FOB Miami

So as previously mentioned we spent 2 weeks at Forward Operating Base Miami. This was where the "war games" started up, although I didn't really participate in that side of things too much. The only thing we ha to worry about was making it to a hardened shelter or some sort of bunker for protection if we received simulated indirect fire.

Other then that we did normal aircraft maintenance. My squad worked from 12pm -12 am and another squad worked the other 12 hours.

 

 

Clockwise from top left: the flight line; Out sleep tents, the one I slept in is furthest to the right in the back; the two hangers along with the white tents which served as our "shop"; and the desert which surrounded us, this is looking towards death valley just beyond the mountains.

Here is a collage of other random pictures.

This is a OH-58 Kiowa. Officers that are stationed at Fort Irwin to train us would fly these and grade our pilots on how well they performed. The Kiowa is also used as a scout aircraft.

 

We also had 6 UH-60 Blackhawks with us. They were a detachment out of Fort Rucker, AL.

 

 

 

      

The last picture was actually taken during sunset during a dust storm. I thought it was pretty crazy how it turned out.

I love the color of the sky in this picture and the way the moon looks.

Our commander was extremely happy with the way our unit performed while at NTC. We flew close to 1,000 hours of flight time, which is a record for any unit in the past 3 years.

Also, for those of you that have not heard already, I will be home for Christmas this year from the 21st of Dec to the 4th of Jan.

National Training Center

Many of you know that I was recently on a field trip to California with my battalion. We were at the National Training Center located at Fort Irwin from the 1st to the 27th of October. NTC is supposed to replicate being in Iraq to help prepare units for deployment to Iraq.

The first week we were there was spent at the staging area known as "Aruba". We spent this time getting all of our equipment, trucks and aircraft ready to go out to the "box".

These are some pictures from Aruba. It was pretty windy almost the whole time we were there which made for some fun dust storms to work in.

The next place we were at is known as Forward Operating Base(FOB) Miami. We spent 2 weeks there, doing normal aircraft maintenance and some other training missions.

 

This was part of our convoy out to FOB Miami. This was also a dusty trip because the Humvee I rode in had no doors or top.

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.