Combat Lifesaver Course

For the last three days I've been in a classroom learning how to be a Combat Lifesaver. It's more advanced than the basic first aid the Army teaches us. A Combat Lifesaver is like a first responder on the battlefield, we will attempt to give life and limb saving procedures until the casualty can be evacuated and seen by a medical professional. I took this course in 1995 when I was stationed at Fort Bragg, and it has advanced and adapted to injuries seen in this war. One thing that hasn't changed is the I.V. portion. Just like the course 10 years ago and the first aid class a couple of months ago at Fort Stewart, I had to stick a fellow soldier with an I.V. needle and be stuck. It's hard enough getting stuck in the arm by a trained and experienced medic, imagine how it feels to be stuck by someone holding a needle for the first time.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow, it will be my first day off in a long time. I think I'm going to sleep and eat and then sleep again. Maybe I'll watch a little football too.

Urban Warfare

In the last couple of days we trained in an urban environment. The training included clearing buildings and rooms, securing villages and civil disturbances. It was some of the more interesting training I’ve had on this deployment so far. The photos I’ve included here are some from the civil disturbances. There are civilians hired to portray Iraqi citizens. Some of them are actually from Iraq and they chant different slogans as we hold them back.



It seems like everyday I’m going back to the supply shed and getting more and more equipment. And pretty much all of the new stuff are items I have to wear. In the other photo shows me in a lot of my “battle rattle” which gets heavy. The body armor with the plates in it weighs the most and is going to take some time to get used to.

Convoy Operations

After arriving back from South Carolina, I went out to the field the next day for four days. During our stay we had training on convoy defense. We went through various scenarios that included firing blanks during some exercises and shooting live rounds in other exercises. We were taught how to defend ourselves during convoys through civilian and military roads. Mock-up Iraqi villages with role players were used during a couple of training scenarios. So far this has been the most intense training I’ve experienced during this deployment but I have a feeling that it’s only just begun. Today we went back out for a three day stint that will cover base defense.