So I know I’m a little late with this update, but calendars have this tendency to march steadily to the right and down, and excrement occurs. However, in the name of continuity and completeness, I am posting a bit about what happened two weeks ago at the same time I’m hitting what happened last week. Quick synopsis: We conducted a joint 9mm range with the IA battalion staff officers, and hit some checkpoints. Also, I’ve got a couple of ‘interesting’ photos that I took during that week.
First, the range. If I remember correctly, we had representatives from all of the S-shops, and since the Sergeant Major was on leave, the Assistant Sergeant Major came as well. It was a learning experience on both sides, as some of them had never fired the new Glock pistols they were issued last year. We kept it simple, with moving and shooting limited to straight toward the target, and laterally left and right from the 5-meter line. Only one mag change, and that was at a pre-determined point between firing events. So enough with the explanation, here are the photos! Our first entry has MSG Jones conducting our range safety brief. (Note to family: Yes, that is me on the left with the bald head. I gave up on haircuts and just started shaving my head again)
Next, we have one of the IA lieutenants moving from right to left at the five-meter line, along with SSG(P) Moncree as lane safety and one of our interpreters.
On our checkpoint patrol, we observed the handoff of the southernmost checkpoint in 1st BN’s AO to 3rd BN’s control (thus making it our northernmost). The ‘pillaging’ of the checkpoint by the 1BN soldiers was pretty much as expected, but what should have been apparent, but wasn’t until we saw the following, was that 3BN expected this, and was prepared. As we’re sitting in the bermed pull-off by the checkpoint, one of the 3BN 5-ton trucks showed up towing a trailer with well… this:
We should have understood that they would know the 1BN ‘handoff’ would consist of basically stripping the usable stuff from the buildings, and would come prepared, but it was kind of a pleasant surprise. It’s not that they can’t plan, it’s more the sticking to a calendar thing they have a problem with.
As for the ‘interesting’ photos, I’ll post the first, then explain.
What we have here is the result of the previous team buying a safe to store various items inside the conex, and the lock on said safe catastrophically failing, resulting in the necessary ‘alternate key’ method. Though the housing is HEAVY, the door is pretty much tinfoil, and using just the axe (as a sledgehammer) and the pry-bar, I was able to gain entry in less than 10 minutes. Caveat Emptor indeed! Finally, we have the previously promised photo of Morgan, the stray who showed up as we were doing the handover from the previous team, and who now is living (rather comfortably) on the IA side of the FOB.
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