Ft. Custer

Hey all, last week I spent 4 days at Ft.Custer Training grounds in MI, supposedly to do some "highspeed" training, yah, not so much. In reality it turned out pretty crappy for me, I spent most of the time shut up in the barracks for my foot which I now know is covered with "a disturbingly advanced case of athletes foot" aka trench rot. It sucks to march or run because 3 of my toes are covered in cuts/boils. Anyways, We had about 7 long as powerpoints on various things because it was so cold and rainy. Some people ended up going to the range to qualify but that was only a select few. The PT test ended up being a disaster, the 2 mile turned out to be about 2.5 which screwed up everyones times. So much for "highspeed" training hooah...

High Speed!

Me chillin in the motor pool with the SAW, the weapon I'll be carrying in the sandbox. The trucks behind me are 5 tons.

That good ol' Army Training...

Looks like I'll be doing alot of traing this year, finally got my pre-deployment traing list. Due to DoD guidelines(punishable by UCMJ!) Im not allowed to disclose any dates or what Ill be doing where, but there are a few things I can tell you.

Some of the places I'll be traing this year include:Ft. Hunter Liggitt,CA. Ft. Knox,KY. and Ft. McCoy,WI

Ill be doing weapons training/qualification with the S.A.W(Squad Automatic Weapon), M16M4 Rifle, .50 Cal, and MK19 Grenade Launcher.

Ill be driving and getting my licence for a couple of vehicles that I'll be driving over there. They include M1088(5 Ton truck), M871(Semi-Trailer), M1151(Armored Humvee), and the newest, and safest!, vehicle being used, the MRAP.

The Forcast

If anyone is interested they can use this link to peak at the local time, weather, ect, in Kabul(the region Im heading to).

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=113

The List!!

My mom suggested I make a pre-deployment list for my upcoming tour to Afghanistan. While I don't want to seem like I'm a big moocher but if anyone wants to me help out, by just sending a letter or a candy bar, you have know idea how much it will mean to me. It made my day to receive a letter or care package when I was away from home training from May-Sept of 09', you cant imagine how good it feels to know there are people who remember you, care about you back home.

This is just a preliminary list, some things Im trying to collect. Im planning on scrounging up the $$$ to buy these things somehow, even if I have to buy them when I get there. Dont at all feel obligated to get anything from it, but if you would like to help you could grab anything from this list. Ill be updating it with the things I have and who got them for me so feel free to browse..

Deployment List

Priority List:

1. Tactical Gloves $32
http://www.reactgear.com/Hot-Ops-Ventilated-Hot-Weather-Gloves-p/8155-p.htm
2. Anti-fog lens agent for eyepro http://www.tacticaltailor.com/opdrops.aspx
3. LULA magazine Loader & unloader $24
http://www.impactguns.com/store/051525242154.html
4. 550 cord

Secondary “Wish List”
1. Extra headphones for mp3 player, normal ipod headphones
2. Kabar knife $98 https://www.kabar.com/product/productDetail.do?productNumber=1245&mode=category&categoryId=1,2,3,7&categoryName=Military/Tactical
3. 12v dc to 110 ac inverter $79.95 http://www.lindelectronics.com/cgi-bin/store/shop.cgi/!ORDERID!/other/INV1230US1M/dbx_gen_detail_product/
4. Surefire Helmet light http://www.surefire.com/Helmet-Light $159
5. V.I.O. POV camera $1199.95 http://vio-pov.com/products/tactical.php?gclid=CPThyLSPu58CFQUMDQod3Skt3Q
6. Anything from this list, http://amzn.com/w/1J72WAB35CWCY

If you do decide to help out by sending something from the list, heres somethings to remember.
1. There are defanatly some things you REALLY CANNOT SEND! Stuff like guns or ammunition(don't know why you'd need to send that, ill have a ton of it), pornography, soda and bottled water(they freeze and explode in transit), anything illegal aka pirated DVDs.
2. Try not to send things in glass bottles because they may break lol.
3. Try not to send any really big boxes, Id try using flat rate boxes or something like it, try for no more then 10-15lbs max. Hey you can always send another ;)
3.Things like toothpaste or other things that may break open or leak always put in ziplock bags just to be safe.
4. As much as I LOVE Snickers and other candy, I hear it has a really bad habit of melting before it makes it there, try sending snacks like chips, starburst, cookies, anything that wont melt during shipping.
5.I care about SUPPORT NOT STUFF Seriously the best thing anyone can do is send letters, cards, well wishes ect. I may not always have access to internet but I can guarantee Ill be getting mail. A simple 2 line card wishing me well is all it takes to make my day. Ill post my mailing address when I get there but if your not certain, just send it to my mom so she can send it or slip it in with the next care package.

WOW! Thank you so much for all th support Im getting from everyone already. I really appreciate the generosity of all the family and friends helping me out. Having this list taken care of is one BIG thing I wont have to worry about during my pre-deployment training. Heres a Thank you list:::

Debra, Freetalk headset
Rex, Zippo Lighter
Aunt Lex, hand sanitaizer
Mom, nancy, chapstick
Mom, handwarmers

A big year ahead..

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out my blog. Im pretty new to this blogging thing so bear with me for a bit while i get used to it ;). Im planning to try to use this site, and my facebook if I can to keep anyone whose interested informed and up to date on my tour. As of now Im currently drilling with my unit till May when Ill leave for pre-deployment training probably for a month in Ft.Poke Louisiana. As I get more details Ill try to shoot them out to you but anyone who knows the Army life knows these plans are almost always changing lol.

Hello to All!!!!

Hello! My name is Sam, I currently live just outside Chicago, Illinois in the U.S.. I started this blog just to show what it's like around here and just my life in general. I actually put this off for a long time 1. becouse I was too lazy and 2. I didnt think anyone would care. But after checking some other peoples blogs out, it just seemed like a good idea. Anyway, hope you enjoy, I'll try to post often.

p.s.-The "EO" is refering to the Elgin O'Hare Expressway and the surronding 290, a main location of most of the badass stuff that goes down around here.