This is a two week post just because I got lazy and kept forgetting to do my posts. So here we go
Tuesday April 22nd
Started the day out with a major pain in the ass. A trailer we had ordered to carry some of our vehicles to a repair yard was canceled a day before we needed it. This caused myself and Chief M to scramble for an hour trying to come up with a solution before the unit called us back and told us that they had made a mistake and that the pickup was still on. Good shot of stress to start the day off.
Later in the day I found out one of our soldiers, SSG D, who works at the gym because of his different profiles, was facing a field grade article 15 for not reporting to work on several occasions, showing up too late or leaving work too early. I saw him, 1SG W, and CPT B going into the 2-82 Field Artillery commander, LTC H's office for him to face the music. Couldn't hear what they were discussing but I found out later he didn't get any sympathy. He was demoted to an E-5 among other punishments.
On top of that one of the other soldiers they called in to be a witness for the Article 15, didn't help SSG/SGT D or himself. I'm just going to call him SPC Dumbass because he showed up with half of his hair dyed reddish/orange when the rest of his hair was brown. The second he left LTC H's office, the 2-82 Command Sergeant Major, CSM C took SPC Dumbass into his office and proceeded to rip him a new asshole for a good ten minutes and told him if he saw him with dyed hair again he would cut his hair in a way that would be very unpleasant for him.
To top of seeing other people screw up, I had my own minor brain fart during Retreat. As the trumpet started playing I saluted the flag. For some dumb reason I dropped the salute early and I heard someone behind me yell out "Hey soldier". I realized my mistake, went back to saluting, until the music stopped. As I turned around a Sergeant was standing there, he started to say something until he saw my gold bar. He sighed and said "Thank you sir I feel much better now, I really didn't want to rip some private a new asshole at the end of the day". We both laughed and I told him "No Sergeant, you just get to make the LT feel stupid". He laughed and told me to take it easy. Screwy day but still entertaining.
Wednesday April 23rd
Had the typical maintenance meeting like every Wednesday but this one took place at a new motor pool so I showed up super early and waited for everyone else. I was at the meeting alone this day because Chief M had other stuff to take care of. This shouldn't have been a big deal but the Brigade XO asked me a question that I had no clue how to answer, so there was an awkward 15 second pause where I though I was going to get lit up. Thankfully the other XO's in the room, a bunch of Majors, saw I was clueless and jumped in and helped me. Felt good to know even the Majors who don't know me are watching out for me.
Thursday April 24th
Nothing super special happened this day. The way most Thursdays go.
Friday April 25th
Today was an early PT day. CPT B and I had to go to the SHARP (Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention) 5K run which started at 0600. When CPT B and I got there it was really unorganized so we just stood off to the side. When 0630 rolled around General Milley came out and addressed all the soldiers there, thanking them for coming out and told us at the end of the run we were all allowed to go home for the day. So about 4000 soldiers got a free three day weekend. Turns out the run was well short of 3.1 miles at least it didn't feel that long to CPT B and I. At the end of the run CPT B told me that he was taking leave the next Friday until that following Wednesday. So I'd take command of the Detachment until he got back.
Monday April 28th
Started out the new week refreshed because of the extra day off. Was nice to get the extra relaxation. Started the day out by meeting MAJ C, the new 2-82 Battalion XO. He already seems eager to help me learn even though I'm not in his unit. Much more pleasant then how MAJ L finished up by screwing me over. MAJ C is trying to help as much as possible to fix our Motor Pool security issues by scrounging around the base for padlocks and chains for us. I'm looking forward to working with him more.
Found out from CPT B today that we'd also be getting two new 1LT's sometime soon. One is supposed to be our new S6 (Communications guy) and the other is supposed to be the Maintenance Control Officer, which we definitely need. Hopefully they show up sooner rather than later.
Tuesday April 29th
Not much happened Tuesday morning. If there's one thing I've learned on rear detachment is some days are just downright boring. During our sync meeting in the afternoon we discussed the issues we had to deal with since the unit is close to coming home. They should get here sometime in the middle of May. Also found out for the first time about a Division run and a diagnostic PT test this week.
Wednesday April 30th
Started the morning out with my first ever Division run. I didn't get the best directions to our link up point so there was a 20 minute period where I was terrified I wouldn't find CPT B and the rest of the detachment. Didn't help that I felt like death when I woke up either. Thankfully I found them before the start of the run and we were all on the Division Parade Field in time for Reveille. As I expected the run was pretty much a giant 2ish mile long slinky. Still pretty cool, had the 1st Cavalry Division band set up in a few spots playing current music to pump us up. Crazy to see the thousands of other people running too.
Later on, I found out that this weeks maintenance meeting is most likely my last one as the new 1LT were supposed to get next week is going to get assigned to the motor pool. Works for m, although I learned a lot the meetings were more of an hour and a half long break in the middle of my day.
Ended the day by running over the Brigade Chapel, meeting with MAJ/Chaplain L and getting the place set up for our reintegration briefing for the soldiers spouses the next day. Not a bad day in the long run.
Thursday May 1st
Woke up feeling like death warmed over. Great timing since it was last day before CPT B went on leave and I'd take over on Friday. Didn't do much during the actual work day but we had two different integration briefings for the unit's spouses to help them deal with their soldiers coming home. Basically gave them an overview of what to expect and the different programs available to them and their spouses. Not a hard day but a long one, woke up at 0520 and didn't get home until 1945. Felt crappy the whole day too.
Friday May 2nd
Today was the big day. My first day as acting commander of the detachment, and of course I woke up feeling like absolute death. Every time I swallowed it felt like battery acid and my neck and ear were swollen and aching. I went to work and before PT was over I'd completely lost my voice. Had to do a Urinalysis too which was rough considering how dehydrated I was. 1SG W decided to release the unit at noon because we had no soldiers miss a medical appointment for the entire month of April which is a big deal. I went straight to the ER after. Got there at 1230 and didn't get seen till around 6pm. Eventually the docs on base said I had a pus filled abscess in the back of my throat and the only way to make it better was to drain it. So they tried to drain me with a 18 inch long needle. Base docs couldn't do it so they sent me in an ambulance to Scott and White in Temple. The docs there were able to drain about 4 cc's of pus out of my neck. Thankfully my buddy 2LT Hallam kept me company and drove me to get my meds and home afterwards. I finally got home and passed out around 230 am Saturday, already starting to feel better.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
April 14th-17th
This week started out pretty rough. I was in the ER for a few hours Sunday. I though my cellulitis in my legs were flaring up again. I was on the couch all day Saturday and Sunday morning with cold sweats, hot flashes, a fever and painfully sore/achey legs. When I finally went to the ER they sent me home with some painkillers and couldn't really figure out what was wrong.
Monday
I cant remember much that happened this day. I was in a fog because I still felt pretty shitty so I stayed in my office and just did paperwork and sent emails.
Tuesday
Started working on an Excel document to track the 200+ vehicles in our motor pool. Have to figure out every vehicles serial number, registration number and bumper number. Its going to take me a while to make sure we have them all. I was also assigned by Capt B to make sure that our S4, Supply, section is keeping on top of the various details we need to ensure the unit redeploys home successfully. This includes ensuring we can move all their weapons from the airfield to the units buildings, ensuring all the returning enlisted soldiers have access to barracks rooms etc. Its a lot to put on just 1 SPC and 1 PFC so I need to make sure they get all the help they can.
Wednesday
Not much happened this day. Same old drill a lot of paperwork, emailing, and running paperwork between buildings. But I did finally feel 100% from the weekend. I did have to run to a cardiologist on base as a follow up because the ER thought my resting heart rate was too high. The cardiologist had me take an EKG and my heart is apparently really healthy and he thought they might have been overcautious. So some good news at least.
Thursday
This was a pretty relaxed day like most of my Thursdays. Went by quick and it was the last day before a 4 day weekend so basically just spent the day getting busy work done before the weekend. After that we had the Easter Egg Hunt for all the soldiers in the squadrons children. It went well had about 20 kids show up and over 500 eggs for all of them. One of my PFC's dressed up as the Easter bunny and did a great job dealing with all the kids from a 6 month old up to about age 7. It was a pretty good way to end a week that started out rough.
Monday
I cant remember much that happened this day. I was in a fog because I still felt pretty shitty so I stayed in my office and just did paperwork and sent emails.
Tuesday
Started working on an Excel document to track the 200+ vehicles in our motor pool. Have to figure out every vehicles serial number, registration number and bumper number. Its going to take me a while to make sure we have them all. I was also assigned by Capt B to make sure that our S4, Supply, section is keeping on top of the various details we need to ensure the unit redeploys home successfully. This includes ensuring we can move all their weapons from the airfield to the units buildings, ensuring all the returning enlisted soldiers have access to barracks rooms etc. Its a lot to put on just 1 SPC and 1 PFC so I need to make sure they get all the help they can.
Wednesday
Not much happened this day. Same old drill a lot of paperwork, emailing, and running paperwork between buildings. But I did finally feel 100% from the weekend. I did have to run to a cardiologist on base as a follow up because the ER thought my resting heart rate was too high. The cardiologist had me take an EKG and my heart is apparently really healthy and he thought they might have been overcautious. So some good news at least.
Thursday
This was a pretty relaxed day like most of my Thursdays. Went by quick and it was the last day before a 4 day weekend so basically just spent the day getting busy work done before the weekend. After that we had the Easter Egg Hunt for all the soldiers in the squadrons children. It went well had about 20 kids show up and over 500 eggs for all of them. One of my PFC's dressed up as the Easter bunny and did a great job dealing with all the kids from a 6 month old up to about age 7. It was a pretty good way to end a week that started out rough.
Friday, April 18, 2014
April 7th-11th
Monday
This was another rough day to start off an interesting week. After the run around I had to go through last week getting my vehicles dispatched, I was hoping this week would be a little easier. No such luck. Maj L was a giant pain in my ass again and even though I gave him the dispatches at 0930 and told them we needed them asap in order to go pick up parts for our vehicles, he seemed to have other stuff going on. I checked into his office at least 5 times and he either wasn't there or said the dispatches weren't ready. By the time he finally got to them it was 1530 and we'd lost most of a day of work on our vehicles. I liked Maj L in the beginning but since he was on his way out of his unit I think he'd checked out. Thankfully his replacement Maj C seems eager to work with me.
In the middle of the day I had to attend the S-3 sync meeting because Cpt B had to run an errand. I was a little nervous when I walked in because the room was full of Lieutenant Colonels and Majors. I was lowest ranking one there. I only had to talk for one slide, so I wasn't too scared about that. Then when it came to me, someone else covered it before I had a chance to say anything. So I basically sat in an hour and a half long meeting for nothing. Army life.
Tuesday
This was a very interesting day to say the least. I woke up my normal time for PT around 0520. I left my house at 0540. I was on the highway to base at around 0550. I live 4 miles away from the main entrance to Ft. Hood. I did not even get through the gate until 0830. It was bumper to bumper traffic the entire way. 1 in every 3 cars had to stop at the gate, the driver had to get out open their hood, trunk, all other compartments and all their doors and have it checked. All of this was because of the President coming in for the shooting memorial Wednesday. So I missed PT due to traffic and was only in my office about 10 minutes before I had to go home and change into ACU's for work.
Because of the horrible traffic jams I wasn't able to get much work done because it took so long to get around base. The memorial was throwing off a lot of stuff for the week. I drove by 3 Corp Headquarters building, here the memorial would take place. I saw some kind of wall had been put up overnight. As I got closer I saw that the wall was built out of shipping containers. I found out later that they were stacked 3 containers high and 2 containers deep. All because of the Presidents visit. Crazy.
Wednesday
Most of the base had the day off due to the invite-only shooting memorial. Plus all the gates to base were closed for a 4 hour period so it was almost impossible to get on base anyways when you added in the heightened security.
Thursday
I didn't really record anything interesting happening this day. I'm pretty sure I just sat in my office sending emails and doing paperwork. Nothing too special.
Friday
Nothing super exciting happened this day either. Hard to write down interesting stuff happening when the unit does no training. Only notable thing was I had to give the safety brief at final formation because Cpt B and CSM T were both gone. Pretty much the same you give out in ROTC. Don't drink and drive, do drugs, or be a dumbass but in a lot more words.
This was another rough day to start off an interesting week. After the run around I had to go through last week getting my vehicles dispatched, I was hoping this week would be a little easier. No such luck. Maj L was a giant pain in my ass again and even though I gave him the dispatches at 0930 and told them we needed them asap in order to go pick up parts for our vehicles, he seemed to have other stuff going on. I checked into his office at least 5 times and he either wasn't there or said the dispatches weren't ready. By the time he finally got to them it was 1530 and we'd lost most of a day of work on our vehicles. I liked Maj L in the beginning but since he was on his way out of his unit I think he'd checked out. Thankfully his replacement Maj C seems eager to work with me.
In the middle of the day I had to attend the S-3 sync meeting because Cpt B had to run an errand. I was a little nervous when I walked in because the room was full of Lieutenant Colonels and Majors. I was lowest ranking one there. I only had to talk for one slide, so I wasn't too scared about that. Then when it came to me, someone else covered it before I had a chance to say anything. So I basically sat in an hour and a half long meeting for nothing. Army life.
Tuesday
This was a very interesting day to say the least. I woke up my normal time for PT around 0520. I left my house at 0540. I was on the highway to base at around 0550. I live 4 miles away from the main entrance to Ft. Hood. I did not even get through the gate until 0830. It was bumper to bumper traffic the entire way. 1 in every 3 cars had to stop at the gate, the driver had to get out open their hood, trunk, all other compartments and all their doors and have it checked. All of this was because of the President coming in for the shooting memorial Wednesday. So I missed PT due to traffic and was only in my office about 10 minutes before I had to go home and change into ACU's for work.
Because of the horrible traffic jams I wasn't able to get much work done because it took so long to get around base. The memorial was throwing off a lot of stuff for the week. I drove by 3 Corp Headquarters building, here the memorial would take place. I saw some kind of wall had been put up overnight. As I got closer I saw that the wall was built out of shipping containers. I found out later that they were stacked 3 containers high and 2 containers deep. All because of the Presidents visit. Crazy.
Wednesday
Most of the base had the day off due to the invite-only shooting memorial. Plus all the gates to base were closed for a 4 hour period so it was almost impossible to get on base anyways when you added in the heightened security.
Thursday
I didn't really record anything interesting happening this day. I'm pretty sure I just sat in my office sending emails and doing paperwork. Nothing too special.
Friday
Nothing super exciting happened this day either. Hard to write down interesting stuff happening when the unit does no training. Only notable thing was I had to give the safety brief at final formation because Cpt B and CSM T were both gone. Pretty much the same you give out in ROTC. Don't drink and drive, do drugs, or be a dumbass but in a lot more words.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
March 31st-April 4th
I let myself get behind on posting again, but I think I'm keeping better track of events now than I was before so here goes for this week.
Monday
The week started off by the unit receiving our new Command Sergeant Major, CSM T. He's an old school tanker, pretty sure I heard him say he'd been in 27 years and had just gotten to Hood after spending 2 years in Camp Casey, Korea. He definitely embodies the stereotypical CSM behaviors/attitude. Seems squared away but a bit of a hard ass too, in a good way.
Later on I finally got time to sit with Cpt B and just talk. We went to a little dive burger joint off base in a rough side of Killeen, but I was stuffed on a pretty good burger and fries for 5 bucks so I was ok with it. Cpt B and I discussed college and BOLC stories for a little while before heading back to work. All in all a good day.
Tuesday
This was a really long and rough day. Started out with my computer shitting the bed and shutting down my account so I had to run back and forth to Brigade HQ's S6 office at least 4-5 times to try and get my account reinstated. It eventually got fixed but it just drove home how much I truly hate army computers and anything involving them.
The other big issue of the day was trying to get two of our vehicles dispatched (able to leave the motorpool) so Chief M could pick up parts to repair some of our downed vehicles. I had to try 3-5 times to get Maj L to sign them. He kept finding problems with the dispatches, which I get need to be fixed but he made me take 3 trips instead of 1. Then when I finally got the dispatches fixed he said he wasn't signing them anymore and his replacement Maj C would be signing them. By the time I got in touch with Maj C and got him to sign them, it was 1530 and Chief M had lost the entire workday to work on his vehicles. Needles to say he and I were both annoyed and had a good venting session with each other.
Wednesday
I was going to try and talk about the normal stuff that happened in the beginning of the day but it seems pretty pointless now. Obviously this was the day that the shooting happened on base. I was almost out the door at 1645 when, as I was packing my bag, I heard one of the Sgt's in the hallway say "Uh I just got a text saying there's an active shooter on base and the base is on lockdown". Naturally everyone in the building came out and walked outside to see if we could hear anything. It was Cpt B, a Sgt, 2 Pfc's and myself left in the building. As we got outside we heard police sirens and the base siren system screeching out "SHELTER IN PLACE". A few NCO's out in the road were yelling at random soldiers to get in doors and eventually yelled at us to go inside too. So the Sgt and Pfc's went around locking all our doors and windows then we all sat in my office and kept an eye on the news. We eventually found a local news channel streaming online and watched coverage. I started getting texts from a bunch of family and friends freaking out thinking I was in danger. I found out later I was more than 15 blocks away from the incident and never was close to danger. Also got a call from my ex checking on me so I definitely felt appreciated that so many people were concerned about me. Eventually they gave us the all clear and I left my building at 2100. It took me until 2230 to get to my buddy 2lt H's house. All in all a very long and stressful day, but I was safe which was the important thing.
Thursday
Because of the shooting Wednesday, PT was canceled for Thursday and reporting in time was 1000. When we got into the office we got the word that the next two days were stand down days, meaning no training allowed, and we had to complete some tasks set down by the commander of the base General Milley. Thursday everyone on base had to have their vehicles searched, civilian and soldiers alike. I had mine searched by Cpt B. No big deal. Everyone also had to fill out a SLRT (cant recall the meaning of the acronym) but its basically a quick survey asking about emotional and psychological health. Sad to say it but the Army was definitely in cover there ass mode. Since it was still early release day we got out at 1500 and I got out of work after only 5 hours.
Friday
Started the day off by finding out we were still in cover the Army's ass mode and was told we had to inspect ever one of our soldiers barracks rooms. Thankfully as Rear D, we only had about 10 rooms to check. I got to tag along with CSM T and 2 other NCO's while we inspected half of the rooms. The barracks on Hood are actually pretty nice to me. Didn't find anything outstanding except for a few knives in one Pvt's room, but they were legal. It was interesting watching CSM T interact with the lower enlisted. He was able to find a way to connect with all of the,=m. He talked about collecting knives and mixing music with one and playing Xbox One with another. He really does seem to care about his subordinates even though he is still pretty new to the unit.
After the barracks checks not much else needed to be done before final formation. I was able to have a pretty long discussion with both CSM T and Chief M. Got to learn more about them and their experiences and crack some jokes/trade stories. It was a good way to end a stressful week for all of us.
Monday
The week started off by the unit receiving our new Command Sergeant Major, CSM T. He's an old school tanker, pretty sure I heard him say he'd been in 27 years and had just gotten to Hood after spending 2 years in Camp Casey, Korea. He definitely embodies the stereotypical CSM behaviors/attitude. Seems squared away but a bit of a hard ass too, in a good way.
Later on I finally got time to sit with Cpt B and just talk. We went to a little dive burger joint off base in a rough side of Killeen, but I was stuffed on a pretty good burger and fries for 5 bucks so I was ok with it. Cpt B and I discussed college and BOLC stories for a little while before heading back to work. All in all a good day.
Tuesday
This was a really long and rough day. Started out with my computer shitting the bed and shutting down my account so I had to run back and forth to Brigade HQ's S6 office at least 4-5 times to try and get my account reinstated. It eventually got fixed but it just drove home how much I truly hate army computers and anything involving them.
The other big issue of the day was trying to get two of our vehicles dispatched (able to leave the motorpool) so Chief M could pick up parts to repair some of our downed vehicles. I had to try 3-5 times to get Maj L to sign them. He kept finding problems with the dispatches, which I get need to be fixed but he made me take 3 trips instead of 1. Then when I finally got the dispatches fixed he said he wasn't signing them anymore and his replacement Maj C would be signing them. By the time I got in touch with Maj C and got him to sign them, it was 1530 and Chief M had lost the entire workday to work on his vehicles. Needles to say he and I were both annoyed and had a good venting session with each other.
Wednesday
I was going to try and talk about the normal stuff that happened in the beginning of the day but it seems pretty pointless now. Obviously this was the day that the shooting happened on base. I was almost out the door at 1645 when, as I was packing my bag, I heard one of the Sgt's in the hallway say "Uh I just got a text saying there's an active shooter on base and the base is on lockdown". Naturally everyone in the building came out and walked outside to see if we could hear anything. It was Cpt B, a Sgt, 2 Pfc's and myself left in the building. As we got outside we heard police sirens and the base siren system screeching out "SHELTER IN PLACE". A few NCO's out in the road were yelling at random soldiers to get in doors and eventually yelled at us to go inside too. So the Sgt and Pfc's went around locking all our doors and windows then we all sat in my office and kept an eye on the news. We eventually found a local news channel streaming online and watched coverage. I started getting texts from a bunch of family and friends freaking out thinking I was in danger. I found out later I was more than 15 blocks away from the incident and never was close to danger. Also got a call from my ex checking on me so I definitely felt appreciated that so many people were concerned about me. Eventually they gave us the all clear and I left my building at 2100. It took me until 2230 to get to my buddy 2lt H's house. All in all a very long and stressful day, but I was safe which was the important thing.
Thursday
Because of the shooting Wednesday, PT was canceled for Thursday and reporting in time was 1000. When we got into the office we got the word that the next two days were stand down days, meaning no training allowed, and we had to complete some tasks set down by the commander of the base General Milley. Thursday everyone on base had to have their vehicles searched, civilian and soldiers alike. I had mine searched by Cpt B. No big deal. Everyone also had to fill out a SLRT (cant recall the meaning of the acronym) but its basically a quick survey asking about emotional and psychological health. Sad to say it but the Army was definitely in cover there ass mode. Since it was still early release day we got out at 1500 and I got out of work after only 5 hours.
Friday
Started the day off by finding out we were still in cover the Army's ass mode and was told we had to inspect ever one of our soldiers barracks rooms. Thankfully as Rear D, we only had about 10 rooms to check. I got to tag along with CSM T and 2 other NCO's while we inspected half of the rooms. The barracks on Hood are actually pretty nice to me. Didn't find anything outstanding except for a few knives in one Pvt's room, but they were legal. It was interesting watching CSM T interact with the lower enlisted. He was able to find a way to connect with all of the,=m. He talked about collecting knives and mixing music with one and playing Xbox One with another. He really does seem to care about his subordinates even though he is still pretty new to the unit.
After the barracks checks not much else needed to be done before final formation. I was able to have a pretty long discussion with both CSM T and Chief M. Got to learn more about them and their experiences and crack some jokes/trade stories. It was a good way to end a stressful week for all of us.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
March 24th-March 28th
This week wasn't too busy or exciting but I did learn a lot of useful info. Capt B. had told me the previous week that he was going to make me the Environmental Compliance Officer for the Rear D, and presumably the detachment when they got back from Egypt. The training was a week long 0900-1600. I still did PT with the Rear D, but after that I went to the training on the other side of base in a tiny little shed.
I waited to long to post this to remember everything that happened each day so this will be a brief summary of the entire week of class. What the Environmental Compliance Officer (ECO) is basically responsible for is enforcing federal, state, and Fort Hood environmental regulations in the unit to keep them from getting thousands of dollars in fines levied against them. These fines are mainly levied against units that have dirty or unorganized motor pools and units that trash the training areas on base. Besides the usual things like trash problems, recycling issues and spills of oil etc., the ECO also has to make sure there unit does not destroy significant cultural and environmental landmarks through out the training area.
I thought the training would be the typical Army training. Death by Power Point for hours on end with a 10 min break every hour. While this was true for part of the training the rest was actually pretty interesting. The instructor Mrs. H was a retired MSG so she knew she had to keep us all engaged or we'd just zone out and wouldn't learn a thing. She made sure to bring in plenty of other people to instruct us on the different aspects of the things we were responsible for. One of the most interesting to me was an instructor who came to talk to us about protecting cultural artifacts on base. He brought in some examples of the random stuff they'd found all over the training area of base, including arrowheads, musket balls and weapons. I even got to hold an 1862 Colt revolver from the Civil War that had been dug up on one of the ranges. That definitely was a highlight of my time here so far. I'm going to try and look into going to the center on base that does all the archeology sites on base and see if I can learn more.
Besides that we went to a few different locations on base that are designed to keep Ft Hood from being fined. The recycling center here employs about 80 people and will recycle basically anything. They sell all of the products to different vendors, using the money to pay all the employees and then they use the rest of the money to provide soldiers with entertainment. They pay for NFL league pass and the UFC fights/boxing matches at the NCO club. Also during the budget crises last summer, Ft hood was the only base in the U.S. to have a fireworks show, at the cost of 49,000 dollars, all paid for by profits of the recycling center. This definitely made me reevaluate my thoughts towards recycling.
Overall, the training was very useful, and it gave me plenty of things to look for to help improve my units motor pool and compliance with all the different regulations. It was also a nice way to get away from the unit for a week and experience something new.
I waited to long to post this to remember everything that happened each day so this will be a brief summary of the entire week of class. What the Environmental Compliance Officer (ECO) is basically responsible for is enforcing federal, state, and Fort Hood environmental regulations in the unit to keep them from getting thousands of dollars in fines levied against them. These fines are mainly levied against units that have dirty or unorganized motor pools and units that trash the training areas on base. Besides the usual things like trash problems, recycling issues and spills of oil etc., the ECO also has to make sure there unit does not destroy significant cultural and environmental landmarks through out the training area.
I thought the training would be the typical Army training. Death by Power Point for hours on end with a 10 min break every hour. While this was true for part of the training the rest was actually pretty interesting. The instructor Mrs. H was a retired MSG so she knew she had to keep us all engaged or we'd just zone out and wouldn't learn a thing. She made sure to bring in plenty of other people to instruct us on the different aspects of the things we were responsible for. One of the most interesting to me was an instructor who came to talk to us about protecting cultural artifacts on base. He brought in some examples of the random stuff they'd found all over the training area of base, including arrowheads, musket balls and weapons. I even got to hold an 1862 Colt revolver from the Civil War that had been dug up on one of the ranges. That definitely was a highlight of my time here so far. I'm going to try and look into going to the center on base that does all the archeology sites on base and see if I can learn more.
Besides that we went to a few different locations on base that are designed to keep Ft Hood from being fined. The recycling center here employs about 80 people and will recycle basically anything. They sell all of the products to different vendors, using the money to pay all the employees and then they use the rest of the money to provide soldiers with entertainment. They pay for NFL league pass and the UFC fights/boxing matches at the NCO club. Also during the budget crises last summer, Ft hood was the only base in the U.S. to have a fireworks show, at the cost of 49,000 dollars, all paid for by profits of the recycling center. This definitely made me reevaluate my thoughts towards recycling.
Overall, the training was very useful, and it gave me plenty of things to look for to help improve my units motor pool and compliance with all the different regulations. It was also a nice way to get away from the unit for a week and experience something new.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
March 5th-21st
So after finishing up in processing it was time for me to go meet my commander and get into my unit. Problem was I didn't know where 6-9 Cav was. The NCO's at brigade made the usual lost LT jokes, but called the unit S-1 and got me directions. So I pull up at about 1445 on a Thursday. Didn't know at that point that Thursdays, Ft Hood releases most soldiers at 1500. So as I'm walking to the front door, a Captain walks out of the building. He stares at me an says "Are you lost LT?"...(sidebar, I know they wont end anytime soon but the LT jokes get annoying sometimes haha). I said no and that I had just been assigned to the unit. The look he gave me was priceless. He looked puzzled and said "Really? Oh, well, I guess I'm your commander". I knew from that reaction that this would be interesting. So Capt B (Which is how I'll refer to him in my blogs, gave me a quick tour of the building and introduced me to a few of the NCO's, including SSG B, SSG Do and SSG Da. After a few minutes he told me since it was early release day to come back the next morning for PT.
The next morning at PT formation, I stood in the back with Capt B and waited for 1SG to lead PT. Turns out my unit is the rear detachment since most of the unit is in the Sinai in Egypt, and since were a Rear D, a lot of the soldiers left behind have medical profiles and/or are in the process of getting out of the Army. At the end of formation when the 1SG called out for the profiles to fall out of formation, we went from having about 30 soldiers to about 5. I was a little surprised but just went with the flow and went on a 4 mile run. Didn't feel awesome but I did alright. After PT, which ends at around 730, I had till 9 till I had to be back at work. So much nicer than BOLC's PT schedule.
When I came back at 9, I was told by Capt B that I would be the Rear D Executive Officer (XO). Basically I'm the second in command. I also found out that Capt B and I are the only officers in the detachment, and that there were only about 45-50 soldiers in the detachment. I was a little overwhelmed at the idea of being the XO. I'd expected to just be the unit Chemo. But I'm excited for the challenge.
As the days went on I started to settle into the role of the XO. Capt B and I get along well. He seems very laid back and eager to help me learn as much as possible. I also met our Maintenance Chief, Chief M. He's awesome, thick southern accent, very knowledgeable and definitely seems to have my back. Especially when he and I have our weekly maintenance/vehicle meetings at 3rd Brigade HQ.
Speaking of these meetings they are once a week and where every battalion reports to the brigade on equipment issues and vehicles that are deadlined (have something wron with/broken on them). Usually led by the Brigade Xo, whose in the process of being replaced. The first meeting lasted an hour and a half, during which I only had to speak for about 20 seconds and everything being discussed sounded like Chinese to me. By the time the second meeting rolled around I understood what was going on a little better but still didn't have to say much at the meetings since we don't use vehicles a lot while Rear D.
One of the officers I've interacted a lot whose not a part of 6-9 is the S-3 and now XO of 2-82 Field Artillery, Maj. L. Maj. L is a huge, FIT, Ranger tabbed officer who helps support my unit until they get back from Egypt. He is very witty and funny as well as, shockingly, pretty good at making me feel awkward as the new LT. But he is also very knowledgeable and helpful. He always puts me at ease if I have to ask him for help. I look forward to working with him.
At the end of my second week with the unit I was told by Capt B I would be taking the ECO course for Ft Hood. The ECO is the Environmental Compliance officer. I was told the course would last all of the next week so I'd only do PT with the unit then I'd be in training. But that's a story for the next post.
The next morning at PT formation, I stood in the back with Capt B and waited for 1SG to lead PT. Turns out my unit is the rear detachment since most of the unit is in the Sinai in Egypt, and since were a Rear D, a lot of the soldiers left behind have medical profiles and/or are in the process of getting out of the Army. At the end of formation when the 1SG called out for the profiles to fall out of formation, we went from having about 30 soldiers to about 5. I was a little surprised but just went with the flow and went on a 4 mile run. Didn't feel awesome but I did alright. After PT, which ends at around 730, I had till 9 till I had to be back at work. So much nicer than BOLC's PT schedule.
When I came back at 9, I was told by Capt B that I would be the Rear D Executive Officer (XO). Basically I'm the second in command. I also found out that Capt B and I are the only officers in the detachment, and that there were only about 45-50 soldiers in the detachment. I was a little overwhelmed at the idea of being the XO. I'd expected to just be the unit Chemo. But I'm excited for the challenge.
As the days went on I started to settle into the role of the XO. Capt B and I get along well. He seems very laid back and eager to help me learn as much as possible. I also met our Maintenance Chief, Chief M. He's awesome, thick southern accent, very knowledgeable and definitely seems to have my back. Especially when he and I have our weekly maintenance/vehicle meetings at 3rd Brigade HQ.
Speaking of these meetings they are once a week and where every battalion reports to the brigade on equipment issues and vehicles that are deadlined (have something wron with/broken on them). Usually led by the Brigade Xo, whose in the process of being replaced. The first meeting lasted an hour and a half, during which I only had to speak for about 20 seconds and everything being discussed sounded like Chinese to me. By the time the second meeting rolled around I understood what was going on a little better but still didn't have to say much at the meetings since we don't use vehicles a lot while Rear D.
One of the officers I've interacted a lot whose not a part of 6-9 is the S-3 and now XO of 2-82 Field Artillery, Maj. L. Maj. L is a huge, FIT, Ranger tabbed officer who helps support my unit until they get back from Egypt. He is very witty and funny as well as, shockingly, pretty good at making me feel awkward as the new LT. But he is also very knowledgeable and helpful. He always puts me at ease if I have to ask him for help. I look forward to working with him.
At the end of my second week with the unit I was told by Capt B I would be taking the ECO course for Ft Hood. The ECO is the Environmental Compliance officer. I was told the course would last all of the next week so I'd only do PT with the unit then I'd be in training. But that's a story for the next post.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
1st attempt Feb 7th-Mar 5th 2014
Stole the idea to do this from my fellow 2LT Deej Jimerson. Hoping it'll be a good way for me to spend some time reflecting and letting my family and friends know what I'm doing day to day in the Army. I wish I'd started this back when I was first commissioned so I could have captured LDAC and BOLC memories/vents. But such is life. So I guess I'll start With the day I left BOLC.
As excited as I was to graduate BOLC, the main reason I was excited for it was I go to see my Mom again. I'll freely admit I'm a mommas boy so it was great that she was able to fly in and watch me graduate. I knew she was excited to see me, well at least she was until she had to help me speed pack my car. I definitely didn't inherit her patience. After I finally got off the graduation stage and said my goodbyes to my friends, mom and I got on the road to drive down to Fort Hood.....I love my mom to death but its a good thing our trip was only two days because we probably would have killed each other. She has the uncanny ability to see car wrecks before they happen and brake lights from over 10 miles away. When we finally got to Hood, we stayed with my Mom's friend, Angie, which was awesome. So nice to have home cooked food again. She took us to San Antonio too which was great.
After a few days there, my mom and I found an apartment for me. Just a little one bed one bath. But I got it for a great price in a good neighborhood and only like 5 minutes from post. So I was really happy. Got all the furniture and a nice new flat screen TV which I love. Enough about the apartment though. After a few days of helping me get stuff settled I had to drop my mom off at the airport. It sucked having to say goodbye to her, especially since I probably wont be home until Thanksgiving. I'm sure work will keep me busy though, so hopefully it'll fly by.
After dropping my mom off I finally started exploring base. Good god I cannot get over how huge this place is. The road that has all the motor pools on it is over 7 miles long. After spending 8 months between North Ft. Lewis and Fort Leonard Wood, plus living at Ft. Drum for 11+ years, I thought I was used to military base sizes and traffic. But holy hell Fort Hood is insanely huge and busy. I'd been warned but nothing prepares you for it if you haven't seen it yourself. As the days went on I got a little more used to the traffic and figured out what roads to avoid and when. It'll still take more time to find this traffic normal but not a bad thing.
When I finally started in processing it was surprisingly easy. As an officer I didn't have to go to any formations or organized PT. I just had 2-3 hit times that I was required to go to, the rest of them I got done on my own time in about 3 days even though I was given 8 days to do it.
At the Commanding General's Brief, I got to meet my Brigade Commander and Sergeant Major. They only talked to the LT's coming to their brigade for about 5 minutes, but they did tell me what unit I would be going to. Turned out to be 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry, the Armored Reconnaissance Battalion for 3rd Brigade Combat Team. I was intimidated but excited. I was even more intimidated/excited when I went home that night and researched the unit and found out they were in the Sinai, Egypt. So there was a possibility I could be deployed once I was done in processing.
One of the last things I had do for in processing was Suicide Prevention training, which the Army calls Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, or A.S.I.S.T. I thought it would be stupid or irrelevant, but I was beyond wrong. It was very engaging and informative, and I learned a lot. It was upsetting watching senior officers, especially a Major on his way to a Lt Colonel slot being dismissive and annoyed to even be at the training. Hopefully none of subordinates ever have suicidal thoughts because he will not be a help to them.
Well I think that covers the first few weeks well. I hope to start posting these on a weekly basis of what I do/what happens at work. Hopefully it'll be a good way to decompress from work and keep people updated on how I'm doing.
As excited as I was to graduate BOLC, the main reason I was excited for it was I go to see my Mom again. I'll freely admit I'm a mommas boy so it was great that she was able to fly in and watch me graduate. I knew she was excited to see me, well at least she was until she had to help me speed pack my car. I definitely didn't inherit her patience. After I finally got off the graduation stage and said my goodbyes to my friends, mom and I got on the road to drive down to Fort Hood.....I love my mom to death but its a good thing our trip was only two days because we probably would have killed each other. She has the uncanny ability to see car wrecks before they happen and brake lights from over 10 miles away. When we finally got to Hood, we stayed with my Mom's friend, Angie, which was awesome. So nice to have home cooked food again. She took us to San Antonio too which was great.
After a few days there, my mom and I found an apartment for me. Just a little one bed one bath. But I got it for a great price in a good neighborhood and only like 5 minutes from post. So I was really happy. Got all the furniture and a nice new flat screen TV which I love. Enough about the apartment though. After a few days of helping me get stuff settled I had to drop my mom off at the airport. It sucked having to say goodbye to her, especially since I probably wont be home until Thanksgiving. I'm sure work will keep me busy though, so hopefully it'll fly by.
After dropping my mom off I finally started exploring base. Good god I cannot get over how huge this place is. The road that has all the motor pools on it is over 7 miles long. After spending 8 months between North Ft. Lewis and Fort Leonard Wood, plus living at Ft. Drum for 11+ years, I thought I was used to military base sizes and traffic. But holy hell Fort Hood is insanely huge and busy. I'd been warned but nothing prepares you for it if you haven't seen it yourself. As the days went on I got a little more used to the traffic and figured out what roads to avoid and when. It'll still take more time to find this traffic normal but not a bad thing.
When I finally started in processing it was surprisingly easy. As an officer I didn't have to go to any formations or organized PT. I just had 2-3 hit times that I was required to go to, the rest of them I got done on my own time in about 3 days even though I was given 8 days to do it.
At the Commanding General's Brief, I got to meet my Brigade Commander and Sergeant Major. They only talked to the LT's coming to their brigade for about 5 minutes, but they did tell me what unit I would be going to. Turned out to be 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry, the Armored Reconnaissance Battalion for 3rd Brigade Combat Team. I was intimidated but excited. I was even more intimidated/excited when I went home that night and researched the unit and found out they were in the Sinai, Egypt. So there was a possibility I could be deployed once I was done in processing.
One of the last things I had do for in processing was Suicide Prevention training, which the Army calls Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, or A.S.I.S.T. I thought it would be stupid or irrelevant, but I was beyond wrong. It was very engaging and informative, and I learned a lot. It was upsetting watching senior officers, especially a Major on his way to a Lt Colonel slot being dismissive and annoyed to even be at the training. Hopefully none of subordinates ever have suicidal thoughts because he will not be a help to them.
Well I think that covers the first few weeks well. I hope to start posting these on a weekly basis of what I do/what happens at work. Hopefully it'll be a good way to decompress from work and keep people updated on how I'm doing.
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