nonetheless.  Hibachi was the dinner of choice, so we worked the front desk, computer, and GPS to find a place that was suitable.  The restaurant we settled on was the Kobe Steakhouse.  To me, it was probably the best Hibachi that I’d had, mostly due to a spicy sauce that I requested.  Karrisa didn’t really feel the same way, but I’m pretty sure she enjoyed it as well.  We headed back to rest for the long day of driving that would take us from St. Louis, MO to Lawton, OK.  The drive that day was just 585 miles.

It was now time for Fort Sill, OK and BOLC II.  The Basic Officer Leader Course II (BOLC II) is offered both at Fort Benning, GA and Fort Sill, OK and is a continuation of the training that you receive during ROTC.  The BOLC II mission is “To develop competent and adaptive leaders, grounded in the warrior tasks and battle drills, inculcated with the warrior ethos, who are prepared to lead soldiers in the comtemporary operating environment.”  But so far is has just been a bunch of poorly led, poorly planned training that frustrates everyone.  Some have even joked that we should commission after BOLC II rather than before, because they treat us like idiots yet expect us to perform with perfection.  We’ll see how things go in the coming weeks.

Because we get weekends off (Thank Goodness!), I’ve had the opportunity to get out and see what is in the area.  Located just north of Fort Sill is the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge.  The Refuge is home to free-range buffalo and Longhorns along with many other species.  Because its good to get away from time to time, I decided to do some hiking along the many miles of trails through the refuge.  In the end, I walked about ten miles of paths that led me through valleys, plains, and everything inbetween.  The weather could not have been better; it was about 85 degrees, sunny, and the wind was blowing a steady breeze over the hills that was just enough to keep me cool.

The best part of the hike was my face-to-face with a free-range buffalo.  OK, so maybe it wasn’t face-to-face, but I was pretty close.  About 7-8 miles in, I decided to take a break in a field that I had come to.  A slapping tail caught my eye and the brown fuzzy rock became a brown fuzzy buffalo lying in the field.  I worked my way around to try to snap some good pictures, but it was difficult because as you may remember, my good digital camera was lost in a prior excursion down the Green River in KY.  As I snapped one of my last shots, the beast stood up, prompting me to point-shoot-leave the area.

When I finished my hike, I drove throughout the Refuge, looking at all the other animals and I made my way to the top of Mt. Scott.  Mt. Scott has a road that can be driven to its summit with a great view from the top.  I also drove past the Meers Restaurant, a local favorite that serves a burger voted best in Oklahoma.  I think I’ll be going there next weekend to have a MeersBeer and Burger. http://www.meersstore.com

This week, we’ve got grouping, zeroing, and qualifications on the M-4 carbine, so I’m hoping some of the confusion and misdirection that has been happening during these first two weeks is over.  I won’t hold my breath.

Have a look at the pictures, I’ve included many from the refuge, Mt. Scott, and a shot of my new home.

I’ll keep you updated…

This, That, and Some More…

Things have been rather slow around Ft. Knox over the past two weeks.  We have successfully finished the Leader’s Training Course and have turned in all of our gear.  LTC Fischer flew out on Wednesday and we’ve been operating without a commander ever since.  The end of last week was slow.  We tried to find ways to stay busy, but couldn’t find much to occupy our time for very long.  We had the weekend off, so I decided to go on the longest bicycle ride to date, and we planned a canoe trip down the Green River in the Mammoth Cave National Cave.

For the ride, I rode south from Radcliff, KY towards Rt. 313 that would take me East toward I-65 and a little town called Lebanon Junction.  It was really a great ride.  The road itself was in great condition and the views were even better.  Here is a view of the route:

View Larger Map

The only minor mishap of the trip was the fact that I forgot to put on sunscreen.  When I left the Gold Vault Hotel at 1400 on Saturday, the temperature was 91* with a “Feels Like” temperature of 102*.  The sun was shining and no clouds could be seen.  It took me about 3 hours to finish the trip, and my arms were in the beating sun for the entire trip.  They are pink and sore and I’ve used up about 1/2 a bottle of Aloe already.  The trip really was a tough ride.  The hills made it strenuous and the heat compounded it even more.  If you use Google Maps and look at the terrain, you can see what I had to ride up.

On Sunday we headed down I-65 to the Mammoth Cave National Park.  The company we used was Green River Canoeing and each canoe cost $53.  This cost included a round trip 1970’s Chevy van ride to and from the river.  The van was outfitted with no seatbelts, the headliner was hanging from the ceiling, and we had to stop a number of times to close a finicky passenger door that just wouldn’t stay shut.  After 25 minutes of the sketchiest roads Kentucky had to offer, we finally made it to the start of the trip.  It was nine miles of lazy Green River that we covered in about 3 hours.  For the most part, the trip was uneventful.  We only had one major accident which came near the end of the trip.  Two of the guys got caught up in a surprisingly swift current, swept under a fallen tree, and flipped into the river.  They both came out just fine and we were able to recover all their stuff.

I was paired up with LT Joel Rogers.  We made it down the river without incident, but I do have a warning for those planning to canoe in the future; Hefty One-Zip sandwich bags are not waterproof.  Being the great photographer that I am and wanting to stay connected as much as I do, I thought it would be a good idea to take along with me my Canon Powershot A610 and my Motorola Q.  I planned ahead, taking with me a few trusty Hefty One-Zip’s to protect my things.  As we started down the river, I got in a few photos and then sealed up the bags, making sure they were fully closed.  Just a few miles down the river, I looked at my baggies to see both filled with water, and my electronics sloshing around in a pool of destruction.  My efforts to dry out the camera and cell phone were useless.  Both saw their end in the Green River.  The SD card from the camera did however make it out OK and I have the pictures to prove it (if only I could find that darn SD card).

In other news, my right passenger tire had been going flat lately and it needed to be reinflated once a day.  I knew their had to be a problem, so I looked the tire over and found a nail had found a home in my tire.  Luckily, the nice people at Berger’s Tire removed the nail and patched up the tire for free.  I also found out that I would be moving to the beautiful Econo Lodge after my reservation runs out at the Gold Vault on July 16th.  I’ll be home on the 17th, hopefully to get in a nice ride on the motorcycle, spend as much time as I can with Karrisa, and probably see Dad and Kate as well.  The ride is a bit sketchy at the moment, if only the parts I had ordered a while back would have arrived like they were supposed to.  Other than that, things are going well.  I’ll be joining the 1/46 Infantry next week where I’ll be sure to have more to say.

*Update* I found the SD!

Nearing The End of LTC…

I’ve been a bit lax lately when it comes to updating the site.  Last weekend I had a much anticipated distraction.  Karrisa and Garry made the long drive down to Kentucky so that Karrisa and I could be together and Garry could play golf and sell tanks, two things he seems to be pretty good at.  Aside from a 10K road march at 0330 on Sunday morning, the rest of the weekend was ours.  We spent Sunday morning/afternoon at the Diamond Caverns, a naturally forming cave in Mammoth Cave National Park.  That night I was able to introduce her to a majority of the committee at one of our most popular activities, a cookout.

We are starting to wrap things up here at LTC.  We’ve had 3 companies of JROTC, 5 Companies of Squad Tactical Officers, 5 Companies of LTC cadets,  7 Certification Classes, and a group of collegiate educators.  We only have one company of STO’s and one company of LTC Cadets left.  Yesterday and today were only half days, and the weekend is completely free of training.  As part of our continuing mandatory fun, we made the drive down I65 to Bowling Green where we visited the Lost River Cave.  It was much newer than the Diamond Caverns, but it was spectacular as well.

Today we finally found out when they have in store for us the rest of the summer.  The rumors of Air Assault, Hometown Recruiter, Snowbirding/Blackbirding, etc…were all just rumors.  Every last one of us will be at Fort Knox until our departure date.  We will be assisting the 1/46 Infantry (Basic Training) in whatever roles they see fit.  That means that I will be at Fort Knox until 4September08.

I’ve included a couple photos of the caves as well as one of a few of us messin around in our free time on the tower.  The photo is of myself, 2LT Jolene Miller of Kent State and 2LT Nick Lazzarevich of Bucknell.  We are lanes 5-6-7 on the 50ft wall.  The last photo is the LTC Rappel Committee 2008. 

Combat Lifesaver Course (CLS)

On Friday and Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the Combat Lifesaver Course.  This course focuses on three main tasks that can help save lives in battle; Inserting a Nasopharyngeal Airway, Needle Chest Decompression of a Tension Pneumothorax, and Initiating a Saline Lock and Intravenous Infusion.  Only one of these techniques can be practiced on a willing patient, the others only on a dummy.  There are also minor tasks including field dressings, tourniquets, MEDEVAC, and Field Medical Cards.

The Saline Lock and IV was the most exciting part of the course.  We were all trained on administering the IV and then we had to perform it on another member of the class to illustrate our skills as well as to show that we are not afraid to stick someone with a needle.  Just for fun, a buddy, Hutch, videod my experience getting stuck on my Cell phone.  2LT Jolene Miller, a grad of Kent State is the one doing the sticking.  The blood is the result of little pressure on the vein.  Enjoy…

http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j205/areeves08/?action=view&current=GettingStuck.flv

Morale, Welfare, Recreation (MWR)

Things are going well at LTC.  We have by far the best committee.  For the most part, we all get along, we have been blessed with great cadre, and our jobs are fun.  As a reward for the two weeks of little to no free time and not a single day off, the past few days have been rather relaxing.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all half days with fun activities in the afternoon.  Thursday I finally made it to the dentist, Friday we ventured down to the Maker’s Mark Distillery, and yesterday Thielmann and I put 26 miles on the bikes.  We’ve also been training more and more on the tower.  On Friday having mastered the swiss-seat rappel, we moved on the the aussie-seat rappel.  I’m still a bit slow, but I’m getting better.  Being suspended 50ft in the air, lying parallel to the ground, and being told to “just Jump” into a spread eagle and brake when you near the ground is a bit unnerving. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHtsff0SKeg&feature=related

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark is one of the oldest distillery’s in the US and a maker of fine Kentucky Bourbon.  We were able to take a private tour, taste some maker’s mark, and even dip our own bottles.  It is the Maker’s Mark trademark to dip the top of the bottle in red wax and to let the wax drip down the bottle and cool. 

First Report: LTC Rappelling 2008

I finally have an opportunity to use this Blog the way I intended.  To catch everyone up, I’ve been assigned as an instructor at the Leader’s Training Course.  LTC is a program to accelerate ROTC cadets that join the program late to the standards of cadets that joined during their freshman year.  I have been assigned to the Rappelling Committee, which is by far one of the best jobs to have here at Ft. Knox.  Here are a few pictures of where I work…

The large wall is 50 feet of terror, the smaller is a 19ft slant wall to help cadets master the techniques they will need on the 50ft.  I have been assigned a number of committee positions.  I am one of 6 demonstrators that will descend the wall during our “Tactical Demonstration.”  I am also an instructor for properly prepping a swiss rappel seat as well as a 50ft safety that will hook up and send cadets off the wall.

I don’t have any pictures of me in action yet, but I hope to pictures and video within the next week or so.

Surprises…

I couldn’t have been more surprised when Garry and Vaughn walked into the Sears’ living room with a Remington rifle. I was absolutely blown away when I removed the Rifle from its protective sock. The be specific, the rifle is a Reminton 700 BDL chambered in 30-06. It has a beautiful walnut stock and the Sears men were nice enough to include a Leupold VX I 3-9×40mm Scope. I feel it was too generous, but I love it nonetheless. Here is the best picture I could find…

I was amazed to find out that Karrisa had actually tried to find out what type of rifle I wanted, but I didn’t help her out much. There are a few things that I’ve come to discover she just really doesn’t care about; one of those being guns and the other being motorcycles. I should have known she wouldn’t be talking to me about guns for no reason.

Today, in an effort to stay in shape, I decided to head out on the new bike to break her in. I planned a trip that would be between 15-20 miles, depending on how I felt. The rid started out great, the sun was out and the temperature was just about perfect. As I continued away from the city into Russell Township, I had a slight lapse in concentration and rode right over a shattered bottle of Bud Light. Road tires don’t handle glass very well and it wasn’t 100 feet before my ride was out of air. So, being without a cell phone, I picked up the bike and began my walk back to school.

Luckily, a nice older gentleman was on his way to a funeral and offered to give me a ride. He only took me back to Richmond Rd., but it was more help than I expected. Not to mention he was driving a gorgeous new BMW 760. It was pretty nice on the inside too.

The reasons for creating a blog…

I can’t really say that I’m the blogging type. There are far more things that I would rather be doing than sitting on a computer, typing comments about my life. But I do, however, feel that it is a great idea to record the events in one’s life with words and pictures. So that is what I intend to do. I can remember years back when my mother would get all excited that we had another email from Dave. Well, I plan on updating my blog as regularly as possible. Maybe weekly or biweekly, to keep everyone informed as to what is going on in my life. Dave really is the inspiration for this creation, and I hope that I can create some memories that will rival the stories that he told. So let’s start fresh…

Today I purchased a bicycle. I’ve been wanting a good road bike for years, as I’ve slowly outgrown the mountain bike phase. I never really had the money to put towards a quality bike, but with my CD maturing in under a week. I thought now, with premium gas at $3.79 /gallon, is a great time to do it. A graduation gift to myself if you will. I spent the day traveling around the East Side, visiting shop after shop looking for the right bike. I was able to pick up a 2007 Trek 1500 SLR in Trek Red. I’ll be looking to get rid of the MTB to help offset the costs. We’ll have to see if the 9 year old GT Rebound is worth anything. I can’t wait to try out the new Trek on the road. Here is a picture of the new wheels…

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