volkov

Ok back for a few days from field training in Ft. Polk Louisianna. Spent almost the entire time out in the field...being all manly....you know..not bathing, running around with a machine gun and such. It was actually kinda fun and it's good to see the bonds in my platoon cementing again after being allowed to relax in the last year since we got back from Cuba. We did a lot of support operations and stability operations training. patrolling city streets and house searches and things like that. there's a lot more training on the way when we move to California in the next couple weeks. It's being stressed pretty hard how difficult and complex our missions will be given that we are NOT going as an all out combat mission, but rather we are ordered to restrain all force unless out right attacked or placed in a situation where using it becomes neccessry. it's a really difficult thing to ask of someone to gauge the situation, especially in that environment. but we're getting good training and the platoon I'm in is certainly the best in our Company and probably one of the top three in the Battalion and we take a lot of pride from that fact. unfortunatly it also means that a lot of the key leaders in out platoon are being snatched up and sent to other platoons that need the kind of leadership that we are almost overloaded with. but it should work out ok. I'm not worried too much. it's still at least a couple months away. I'm focusing right now on learning the training and surviving the physical conditioning. people who know me know I like to travel and backpack, but the pack that us infantry guys hike around with is hefty. usually in excess of 65lbs. we did a long night hike two night before last and it tore up my feet pretty good. sweated right through my cammies. but I made it thorough.

I'll be busy for the next couple days getting everything taken care of in Texas that I can before I leave for Cali. there's a chance that I might get a few days off in Cali, so beware SGLA...I may be comin' out to hassle y'all.

I've got good friends in my platoon, but I miss all my friends on this site and at at home. to everyone who's emailed me or stopped by, thank you. I really really do appreciate it. I'll keep around as much as I can for as long as I can.


v