Change of Plans

A quick update for everyone on the status of my deployment. Before I get into that, however, I would like to rehash the events of this year's deployment saga. Knowing all the facts will help you enjoy the real fun of being in the Air Force in 2009.

Sometime at the end of February I received an email warning of the impending deployment cycle. It had the usual information about keeping training current and updating anything that would preclude us from being deployable. I took the email as a chance to make phone calls and try to "pick" a location and time that was beneficial to the family. My only real note of importance was to try and avoid going back to Kabul, Afghanistan (this is important).

After some phone calls, it looked like I had secured a deployment (#1) to Iraq for October. A month later or so I was surprised to see a notification for a different deployment (#2) leaving in June to Afghanistan. Several phone calls and emails later I was told the June deployment was cancelled and that I was back on for my October vacation.

My deployment to Iraq required some high-speed "Army" training and I headed out to Wyoming for a two-week lesson in being a soldier. Training went as any other typical Air Force run training event - established schedules, spoon-fed blocks of instruction, cool exercise at the end, etc. I had some fun and met some cool people that I stay in contact with courtesy of Facebook. One problem though, two weeks before I was supposed to leave, my deployment was cancelled.

A cancelled deployment, what's not to like right? Well, in today's military a cancelled deployment lasts about a week before you are hit with another. True to form, I promptly received another deployment (#3) embedding with an infantry unit in southern Afghanistan. If you are savvy at all on the "non-tourist areas" of Afghanistan then you will know that the south and eastern portions are major no-go areas for your next family vacation. Additionally, heading out on Army patrols isn't a skill I am well versed in at the moment. I have to be honest and say I was a bit nervous about this trip.

Remember that Iraq deployment and training? Yep, it didn't cut it as the type of training required for this new deployment. I don't have to spell out the drama of the new training course in New Jersey - just read the other posts in this blog. Do you also recall what happened when I was two weeks away from my last deployment? Well, the Afghanistan deployment got cancelled just 10 days before my departure - what a coincidence.

Wahoo right? Nope, it took a whopping day for me to get tagged with another deployment (#4) to Afghanistan. This time I have some aspects in my favor, such as the fact that I have already done the "short" and "long" training classes, which means no more training. I will also be home for the holidays with my family and that is simply priceless in my book! There was a negative of course, remember that note about not deploying to Kabul? Oh yeah, that is where I am headed...well, kind-of - stay tuned for an update to the actual location.

So, here I sit with a couple months before I leave on my fourth scheduled deployment for the year and all I can think about is what changes lay in wait for me next. Needless to say this deployment cycle has been filled with tons of fun, and I am actually excited to deploy so I can get it over with...finally.

Thank you to everyone for their support throughout this process. Family and friends alike have all had words of encouragement or been a sounding board for me at one point or another, so thank you very much for your time and compassion.

Stay tuned, I just may have other posts before my deployment...you never know what could happen next.

A moment of clarity

Yesterday marked our final day of convoy training. While the classroom and rehearsal portion of training weren't exactly riveting, the last two days of hands-on were a lot of fun. Learning how to handle yourself, and if need be - your vehicle, in a convoy is a very worthwhile task if you ask me. In the middle of our exercise, I had a few minutes of sobriety - let me explain.

My role during the exercise was to be the gunner in the rear Humvee. After strapping into the extremely uncomfortable gunner's restraint, I wedged myself into the turret ready to roll. Our mission was simple, drop off some supplies to an Iraqi Police Station. After receiving some other pertinent information and a safety brief, we started to roll out.

Along our route we encountered a vehicle that was on our list as "suspicious." The red truck pulled behind our convoy and I tried to persuade the vehicle to back off. After a couple attempts at maintaining a safe distance, the vehicle dropped the hammer and started closing on our convoy. My decision at this point was easy - safe to semi and fire (military slang for shooting). I was surprised at how quickly I could blow through 30 rounds with my M4. A quick note: No, we do not use our rifles for gunner positions in vehicles - this was just an exercise. Despite my quick response, the exercise required that our vehicle take the hit, so we reacted to the simulated explosion.

An instructor came up to our stopped Humvee and handed me a casualty card with a photo and description of my injuries. Training took over as our crew immediately went into the "gunner down" battle drill. I was pulled from the turret and ended up in the lap of the remaining crew member. Combat life saver training was then put to use as my injuries were assessed and treated. While all of this was happening, the radio chatter was filled with information relating to my injury and a medevac was requested. By now my head had been bandaged, airway secured (simulated because I didn't want that NPA in my nose), and saline-lock established (simulated also because of the instructor input, although I could have used the fluids).

This is where I began to ponder my situation and what the training was meant to prepare us for. The bandage on my head and face had covered me completely - blocking my vision, which left my mind to wander. I thought about the scenario - had I reacted correctly? I thought about our battle drills - were we quick enough? I thought about our communication - had all of the information been passed? My injuries had left me unable to communicate, so aside from the occasional response to ensure the bandage wasn't choking me or cutting off blood flow, I was supposed to sound hurt and eventually go into shock.

I continued to play the role but my mind still wandered. I thought about the injury - what other steps need to be taken? I thought about myself - how would I react to someone laying in my lap? Yes, we've been having fun with some of the training but this is what we were training for - responding to an enemy force. Don't be fooled, however, training is preparing us for the worst of what will happen when we struggle to do our best.

Arriving at the landing zone brought my mind out of it's pondering state and I was pulled to a simulated helicopter. Unfortunately, I missed out on the rest of the exercise but learned that our convoy had done well overall. Despite my small, mental glimpse of reality, I enjoyed the training and appreciated our instructor's efforts at preparing us for deployment.

On a separate note, we've finally reached week five of training. I would complain about the fact that I haven't had a day off yet but it has brought me through all of this training very quickly. I am extremely excited to have a "pass" for half the day Friday and even more excited to get on a plane Saturday morning.