OBLC- Week 5

Our second week in the field was much less physical than the first. Instead of navigating around the field and negotiating the confidence course, we spent more time in the FOB and preparing for practical tests. Counting the reservist augmentation, our company is about 280 strong. Although there are personalities representing the whole spectrum living in close proximity, there hasn't been a whole lot of drama. There's been more down-time compared to last week, so folks are really getting the chance to get to know each other and learn from each others' backgrounds and experiences.

Two of the tasks to be tested out on at the end of the week included disassembly, reassembly & functional check of the M16 rifle in 4 minutes and of the M9 9mm handgun in 3 minutes. Most of us were able to do it with time to spare and those who weren't able to were given extra instruction until they could. As you can see in this pic of study time in our tent, everyone was determined to meet the final requirements.

The day to day operation of the FOB is maintained by various work details which rotate through the six platoons that make up the company (I'm in 2nd platoon). It's a little amusing that the only 2 RDs (Registered Dietitians) in the whole company are both in 2nd platoon. The person with me on KP duty (Kitchen Patrol) in this pic is the other RD, CPT Dunn. KP duty is actually pretty easy since we don't actually cook the food, we just serve it (it's brought in pre-made from DFAC [post Dining Facility]). The food doesn't exactly follow the performance-based menu we serve at the USOC, but is really good hot chow for the field!

Included in the weeks' training schedule was CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, Explosive Incidents). Back during my military days the first time around, it was just known as NBC (Nuclear, Biological & Chemical), but the prevalent use of improvised explosive devices has obviously changed all that. One thing that hasn't changed, however is the donning of the various levels of MOPP (Mission-Oriented Protective Posture). You see me here in the highest posture level holding my weapon. It includes a very thick protective hooded coat, pants, overboots, gloves & gas mask all worn over the ACU uniform and boots. The last time I had worn this gear was on a flight line in August in Gulfport, MS during a two-week annual drill for the Louisiana Air National Guard. The few minutes we spent in this suit here in cool temperatures was actually quite pleasant compared to performing aircraft maintenance while wearing it for a couple of hours in the extreme heat & humidity of the Gulf Coast in summertime.

For the third time in my life I went through the "gas chamber." I sympathized with the new Soldiers who had never gone through it before and were getting all worked up over the unknown. Of course, some of the cadre and other students seem to revel in telling stories that raised the anxiety level of these first-timers! My memory proved accurate as the experience turned out to be unpleasant but tolerable. The whole point to being exposed to chemical agents with the protective mask both on, then off is for the Soldiers to gain confidence that the mask will protect them during an attack.

There's a lot of tears and snot flowing as you exit the building with arms out to the side to allow the wind to clear the gas from your face and clothing. It burns the eyes and throat quite a bit, but a few minutes of walking around brings it down to a tolerable level pretty quickly. As I was exiting the building unable to see my surroundings through the tears and snot, I heard one of my battle buddies yell "Daigle, this is the first time during this whole course I've seen you without a smile on your face!" This comment of course immediately put a smile back on my face!!

One of the other cool things we got to learn was clearing houses. The feces would really have to be hitting the fan if me as an RD were clearing houses, but I was grateful for the experience for 2 reasons. First of all, you just never know. Second, it gives us medical providers a small glimpse as to what the infantry soldiers are going through. As we stumbled over each other through the exercise, I gained a whole new appreciation for the Soldiers who train these moves on a regular basis and are able to move fluidly as a team with little to no verbal communication. My awkward attempts with my team resulted in shooting 2 bad guys and a hostage. Hmm, need to work on my target identification I guess! Playing one of the bad guys afterwards was a lot of fun though!

That pretty much sums up FTX-2. Next week will be our last week in the field and we'll have to put everything we learned into action during the week long training operation. I'm looking forward to the challenge of our final week in the field.