Another Day in the Army

I was in the field (again) all of last week.

There were two main differences between this field exercise and the other one I did in May.

1. This one was only a week long. The one in May was 30 really long days.

2. I got to do some cool stuff this go around. In May, I was like a newborn baby gasping for breath and wondering why I was covered in complete nastiness (metaphorically speaking, of course). I was assuming my position of leadership and responsibility in my Platoon and attempting to keep my head afloat the entire time as I "learned" my job. Being the new guy isn't easy. Plus, I was trying to rent an apartment, buy a car, and situate my entire life in a foreign country. It was an insane month.

This time it was a little different.

Here is a taste of the fun stuff I got to do:

Some friends and I got to fire some mortars/artillery. You can tell by my reaction that this was the first round we fired:



Here is me actually doing the firing:



And, I got a ride in a UH-1 helicopter (from the Vietnam era). We flew around for about an hour and watched the attack helicopters I work with fire rockets and machine guns in support of an infantry unit. It was a blast. At the end, you can see (but not hear) me say, "That's what I'm talking about! Another day in the Army, baby. WOAHHH!!"



Now, this stuff isn't my normal day to day job. But, like one of my brothers reminded me, these are the some of the perks that you don't get when you work in the civilian sector. Moments like these help motivate a Soldier to get through the grind.

And of course, the wonderful support and encouragement from most all Americans is a tremendous help too. It is a pleasure and an honor to serve you and our country.

Thanks for the support.