Daniel in Iraq

So I finally made it to the desert. And they do have good dessert here. (chocolate ice cream!) Traveling is great and all. I've had the chance to enjoy and not enjoy many flights around to places near and far. Many people don't have that opportunity. As I was flying around the globe I saw many of my fellow soldiers become engrossed in the process of flying. Some people don't get to enjoy watching cool physics concepts take them places quickly. I still enjoy it but a little more discreetly than I used to. I enjoy looking at the wing and measuring how much flex the wing has between the moments of on ground taxiing as it supports its own weight and mid flight as it supports the weight of the fuselage. I casually stare out the window waiting for that perfect cut of air to happen in front of the wing that sends air streamers across the surface of the wing allowing me to see how the wind currents work. Point being, traveling is great. However, rapidly and drastically c...

So, one of the coolest traning events is the Leadership Reaction Course. It gives the chance for each soldier, usually a young and inexperienced solder, to take control of a team of four or five soldiers and execute a mission. The challenges are difficult and oftentimes bizarre. But most of all IT’S A BLAST!!! The course is separated into 16 different obstacles or missions. Missions are focused on real life scenarios. For instance, one might read: “The company that you are with is in desperate need of ammo and has requested an air drop to resupply. The ammo has landed across the river and you must take four soldiers and retrieve the ammo. Upon arriving at the bridge that was your waypoint you have discovered it to have been destroyed by enemy fire. All that is left of the river is the frame and stumps in the quick moving water. Cross the river using the supplied materials: a rope and two planks of wood. Bring back the ammo to the company along with all of your ...

So, by popular demand, or by request by my mother (which ever one you want to believe) I am going to update my post to include some of the most intense and entertaining things I have done in the past 24 hours...or week or two, or month. Well, today I'll describe Close Quarters Combat training that I was involved in. CQC is a style of combat that is probably the most dangerous and most unlikely to happen during my deployment. I, being a mechanic, might be close enough to throw a wrench or a ball peen hammer at someone when I'm in close quarters combat. It is the style of combat when we are kicking down doors and running through rooms trying to rescue the princess or someone else of import. It is intense and demanding physically and mentally. We are constantly yelling out commands and communicating amongst one another. Here in the picture you see a building with walls that are made for people like Gooby and maybe an umpa-lumpa. This is a "glass house", a house...