Forecast: Lots of HEAT!!!

Today started at 0500 with the normal routine: Shower, Shave, Eat and be on the bus at 0700. It was raining this morning so we got a chance to break out some of the thousands of dollars of gear the Army and Air Force purchased for us. I gotta say to all you tax payers that your money is being well spent (at least in THIS capacity). We are outfitted to accomplish our mission in any enviornment, in any country in the world; day or night. We have Gortex jackets and pants for the rain. We have an 8 piece exteme cold weather system. We have integrated hydration systems. We have multitools, ACH kevlar helmets, carbon fiber pistol holsters and magazine carriers. We have bullet proof vests that integrate with a load bearing vest (LBE) to carry EVERYTHING. Its not even that uncomfortable with ceramic plates installed. We have brand new weapons (M9 pistol and M4 rifle) with red dot sights...you get the picture. So anyway, after catching the bus we went over to have our flak vests fitted and issued. That took about an hour. Then back home to integrate all of our equipment. Each piece of gear we have pretty much works with another piece of gear. The flak vest attaches to the LBE. My camelback attaches to the LBE (pretty much EVERYTHING attaches to the LBE!!!). Goggles and shades attach to the helmet so you always look cool (proof of this is coming soon). I have a carbon fiber pistol holster that attaches to my leg with an attached two magazine holder that attaches to my riggers belt that can be dropped in an instant with a turn of a latch. I have a tactical three point rifle harness that attaches to my LBE with a quick release D ring in case I have to quickly sling it to draw my sidearm or vice versa. There are also a TON of little things that attach to the LBE like knives, rifle magazine holders, grenade holders etc...and for the most part its comfortable.
After getting that all squared away, we went out for HEAT training. This training covers what to do in the event your squad is in a rollover type accident and have to egress a damaged HMVVE. They basically have a vehicle mounted on a machine that can roll it 360 degrees. So we watch a powerpoint presentation for about an hour, do some battle drills, and then its time to get into full battle rattle (told you you'd see this again), grab an m16 mock-up and get spun upside down and right side up! Then the vehicle comes to a stop and you find yourself completely updown and strapped in! It probably doesn't sound like that difficult a thing to open the door and get out, but TRUST ME, it is! The process goes like this: As the vehicle starts to roll over, you have to quickly unstrap the .50 Cal gunner from his mount in the middle of the vehicle and make sure he gets his head below the gun turret (unless he'll lose his head and shoulders). You have to do this by having the rear two guys grab the .50 gunner and pull him down into a bear hug while supporting his roll. The two front seat guys grab the gunner's legs and hold on to him so he doesn't a) lose his head and b) go bouncing around the inside of the hummer like a ragdoll. Once the roll is complete, and you are upside down, you then have to open the door, brace your weight with your arm, unlatch your seatbelt (thus slamming your weight onto the roof), and try to get out. Keep in mind that while you are doing this, instructors are YELLING at you and using gun fire simulators to direct your actions and further distract you from what you are doing, and YOU are returning fire and trying not to get you or your team killed in doing so. Very intense and very confusing and very disorienting...and FUN!!! Challenging but FUN! It was hard work though and when it was all over, we felt a little more confident that we could handle ourselves in the combat enviorment.
The class went a little long so we missed evening chow. I ended up eating an MRE with extra hot sauce and now here I am; filling you in on what I just did all day and explaining why I'm so damn tired right now. Having said that, I'm gonna wrap this up for the night. Got a long, but easy day tomorrow. I don't have to show up until noon so I'm looking forward to sleeping in. Remember, if you're reading this and you're even somewhat interested in following along, subscribe to my blog so you can be notified when I make any new posts. -OUT-