Mid Fall 2012
The plane ride here was a long one. The droning engines of the C-17 went on for hours and pierced through my earplugs. I could only feel overwhelmed and excited by what was happening. I was finally getting sent overseas after four long years of basic training. A few nervous thoughts had passed my mind about what could happen, but was soon drowned out by the engines. The passenger section of the C-17 was nothing like a civilian aircraft. A few rows of seats with our gear packed in the center. Some troops brought a hammock to hang up in the plane to make it slightly more comfortable. I sat in the few firm seats left. It was late at night when we departed Wright-Patterson, and we wouldn 't arrive until midnight. At least it would …show more content…
The number of exercises was absurd as well as the difficulty of them. At sundown the sergeants put our names on a board under squad numbers. We had an hour to group up and find our housing. After we found our squad, I was chosen to be the leader. The sergeant showed up to my squad and gave me a topographic map of the area. Our housing was marked with an X; we had half an hour left to find our housing before lights out. Wright-Patterson AFB was incredibly flat, the only landmark on the map was a decently sized hill. We found our housing with 15 minutes left to spare. With our small time left before lights out we decided to get to know each other, where we came from and who we were. Soon came lights out, and now I 'm laying on what feels like a table instead of a mattress and a pillow made of coffee …show more content…
When we flew in there were numerous bodies on the ground, my squad had to stabilize and care for a huge group. Our goal was to bring them to the medical vehicles which would arrive shortly. Preparing the area consisted of us laying down very large plastic sheets, sorting the dead from the living and caring for the injured and unconscious. Those severely injured were airlifted to Manas, although we didn 't actually send those severely injured to a helicopter we radioed in to determine if they were barring enough injuries. When the emergency vehicles came in, the array of bodies on the plastic sheets was astounding. The sheer number amazed me. The exercise was of the highest caliber, even though we only practiced on a single city block it was enough to set in the feeling of dread and confusion of what happened and who did it. Later in the night before I went to sleep I still had the thoughts of the day in my head. It would be difficult to sleep
The plane ride here was a long one. The droning engines of the C-17 went on for hours and pierced through my earplugs. I could only feel overwhelmed and excited by what was happening. I was finally getting sent overseas after four long years of basic training. A few nervous thoughts had passed my mind about what could happen, but was soon drowned out by the engines. The passenger section of the C-17 was nothing like a civilian aircraft. A few rows of seats with our gear packed in the center. Some troops brought a hammock to hang up in the plane to make it slightly more comfortable. I sat in the few firm seats left. It was late at night when we departed Wright-Patterson, and we wouldn 't arrive until midnight. At least it would …show more content…
The number of exercises was absurd as well as the difficulty of them. At sundown the sergeants put our names on a board under squad numbers. We had an hour to group up and find our housing. After we found our squad, I was chosen to be the leader. The sergeant showed up to my squad and gave me a topographic map of the area. Our housing was marked with an X; we had half an hour left to find our housing before lights out. Wright-Patterson AFB was incredibly flat, the only landmark on the map was a decently sized hill. We found our housing with 15 minutes left to spare. With our small time left before lights out we decided to get to know each other, where we came from and who we were. Soon came lights out, and now I 'm laying on what feels like a table instead of a mattress and a pillow made of coffee …show more content…
When we flew in there were numerous bodies on the ground, my squad had to stabilize and care for a huge group. Our goal was to bring them to the medical vehicles which would arrive shortly. Preparing the area consisted of us laying down very large plastic sheets, sorting the dead from the living and caring for the injured and unconscious. Those severely injured were airlifted to Manas, although we didn 't actually send those severely injured to a helicopter we radioed in to determine if they were barring enough injuries. When the emergency vehicles came in, the array of bodies on the plastic sheets was astounding. The sheer number amazed me. The exercise was of the highest caliber, even though we only practiced on a single city block it was enough to set in the feeling of dread and confusion of what happened and who did it. Later in the night before I went to sleep I still had the thoughts of the day in my head. It would be difficult to sleep