Smell of success

Greetings from Fort Huachuca. I am pleased to inform you that I have merely 14 days and wake up till I graduate!!! I am beyond excited. However, it is my sincere displeasure to also inform you that I will not be showering for 10 days. Say a prayer that you don't have to be within a 500 mile radius of me or any of the other people not showering.

I can handle a little smell, and with the help of my trusty baby wipes and man deodorant... I can do almost anything. Especially when smell equates a successful graduation. I'll be sure to shower before I get home... unless of course you guys would like to smell my success =]

Anyways, it's not a personal choice to not shower. This last week we've been prepping for the field. Basically, we're applying what we've learned these last 5 or 6 months into 10 sleepless, showerless days of fun. There is 3 different sites my platoon has been broken down into. Maverick, Papa, and Uniform. I'm at site Uniform... which I've heard is the worst of the three. Either way, nobody is showering and everyone will be sleep deprived. We usually wake up at 4 and go back to our humble abodes (very, very humble) at about 9 or 10, or later if we can't or don't get everything accomplished for that day. Furthermore, we're at the base of the mountain. It's freezing at night, and during the day it will be about 100 degrees... not factoring in our gear or us running around. They expect at least 20 people to be knocked out because of heat casualties. Oh how glorious. Most of those will probably be females. According to our cadre, we put up a fight having to take off all of our gear just to put it back on so we are typically the ones who hold out on drinking water. Tricky, right? To be fair, guys have the advantage because they can just whip it out... with gear or not.

We should be back by next Sunday... that's the hope anyway. And then I get to see my Momma and Harry. I'm so excited!!!

Oh. By the way, that other picture is me lookin extra good after getting back to the day. It is an obvious case of helmet head.

Battle Wounds

This picture is what makes waking up in the mornings at Fort Huachuca just a little bit easier. This is what we see as we sweat out on the PT field every morning. It's also our sign that in another half hour, we'll be released to shower and rush to get ready for the rest of the day.

However, these pictures below are what make me wince and grumble to wake up. This is a result of the training we conduct. This shit ain't so cute. These particular battle wounds originated from being shot at close range with the help of paintball guns posing as M4s. It was an exercise to simulate going and meeting a source, and then going into a village to act on the information the source had provided.

And this is how it played out... we went went on our mission ins groups of 16. 8 on one side of the road, and 8 on the other. All in all, there were 5 groups total that needed to complete the mission but they don't have enough supplies to do all of us at once... or the patience, I'd imagine.

We started out on an uneven road, and everyone was on the verge of rolling and spraining their ankle. We couldn't see anything because we were bogged down with a huge face mask, our kevlar, a protective vest, and a groin protector (which, if found out is merely for looks and to make the person wearing it as uncomfortable as possible as it rides up to create a "thong sensation"). Our peripheral vision was seriously hindered.

We started to approach an area with huge rocky hills, where we knew we would probably be ambushed. An ied exploded to the front, and we got down into our positions as the "enemy" (MOS-T soldiers that were aiding in our demise) started firing on us from all directions. I got hit three times, one in the face and two on my leg. The "enemies" ceased fired" and we continued on to meet our source, Abdul. That was our main mission today, just to meet Abdul because he said that he had some pertinent information.

After traveling a couple of kilometers on the road, we reached Abdul. Two of our team members went to speak with him as the rest of us pulled security. He said that in the village near where we were just attacked, was the area cell leader of Al Qaida in Iraq. We took a different route to loop back around to the Village.

Upon reaching the village, we saw about 20 villagers outside of their "homes." One approached cautiously, and in an instant he "exploded" himself with a grenade, "killing" half of our team. Since this is all just a simulation, we miraculously revived ourselves. We entered the village to find Abdul.

In the end, there were only a few people standing, and the "enemy" fired at us with their paint ball guns. I managed to hit a couple of them center mass before I was hit 7 or 8 times right near the supposed groin protector. And four times in the hand as they cornered me. To put it frankly, my battle wounds hurt like a bitch.

This is probably the most painful and most realistic training we've received here as of yet. Looking down at my welts... I shutter to think of these welts being actual bullet holes. This isn't just a kid's game anymore or a college like atmosphere. In a little less than two months, I'll be playing with the big boys... or girls I guess.

Anyways... take a gander at my wounds. I'll post some pictures when they actually start to develop a little more character. For now, I'm babying them by taking a quick nap before formation. I love you guys! Please say a prayer for the soldiers that aren't just playing with paint balls anymore... only 19 days till I graduate!!!

<3 Jacki

Beaten and Bruised with a Cascadona

Hello there from glorious Fort Huachuca. It's Easter... and I just downed a bag of Cadburry Mini Eggs. They were delicious... and totally necessary to cheer my melancholy spirits.. except now my stomach just hurts. Apparently, smoothy creamy chocolate is not always a cure all.

Apparently, watching Marley and Me is also not the greatest cure. I don't know why I didn't heed my parents warning... foolish little ol' me.

Anyways... I didn't even think I liked Easter all these years. It was just a day to get some candy and eat some of Harry's food. Being down here, I realize that I like seeing all of the little girls in their Easter dresses. And while I don't like being beaten and bruised with a Cascadona... I like the tradition of it all. It's worth the bruises and confetti smashed into my hair.

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter. Eat some ham and scalloped potatoes for me =] Love you guys and miss you, as always.

<3 Jacki

p.s. Only 26 more days left!!
p.p.s. the pictures are of the mountains I can see out of my windows. It's gorgeous. I took the picture a couple of days ago while it was snowing and hailing... yes. Snowing... in April... in Arizona.

Jean Claude the Third

Hello there from glorious Fort Huachuca. Please allow me to introduce you to my boyfriend, Jean Claude the third. I know what you must be thinking, "But what about Doug?" And I must informt you that what me and Jean Claude the third have is strictly business.

Alright, so this morning we drew (recieved) our M-16's (Jean Claude the third) in the wee hours of the morning for the upcoming ranges on Monday and Wednesday. And all day, we got to participate in the glory of dry fire drills... on the PT field. Which, in all reality, is very close to what it will actually be like in Iraq. With the lush green astro turf... and the baseball diamond within reach... I can't think of a more realistic location =]

With Jean Claude around, I'm limited on where I can go. Very limited. For some reason, people don't react very well to your presense when you have an M-16 slung over your shoulder. Weird, i know. So, I'm confined to a small area, about the size of a block, that's called Prosser Village. The only place I can enter is my living quarters and the chow hall.

I'll post some pictures on Monday and let you guys know how the range went.

Love and miss you guys as always!

<3 Jacki