GOOOOOOD MORNING AFGHANISTAN!

We arrived in Afghanisan exactly a month ago. Sorry that it took me so long to update the blog, but getting my boots on ground and gaining situational awareness in a place like this takes a little while. One of the first things we did was training for if we rolled over a vehicle while we were here. We had to get out of the mock vehicle while it was on its side and upside down. It was kind of like a ride at six flags.

MRAP Rollover Training:


Here in Afghanistan local truck drivers decorate the trucks the drive with paintings, frills, and bells. They are referred to as "jingle trucks" because of the sound they make as they pass by. I think MTV would have a great new show if they came out with "Jingle my Ride". The only problem with these trucks is that if you have them transport your equipment it might arrive with the fuel, belts, and wheels missing, if it arrives at all.

Afghani Jingle Truck


From our project sites we can see the locals that farm outside the "wire". Here are two pictures, one of a little boy that should probably be in school, and another of a shepard. The people here are living in the 7th Century.

Afghan Child


Goats


If anyone was thinking of coming to visit there is a nice hotel at KAF. The cost is only $250 a night. Please let me know and I will make reservations for you.

Hotel Kandahar


There are some comforts from home though that help keep spirits up. One of these is a TGI Fridays. This is located in the boardwalk area of the base. There is also a hockey rink there, and games get more fierce than the Olympics. There are 17 countries here at KAF. I included a picture of the Slovakians for Tanya. It was funny because they were signing "Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye" but their English pronunciation was not the best.

In here, its always Friday


GO SLOVAKIA


Despite all the FUN stuff to do one base, we are here to do a job. I included a picture of my Seabees hard at work pouring a concrete pad. And a pre-con photo of myself visiting a jobsite.

Hard at work:


ENS MacDonnell



We also had our first sandstorm yesterday. Similar to fog, except it makes you dirty. I am sure breathing it is very good for your health as well.

MRAP Driving in the sandstorm


And one last reminder of how far from home I truely am.


Toby Keith Concert tonight in KAF. I will be sure to get some pictures up here and try to update the blog on a weekly basis.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

On the morning of April 2nd2010 NMCB-21’s Advance Party(that’s right I was first this time) woke up at 0230 to board our plane for Kuwait. After checking our baggage in a day before(limited to 150 pounds of which my body armor weighs 75) we collected our weapons to be hand carried and headed to the theater for a lock down. In lock down the AP would get our small pox vaccine, a series of 15 needle pokes, fill out last travel claim, and have our last cup of American coffee…with a doughnut of course. Then we would board our plane for Kuwait.

Lockdown in the theater on Pt Mugu


Boarding our plane to Kuwait (I had 3 seats to myself=lay down and sleep)


How often can you carry automatic weapons on a commericial plane?


The trip to Kuwait lasted a whopping 22 hours, with stops in Maine and Germany, before landing in the flattest, driest, hottest, sandiest place I have ever experienced, Kuwait. We stayed in Kuwait for only 2 days while we zeroed the sights on our weapons and checked into CENTCOM.

Camels wondering through Kuwait


Then it was off to Afghanistan.
I was glad that I was not part of the group staying in Kuwait, since it was much hotter there. We also distributed our ammo in Kuwait, and then we were ready. A US Air Force C-17 would be our transportation to Kandahar, wearing full “battle rattle” and carrying our weapons once again. I slept the entire flight(about 4 hours) and woke up to “Good morning Afghanistan”. We were finally here.

Loading up to leave Kuwait


On the C-17 flying to KAF(Kandahar Air Field)

Fort Hunter-Liggett

NMCB-21 FEX/FEP:

Beautiful Fort Hunter Liggett:


The culmination of our preparation for war was an event called FEX, Field Exercise, and FEP, Field Evaluation Program. This is where the battalion goes into the field, takes a piece of ground, protects it from the enemy, and completes assigned construction orders or FragO’s. Going into the field I was the assistant company commander of Bravo company, but with my superior being “fleeted up” or promoted to assistant operations officer I found myself in command of the entire company. All of the sudden a master chief, senior chief, a huge team of 1st class petty officers, and 85 hard charging Seabees all worked for me. But let me not get ahead of myself.

Me and Senior taking coffee to the troops:


Seabees arrive to FEX in waves, and Bravo Company is the first one on the scene. One of our companies major responsibilities is camp set up for the FEX(camp of 500+Seabees, 50 pieces of Equipment, latrines, showers, a galley, battalion aid station, 4 Company Command Posts, 2 Combat Operations Centers, Power, etc) . For this task I would send my assistant company commander, a Master Chief and my Operations Petty Officer. It was decided that I would be on the last wave of people to go to the field, accompanying the XO, since the commander was in the field already(I still contend that this made the battalion XO for a short period of time). Either way the XO and I brought the last wave to the field about a week behind the rest of the battalion, who had been moving in waves of 75 for about a week until we finally brought up the rear.

Seabees manning the 240B and holding the line:


The first camp for the battalion is called the LSA, which simulates a secure area behind the front lines of battle. On the night we arrived the galley was serving shrimp and steak, and I was starting to think that the food I had brought in order to avoid MRE’s may go to waste. It wouldn’t but more about that later. The LSA was a more secure area and included amenities like showers, the only problem was that the battalion was slated to move to a FOB, or Forward Operation Base, the morning after we had arrived. This meant night operations through the night to be mounted out for a move in the morning. At the LSA and at the FOB members were to sleep in their one man tents. I am almost certain that these tents were designed for a 5’4” 130 pound guy, but am sure they were not designed for me, at 6’1” and 250lbs it was a struggle to fit me and all of my gear into this tiny tent.

The next day the battalion started leaving for the FOB. The movement lasted 3 days, and again the XO and I would bring up the tail end. The FOB was located in and unsecured area, with threats of direct enemy attack(small arms and vehicles), indirect fire(mortars and rockets), and gas attacks(self-explanatory). Everything from the movement on would take place in a tactical environment, similar to what we would experience in Afghanistan. This would prove to be the most fun training I have experienced.

Command Post Ops (Tony hard at work, Nice elf boots Alf)


When I arrived on scene at the FOB it was late at night and dark, since we were in blackout conditions so the enemy could not find us. There was a defensive perimeter established around the camp that included more that 8 crew served weapons(heavy machine guns) and some concertina wire(heavy stranded barbed wire). But at this point I was just tired. I found my company’s combat post, and luckily there was an empty cot that I commandeered and put to use by falling right asleep on. The next thing I remember is one of my Chiefs running into the tent coughing like he had come down with the plague, and everyone around me wearing gas masks. This would be the first of many gas attacks over the next few days. Each time there was CS gas canisters were opened and the air was filled with chocking gas….what fun. Gas masks and CBR(Chemical, Biological, Radiological) suits would be worn and kept on until the threat was subdued.

FEX/FEP would last another two weeks. During these two weeks I slept in my company CP as opposed to the small one man tents, solved one problem. The other unpleasant part of FEX was the food. MRE’s everyday are hell. Luckily I brought 4 cases of Cup-o-noodles, and since I am the armory officer, my cup-o-noodles were escorted along with my weapons by three armed guards! That’s one way to make sure you don’t have to eat MRE’s(meals ready to eat).

Company CP (my "room" is behind the Camo Curtain)


The duration of FEX would bring attacks on our lines by armed enemy troops, firing at us(blanks) and us firing blanks back. We also had some flares incase lines were getting attacked. Once morning we were being shot at from an armed vehicle and I decided to shot the flare into the air over the vehicle to illuminate the sky. Because of bad aim, I skipped the flare off the hood of the vehicle scaring the life out of the aggressors, and eventually getting yelled at for it. It was damn good fun.

We would return from 2 weeks in the field needing showers badly, and craving things like a burger and a beer. Eventually we would realize we were just stuck in Pt. Hueneme for another month!

Chaps singing for Ash Wednesday Mass:

A Few New Hats

The next fun and exciting adventure in the life of an Ensign is my latest assignment, to run the Battalions Mount Out Control Center. In a nut shell, the MOCC is the “brain” of the battalion for movement of troops, gear, and equipment. As the Officer In Charge, I am responsible to track every piece of equipment (ie fuel truck, Hummers, Generators,etc) as well as track the packing of pallets of gear and lastly track the people that would be deployed. This is all driven by several factors including, where we are going, what we need to take with us, and who needs to go. These are all prioritized and arranged to fit on planes, which we call birds. TRANSCOM tells us which type of planes we will receive(C-130, C-17, C-5, etc) and when they will be here and planning starts so the birds aren’t on the ground longer than 6 hours.

MOCC OIC (Officer in Charge) and Embark officer(trying to make an "E")


My job in the MOCC is to oversee the flow of information, and follow a checklist that tells me who should be doing what, what time they should be doing it, and in what order. Based on information flow from higher and knowledge of what going on in the battalion I proceed to make the mount out run as smoothly as possible. This is accomplished by a team of people, with me “steering the boat”.

NIGHT VISION!


My other new “hat” is being the battalion weapons and ordinance Officer. This means that I am the controller of all individual and heavy weapons, bullets, and explosives….also some really neat night vision. I have included a couple pictures of the crew served weapons we use; the 50 caliber machine gun, the 240B machine gun, and the m-19 automatic grenade launcher. I would tell you how many I have of each, but then I’d have to kill you.

50-Cal


Auto-Grenade Launcher


Also decided to take the “RAMBO” picture, now that I can. ENJOY!

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat!"
-Teddy Roosevelt

Snow in Southern California

So all of the 18 hour days and working through the night could not keep us down. Last Sunday, after a week of rain here is Southern California, we looked at the mountains to our North and saw snow.

These are the mountains(the goal), as seen from Port Hueneme.


Snow capped mountains don’t just look nice, they also make for a great hike. That’s just what we decided to do.
We climbed the tallest mountain we could find, somewhere inside of Las Padres National Forest. We knew there would be snow on the top, but never expected to have to hike through 4-6 inches of the stuff. Starting altitude was 2500ft above Sea Level, final alt was 5000+ ft. The hike to the top lasted about 3 hours.

(Playing in the snow)


Some Snow...and a beautiful waterfall.




After catching a great view and taking a bunch of photos, we climbed back to the bottom in about an hour and a half. Overall the hike was exhausting, but it felt great to get back into hiking, something I have not done much of since Boy Scouts.

Beautiful view off the front dash of our Chevy Pick-up.


We grabbed a quick dinner on the way home, and passed out about 8pm. Let’s just say that Monday morning PT and it’s 2 mile run was NOT fun.

What does it all mean??

I decided to stop and shake the rain off for a few minutes to enlighten you all with a second update. All I can say is what a week! Here in SoCal (southern california) we have had five days of solid rain. Sounds like nothing to my friends from the East Coast, but here on the Left that is A LOT. The courier post even covered it in an article here:

Five Days of Rain in Southern California

One the National Political scene it seems that the Country is finally waking up. I am not sure that the change the people would like is the same change that they sought when electing the big O, an no I don't mean Oprah. I think people are finally realizing that the answer to more effective government is less government. It does feel great to win Ted Kennedy's seat. Specifically that the person who won "Teddy's Seat" will be the vote needed to reject the largest increase in federal government intervention into private citizens lives since the great depression, something the Liberal Lion had worked to fuel for decades.

Well enough politics for now, but it was to big a win to go unmentioned.

I had a request that I specifically lay out what our battlions mission is in order for "my readers" to better understand what I am doing. I will attempt to summarize this as quickly as possible.


I am an Officer in Naval Mobile Contruction Battalion 21. A battalion is made up of approximately 600 people. The mobile aspect means that we can be ready to "mount out" and deploy within 48 hours of a order being recieved. Most important is our contruction mission, meaning we build and we fight. Contruction Batallions, or SeaBees (C-B's), became popular after WWII when the navy recruited contruction workers as enlisted Bees and Engineers and Officers. This is still true today, and the navy prides itself on having the most requested military construction force in the world, the SeaBees.

Our Bees are proficient in Building, Operating Heavy Equipment, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, and all other types of construction projects. We are also all tactically astute and prepared to defend ourselves to the fullest in order to achieve mission completeness. Most contruction workers don't have to do their job while being shot at, we do and we can!

As an officer I am one of 15 people that oversee the running of the battalion. I say that because the Chiefs really run the Battallion, and without those 45+ Chiefs we would be dead in the water.

Stay tuned for more on my specific duties......

• The difficult we do at once, the impossible takes a little longer.
- U.S. Navy Seabees

Almost ready to start week number 2

Wow, it has been a long first week here in Port Hueneme California. The good part is that it is about 75 deg and sunny everyday, no rain, and a big weather event is when there is a 10mph breeze that cools us off to 70 deg. Since we have been here we have been through gear issue, medical and dental check in, and admin check in(pay).





These pictures are of the building that we processed through. Our battalion HQ is located here, as well as berthing(bedrooms/showers) for our sailors. They live about 20 to a large room.

Here are a few pictures of my berthing.





As you can see I have my own room to myself, TV, a fridge, and a nice bathroom. This is the berthing for all chiefs and officers.

One of our first tasks was preparing our troops for a PGI(personal Gear Issue) inspection. Pictured here:



My average day consists of waking up around 430am and working hard until about 9pm. It takes a lot of hard work to coordinate the movements of 500+ personel that are gearing up to go to war. Overall, the situation here is great, other than missing everyone. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

Me and my PGI gear:



I have decided to end each of my posts with a "thought of the week" of sorts.

Qualifications of a Naval Officer
Written by John Paul Jones

It is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy should be a capable mariner. He must be that, of course, but also a great deal more. He should be as well a gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor.

He should be the soul of tact, patience, justice, firmness, and charity. No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention or be left to pass without its reward, even if the reward is only a word of approval. Conversely, he shouldn’t be blind to a single fault in any subordinate, though at the same time, he should be quick and unfailing to distinguish error from malice, thoughtlessness from incompetence, and well meant shortcoming from heedless or stupid blunder.

In one word, every commander should keep constantly before him this great truth, that to be well obeyed, he must be perfectly esteemed.