And I'm At Work!

Tuesday marked the beginning of another gunnery and FARP for me. This wasn't a normal gunnery where the pilots go out and qualify though. We are only doing it to give an infantry unit some air support to go along with a field exercise they are doing. It's been pretty cool the last few nights. I have been able to watch them assault a mock village, seen tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles shootings and seen a lot of artillery exploding.

  These are the M1A1 Abrams tanks rolling up to the village with some Humvee's behind them.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the mortar team that is set up about 50 yards west of our position. It's pretty cool to see them shoot. You can watch the mortar go straight up into the clouds for about 10 seconds but then you have to wait about a 40 seconds for the round to impact due to it's serious hang time.

 

Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

 

 

 

 

 

You can't see it but that flame is from a Abrams tank firing just behind the ridge line. That's some serious firepower.

 

 

 

Prepare to fire!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepare to fire again!

If you enlarge the picture you can see the soldier holding the next round ready to drop in. The mortar is almost as big as his torso.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures because if you look closely you can see a big flame hidden inside the smoke.

 

 

The impact area downrange. This was the result of the mortars firing.

I've been watching thing like this the last few nights now along with the Apache giving some air support with it's 30mm cannon and rocket volleys. And to think, I'm at work!

Ok, I Guess I'll Post Something

I have decided to post some pictures I took while on leave with the parents because I have been getting in some trouble with a certain someone lately. Even though most of my pictures are the same as the one's my mom has posted, she seems to think I have to post something to let every one know I am still alive.

These are some pictures taken in Manitou Springs, where Dad managed to reveal his "ent-ish" side.

This was what I was working on at work at the time I took leave.

Yes this is a gutted Apache. Every time an aircraft reaches 500 flight hours it goes into something called a "Phase".  Basically we take off all the weapons systems, any electrical boxes and radios, and all the other avionics equipment, clean it and inspect them then put them into the aircraft. We also replace anything that is damaged, broken or not working properly. It is a very good way to learn your job since you do a lot of work.

This may be a familiar picture. I thought I would give a quick explanation of what our model, Robert, is wearing. Let me just say this very fashionable for any of you who think you may be going to live in the field or may going to the "sandbox" any time soon. He is wearing the Army Combat Helmet, also known as a "kevlar" because of what it is made of. To protect his eyes he is wearing the sun, wind, and dust goggles, which come in very handy when you are on the FARP as helicopter are landing and taking off. They can kick up a lot of debris and you have to remember, "there is no more important rule to to wear these, safety glasses." He is also modeling the Interceptor Ballistic Armor, which has many different pouches attached to it to carry all that you might need while on the go. These pouches include 3 M-16 ammo mag pouches, 2 grenade pouches, and an first aid kit.

Well, I think that will be all for toady. Gotta save something for later to keep the critics happy.

Some Very Delayed Pictures

So there hasn't been a whole lot going on lately to post about. I also have not even felt like blogging at all so that doesn't help.

My eyes have been doing good lately. The first few days after my surgery I slept a lot. Things up close and far away are still blurry but the in between is clear. It will take about 2-3 months to clear up completely.  That's about the biggest news I have so here are some pictures I just got from Wilson from the weekend we went on the trails and I broke my camera.

This would be the moment right after the fated spill. Nice and dirty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Helen Hunt Falls. We stopped here and hiked the trail that follows the river that flows down the mountain and feed this waterfall.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the view from the bridge atop the falls. It was a lot higher then it looked like from the bottom.

 

 

Part of the river flowing down the mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting down felt pretty good after hiking half way up the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of us were a little more tired then others.

But in the end it was worth it for the view of Colorado Springs.

Bit's of Bacon

I recently saw this on youtube and thought it was hilarious.

There hasn't been anything exciting going on for me. I will be getting PRK on the 5th of August. PRK is a form of corrective vision surgery. So I am looking forward to that. That's about all I know for now though.

Fireworks, Taps, and Red,White and Blue

 

Happy 4th of July to everyone. I hope you all have a great day however you are planning to spend your day. I am just glad I spending it back here in America and not another country who can't even defend themselves and still needs our help.

Anyway, Fort Carson was open for civilians from around Colorado Springs to come on post to a park where they had several things for kids and families to do. They also had fireworks at night.

I watched the fireworks from my Jeep in a parking lot nearby my barracks. They started roughly around 9:45 p.m. At every military post I have been to so far at 10pm Taps is played. So right in the middle of the fireworks tonight Taps starts playing. It's a very weird thing watching fireworks go off and hearing Taps being played. To me fireworks are a celebration of our nations independence, as I'm sure it is for everyone else. On the other hand Taps is a solemn reminder of the price paid of keeping this nation free. For me it was just a strange thing to be happening at the same time.

Once the firework ended and I was headed back to the barracks, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue by Toby Keith came on the radio. It seemed like a fitting end to the day.