CAST TD-5: 10-4, good buddy, east-bound and down

Since we’ve been here, I hadn’t had a gung ho attitude about any of the exercises until today. We learned about Mounted Operations. Or, “What to do if your convoy is hit by an IED”.  Of course, when you think about the reality of what we’re doing, ‘fun’ isn’t the word I’d use. I guess it’d be better to say that today’s exercise held my attention the best, and the hours went by quickly. I can’t think of a scenario where I’ll ever be in a convoy while I’m in Baghdad; still, it’s probably better to at least be familiar with the basics should I ever need them.

The really great part of today was the brevity thereof. We were done by 1530, which is a first. A lot of us just sat around and BS’ed, some washed clothes, some had a siesta, and those who fired at the “enemy” today (using blank rounds, of course, which are extra dirty), cleaned their weapons. In the scenarios we went through, I never had occasion to shoot, so I escaped that chore. I’m either slow, or overly meticulous (probably both), which means it takes me about 30 minutes to break down, clean, and re-assemble the M-4. Nevertheless, I find it strangely cathartic and rather satisfying to clean a weapon.

Here, again, is my daily gripe/whine that I still don’t have any travel plans. I’m now among a dwindling few who don’t. Now that Friday has come and gone, I guess my frustration must continue through the weekend.

I’m really hoping that it doesn’t rain tomorrow (or more specifically, doesn’t lightning) because we’re currently keeping on schedule with the course. If that continues through tomorrow, then we have the entire Sunday off. Our options are limited, though: either stay here, or go to Lackland. I’m vacillating on which I’ll do. If I stay here, I can relax more readily because I can retreat to my tent if I so choose, and I can get some washing done with fewer folks competing for the washing machines (yes, we have washing machines in our simulated war camp). If I go to Lackland, then I can go to the BX and buy a charger for my cell phone. (You may ask, “What idiot would forget to bring his phone charger when he’s deploying?” Well, that’d be me.) The downside is I’d have to find something to do for 7-8 hours, yet without a car or anywhere to just sit and relax. I thought about wearing my uniform over there and terrorizing the basic trainees (“Hey, give me a 341!”), but that would only kill about an hour before I’d tire of it. I guess I’ll decide tomorrow night after I see what the majority of folks are doing.

More fun tomorrow: Land navigation and…uh…mmm… I dunno. I guess I should have been paying closer attention. Time to call the Mrs. and then hit the hay.