Laser Fire

Saturday morning I was able to join another company is a laser fire exercise. I fired an M-16 with a laser device attached tot he end of the barrel at electronic targets. It has been so long since I fired an M-16--in tanks my personal weapons were a .45 Cal pistol and a "Grease Gun" submachine gun--that I was happy to practice aiming, squeezing the trigger, and assuming firing positions. Firing prone I put together a 3 cm shot group. Kneeling and standing, not so good. I also had a good shot group sitting, but that's not part of qualification fire. I am looking forward to live fire at summer camp.

PT Test

Sunday morning I took the PT test again with a couple of guys who missed the previous tests. The morning was cold and because of a snow squall the track was icy in some spots and wet in others. My run time was 16:23, 42 seconds slower than September, but I did 11 more pushups and 14 more situps (42 and 66 respectively) so I got my overall score up to 271. Next fall I hope to get my score up to 290 by get my run time down to 14:40 (max for age 52 to 56) and adding a few more pushups.

My New Washer Dryer

Here it is!

I Flunked Laundry!

No Kidding. So the fifth of seven modules in my phase 1 training is how to maintain and operate a field laundry. I have four kids and do the laundry at my house. I thought the laundry module would be a cinch. But it's mostly about maintenance and operation of a diesel-powered field set up. I scanned the material, took the test and scored 53%. Unlike the other modules, I am going to have to study this one thoroughly--even though this is the one thing so far I actually do in the course of a normal week. But troubleshooting a diesel powered laundry is nothing like doing the laundry for one household. Oh well.

Chemical Weapons Training On Line

I have completed four of seven modules in Phase I of my 63J10 training. So far no chemicals. I will be responsible for maintaining chemical weapons detection equipment. So far, the the first three modules cover repair and maintenance of power generation equipment. The fourth module is how to operate and maintain a 350 Gallon Per Minute pump for diesel fuel.

New Computer, New Army

Since my last post, I received the CD-Roms in the mail for Phase 1 of 63J10 school. The computerized Army is a Microsoft Army. The disks I received were dated June 2002 and would not run on a Mac. I have a Mac Powerbook, so I bought a cheap computer to run these disks. My son will eventually need a Windows computer for school, so it was not a waste of money. The courses are well organized and I have completed two modules so far. One of the instructors from the 63J school called and asked if I had the materials and wanted to make sure I had time to finish phase 1 by March 8. So after being nowhere last week, everything is going well--and I own a Windows-based computer.

Different Century, Same Army

When I left the army in 1984, the computer at the gunner's right elbow in my M60A1 tank was a metal box with three cams inside. It adjusted the elevation of the main gun to the ballistics of the three rounds in our basic load. So 23 years later, in a new century, it has been interesting to see just how much personal computers and the Web have changed the army. Not much that I can see so far. Last year our training NCO enrolled me in 63J10 school. The school is remote learning (CD Roms) for Phase 1 and on-site for Phase 2. In November I was put on a wait list for Phase 2, no mention of Phase 1. Two weeks ago, I got an email from the Phase 2 school asking me to prove I have completed Phase 1 and reminding me I will be sent back to my unit if I arrive at the Phase 2 class in March without proof of Phase 1 completion. I called and emailed the school and my training NCO saying I have not completed Phase 1 and have no hint that I can get the materials. A week after my training NCO sent this correspondence to training HQ, I received an email (just this week) saying I am now enrolled in Phase one and giving me two links to course materials in case they are available on line. I went to those sites--CD Rom only. So I sent an email to the address that came with the course notification asking to verify the address they have for me, so I would know where the disks are arriving.

Yesterday I got the answer: "Request for Assistance Denied" was the subject line of the email. The email gave me another Web site to log into that is the official place to ask questions. It may be computerized, but Army paperwork remains the same as 1970s, and, I suppose, the 1790s.