Saturday, August 14, 2010

Hello Again

Hello everybody! Long time no...blog. I apologize for the extended period of absence. Hopefully you all didn't stop checking the blog, but I guess if you're reading this then you didn't. Anyways, all is well here. The platoon is really settling into a rhythm. We have learned our area of responsibility pretty well, and things are clicking right along. We have been moving the Brigade Commander around without any problems. Overall we aren't too busy either. The Soldiers are getting plenty of sleep and down time. PT has become pretty important with all the down time we are getting. If all goes right, your Soldier should come home in way better physical condition than when he left. We are also going to start to squeeze in some training with all of our down time as well. We have a range coming up that will allow all the Soldiers to re-zero their weapons and get familiar with shooting off of the back of the Stryker. For those of you who don't know, we are moving around in Stryker ICVs with slat armor. Just google it to see a picture if you are curious. The Soldiers carry M4 rifles, and we also have remote-controlled .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the Stryker (it's kind of like a video game joystick that is controlled from inside). I'll try to upload some pictures of the Soldiers with the vehicles and equipment. Today we visited the Police HQ. We got to see the Iraqi version of a SWAT Team and the vehicles they use. It is also Ramadan, so most of the locals are fasting during the daylight hours. Out of respect, we refrain from eating or drinking in front of them when we are out and about. We are going to start using our interpreters to teach Arabic language classes as well, but I'm not sure how many of the guys are interested in trying to learn a new language. On September 1st we are launching an anti-smoking campaign to try and get all of the Soldiers to stop smoking. Most of the guys that smoke are on board, so if your Soldier smokes, be sure and give him encouragement. There will be a $200 prize at the end of the deployment for the Soldier who goes the longest without smoking. Well, that's all for now. I promise I will do a lot better with the blog from here on out. More pictures to come. And if you are not on the B/52 FRG EMailing list, let me know and I will get you on there. Each week the company puts out a sort of newsletter that has photos of the Soldiers in action and kind of explains what's been going on. It is definitely a good source of information. If you want to be put on the mailing list, email me at cole.e.moses@gmail.com, or just post to the blog. Take care everyone! Until next time...

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