Shootin', Re-arrangin' and Narmy-isms

Shootin':
The other day we went to the shooting range to keep our marksmanship skills. I shot my M-16 (5.56mm), M-9 (9mm) and my buddy's M-4 (5.56mm) with laser sights. I was given a complement: My shots were pretty tight using 'IRON' sights. When I shot the M-4, my groupings were very tight. Pretty neat. I also got to shoot in the Auto mode....which means the weapon keeps firing until you stop pulling on the trigger. I was told to shoot in burst. Well, I held the trigger down for a while and don't you know my bullets walked right off the target....now I know why you shoot in bursts. All in all it was fun and the range time furthered my confidence in my shooting ability.

Re-arrangin':
My third roommate moved out (he transfered) and so my other roommate and I re-arranged the room so we each have have of the room as our private space. I can't tell you how nice it is to actually have a 'room' instead of a walkway. The picture to the right is my 'new' room. One of the supply guys hooked me up with an Army Folding Field table. I'll make sure I take care of him for taking care of me. Now my laptop has a place. In addition to gaining more personal space, I also inherited a nice chair, a lamp, a new comfy bed, and a marble coffee table. The picture to the right is my new setup. The opening to the armoire is on my side of the room so still have a closet. My desk is just around the corner from the fridge on the left. The mattress on the bed is a new mattress that has built in springs and cushioning. In addition to all this, my roommate had an internet connection on his side of the room so I bought a wireless router and now i have internet at my desk too.

NArmy-isms:
The Navy has a buddy system and in the Navy you call your liberty buddy a 'Shipmate.' A shipmate is someone you can rely on to keep you safe and take care of you of something were to happen. In fact, in all foreign ports, you cannot leave the ship unless you have a liberty buddy (or Shipmate). It's always safer when you travel in pairs (or more). In the Army, they call it your 'Battle Buddy' and in the Air Force, they call it your 'Wingman.' In Naval Aviation, we use the term Wingman as well. The reason I bring this up is because there ARE differences between the services, but we all have a buddy support system. You always take care of each other. Where I work, I don't hear a lot of Hooah-ing going on, but we do take care of each other.

The job is was doing on the Ship was a Staff job. Most people can smell a staff weenie a mile away. Well, the job I am doing here is very close to a staff weenie job but for and with the Army. I sit at a desk and communicate and coordinate. Almost the same way we do it in the Navy. In the Navy staff world, we have a code system to define each person's job. For example the N-3 is the Operations Officer. The only difference here is that instead of N for Navy they use S for Army? Go figure.

The other day, I finally made it to the post office before it closed (they work 9-5 M-F and 9-4 on Saturday and 9-1 on Sunday) and was able to mail off a few goodies to repay some kindness that you have all shown. Anyway, after the post office, I was able to do a little GeoCaching. I found four more caches at Camp Slayer. The picture to the right and left are of a Water Palace. The place is surrounded by water. It appears that the right side of the building was demolished during the start of the war back in 2003.

On the 27th, I added the web-counter to the right and I can't believe how many people view my log everyday. I will attempt to post more often now that I have a connection in my room. That's about all for now. To my loved ones, I really appreciate all your sacrifices so I can do my job over here. Know that I love and miss you all very much and I couldn't do it without your support.