The fat lady in Lichtenstein!

There is something magical about living in open bay barracks.  This past week found me on Camp Achen in Grafenwohr training with about 30 other officers and senior enlisted men.  I don't know why, but the barracks tends to bring out the frat boy in even the most well rounded gentlemen.  Conversations in the barracks and field environment always turn to sex, drinking stories, and flatulence.  Through in a few Ranger stories and you have a party.

The week in the field was a good time to validate the setup of personal gear and to pick the brain of each person to our left and right.  I learned a lot this week and got to know some of the teammates a lot better.

The training last week was very good.  We had solid days from 0730 until 2000 nightly with topics ranging from first aid to crew served weapons familiarization.  The Army has really stepped up their simulation efforts when training soldiers for IED defensive measures and counter-countermeasures.  One event I wasn't crazy about was the MRAP rollover trainer.  It reminded me of dunker training and the experience of being strapped into an aircraft underwater.  I'm not a fan of small spaces so the rollover trainer was particularly fun for me.

Today as a reward for a hard week of training I took another road trip with Chris Fuhriman.  We did four countries in 14 hours and 930 km.  Today was a lot of fun.  We drove down to Austria and Lichtenstein via Nurnburg and Kempton.  We returned through Garmisch and Munich.

We stopped in Lichtenstein for a stroll and lunch.  Check out the picture of the fat lady below.  Pretty random I thought.

I've uploaded some more pictures from the training this past week and the travels today.  There is also a good picture of my friend Mike below that was taken on the fourth of July.  He and his neighbor were gracious enough to invite me over for a burger and fireworks.  You really find out who your friends are when the chips are down.

So we are within a pay period of going back to Afghanistan.  I was thinking the other day about the last time I was there and how much has changed since then.  If I fly straight through to Afghanistan, it will be 2 years, 10 months, and 27 days since the last time I was there.

Two birthday shoutouts from this past week.  My mom turned 35....prettier than ever of course.  Happy birthday to Mrs. Rachel also turned 35 this week.  Happy birthday both of you.

Have a great Sunday everyone.

S.

Austria and the Lone Woman with the White Rose

Saturday July 9th.

Today I took a trip to Salzburg, Austria.  Evidently Salzburg is the setting for the classic movie "The Sound of Music."  Our motley crew departed the barracks (ahh the barracks) bright and early at 0730.  Our plan was to stop by and pick up the newest, and apparently most green Lieutenant in the Army...2nd LT R.

Ok...side story.  I met 2nd LT R. the other day while I was kissing babies and making the rounds at my new battalion headquarters.  2nd LT R. was in need of a ride to a battalion social event and no one seemed to want to help the guy out.  Without knowing anything about the person seeking the ride, I volunteered to help a fellow officer out.  After I met the guy I knew immediately why no one was helping him out.  The poor guy is a fish out of water...Armor (Tank dude) in an Infantry world....and he's not going with us in a few weeks....what a drag.  So I took it upon myself to sit with him at the social event and three majors took him along today to Austria.  

On the way to pick up the LT we were side tracked by the spicy Thai food I enjoyed Friday night...so we arrived a few minutes late to pick up the LT.

After we finished all of our administrative details for the morning....four of us set out for Austria; a trip that I had somehow convinced myself would only take two hours.

Four hours later we arrived in Salzburg.  After driving with our doors locked through the heavily Turkish part of town...home of 1001 Kebab stands...we found the walk-platz and set out on foot.

Salzburg was pretty cool.  It is the birthplace of Mozart and home to a University, a monastery, and a convent.  We even had the opportunity to tour some catacombs today.

Salzburg also has a flare for the arts.

Check out this picture of a grandma in a sports bra and a dagger...WTH.

We found this guy floating in a no-floating zone in the walk-platz.

While were walking through the streets I was compelled to capture the image of a woman in a black dress walking alone with a single white rose.  It struck me as odd that a woman would be walking alone in the city with a single rose in no apparent hurry.  But seeing as we were in Salzburg I was feeling a little artistic.  I usually wouldn't give a scene such as this a second thought, but I recalled a picture that one of Karen's friends had uploaded this past week of a woman who was caught in an equally telling moment.  Unfortunately the picture my friend snapped of the lone woman and the rose is not nearly as good as the picture of Karen's friend (name omitted for privacy).  Anyway, both pictures are below. 

Timeless picture of one of our friends.  

A woman in black with a single rose is an interesting subject...its a shame we couldn't get a black and white quality picture of her without looking like stalkers.

The lone woman with the white rose....strange.

So we followed the lady for a bit and found she was traveling to the ages old church that lay below and equally old rock quarry and fortress perched upon a hill.  The church had a stone that indicated it was built in the 1400's with the rest of the church built another 1000 years before that.

A few extra pictures are below.

S.

Sucking Chest Wounds and Salad

The Army has seen fit to give me a new set of skills this week.  Today marks my completion of combat lifesaver training....no big deal for Joe...but for me....an accomplishment.  I've found that everything in the Army runs in cycles and first aid is no different.  Many remember back in the day when tourniquets were frowned upon and the golden rule about applying a tourniquet was that once it was on, no one was allowed to take it off.

The Army has a new take on the tourniquet.  The tourniquet...much like wisdom teeth extraction....seems to be something the Army loves to promote now. According to the first aid instructors, the tourniquet is now the first thing that is applied if a patient is bleeding.  I can not tell you all how excited I am that Joe has been instructed to apply a tourniquet to me if I am bleeding.  Understand that combat life saver training is taught to the lowest level and that Joe may not be able to determine if I actually need a tourniquet or not.

The Army has also begun shying away from teaching combat lifesavers how to place an IV into a patients arm.  The problem in combat was that soldiers were too busy trying to find a vein to start an IV and were neglecting the patient.  Pretty sound logic right?  Well now the focus of the training seemed to be on placing the nasal flange in the patients nose to secure an airway along with jabbing a six inch 15 gauge needle into the patients chest in the second clavicle region to relieve pressure in the chest....again I'm not sure I want Joe sticking a needle in my chest.

I did get one golden nugget from the first aid instructor today....who happened to be an E5 with 10 years in the Army (something doesn't add up there).  He said "The best medicine is effective fire on the enemy."  I think I can agree with that.

So tonight I celebrated my combat life saver graduation with attendance at the 1-2 IN Battalion hail and farewell.  The unit saw fit to welcome me properly with some well timed, although cliche jokes about aviators.  I received a coin with my name on it and a nice beer stein...which is now in a box ready to mail home.  I really appreciated the gifts but I would have rather had a new compass or something else useful in combat...or even just my full per diem for my stay in Germany....that is another story.

The 1-2 IN Battalion traces its roots back to the War of 1812.  There motto is "Back in Black" and they are known as the Black Scarves....I'll let you look that up but your hint is a reference to Vietnam.

Tomorrow I am off to the engagement skills trainer to refresh my long gun shooting skills.

Take Care.

S.

Joe strikes again!

Ahh the joy of living in the barracks.  In the spirit of keeping this blog "real" and not holding back too much I think you all deserve to hear about the triumphs of Joe in the barracks last night.

Now I can't speak for the passion that exists in the duplex houses to the left and right of 8610 Gafney Street, but I can absolutely say for certain that I have never been disturbed in the night by what I've heard coming through the walls of our house.  I think that most people keep things pretty well in hand and under control and are not overly concerned with impressing the neighbors with moans and screams in the night.

Not so for Joe.  I woke up at 3am last night to the apparent marathon of love making that was going on somewhere in the barracks.  Of course I was compelled to open my windows and make sure the acts were not occurring right outside of my window.

Joe is certifiably crazy.  The barracks...I mean come on...its the barracks....

I was duly impressed with what I heard and look forward to my next encounter with Joe.  It is a four day weekend here and payday was this past week so I imagine it will be an entertaining weekend.

S.