Lets go!!

Hello again, alright so randomly our training schedule has picked up pretty substanitally.  This is good news but also very confusing.  We have been doing a lot of dismounted foot patrol tactics.  Its actually a lot more fun and interesting than what we normally do (mounted patrols) but unless something has changed we are slotted to do any so Im not sure what the purpose of it is.  It's probably our company just adding any training we can get into our schedule to satisfy us and keep us busy until we leave.  Im ok with that, the more training you have and are validated on the more well rounded soldier you will be I suppose.  A lot of people are freaking out because they think we are going to be slotted into some sort of infantry roll, which is not out of the question but highly unlikely.  Theres a lot of rumors flying around the closer we get to leaving, Im trying to ignore all of them unless they come from higher ups.  The PNN always has crazy things going through it.  The PNN is the private news network, basically lower enlisted hear something and then blow it out of proportion or drawing crazy conclusions. 

The past two days I have been doing MATV training.  It is an MRAP variant that replaced the HMMWV and its a very cool vehicle.  Today was kind of an off day and I was just doing some details around post for the company but yesterday we did the MET (MRAP Egress Trainer).  Its bascially a simulated vehicle rollover where you learn to evacuate a flipped vehicle, more specifically an MRAP.  You get flipped upside down and have to egress out of the vehicle within a certain amount of time and pull security afterwards.  Its kind of fun but I've done it about 4 times so it's not as cool as the 1st or 2nd time. 

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.  We have daytime and nighttime driving so I will basically be driving all day and all night in order to become licensed on the MATV.  The night time driving we have to drive with a DVE (driver vision enhancer), its basically a thermal camera attached to the front of the MRAP that allows you to see heat signatures so that you can drive without headlights on.  So that should be kind of cool but from what I hear its kind of difficult since you have little to no depth perception.

I talked to a few people in the 84th and they are getting anxious for us to show up because that means they are about to go home.  That date has yet to be confirmed to us so I can't really release it yet but from what I am hearing its pretty soon, we have begun packing up all of our ACU patterns and shipping them back to Mansfield and should be switching over to multicam uniforms sometime this week, so take that for what its worth.

Continue to keep us in your prayers, we are all doing well.  We did have a bit of a tragedy today, my squad leader lost a child today and is currently en route back home.  Baby was to be due in May so it was pretty tough.  Definitely keep him and his family in your prayers. 

As always I miss and love you all, hopefully the next time I update it will be from somewhere other than the United States.  Take care!