1 October 2004
Rhein River
The week following my Battalion Formal, my company went to the field for training. I got to skip the first day, as I had other work I had to do on Monday. At 8am on Tuesday, I got a phone call telling me to be out at the gate at 8:30. I arrived at our Field site without breakfast or my weapon… which I would need for the training. I went out on the morning training exercises with a borrowed weapon, and managed to get my team killed (in simulation) — but then again, that was the point of the exercise.
Tuesday evening, we had to go about a mile out into the woods, in the dark, and bring back a simulated air-drop of supplies. My team took a break before crossing a back-woods intersection — right below the ambush location. We had done such a good job of light and noise discipline, we caught the OPFOR by surprise. One of my team landed so close to an OPFOR member that OPFOR could have slit his throat without the rest of us knowing.
The 2nd group returned without PFC Gump — a soldier who had gotten himself lost during the deployment phase of the Night Ops exercise. So, there I was, at midnight, in the field, wearing full Camouflage Battle Dress Uniform, Face-paint, Kevlar Helmet… with three or four blue and green chem-lights stuck in my helmet band… in a line with 80 or so of my fellow soldiers similarly dressed, spaced 10 feet apart stretching the better part of a kilometer, walking through the forest calling out Gump's name. Gump had gotten horribly turned around, and actually wound up outside the training area. He flagged down a Taxi (wearing BDUs, Kevlar, Flack-Vest, Camo-face paint, and carrying his loaded M-16) to get himself back to base.
Saturday afternoon, not wanting to lose the whole day, I took a short-hop up to Bingen and a portion of the Rhinetal (Rhine River valley). I toured a castle — can't recall the name of it though. This stretch of the Rhine is littered with castles. You almost can't throw a stone without hitting one. This particular castle is one of the older ones in the valley, for a time the residence of the elder brother of Wilhelm I (the first Kaiser of Germany). It did have a stunning view of the river, and at least three other castles.
I definitely need to go spend a day or two up there exploring properly — though I'm certain I could spend a month and not properly experience the area.
Charles.