Day 22; Mounted Gunnery

My soldier sent me an incredible email today.  The first video looks black (because it is at night), but click on the play icon to hear the audio.

Mom,

Just to give you an idea what we're doing right now.  We were wearing night vision, so you can't see anything except for the tracer rounds (one of them for every 5 rounds fired), but you can hear me and my gunner communicating.  You may have to turn up the volume to hear everything.  I call out the targets, he identifies them once I give him the description and direction, I tell him to fire, he responds "on the way," and he lights it up. Pretty fun.  

I'll try to get a video during the day but my camera battery is almost dead.  If so, I'll try to get one on my cell phone.

I also attached a video where I took my night vision goggle off and put the camera in front of it so you can see the literal "night and day" difference between pitch black and using the goggle.

Also, among some other pix of my soldiers, is a picture of the shitty 20-year-old gun trucks we're using out here. My gunner, SPC [classified], was setting up his M249 in the turret.

By the way it's in the 30s out here and we're sleeping in tents, hah.  I kept my computer turned on and plugged in inside my sleeping bag to keep me warm.  Worked like a champ!

I had to listen to the video twice before I could believe it was my son, yelling commands to fire. 

Day 19; Negligent Discharge

I received an email from my soldier today.  Facinating to me.  I had to censor the names for obvious reasons:

This'll take you a while to read, but I thought it may be interesting to you to know what kind of crap I have to deal with as a leader.

You noticed that there is some tension in my platoon right now.  Part of it came from the ass-chewing SFC [A] and I gave them because of a negligent discharge.  Basically means some mof fired off his weapon when he wasn't supposed to.  It's never considered an accident -- always negligence.  One of the two deaths in the Ghan this month was because a soldier had an ND and capped his buddy in the head, so the Army is taking this type of incident (and always has) seriously, even though we were using blanks.

One time at [location] one of the guys in my platoon had an ND and our captain smoked us ragged for it.  The guy had fired off a round inside the back of a troop carrier vehicle and the dude sitting across from him would have been shot if it was a real round.  So we had to throw him on a stretcher and the platoon had to take turns running him back and forth until we basically couldn't hold the guy up anymore.  I actually had an M4 with a 203 grenade launcher slung over my back, as well as having to carry an M249 I was using on that mission, while I was helping carry a 180 pound soldier on a 30 pound metal stretcher with 50 pounds of gear, a weapon, and two 5 gallon water jugs between his legs.  It is probably the second-most exhausting thing I've done yet in the Army.  So that instilled in me how serious an incident like that was... 

I wanted to have my platoon do the same thing but the good idea fairy told me I could get in trouble if any of my soldiers were injured from that smoke session right before deployment.  So instead I'm making them do an exhausting amount of weapon safety training, with the help of an NCO, to include clearing procedures and memorization of four weapon safety rules.  They are:

1. All guns are always loaded.

2. Never point your muzzle at something you do not wish to destroy.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you have acquired your target and are prepared to fire.

4. Be sure of your target, and of what is in line with it, both in front of and behind it. 

I can tell this stuff is reinforcing safety because I have a couple of my soldiers walking around, of their own accord, challenging others to recite the four safety rules.

Anyway, I just wrote up a sworn statement that's probably going to get sent up the chain of command to the general level and an investigating officer is going to be assigned to the case.  Here's what I wrote into the form as my statement:

"26 personnel from [classified] Company conducted Entry Control Point operations on [date] in [location].  After completion of the lane, we had a formation at approximately 1930 to conduct an After Action Review.  At this time, soldiers were clearing their weapons and turning in any unspent ammunition.

A blank cartridge discharged in the back of the platoon during this formation.  From my vantage point, facing the platoon at the front, the incident occurred in the rear rank in the vicinity of SGT [B] and SPC [C].  I distinctly remember SGT [B] suddenly moving his face away from SPC [C], who was standing to his left.  I did not see a muzzle flash so I cannot be certain that it came from SPC [C]'s weapon.

The soldiers using M249 SAWs during this ECP lane did not have the appropriate blank firing adapters on their weapons.  Because of this, two of the three weapons were not firing correctly.  SPC [C]'s weapon had malfunctioned during the lane and I gave him my M16A2 to fire from his position in the guard tower.  It is very possible that he left an unspent blank cartridge in his weapon while he was using mine.  Since the M249 is an open-bolt weapon, the bolt may have ridden forward and discharged a cartridge left in the chamber.

SGT [B] approached me and SFC [A] a couple hours after the incident.  He completely denied that it was his weapon that discharged the blank cartridge.  SGT [D] told me that he had a clear recollection that SGT [B] had already cleared his weapon before this incident.  SGT [D] remembered this because the round SGT [B] cleared from the chamber struck him in the face."

[did my son just use sarcasm to make a point?]

If the investigating officer ends up pointing his/her finger at SPC [C], his rank can be reduced from E-4 to E-1. This is not because of what he (probably) did -- it is because he has had numerous chances to come clean and admit it but he hasn't, out of fear of UCMJ actions.  

At this point it would be an integrity violation and it would mean that he outright lied to his commanding officer, to SFC [A], and to the Command Sergeant Major of the battalion.

Day 15; Adios Barcelona

I am anxious to return home and get back to ‘normalcy.’  I had everything packed last night, with the exception of my travel clothes, and upon arriving at the airport, I realized that I had left my Kindle in the hotel room on the desk.  I am so angry with myself and even worse, I have to tell my husband this.  After a 30-Euro taxi fare ($45 equivalent) and a 45 minute ride, I couldn’t very well go back to the hotel and return an hour and a half later (not to mention the expense of this), I called the hotel and asked them to hold it at the front desk.  Now I must give the bad news to my son Robert that he must go on an errand for me, since his forgetful mother left a $500 item behind. 

Day 12; The Girlfriend Factor

My only recollection of a family member in the military is my paternal uncle (Mike) when he served in Viet Nam.  I was just a kid when he left, maybe 7 years old.  Other than that, all military stories in my head come from books and movies I have watched over and over (just ask both my boys and they will roll their eyes).  Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, The Hurt Locker, and a few HBO miniseries are my personal ‘archives.’  In most of these movies/series, there is often the wife or girlfriend who waits for their man to return from the war.  For my soldier, he started a relationship with a girl only 2 months before his deployment.  She is a sweet thing, very bright, pretty, charismatic, and my soldier is pretty taken with her.  So one might ask:

--Is it wise to start a relationship right before you deploy for 400 days? 

--Is there a chance that this relationship could work? 

--Wouldn’t the odds be that the girl gets tired of waiting and (since she is only 20 years old) decides to move on? 

That seems to be the consensus of many, but I for one think the ‘girlfriend factor’ is a good thing.  My son is risking his life to serve his country; he is putting his social life on hold while he helps to fight for and protect our nation.  To have someone to write to, send emails, Skype, etc. is something to look forward to and I believe it gives our service men and women hope, to carry on and get the job done, and have loved ones to come home to. 

Of course there is the possibility that the relationship will not last, but that is true with any relationship.  My soldier knows the possibility of this happening, and he is going into it with his eyes open. 

The girl wrote to me in an email that she is crazy about him and that he is worth waiting for.  I know personally what a wonderful person my son is, and I know he is worth the wait.  My only worry is will she be worth risking his heart?  I hope she is as wonderful and sweet as she seems.  A broken heart is hard to mend and for a mother to watch her son in pain, mental or physical, is difficult.

 

Day 11; Montserrat -- Thanksgiving

November 25:

What a strange endeavor to be in a foreign country on the Thanksgiving holiday. 

My husband and I started our day by taking a journey by train to Montserrat, which is an incredible mountain top monastery about 4000 ft above the valley floor.  Awesome. 

Well worth the long day of travel.  My son Robert had told me that when he and his friends had visited Montserrat, they had hiked to the top instead of taking the funicular.  Ah, youth.  The two hours they spent hiking were better spent by riding the aerial cable and enjoying the view for me.  I think it had been an economical decision for them, too.  It gets pricey with all of the train fares, aerial cable rides, funicular, etc. 

After we returned to Barcelona, we met up with Robert for our Thanksgiving celebration.  The three of us made a desperate attempt to find a turkey dinner, and we lucked out… Thank you Hard Rock Café – Barcelona.  They even served us pumpkin pie (albeit, not even close to my mom’s recipe). 

A few hours later, back in the U.S., my soldier sent a picture message from Ft. Hood during his Thanksgiving lunch break.

It looks like the troops are being fed in style.  That plate is piled pretty high, and that is only his Thanksgiving Day lunch!  Although my soldier is in excellent health, lean and athletic, nothing stops him from packing it in when it comes to holiday meals.

Later on, he sent me a picture of their Thanksgiving dinner celebration. 

Day 10; Email From a Friend

November 24th:

Today, I received an email from my new friend, Isabel, who is also the mother of a soldier in my son’s company.  She writes:

Hi Suzan,
Just checking in to see how you are doing.  Have you received my recent emails regarding the pictures and addresses?  Just wanted to make sure my email list was correct.  Have you heard from Richard yet?  Remember, I'm here to talk if you need to.

Spending a lovely Thanksgiving with my other son and his family.  Spoke to Rick and also sent him pictures via cell phone.  Have a good time and enjoy yourself.  Did I mention I sent you a link with all the pictures taken and the newsclip from last Sunday?  When you get home check your email. 

Have a Great Thanksgiving!
Isabel

Isabel has been through this before; this is her son’s 2^nd deployment.  I remember her telling me that this time around is easier to deal with since she is familiar with “how things work,” however, her son was stationed in a non-combat area during his first deployment and this time, they will be in Iraq.  Different, yet somewhat similar circumstances, but stressful nonetheless when your military son is overseas. 

It is good to know there are so many people who care and want to support me during my son's absence. 

Day 9; Cursed Be The Internet

Due to limited Internet access here in Barcelona, it seems I must document my information on Word files and then load them into this blog at a later time... 

Today, we revisited the Sagrata Familia and soaked in the beauty and delight of the interior.  We then ventured via elevator to the top of one of the towers. The view was quite spectacular.  We opted to take the spiraling stairs down and paused frequently to admire the view of Barcelona and the construction of the cathedral from many of its windows and balconies instead of riding the sheathed elevator.

Met my son Robert on 26^th floor for tapas & beer (how strange it is to have a beer with my 20-year-old son, since the drinking age is only 18 in Spain).

No word from my soldier today.  Don't know how long this distraction will last.  Must be patient...  I know I will hear from him eventually.