Another interesting JAG article from 2007

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/12/15/control_sought_on_military_lawyers/

Interesting article that is in line with many of the reasons of why I joined the JAG Corps

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19friedman.html?_r=1

Various Pictures from Ft. Sill

Fourth of July in Boston!

I'm home! Sort of a long story, but the short of it is I have been released from BOLC II early because of an injury....1st time in my life that I've been congratulated for being injured (other JAGs at Ft. Sill are jealous that I got out of it, but happy that I did at the same time). I have a stress fracture in the tibia on my right leg, just below the knee. I did it somewhere on a 4 mile ruck march and obstacle course. I think it happened after I jumped off a 10' wall on the obstacle course and landed hard, but am not sure. I didn't really notice it until later that night when we were back at the barracks. The next morning my knee was swollen and the doc later confirmed that it was a stress fracture. The only "cure" for a stress fracture is rest (6 weeks or so). Since I cannot get any rest in the course, I got released early. And that is just fine with me! No more 0530 wakeups...100 degree sunny days in 45lbs of body armor/helmet/canteens/rifle...MREs...taking orders from sergeants, etc. There are just 3 weeks left in the course, but the only "substantive" things I'll miss are the land navigation (already did that in May) and the 10 mile ruck march. So not missing much.

I got home in the middle of the night and surprised the kids when they woke up. They have been literally attached to me....I can't go to the bathroom without one of them with me! But it is great.
I'll take the next week off and then see about going back to Charities a couple weeks early. But I need a week to decompress and spend time with Karina and the girls. I'll write more about the whole experience as I wind down. But for right now, I am just glad to be home.

Last week

Been awhile since I've written...last week was a long one. It was very hot here...around 100 degrees every day. Monday was another range day. Tuesday was convoy operations...basically riding around in humvees and trucks in full gear and sweating profusely while we passed simulated IEDs. I drink so much water...more in a day than I would normally in a week or more in Boston. Wednesday was a medic course....was great since we got to be inside in a/c for it! Basically was identifying injuries, use of tourniquets, treatment of burns, etc. Thursday and Friday were combatives....basically a combination of judo and wrestling (but really more like all day PT!). That was also inside in an air conditioned gym so it was good...generally anything inside is good here.

Tomorrow we go to the FOB (forward operating base) for the week. The FOB is designed to give us the feel of what the living conditions on a deployment are like. It has walls and guard towers...the sleeping quarters are basically one big room with a bunch of bunk beds. The food is apparently not so good and we've heard that only a couple of the showers actually have hot water. From the FOB we will be doing urban operations....learning how to clear rooms in buildings (not that as a lawyer I will ever be doing that!) etc. There is no internet connection or tv so I will be cut off from the world a bit (we are allowed to have our cell phones, but can only use them at night when we are done with the training day). Have gotten mixed reports of what we can expect in a/c out there....keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

So now entering week #4 (of 7 total). Am very ready to get out of here!

end of week #2

I qualified on the M4 on Thursday. Check the box. It was a long, hot day on the range. In order to qualify we need to hit 23 targets with 40 rounds. The 40 rounds are divided into 3 separate shooting positions...the 1st 20 are fired from the "prone, supported" position. "Prone, supported" means laying on your belly with the weapon on a sandbag. The next 10 rounds are fired from the "prone, unsupported" position which means laying on your belly, with the weapon resting on the ground (basically balancing on the magazine). The final 10 are fired from the kneeling position. 40 targets pop-up for a few seconds at a time at different distances...50meters, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300. I hit 24 :) . Not great, but passing! It was really difficult as we were wearing the full "battle-rattle" as it is known...helmet, eye pro (like big clear sunglasses), body armor, molle vest (holds magazines and 2 canteens). All of the gear weighs about 45lbs...the body armor itself is 25lbs. So trying to lay on your stomach in all that is hard. Plus, it was so hot that the sweat just streams all over.

Thursday evening, after qualifying, we came back to the barracks for dinner, then went back to the range around 8:30pm for a night fire exercise. It doesn't get truly dark here until 9:30 so we waited around in our gear for an hour. The night fire exercise is a chance for us to get used to firing a weapon while wearing night-vision. It was pretty difficult to see the targets, even with the night vision on. The targets are either black or dark green...in the sunlight they are fairly easy to see, but at night they are almost invisible. It was easy to see each other as we moved around, but looking downrange in an empty field, the targets were really hard to see. But that was just a familiarization course, so we didn't have to qualify or anything. Got back to the barracks a 11:30pm, but I had desk duty in the dayroom from 1-2am so I didn't go to bed until a little after 2 Friday morning. Got up at 5:30am Friday so a whopping 3 hours of sleep.

Last night, went out to eat at a Japanese steakhouse. Was really good...stuffed myself like a pig, came home, chatted with Karina for a bit and then slept about 12 hours straight! Much needed. I think we are going to a movie tonight, but other than that keeping it pretty relaxed.

Rifle Marksmanship...again

This week we are going to the range to fire at targets and qualify with the M4 (standard rifle now...smaller version of the M16). We went today to "zero" the weapons...meaning getting our target sights aligned with the barrel. So we were on the open range in the sun, with our body armor and helmets. It was 95 degrees and humid. My t-shirt was soaked before we got off the truck! I had a book with me, but never had time to sit and read. Usually, we have a lot of waiting at these events, but not today. Tomorrow, we go again to the range to zero the weapons to a more distant target. So I expect more of the same...uncontrollable sweating and discomfort!

The reason I said "...again" in the title is because I just did this about 4 weeks ago in the direct commission course (DCC). So it is like the "Groundhog Day" movie....same exact thing, different day...but seems like repeating the same day over and over again.

Weekend in Oklahoma City

Friday night, I went with 2 JAGs to Oklahoma City to get away from the barracks. It is about 1 and 1/2 hours away and a lot more to do than Lawton/Ft. Sill. We stayed at the Sheraton in downtown...next to a part of the city called "Bricktown". Bricktown is just a couple blocks of restaurants and bars. We shared a room to keep costs down and pretty much just slept, went out to eat and slept some more. Was nice taking a shower without having to wear shower shoes! Got back to base about 2pm this afternoon. Was a great break.

Here I am...

6 weeks from Friday and I am done. I am ready to be done. Much of what I am going to do over the next weeks is the same that I just did for the past 4. There will be a few variations and skills yet to learn, but for the most part, it is the same ol', same ol'.

Yesterday was my 5th PT test since February. I did exactly the same as I did 4 weeks ago...except I cut 9 seconds off my run time. I won't have another PT test for a year or so. Check the box...1 less thing to do. "Check the box" is a common refrain here....refers to accomplishing required tasks to complete the training. A few more boxes to go.

My roommates, while very young (both are 23) are fine. I shouldn't have any problems with them. However, I look at them as mere roommates now. I have been so accustomed to being with other JAGs all the time, that it has been difficult for me to adjust to my new platoon. The platoon is young...I am the oldest (the next closest is 38...there may be 1 or 2 30+ yr olds). I am also the least experienced as all are either prior service or ROTC. Physically, I am fine in this platoon. We have some real athletes here, but I am keeping myself solidly in the middle. The leadership tasks will be the real challenge for me...mostly the required role as platoon sergeant (week 6), that will involve me marching the platoon around to get from Point A to Point B. That will be my most difficult challenge here. And I am anxious about it. I am getting to know some of the more experienced members so that they can mentor me in that role...but it will still be a difficult position for me.

Karina and the girls are on their way to Indiana right now. I am on a little break for the moment as the rest of the platoon is picking up their helmets and ruck sacks (I already have mine from the prior course). So a chance for me to relax a bit. Great picture of the girls that Karina sent...makes me miss them even more...

BOLC II

I've moved into my new barracks and have 2 new roommates. They are young...23 or so. The barracks is a little bit older than the one I came from. The room is smaller. We have 1 set of bunkbeds and 1 single bed...as I was the first here, I took the single. However, we only have 2 desks. I expect to be able to use my laptop while in bed so it shouldn't be a problem...as long as my coffeemaker has a rightful place on the desk! The guys seem OK...but really young! I'm almost old enough to be their father!

The hardest thing has been the separation from the other JAGs. There are only 2 of us (in a platoon of 40) in my platoon. The other JAG is female, so she is on a different floor. I had dinner with some of the JAGs tonight. We are all feeling the separation. This will be an adjustment. We are still going to eat together (dinners mostly) as much as our schedules allow. Oh yeah, I am squad leader for this week...the platoon has 4 squads. So I basically have to account for everyone, pass info to them, etc.

So tomorrow we begin anew...inprocessing, then a lot of "hurry up and wait" as we get gear and more paperwork. But this is it. Karina and the girls go to my parents on Wednesday...so they will have a nice distraction for awhile. Karina needs the break. But the countdown is on!