Rest in Peace, Shane

The war has hit home. I lost a childhood friend in Afghanistan last Saturday.

No words can express this.

http://myfallensoldier.blogspot.com

hygiene and living in the field.

Okay, I admit it. I'm a bit vain. I like looking good. But as I learned at LDAC this summer, when you're living in the field for a week without a shower, and then for another week just for shits and giggles, it becomes more work than it's worth to try to "look good". Nor is there really a point to it, since you're just going to get dirty within minutes of wiping your entire body down with baby wipes. But here's a few lessons I learned.

Some girls washed their hair in the field. Apparently, they felt "amazing" afterward. I didn't partake of this lovely luxury, however - I did not have a towel, or shampoo of any sort, because I was a fool and packed some things away in my duffel bag when I should have had them with me in my ruck sack. We didn't even see our duffel bags for a week - and my toothbrush was in it. That is another story, however. My lesson when it comes to washing (or not washing) your hair in the field is this - dirty hair attracts less bugs. Dirty hair retains healthy, natural oils that help your hair stay stronger during stressful times (I lost less hair than usual to breakage while wearing my k-pot). And as long as you brush your hair out every day before bed, there isn't even really any need to use that no-water spray or powder shampoo. My hair didn't even feel that greasy after a week, but it sure felt good to wash it afterward. All in all, I left LDAC with better hair than what I came with. Totally unexpected.

Uh, anyway. Back to brushing one's teeth. I am not ashamed to say that I had to use (unscented) baby wipes to brush my teeth for a week. Pack your toothbrush and toothpaste IN YOUR RUCK. If you can brush your teeth every day, you end up simply -feeling- cleaner.

My anti-acne secret: Clearasil Ultra Deep Pore Cleansing Pads. One of my battle buddies at LTC last summer encouraged me to get them, because her acne occasionally got really bad during training (I mean, everyone sweats like pigs out there) but these pads cleared it right up within days. I used several of these babies a day and didn't have a single breakout. Following up this astringent chemical wash with an unscented baby wipe helped retain some moisture, too. Granted, you'll be a bit squicked when you see how much dirt your face collects over the course of a single day in the field, but dang, it feels SO good to get it off at night. That's what she said.

Also remember to bring a nail clipper and perhaps a file. My nails were disgusting after just a couple days, and I was constantly digging the dirt out with my knife. But keeping your nails short and clean will help you feel just that much cleaner, even if you're really not.

One of the things that helped me feeling feminine during our mock deployment was, believe it or not, my deodorant. Okay, I sweat. A lot. And I was lucky enough to FINALLY find a chemical composition of that aluminum chloride antiperspirant shit that kept me from having sweat literally dripping down my sides, since I finally realized that not all deodorants are created equal... I have to use the trichloride rather than the tetrachloride, for example. At any rate - I bought a really girly smelling sport deodorant/antiperspirant. I felt pretty good 'cause I didn't have to smell like a boy just 'cause I was rolling in the mud with 'em!

In closing - always remember to wash your feet (and put powder on, for goodness sakes, keeps you from getting blisters), wash your crotch, wash your underarms, and PLEASE wash out any cuts and scrapes you get in the field. Bring enough t-shirts and socks to last a week. Bring band-aids and moleskin and a knife or scissors. Pack your toothbrush in your rucksack. Do field hygiene every day, no matter how short on time you are. And most importantly - everyone else is feeling just as nasty as you are. It's totally okay. Your tent will smell like ass, but at least it won't be as bad as the guys' tent. And if you are one of the guys - sorry in advance. Y'all are gonna stink. Deal with it. <3

We did training with pugil sticks today. This is what it looks like:



Since I was the only girl in the class, I was quite happy to bow out since I know I'm not as strong as most of the guys and I don't trust most of them to "go easy" - I was fighting only the second time in my life. We also didn't have the plastic nose/face covers like in the photo, just the soft helmets. This is key to remember.

They put me with Stogs, who is 50lbs heavier than me, easy; he's an inch shorter than me, really stocky, mostly muscle. I say it's a bad idea. The guys shrug it off and help me gear up.

We face off. And on the command, he immediately comes at me full force, BAM. The end of the pugil stick in my face. With all his strength, he hits me in the nose. I use my stick to block a second blow and push off of him, tucking and rolling. I hit the ground and roll over to cover my face. He finishes the attack with a gentle (!) hit to the side. The pain in my face at this point is RIDICULOUS. Involuntary tears of pain are streaming down my face mixed with a torrent of mucus from my nose. The guys are like "uhhhhhh" and start asking me if I'm okay. CPT Moxley helps me take my gear off. I'm not sure if any of them knew what quite had happened, I was reeling still. JDR helps me stand and move a ways off the field, asks if I need water. I'm gently prodding my nose, I didn't hear a snap so I was pretty sure it was okay, but I was trying to stop the tears and as I took my hands away I saw blood.

Yep, my first bloody nose. The damn thing doesn't bleed, ever. Doesn't matter how bad my allergies are, how dry my nasal passages are, how hard I get hit in the face, it's never bled.

Stogs hit me so hard that my impossibly strong nose finally bled. And the space between my nose and mouth/teeth - like the upper jaw area - STILL hurts.

And the CPT had to tell him to apologize. He was running on that much adrenaline. Bad idea, I think so! He seemed kind of shaken.

You know, I'm all for gender equality, but this was just plain stupid. If he had done that to one of the guys, he would have never heard the end of it. But I can't say shit because I'm a chick, and I don't want to be ostracized. So I had to take it in stride.

Not to mention it defeats the purpose of the drill.

What the fuck, man.

I've got a bomb in my brain...

This is an incredible story.

Basically, an ANA soldier had UXO (unexploded ordinance) embedded in his head. Originally thought to be just shrapnel, partway through the operation, they realized exactly how dangerous the situation really was.

All in all, though, this one has a happy ending.

Shin Splints and Stress Fractures, oh my

It's currently 2330, and I'm suffering from the jet lag that comes from Daylight Saving Time (no, there's no 's' at the end of saving). I should really be in bed right now. I have PT in the morning, which may or may not include a partial PT test - partial because I'm on unofficial profile due to a stress fracture.

Shin splints and stress fractures are, unfortunately, a part of life in the Army. Apparently they are one of the largest causes of being put on profile. In my case, I got a pretty bad shin splint after my first 10k ruck march on the hills of Fort Knox; they are, after all, named Misery, Agony, and Heartbreak for a reason. That healed up alright, did a bunch of rucks and ruck runs last fall, but then this January when I ran my 2-miler I ended up with shin splints again for no real reason. I did a 6-mile ruck two days later and then again a week after that. Realized my shin was hurting far more than it should have, got some shooting pains all up and down my leg every time I ran or jumped (damn those side-straddle hops), and made an appointment to visit an orthopedist. One x-ray and one 2-hour MRI later, and I was diagnosed with a mild stress fracture. I'm currently going to physical therapy for it and it feels a lot better, but I'm still on a no-running profile, and I had to put it in my packet for LDAC.


The lesson here is, always stretch properly, don't ruck on shin splints, and for goodness sakes don't push yourself to the breaking point. As long as I follow my therapist's advice, I'll be fine for LDAC, but I had to forgo the Bataan memorial death march and the German Army proficiency badge. Both of which I can do next year, of course, but I'll have to start from scratch on the training.

Multicam is Officially a GO

Full article here.

"The MultiCam, while cut in the same style as the ACU, will have several upgrades including a reinforced seat, buttons on the trouser cargo pockets, be constructed of flame-resistant fabric (like the newer ACUs), and treated with permethrin. New Mountain Combat Boots will also be issued to deploying Soldiers..."

...I am oddly okay with those boots.

Hopefully these things are made better than the more-expensive 6-month-lifespan ACUs, eh?

ACUs: Always Crappy Uniforms.

It is unfortunate that the Army is not receiving any additional funding for uniforms, and yet they are expected to phase out the ACUs in favor of something that actually camouflages its wearer. ACUs were created to replace woodland and desert pattern BDUs - i.e. created as a universal camo pattern, so that only one uniform would be needed rather than two for different environments. However, as far as I know, this is the only thing ACUs blend in with:


The Army has now begun a test phase of new ACU replacements. From here: "One battalion is receiving uniforms in MultiCam, a pattern worn by some Special Forces troops, while the other battalion is receiving uniforms in Universal Camouflage Pattern - Delta, a variant of the current ACU camouflage pattern that incorporates the coyote brown color and reduces the percentages of sand and gray colors. The battalions also will retain their standard ACUs."

UCP-D has gained the nickname of "shit-brown ACUs", and for good reason:

Multicam is my replacement option of choice. It looks nice, and is fairly functional:


Speaking of ACUs, I own a set of BDUs and DCUs as well as my ACUs and have noticed that there are a lot of useless thingies on the ACUs as compared to the BDUs and DCUs. For example...

1. Pocket in the top of the PC. I know this is for a protractor (or three), but think about this for a moment. When do you typically use a protractor? In a tactical field environment. What are you wearing on your head in such an environment? Your Kevlar, right? And where's your PC? In your cargo pocket.....
2. Velcro. One of the WORST little thingies on the ACUs. I know the Army replaced it for "ease of use"; however, they also said that noise pollution from it could be cut down with "tactical" usage of it. I'm sorry, I don't know of any soldier able to silently open a velcro pocket. (Thank god they kept buttons for the fly on the trousers, though.)
3. Elastic thingies on the cargo pockets. What is with these? If you use them, your pockets become grossly malformed, and they don't really work anyway, unless you have something like a canteen in your pocket (is that a canteen in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?).
4. Ribbon trouser blousers. Pointless, pointless, pointless. All they do is cut off your circulation and get in the way.
5. IR patch. Only available on issue ACUs. Helpfully, they have created IR velcro patches for ACUs bought online which don't have these little things that seem to only really be useful for getting ruined in the wash.
6. Inability to be washed with normal laundry detergent. The Army has put together a list of "recommended" detergents which don't contain optical brighteners. Unfortunately this list is rather limited, and not given to ROTC students, so by the time we get our uniforms anyway they have likely already been "ruined" by former students.
7. The mandarin collar, again, with tons of velcro. I just don't get this.
   

Fortunately there are a few things that I really like on the ACUs which I hope are kept indefinitely on the combat uniforms.

1. Calf pockets. Meant as magazine pockets, I know of no mag that would fit (certainly not an M-16 mag); however they are the perfect size for tampons, pens, pencils, and energy bars.
2. Pen pockets. 'Nuff said. Now we just need a way to keep them from falling out of the pockets, though personally I've only ever lost one or two pens that way.
3. Breast pockets. I really like 'em. I keep my cell phone there, since it's less likely to get squashed (padding on the other side, at any rate) and I can easily feel it vibrate (yeah, no comments from y'all on that, please).
4. Shoulder pockets. Perfect for notebooks.
5. Built-in knee and elbow pad pockets... I like these because the strap-on knee and elbow pads always seem to fall down and become calf and forearm protectors instead. Maybe that's just an ROTC-gets-old-supply issue, though.
   

I do plan on sewing my nametapes to my PCs in the near future, after removing the velcro from the cover itself (I bought myself sew-on ACU nametapes just for this purpose). Now I just need to find a place that sells thread in the correct color.