Well, I'm back from the field exercise, having survived 5 days without a shower and only MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat) to eat. I've done this in my early Canadian military career but it gets harder (mentally) as you get older. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate our readiness to move forward. We had to show that we could defend our encampment and convoy movement from attackers.

As far as living conditions, imagine walking into a giant field in pitch darkness (no lights allowed), with ankle deep mud, and not knowing where you're supposed to go. That was my experience the 2nd day of the exercise. After finding my way to the Supply area, I located a shipping container where 4 of us lay down our sleeping gear. That night, I was greeted by a cacaphony of snooring by at least 2 of the folks in the container. That went on another 2 nights. I should have set up my tent! I got more sleep than most (benefits of being in Supply) so I really have nothing to complain about. Also, given the serious nature of our mission, this was an important training evolution.

MREs aren't that bad to eat. There's a large selection to choose from and the entree is hot. It comes with a plastic sleeve that holds a slender heating pad. You activate the heating pad with just a few ounces of water. You pour the water in, insert the packaged entree into the plastic sleeve, wait 5 minutes et voila. I had spaghetti and meat sauce, chicken dumpling, and penne pasta. It also comes with a lot of extras to round out the meal.

During the exercise, we had to wear our tactical body armor with full plates, front and sides, and helmet. I've been selling the stuff for years; now I can relate to the soldier wearing them. It is very heavy and limiting in movement. Protection definitely comes at a cost. Hopefully we won't have to wear it very often in the future.

The past few days have been the Supply show. We've been issuing desert uniforms and helping folks send back any uniform and personal items not needed for our final destination. While we've made our physical transition from Woodland to Desert uniforms, I think we are going through a similar mental transition. No one talks about it or seems tense. In fact most are ready to move forward, having begun preparing for this in early December. Most of the guys have gotten very short haircuts, somewhat a reflection of their warrior attitude. It's hard to believe these are all Navy guys. I think, in fact, they are more like Marines than Navy. I'm a holdout, however, and will go for a short but not "shortest" haircut. I'm ready to move forward as well because it means getting home sooner to my family. Regards to all!!

It's late Thursday night and the week has flown by. Funny, the first week seemed to go on forever. Fortunately today I had some time to take care of personal business. For the first time as well, I was able to get in a workout during the day. It was a very nice day, indeed. I hope the same weather holds for the exercise.

Tomorrow evening I drop off my gear which will be transported to the exercise site. It includes typical camping gear, body armor, and of course TP. One must be prepared! We then report at 0400 Saturday, 4:00 AM for you civilians, to await movement to the exercise. I'll get to bed early and hope to sleep on the bus (I hope it's a bus).

I don't have much of a role in the exercise so I will try to learn more about what the Seabees do, yet try to stay out of their way at the same time. I'll hang out with the dentist (another CDR) who doesn't know what they heck he's doing there either. We should have a good laugh about it.

They call the one man tents a "tea cup", I suppose because it's almost like one. I must say that the military has come a long way from making a tent out of 2 ground sheets. It's the length of a body and not much wider, uses fiberglass poles and unzips from either side (good tactical idea). It also has a fly that can camouflage the tent either for the woods or the desert. I practiced putting it together several days ago so I would not be stumbling over it if we set up camp late at night. I'm glad I did!

I'll let you know how it all turns out in my next entry. Until then, wish me luck.

Oh, one last thing. The XO brought the Battlion together, standing in our Companies, for some inspiring words. Since I have done a good job hiding myself at the back of the formation (a very large formation), I did not hear a single word said. Regardless, we all gave the "Hoorah" in acknowledgement. Hoorah is a strong "yes" in Seabee speak. (Mom, don't get it mixed up with the "Horah" dance.)

While I may poke fun at the military in general or the Seabees more specifically, I have the uptmost respect for their loyalty, dedication, and committment to their duties, their fellow sailor, and our country. I've not heard one gripe or complaint about being pulled out of their civilian life or having to go to Iraq. If you want to learn more about the Seabees, here is a good website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabee. I've included their logo above, which is pretty cool. I've sent the girls a Seabee flag, which I hope they will fly on occasion.

Good night at last.

Well, today was M16 rifle qualification day. I haven't shot the M16 since Rota, Spain back in 2003. The backdrop for the shoot at Point Magu was beautiful. Behind us were georgeous hills leading to the Pacific Coast Highway. Directly behind the targets was the Pacific Ocean. Although I could hear the ocean, the berms hid them from view. Oh, what punishment not to touch the ocean.

I'll be issued a M16 rifle and M9 pistol but expect I will just carry the 9mm. Slinging a rifle everywhere is not fun. I also marched in to the range with the class. That was something I hadn't done in probably 15 years. I suspect there is a lot of basic military drills I will be doing again. This weekend I am going into the field for a final exercise evaluation. I won't play a direct role in this but they want some senior officers in the field.

It's kind of funny, on one hand I am doing basic military training and on the other hand I am running the Supply Department. It's just how this works. Everyone is measured on basic military training yet we all still have to perform our regular duties.

I am constantly meeting new personnel, mainly within the Battalion. They are almost all reservists with civilian jobs at home. Everyone is very friendly and I enjoy learning about them, specifically what they do in the civilian world and within the Battalion. They are all interested in my civilian job for obvious reasons.

Well tomorrow I take CBR (Chemical, Biological, and Radiological) training. I've taken this training dozens of times before, starting all the way back with the Canadian military. It always ends with donning protective clothing, including a gas mask, and being subjected to a tear gas attack. If the mask fits properly, it's never a problem.

That does it for today. An early start again tomorrow.

Wow, week 1 is about over. It seems so long ago that I departed Loretta and the girls to start my military duty. It was difficult leaving them. We've had a hectic 6 weeks trying to get ready for this deployment but it was also a special time. Knowing that we'd be apart for awhile, we made the most of it. I think we learned to appreciate what's most important in life; just being with each other.

There's an expression in the military, "Hurry Up and Wait". It's hard to explain but put simply, everything works on military time. As it turned out, I was in a small group of officers and enlisted getting mobilized. Since I had almost all of the records they needed (medical, dental, other paper work), everything went by quickly. Medical finally caught me and gave me the anthrax shot. I survived. On Monday I was able to meet the members of my Supply team and start to get a handle on some of the issues we have to deal with. Some of the folks have been aboard since DEC 5th, so I have some catching up to do.

I completed the check-in process Wednesday and then moved over to the Seabee Battalion full-time. I will be in training the following week to learn about the M-16 and CBR (gas mask) gear. Although we don't expect to use them, it's always better to be prepared.

The following week I will be going into the field. As much as I like to camp, I am not looking forward to our field exercise where I will be sleeping in a one man tent under the stars. I'm okay with camping, just not in the winter and not without showering. Oh well, it's only 4 days. Some folks will be in the field for 2 weeks.

Without talking specifics, we'll probably move forward shortly thereafter. I've seen pictures of the base we'll be staying at in Iraq. Although our base is somewhat austere, it's apparently better than many other camps in Iraq. I suspect I will be housed in a wooden hut that could probably sleep 8+ persons. I understand I'll have the hut to myself, as I am in charge of issuing berthing. Perks of the job I guess.

The Seabees model themselves closely to the Marines so the terminology is different than the Navy (although the Seabees are Navy). I have to get used to terms like Battalion, Companies, Platoons, and Squadrons.

Earlier in the week I went "shopping", compliments of Uncle Sam. I figured I'd pick up my uniforms and some body armor but it was a lot more. I didn't even get this much gear in boot camp. I felt like Hannah buying a new purse (sorry Hannah!) every week. They issued me 3 sets of gloves, each for a different purpose, woodland camouflage outerwear (Gortex) and Desert Camouflage outerwear, boots, long johns (3 sets), scarf, balaclava (for the desert?), helmet. plates, body armor, ammo pouches, two types of pistol holsters, goggles (for the sandstorms), poncho, ground sheet, single man tent, sleeping bags, large back pack, flight bag, 3 day back pack, medical kit, shovel, rifle sling, camel back, flashlight, strap cutter, canteen, and a few other assorted items.

I am currently staying in a DV (Distinguished Visitor suite) as they were out of regular suites. So life isn't too bad at this point. I will enjoy the relative luxury while I can. The galley is apparently terrible so other than breakfast, no one eats there. It's long days but with no family to come home to, I can spend the necessary time working. I miss the girls but they have kept me happy with emails, pictures, and phone calls.

We had a pack out review last night, where we talked about what we could take forward with us, what the allowable weight limit was, and how best to pack everything. It kind of hit home as to the reality of where I am going.

On a final note, we stood formation today. I haven't stood at attention for over 5 years now. It all came back real easy but it just seemed so strange. I told them to hide me at the back of the formation; all the way back behind H Company, the platoons, and squads.... ah, the privileges of being a senior officer. More to follow next blog.