DAY 4 DEC 02

DAY 4 DEC 02
After calling you last night, I found out after I got back to the barracks that I had to go to the zero range and shoot. I had to be at battalion at 0630. Well, I stayed up for a little bit, doing some reading because I wasn’t really tired, but I knew I needed to sleep soon. I read the first chapter of the Colorado Kid, and its so far so good. I also prepped my gear for the range tomorrow, dug out my IBAS and Kevlar, checked the straps, added magazines to my pouches, checked all the batteries and stuff and filled up my camelback with water.
After searching around for someone with an alarm clock, I crawled into my green sleeping bag and went to sleep. I slept pretty crappy. I was worried about getting up on time to get some breakfast and go to the range at 0630.
I shouldn’t have worried because I woke up at 0230, 0400, 0420, 0445 and by then just waiting until 0500 to get up and get dressed. Hacksaw and I went to breakfast and even though we were there by 0515, the line was about 150 meters long. I was concerned that I wouldn’t have time to eat, but eventually we got in. I had some French toast and some other crap that wasn’t very appetizing, oh, and I had a bowl of Frosted Flakes. So, I hurried through breakfast to make the 0630 time break. I virtually ran back to the barracks (a good 300 meters or more) and threw on my gear. Me and Castro walked quickly to the Battalion TOC and found everyone else standing around. It was at this point I remembered that I hadn’t shaved this morning and I felt a little scruffy. Finally, we were counted and ushered onto a bus around 0645. The bus didn’t move until 0730 for some fucked up reason.
After a short 1 hour drive through the desert, which I slept through, we jumped off the bus and got ready to put some rounds down range. Now, this is the first time I’ve actually seen the Kuwaiti countryside. As it turns out, there is not a lot to see, it is pretty much what you expect out o the desert – flat and pointless. Sand is everywhere, very fine, like moondust with the occasional scrubbrush poking out here or there. Sometimes, on the horizon, you think you can see a building, and maybe you can, but its hard to be sure.
So, we scooted ourselves over to the firing line – pretty much a line where someone said, “let’s start shooting that way” – and stapled targets to silhouttes that were already in place. We laid sandbags down and fired 20 rounds in an attempt to make 5/6 consecutive hit in the black circle. That being done, quicker by some than others, we proceeded back to the busses. Although this doesn’t seem like it would take awhile, we were out in the desert for about 3 hours. The good thing is that the desert wasn’t so bad today. There was a nice breeze blowing through, which doesn’t blow on the base we’re on, and it kept things very comfortable. We reboarded the busses and I regained another hour of sleep.
Once back on the base, we raced over to where the IED training was taking place and snuck in the back door. After the IED training we grabbed some lunch, a surprising feast of ravioli, fries, hot wings, hamburgers, and no Coke or Pepsi – they ran out apparently. I’ll have to get there sooner next time.
After lunch I went back to the barracks and started typing.
My plan for the afternoon goes something like this:
1700 – Go sign up for the 3 hour phone line
1715 – Eat dinner, whatever it may be
1745 – Go to the post office and mail a package
1800 – Sign up for the internet
1830 – Actually get on the internet and send my email and hopefully some pictures