Veteran's Day 2011

How did I spend my Veteran's Day?

Well let me tell you:

First off, I had the day off. So praise Jesus for that. So I slept until noon. Then I hung out in my pajamas with Picasso and James until around 5pm. Then I dressed myself for the day. James and I went to the movies and saw "Immortals". We could have skipped it and it wouldn't have changed my life for the better or for the worse. Then we went to dinner.

Applebees and a few other establishments were offering free meals to veterans all day. We drove passed Applebees and took one look at the wrap around line and went to a Japanese steak house that didn't even offer a military discount.

Damn it feels good to be a Veteran. :)

FTX November

We packed up our Army stuff and went on a little field training exercise (FTX) last week. Three wonderful days and two luxurious nights, all inclusive. And by that I mean, we trained outside in the cold and rain all day, slept in a tent that reeked of mold and had intermittent heat at best, and ate hot chow out of green plastic rubber maid containers.

Ah, yes, I love the field.

The training wasn't all that bad this go-around. Usually we're running a TMC (troop medical clinic): taking fake casualties all day and most of the night so there is little time for rest. This time we were out there doing Army Training. You know, running around with fake rubber weapons and crawling through dirt. Assaulting objectives and reacting to notional enemies. As soon as the sun went down, all Army training stopped (just like in real life....?) and we got to sleep.

Hooah Hooah Hooah.

All of this training culminated in a fake convoy through several training sites in order to we put all the lessons together. One of my junior Soldiers was chosen to be the convoy commander for our run. I got to be her advisor. You know, the person who has actually done this stuff who could give her ideas and reel her in when she started to get over whelmed.

PFC Bowman did an outstanding job and I was really proud of her! Proud like a Mama Bear!! I have great troops!!

1 year :)

James and I have been together for one year. It feels goooood.

Love you, babe!