Quick Update

I have been in the supply office for the last three days now. I haven't done very much. I moved some furniture around and that's about it. I guess I will be working more starting on Monday. I feel like I'm in prison though because I'm in a big fenced in area just off the flight line where I can see all the Apaches, I just can't reach them.

I am planning to go to the Korean war memorial in Seoul tomorrow (Saturday) so I will be posting pictures of that next week. Hope everyone has a good weekend and Happy Halloween.

Noooo!!

I was just told that I am probably going to be moved out of the armament shop for about 2 months to help out in the supply room. This is not a good thing because I was just starting to learn the more technical aspect of my job. I am not very pleased. I guess they needed someone competent to help out in the supply room because they are short handed. I will still be doing PT with armament but won't see them during the day and while they are all having fun working on the aircraft I get to do paperwork.  I know it sounds like a petty problem but I would really appreciate it if you could all pray for me for the next few days until I get everything straightened out and find out what is going on with the whole thing. I will be sure to keep you updated. Thanks.

Stupidity At It's Finest

This is a clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I love the reporters expressions. I don't know how people that are as stupid as this have made it though life without seriously hurting themselves. It amazes me.

I guess all I can add is Hooah, Daily Show, Hooah.

For Sale . . .

For sale: mint condition convertible. Great for those of you who like to drive with the wind in your face. There is some mild damage to the body however so I am willing to take offers.

Before we left Kunsan last week we were waiting for some crew chiefs to finish fixing a broke aircraft. The bus was parked next to the airfield and the fire department. There were many other vehicles parked out there for the fire department to practice using the jaws of life on. So being bored we decided to take some crazy pictures in them.

 

 

This was just another vehicle that was parked on post. I don't know what's in the water there that the air force is drinking that would make them do this.

More Photos From Kunsan

Hey, don't laugh, this is like the Hummer of Korea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sunsets here are awesome every night.

 

 

 

 

 

A hilltop view of part of the base and city.

 

The picture on the left is a small bunker. We found these all over the base but I liked this one because it was nestled away in the trees. The picture on the right reminded us of the Chronicles of Narnia light post.

This C-130 Hercules was in the way on Friday. It wasn't as foggy in the morning so we thought the pilots would be able to shoot some hellfire's but then we were informed that the C-130 was going to land where we were working so it could load up. We were a annoyed by it but then we found out it was being loaded with live 40mm HE(high explosive) rounds and taking them to Iraq or Afghanistan. We figured it was okay then. That's a little more important then shooting some hellfire's for practice.

On Saturday we had to spray the helicopters down because they had been flying over salt water which is bad for them. Let's just say the three of us here got a little wet. But it was fun because we got to play with a fire hose. Yeah!

 

A parting shot of some of the Apaches before they took off after their bath.

Chik-do Hellfire Shoot

So for the last 5 days I was down south at Kunsan Air Force Base living it up during the hellfire shoot. It was a very relaxed few days. We took a Chinook down there and once again it was a good flight and I was even able to get some sleep during the trip. Here are some views of Korea from the air.

 

These are both pictures of the yellow sea. Kunsan air base is right on the beach of the sea.

Kunsan is home of the 8th fighter wing which flies the F-16 fighting falcon. We set up right at the end of the runway which meant I got to watch them take off and land all day.

The apaches only shoot hellfire's one day because the rest of the days it was to foggy. I wasn't able to see them fire because they were firing at an island off the cost so I don't have any pictures of that. Here is some of the missiles I loaded up.

I will end here today. I still have some pictures of a C-130 cargo plane that messed up our planes and some other random pictures. Stay tuned.

Back Once More

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back from the field again. Also my internet is going crazy on me which is annoying because that means I also don't have a phone. I am working on trying to get it going working full time again so that I can do a full post.

Sorry

I am going to be gone again for the next 4 days. I am once again going to the field because the pilots want to do a little of this.

They didn't think shooting the gun and rockets was enough. Now they want to shoot some Hellfire missiles. It's ok with me though because these aren't just smoke producing. Oh no, these are the real deal. Hellfire missiles are designed to take out enemy armor and they only come in one version. The big boom type. Of course I am taking my camera with me so I am sure I will come back with some more pictures and stories. And since this range is about 5 hours away I get to go on another Chinook ride out there. Hooah!

Riding in Style

Yesterday I mentioned that I was going to post about my ride from LZ Tom to the farp. Well here it is...

That would be a CH-47 Chinook. As you can imagine I was pretty excited about flying in this. Sure beats driving. This was my first flight in a military helicopter and it was actually very comfortable. It was about a two hour drive from LZ Tom but it only took us about 45 minutes to fly it.

  Here is me and my battle buddy, PFC Mackin. If you are wondering that's a farp helmet that he is wearing. You can hook that up to the helicopter and talk to the pilots.

 

  Here is the other aircraft hooking up to some fuel blivets so it can sling-load them to the farp.

 

 

 

This is the crew chief of the Chinook I was in helping to hook up to the fuel blivets that our aircraft was sling loading. Yes, we were hovering at the time, yes he was wearing a harness so he wouldn't fall out, and no he didn't fly the whole way there like that.

These are just some views out of the back of the Chinook.

 

 

 

I think that is about it for the events of my field exercise. I have more stories from it but those are good for random posts.

The Farp

So after 4 days of stupid nonsense over at LZ Tom most of armament and some tag along fuel pumper's headed over to the farp. A farp is a forward arming and refueling point. It is a place that is ahead of where a normal base is located where aircraft can land and get more ammo and fuel or get any small repairs. This way they can get back into the fight quicker then if they had to travel al the way back to their home base.

This was my first farp so I was pretty excited to get out there and see the aircraft I work on everyday in action. Once the helicopter landed I would load 8 rockets on it while another guy would load 150 30mm rounds on board. Then I would move back while the helicopter took off.

I

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was only standing about 20 feet away from the aircraft when they took off. I did my best to hold the camera steady but it was just a little windy right there.

Many people have asked me exactly how big a 30mm round is. This is just the shell, the actual round is about 3/4 of the length of the shell. Makes the .50 cal look like a peashooter.

 

Another nice sunset in South Korea. So now you have heard about LZ Tom and the farp. My next question is how did I get from one place to another? Hmm, sounds like a post for tomorrow.

LZ Tom

My week in field began at landing zone tom. It is a dried up river bed. I was only here for 4 days before moving to the FARP.  It was actually a nice scenic area. It was in a valley with mountains all around.

What I called home for a week. The camo netting on top gave it a nice cozy feeling.

 

 

This was one of the main approaches the pilots would fly through when they were coming in to land. It was a cool site to see because they would come around the corner of the mountain really fast and low. 

 

It was always foggy in the morning.

 

 

 

 

We had two hour shifts sitting in this truck. It was stationed at the edge of camp as a guard. That's a .50 cal on top.

 

 

   I liked the trees in top of this mountain.

 

 

 

 

Here we are moving our tent. The area where they had us set up was 300 meters north of where they originally had planned. So three days into being there they decided to have us move the entire camp so they could take an aerial photo for next time we go out. Gotta love the infinite wisdom of some people.

Back Again, Back Again

Well, I have arrived safely back from the field with minimal injuries although I was extremely dirty and not to pleasant smelling. Somehow the good ole' baby wipe baths just don't work quite as well as a normal shower. Imagine that. The week started with the entire battalion being at one area for a field exercise. Armament only stayed there for 4 days and then we left for the FARP(Forward Arming Refueling Point, more to come on that later). This was were we loaded the aircraft up with rockets and 30mm rounds for the pilots to go shoot. I have a lot of stories to tell, pictures to show(I took over 200) and even some videos to post. However I have to sort through it all first. Just bear with me for now, I am busy with field recovery and prep for the next time we go to the field, the 14th of this month. I am doing my best.