Forget the Hummer...Enter the MRAP!!!

So its been pretty busy here at Ft. Dix. After a couple of exciting days, things have slowed down. We're all convinced that someone here is trying to slowly kill us via powerpoint presentations. We call it 'Death by Powerpoint'. Yesterday actually started out okay. We began around 1100 with the MRAP introduction. If you've never seen the MRAP, it is the vehicle in the pic at the top of this post. The MRAP was designed to replace the Hummer in areas that are prone to IED's and VBIED's. Basically, they are heavy armor vehicles hand built on dumptruck frames. They have 4inch bulletproof glass windows and VERY thick steel armor. They also have a v-shaped bottom to deflect the blast of an IED. The MRAP's have a very good track record with IED's. According to our instructor, there has not been ONE death involving an MRAP and an IED explosion. They have been hit many times, but everyone has been safe inside. We saw a video of an MRAP taking a direct hit and it didn't even stop rolling; and after studying the pic above you can imagine why. Its 54000 lbs of steel and weapons. Oh, and one note for my friend Steve...its made by international! Its like a Scout on juice!!! After the MRAP familiarization (no they wouldn't let us drive it...YET), we moved on to radio training. Usually I would have found this fun, but the system we learned was very easy considering my SATCOM backgroud...but trust me, some folks had a very tough evening with it. We finished radio training around 2200 and had to rush home for a 0630 show time this morning...which brings me to powerpoint...
Today was the toughest day yet. We are beginning Hummer training...and yes we DO get to drive the Hummer. We started at 0700 with powerpoints on how to drive. We were taught things like, "The fuel gauge gives you a reading on how much fuel is in the gas tank", and "Turn on the front headlights after dark". That's about the extent of the training today. Problem was that we have to get 40 hours of training to get Hummer qualified!!! That's like at least 4X as much training as I got in H.S. driver training at good ol' Prosper High. The powerpoint lasted from 0700 to about 1530. The hard part was staying awake. The last 20 mins of class were spent actually outside going over the vehicles. Now tomorrow we are gonna get a chance to actually get in and drive those bad boys and I'm frothing at the bit! We get to drive them on road, off road, AND we get to drive them at night with night vision goggles in black out mode...now THAT will be a good post! Sorry folks but aside from the picture, this post is pretty tame. One story of note: Today in the Combat Lifesaver Course, someone passed out while getting an IV and cracked his head on the ground. Had to get 5 staples in his noodle. We will be doing that class next week and I have to admit, I'm NOT looking forward to that in any way...but I'm sure Y'ALL will be waiting at the keyboard all week to hear about my scared ass!!! -OUT-