Day 25

  Time is moving right along.  Today is day 25 of mobilization.  It's been 3 weeks since we left West Point.  In some ways it seems as though it's been much longer, but it also feels like it has flown by.  I will be headed on pass a week from tomorrow.  Can't wait! 

Day 18

  Good day today.  Time is clicking along. We all just ready to get across the water and get this thing started.  We've been "practicing" now for about 18 months.  It's about time for the kick-off.  Time to kick some ass.  Training is going well.  We're setting up for our CTE (Staff Training Exercise).  We will be given real world type scenarios based on Afghanistan, and as a staff determine the best course of action and plan the mission, and execute. 
  Had a good work out tonight.  Bench, Incline, Decline, dumb bells, flys, cable pulls.  Still a little sore from combatives yesterday.  Got to hit the Ibuprofen and get some sleep!

M2 50 Caliber Machine Gun

   The M2 50 cal machine gun is one of the strong holds of the Army Weapons Arsenal.  It has a maximum effective range of 1800 meters.  When on fired by the cyclic method, it will fire up to 550 rounds per minute.  Although capable of this, that many rounds in that short a period will normally ruin the barrel.  The 50 cal is normally fired in 5-9 rounds bursts, with a 3-5 second pause between bursts.
   We had M2 qualification today out at McGregor Ranges.  Always a fun day.  Soldiers love firing crew serve weapons.  We had plenty of ammo, so I joined in on the fun in the video above. 

Pictures from the M240B Qualification Range:

                                     

M240B Machine Gun Qualificaiton Range (15 Oct 11)

Here's a video from the 240 "Bravo" qualfication today at Fort Bliss. The video is one of our soldiers, firing the 240 and the transition qualification range,  The targets pop up for 4-6 seconds from 300 meters to 1000 meters.  The firer must recieve a certain amount of "kills" to meet the standards for qualification.  The 240B is a very reliable, accurate and effective weapon.  It is also cool and fun to fire.  Facts on the M240B Machine Gun:

The M240B is a belt-fed, air-cooled, gas-operated, fully automatic machine gun that fires from the open bolt position.
WEIGHT: 26.7 lbs

 

Sustained Rate of Fire:  100 Rounds per minute fired in 6 to 9 round bursts and 4 to 5 seconds between bursts. Barrel change every 10 minutes.

Rapid rate of fire: 200 Rounds per minute fired in 10 to 13 round bursts and 2 to 3 seconds between bursts. Barrel change every 2 minutes.

Cyclic rate of fire for the M240B: 650 to 950 Rounds per minute fired in continuous bursts. Barrel change every minute.

 

Maximum range of the M240B: 3725 meters

 

Maximum effective range of the M240B with tripod and T&E: 1100 meters

SSG Jacob Harrison

COOL!

 

Leadership Rules. Be Know Do!

  In the Army, we as Leaders hear the phrase: "Be, Know, Do". These 3 words are the epitome of being a Leader in not only the United States Army, but in all phases of life. Spiritually, Morally, and Proffesionally. These three words entail a much greater responsibility, than a simple recitation and catchy phrase.

  BE - We must live and "be" the Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.  These are our "light  house" as Senior Leaders.  Be Them!

KNOW - We must "know" our duties and responsibilities as Leaders.  We can not effectively lead troops if we do not know the skill set required to accomplish our mission and lead our Soldiers.  Know your job, know you soldiers, know the skills required to effectively lead them: Interpersonal, Conceptual, Technical, and Tactical.  These skills must be honed and executed as a Leader. Know Them!

DO - We can have an abundance of knowledge and skills, but the key to effective Leadership is to "do" them.  Leadership is based on the ability to implement these values, attributes, and skills.  Junior Soldiers watch your actions. Make sure as a Leader you are doing the right thing.  As a Leader you're actions are defined by your Influence, Communication, Decision Making, Motivation,  Planning, Executing,  Assessments, ability to Improve, Develope, Build and Learn. Do, Do, Do!

BE KNOW DO!

Master Sergeant C

Joke of the Day....

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: ''Ugh, that's the ugliest baby I've ever seen!'' The woman walks to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: ''The driver just insulted me!'' The man says: ''You go up there and tell him off. Go on, I'll hold your monkey for you.''

Day 11 of Mobilization

Fort Bliss, El Paso Texas
   Good day today, morale remains high.  Validation is ahead of schedule.  Pace will pick up next week with several Staff Exercises and other collective training.  Weather is outstanding, highs in the mid 70's and Sunny.  Weather wise this place appears to be an ideal place to live.  But I'll take the Mississippi weather any day over the desert. 

   Had a good workout tonight.  3 X Bench, Incline, Dumbell Presses, Butterflys, Dips, and Push Ups. 

Quotes for the Day:

“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”    Ernest Hemingway

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”     Colin Powell

"I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight."     General George S. Patton

"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue.” Napoleon

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."     Ben Franklin

Funny things you'll probably never hear outside Mississippi....

Hard Work and High Stress =
"Bowed up like a cut worm on a cabbage leaf."

A husband's description of his wife's reaction to a comment he made that throughly pissed her off:
"Man she bowed up like halloween cat!"

Description of a very bad situation about to get worse:
"Hey man, we done got ourselves in a 9 line bind."

Co-Worker description of how busy he'd been while his counterpart was on leave:
"I've been busy as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest!"

Description I once heard describing a young man's oversized new dentures after he had all his teeth pulled at Mob Station before deployment:  "Damn son, you look like a brand new jackass!"

Description of someone who's either bad cold or bad scared:
"Man Bro, he was shaking like a dog shittin a persimmon seed!"

A friend once told me: "One Saturday afternoon one of those 'outta no where' Mississippi thunderstorms blew in and the wind was blowing so hard, it blew his daddy's prize fighting rooster inside a coke bottle someone had left in the yard.  It scared his baby brother so bad, he killed the rooster trying to get him out!"


Signs of Extreme Hot and Dry Weather:

Catching catfish with ticks on them.
 

Seeing a coyote chasin' a rabbit and they was both walkin'.

When a wormy dog can drag his rear end and set the grass on fire.

When 2 trees begin to fight over the same dog......

West Texas Altitude Works the Ole Lungs Harder

Went for a run tonight. Running at an altitude of 4370 ft and no humidity is a little different than running at 300ft with plenty of humidity in Mississippi.  The dry air and lower air pressure give you the feeling that your lungs are "drying" out.  I actually felt lighter running, legs felt fresh, but my lungs were on fire. 

In case you didn't know.....
The percentage of oxygen in the air at two miles (3.2 km.) is essentially the same as at sea level (21%). However, the air pressure is 30% lower at the higher altitude due to the fact that the atmosphere is less dense--that is, the air molecules are farther apart. When we breathe in air at sea level, the atmospheric pressure of about 14.7 pounds per square inch (1.04 kg. per cm.²) causes oxygen to easily pass through selectively permeable lung membranes into the blood. At high altitudes, the lower air pressure makes it more difficult for oxygen to enter our vascular systems. The result is hypoxia , or oxygen deprivation.

Great Day to an American Soldier!

Day 10 of Mobilization, another great day in Fort Bliss, Texas.  Beautiful weather today, sunshine and mid 70's.  Morale is high.