Home For The Holidays

I’m on leave right now so I can spend some time at home during Christmas and the New Year.  The one thing I don’t miss about Minnesota is the winters.  I’ve got less than a week left before I head back to Mississippi.  I’ll be there for a bit and then head to Fort Polk, Louisiana, for even more training before we head to Iraq.

Combat Lifesaver Course

For the last three days I've been in a classroom learning how to be a Combat Lifesaver. It's more advanced than the basic first aid the Army teaches us. A Combat Lifesaver is like a first responder on the battlefield, we will attempt to give life and limb saving procedures until the casualty can be evacuated and seen by a medical professional. I took this course in 1995 when I was stationed at Fort Bragg, and it has advanced and adapted to injuries seen in this war. One thing that hasn't changed is the I.V. portion. Just like the course 10 years ago and the first aid class a couple of months ago at Fort Stewart, I had to stick a fellow soldier with an I.V. needle and be stuck. It's hard enough getting stuck in the arm by a trained and experienced medic, imagine how it feels to be stuck by someone holding a needle for the first time.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow, it will be my first day off in a long time. I think I'm going to sleep and eat and then sleep again. Maybe I'll watch a little football too.

Urban Warfare

In the last couple of days we trained in an urban environment. The training included clearing buildings and rooms, securing villages and civil disturbances. It was some of the more interesting training I’ve had on this deployment so far. The photos I’ve included here are some from the civil disturbances. There are civilians hired to portray Iraqi citizens. Some of them are actually from Iraq and they chant different slogans as we hold them back.



It seems like everyday I’m going back to the supply shed and getting more and more equipment. And pretty much all of the new stuff are items I have to wear. In the other photo shows me in a lot of my “battle rattle” which gets heavy. The body armor with the plates in it weighs the most and is going to take some time to get used to.

Convoy Operations

After arriving back from South Carolina, I went out to the field the next day for four days. During our stay we had training on convoy defense. We went through various scenarios that included firing blanks during some exercises and shooting live rounds in other exercises. We were taught how to defend ourselves during convoys through civilian and military roads. Mock-up Iraqi villages with role players were used during a couple of training scenarios. So far this has been the most intense training I’ve experienced during this deployment but I have a feeling that it’s only just begun. Today we went back out for a three day stint that will cover base defense.

Time to Head Back to Mississippi

After about four weeks of training in South Carolina, I’ll be flying back to Mississippi tomorrow for more training there.

Moving Around the Country

I’m now out of Mississippi, at least for now.  I’m in South Carolina right now for a satellite communications course and will be here until the end of October.  I will then go back to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for more training.  The weather is getting cooler which is an improvement over the humidity.  Other than that, things have been pretty uneventful.

Camp Shelby Katrina Pix

Here are a couple of photos from outside my barracks. These trees were knocked over during hurricane Katrina.

Training Continues

The past few days has been consumed with more classes and training. Today we went to a Land Navigation course where we split up into teams of two or three. We were given a compass, map and some coordinates to points which we had to find while out on foot. Finding the different points wasn’t the hard part; it was getting to the points through some heavy vegetation and swampy areas in the extreme heat. At one point I fell into a swamp and sunk to waist deep. It was very difficult to get back out, the more I tried to pull myself out, the more it sucked me in. I eventually got free but my uniform needed a wash and I needed a shower. After I was out, my teammates thought that we should have gotten a picture of me stuck in the swamp. Although I had my camera on me, my mind was on other things. We finished the course with time to spare.

Back to the Central Time Zone

I’m now at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, which is near Hattiesburg. I will more than likely be here for the majority of my training prior to heading overseas. I’m scheduled to attend a communications school in South Carolina next month and we might move our training site again as we get closer to the end. The living conditions aren’t as bad as I was expecting, the attached photo is an example of one of our bunks and wall lockers.

We flew into Jackson, Mississippi, and took a two hour bus ride to Camp Shelby. Along the way I saw some of the damage caused by the hurricane. There were still a lot of trees blown over (some from the roots), billboards destroyed, metal street signs bent around and to the ground and other damage that still hasn’t been taken care of. I’ll attempt to take a picture or two and post them if I have time.

My address is now:

SSG Gerten, Bradly H.

B Co. 1/34 BTB

2490 25^th ST

Camp Shelby, MS 39407

I will be able to receive mail at this address until further notice.

Heading to Mississippi

Today I spent packing and preparing for our move to Camp Shelby, Mississippi.  I’m not sure what the facilities are like in regards to power, phone service and internet so I’m not sure when my next post will be.   I will make another post here as soon as I can. 

Yesterday Was the Longest Day Yet

Yesterday my day started at 0430 (4:30 am) and kept going until after 2200 (10:00 pm). I went out to the rifle range and stayed out there all day. The heat beat down from sunrise to sunset. I started by zeroing my weapon on one range to align my sites properly. I then moved over to a qualification range where I had a rough start but qualified with the number of hits required for sharp shooter. After qualifying I had to put my protective mask on and fire some more shots down range. When I was completed with that, there was a lot of waiting around until it got dark so I could do night firing. I tried to get some sleep but it was so hot and very difficult to get into a comfortable sleeping position in the break areas at the range. When everyone completed with their night firing, we did a quick clean-up on the range and hopped on the busses to head back to our barracks.

Today was kind of a relaxation day for me. I brought a DirecTV dish so I can see the Vikings games while I’m still in the United States. I spent most of the morning setting up the dish with sandbags on the roof of our living quarters. I then spent the whole first half on the phone with DirecTV trying to get the game on my receiver. All the while, I was listening to the game on my satellite radio getting more frustrated at the Vikings performance. Well the satellite works now and hopefully I can get it up and running again when we move to Mississippi.

First Aid Training

Today was filled with more training. We covered vehicle searches and basic first aid. The photo above is me giving an I.V. to another soldier during that portion of training. The weather here has been pretty hot and humid. It has been in the mid-90s for the most part and the heat really takes a lot of energy out of me. I should probably think of it as another training opportunity because where I’m going I don’t think it will be any cooler.

First Day of Training

Today we started training. The whole day I sat in a classroom setting and watched government contractors give us briefings on Iraq, terrorism, etc. We also had a military attorney give us a briefing on the rules of engagement (ROE) for Iraq. I was expecting it to be pretty dry but most of was actually interesting. The briefings included a lot of Power Point slides and video clips which kept my attention. Tomorrow is more classroom and then some practical exercises.

Just Some Long Days Ahead

I’m still in the processing stage of my deployment. The days start early and there is a lot of waiting. Today I went through several different stations to verify that my personnel and medical records are up to date. I had to get two shots, the Anthrax and Small Pox vaccinations. I think we will start doing some training tomorrow and we are looking at heading to Mississippi some time next week. I do not have a mailing address yet but I will post it as soon as I get one.

First Day Out of Minnesota

Today I left Minnesota and flew to Georgia.  I’m now at Fort Stewart and am not sure how long I will be here.  Once Camp Shelby, Mississippi, reopens, I will probably be heading down there for training.  Today was pretty much a travel day with a couple of briefings after arriving.  I will start some processing and training tomorrow. 

Welcome To My Blog

Hello all and welcome to my Web Log (Blog). I hope to make posts to this as often as possible and would like to add photos when feasible for the next 18 months. I look forward to hearing from visitors here so you may contact me by emailing brad@gerten.com.