training to date 19Jan09

Unbelievable is all that I can say about the training that has been given to us before our deployment. In 18 years of service, I never would have guessed that the military would change the way it trains so radically - all due to lessons learned in country. The military is changing the way it fights wars. We no longer carry the "Big stick" when we go into combat. We now have learned that it is often much more affective to have a smart person carry a "smaller stick." I have never seen the military so light, yet lethal do to our ability to adapt and out think our enemy. We are using technology to its fullest to engage the enemy, maintain situational awareness as to the location of our friendly forces, all while maintaining the utmost attention to limiting collateral damage. This training has made me more aware of the situation in the theatre that we are about to deploy to, we have a much better understanding of the cultural difficulties that lye ahead, all while gaining a better understanding of the people that we are going to be helping. I greatly look forward to this opportunity to put 18 years worth of training to the test, for I will be tested, this mission will not be easy.

Essayons

first blog

well, this is my first of hopefully many blogs describing my adventures and travels over the next several months. Training has kicked off and is going well, long days, but the guys I'm with are great and I couldn't be happier training with such a professional group of soldiers. I'm going to make this first blog a short test, but rest assured many more will follow. This type of activity might be somewhat therapeutic in dealing with the stresses that we are surely about to endure.