July 2009
2 posts
The Call Me Coelacanth
You may draw a blank on “Coelacanth” but most folks know it as that dinosaur fish that was supposed to be extinct until somebody caught one.
Going through this pre-mobilization training with my younger troops make me feel like a dinosaur at times.
I’m not the oldest in the company. They guy who served in Vietnam holds that honor. (For the record and the umpteenth time: I was a VERY SMALL...
On The Likely Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
President Obama reiterated his intent to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in his proclamation making June LGBT Pride Month.
Obviously, some think that allowing gays to serve openly is the worst military idea since the Maginot Line while others are disappointed that the President hasn’t already ended the policy.
I’m guessing the policy will go the way of the musket before too long.
As...
June 2009
4 posts
4 tags
Retaining Good Leaders
A little while back, I ended up in a conversation with a former combat arms guy who had left active duty Army in a disgruntled fashion after eight years.
He did multiple deployments to include the invasion of Iraq and a trip to Afghanistan. Like anyone in the Army, he dealt with a plethora of nastiness, mismanagement, and inane bullshit. (E.g. he was selected for promotion to the senior NCO...
6 tags
From Stop Loss to Mandatory Discharge
As of AUG 09, stop loss has ended in the Army Reserves.
Belay all that cheering for just a second.
When someone enlists in the Reserves, they incur an eight year obligation—six years of which they are expected to spend in a drilling (i.e. one weekend a month) unit. After which, they can transfer to the Individual Ready Reserves (IRR) where they are essentially a name on a list. This is...
An Interesting Find
I just found out that Baron Von Steuben’s first drill manual for the U.S. Army (“Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States” aka the “Blue Book”) also lays out duty descriptions for key positions.
Images152-154 show the original job description for first sergeants.
We no longer keep a company book but a lot of the duties remain the same today.
Glimpse of New CG in Afghanistan
Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal appears to be likely confirmed as the new Commanding General (CG) in Afghanistan and receive his fourth star.
The firing of his predecessor General David McKiernan back on May 11th didn’t make the biggest media splash but it is significant news for me and mine.
The beltway blurbs have been fairly muted and consistent: General McKiernan is a capable...
May 2009
1 post
Back on the Net
Various and sundried personal and professional insanity has ensued since my last post; hence the silence. In the meantime, though, I’ve had the chance to see some of my newly cross-leveled soldiers in action.
I had to order two of them to go to sick call—one of which turned out to have Swine Flu. Another ran his two mile fitness test run even though his knee was bothering him. We later found...
March 2009
1 post
3 tags
When Sisyphus Writes Your Training Calendar
This past weekend, my battalion completed Act I, Scene 2 of the epic tragicomedy known as SRP—Soldier Readiness Process.
An SRP consists of screening soldiers for pay issues, medical readiness, updates to admin info, etc. Yes, it is necessary. But so are a lot of other more kinetic tasks.
Devoting three out of twelve battle assemblies seems like overkill—or maybe underkill in this case. In...
February 2009
2 posts
3 tags
ARFORGEN: Lousy acronym for a better mobilization
When my Battalion was mobilized in 2001, we had three days to drop everything and be at the reserve center ready to go. When I was mob’d in 2003, I had a whole week. We then spent about two weeks (as the follow-on element) preparing for Iraq. This included refresher training on reacting to chemical attacks (not so needed) and small unit tactics in a woodland environment (not so useful).
Now,...
2 tags
All Stations, This Net: How Copy? Over.
This is the blog of an Army Reserve first sergeant in a unit headed to Afghanistan (AKA the Rock Pile.) It is intended to be a collection of my experiences, ruminations, and propaganda concerning the sturm und drang of a deployment.
But first, a disclaimer to keep the lawyers from circling: The contents of this blog represent my views and my views alone. It is in no way intended to represent the...