Finally a killer, but let's just hope and pray 9-12-09

This week's training primarily included training with the M-9 pistol, and the M-16 rifle. Never in my glorious life did I think that I would be dressed in full battle gear armed with a side arm and a M-16 rifle simultaneously. The battle gear that the Sailors wear here at Fort McCrady is serious business. It consists of full-plated body army known as IBA. It weighs 80 pounds, and covers the chest, back, flanks, and shoulders of my person. In addition, Sailors wear a Kevlar helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads. In the hot South Carolina sun one can get hot in this stuff after just a few paces, or by merely just standing still, or by sitting in a 45 minute bus ride.



On Wednesday we learned what to do in case our Humvee flips over, or worse goes into water. This training is known as HEAT training which is an acronym for: High Mobility Egress Assistance Trainer (http://asc.army.mil/docs/pubs/alt/2007/4_OctNovDec/articles/52_HEAT_---_Army_Innovation_in_Action_200710.pdf) At the initial stage of the war in Iraq many Humvee were being targeted by IAD's and terrorists and soldiers did not know what to do when the Humvee catapulted onto its side. Due to this lack of training, many of the gunners who sit quasi atop the vehicle were being killed when the vehicle flipped. Soldiers also did not know how to exit the vehicle, and so naturally they panicked which could lead to greater casualties. Basically, the Humvee trainer sits atop a medal steak and can do a 180 degree turn. The Humvee does not move forward, but merely rotates so I don'


When I got to this training evolution I was a little nervous. I did not want to do anything to call attention to myself, or to make a fool of myself. When it was my turn to partake in this training, I got into the vehicle put my seat belt on and locked the door without incident. The operator then flipped the vehicle and the four students in the Humvee yelled, "rollover, rollover, rollover." This is the standard call sign soldiers make when a vehicle is about to flip. The operator turned the vehicle all the way over (180 degrees) and I had to try to exit the vehicle. This was no picnic as the vehicle was upside down, and I was wearing the IBA battle gear with my seat belt firmly secured. The operator flipped the vehicle wice, and twice I had to exit the vehicle only the second time the Sgt purposefully locked my door so that I could not get out from my side. He said I handle the situation well though, and I made my way out of the other door. Mission complete. The key is not to panic in these situations. Unfortunately, one of the older doctors in my company did and she came out of the Humvee balling like a baby with diaper rash. In fact one Sailor in the other Company was stricken by this training due to his claustrophobia that he decided to decline to go on his trip to Iraq. He gave it up, and cried "rescue" which coincidentally was the term that we could use if we wanted out of the Humvee. After the Humvee training we actually got to drive a Humvee. It was not unlike driving any other vehicle except that it is a diesel. It is automatic transmission as well. I drove her about a mile before I ad to relinquish the wheel to another student. As I have heard repeatedly from the drill Sergeants in our cadre (cadre is merely a word for a group who trains people) the Army likes to keep things simple.

It always takes me a lot longer to master things than it does the ordinary person. This was surely the case for Friday and Saturday's M-9 training. For some reason I can't seem to hit the backside of the barn when shooting. I get really nervous that I am going to do something unsafe, and get yelled at so much so that I don't focus on the act of shooting. A lot goes into shooting. There is your aim, breathing, and trigger pull. And with regards to the qualification, you also have to take your weapon out of your holster get it off safe and fire all in a relatively quick time. So on Friday when we went to qualify for the M-9 pistol I was nervous. Unlike the first time I shot the M-9 this time I was shooting in my full battle gear which made it even that more difficult.

On the day of the test, I started off killing targets from 3 meters away. This is not difficult. However when I got to the 7 and 12 meter line I started missing. I did not know that I was missing because I could not see where my bullets were landing. I only know that once I got my score I had not passed. I was one of the only few. I was humiliated and embarrassed- and tired from getting up all week pre 5:00a.m. in the morning. Lack of sleep puts me in a foul frame. cause I know that I have good hand eye coordination. In the afternoon we shot the M-16 which I do not have to qualify on. I found that if I cover my left eye with a patch I can shoot a lot better. For some reason when I try to close my left eye to aim I end up closing my right eye slightly as well which messes up my aim.

With regards to the M-9, after I failed the test a drill Sergeant Price took me aside and starting coaching me. He helped me with the fundamentals. Drill Sergeant Price is a Copenhagen chewing, Southern guy with a thick accent from south Charlotte. He like all the cadre members at McCrady is an Army reservist who was called back to active duty to train us Navy folk who are headed to Iraq. He is a first responder in his civilian. Sergeant Price did not make me feel like an idiot for not passing, but rather he tried to make a bad shooter perform better. He could tell that I had a good attitude and wanted to learn. I asked him if he liked his job, and he said he loved it and that he was going to take great pleasure in watching me pass the test. Well, thanks in large part to Sgt Price I passed the test today and am now qualified. Mr. Polite the man who runs the range and truly is as polite as they come can now call me a killer. That is what he calls all the Sailors on the range. Essentially the only real thing I needed to pass in order to get to Iraq was the M-9, and so I am satisfied, although I know that I can certainly improve on my shooting abilities. Let's just hope that I don't have to call on these skills when I get to Iraq. So long blog.