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