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And I think it's time to give my little tidbits to it.
I've been absent from these forums for a while. Predominantly due to work, and changing carry platforms. I tend to go seek out as much info as I can about the equipment that I utilize. I went from starting work making sandwiches at a casino shortly after I made this original post, to working at a high tonnage food production plant in the ghetto. The pay was great, the hours sucked, and the neighborhood - wow.
It really hit home for me when I was driving to work and found a dead body in the street. Mind you this neighborhood is one of those places where nobody ever knows, saw, or heard about any happenings. What struck me most wasn't that I found somebody in the street, or the phone call I made after that - no. It was my reaction. I didn't think anything about the person laying on the ground, or their family - the only thing I thought of was "****, now I'm late to work." I had been desensitized that much.
The plant was an anti-anything-that could-possibly-be-concieved-of-as-a-weapon place, yet they issued box cutters like they were going out of style - go figure. I won't say for sure, but I'll let you imagine how well I agreed to, and complied with, their rules (mind you, I still would not have broken any laws either way).
I got out of there shortly after that, and started working at a gun store. I took a big paycut, but I was happy, and that's what mattered. I worked in a neighborhood that was right between a really, really rich neighborhood and a really, really poor neighborhood. We got plenty of people from both sides of life coming in, and everybody got along just fine (save some confused gang bangers that tried to influence us paying insurance.....that was funny). One of the biggest reasons I enjoyed working there is there was a 24/7 gym across the parking lot - the real reason though, is that they were very flexible with my work hours due to being in the USAF Delayed Entry Program, and they strongly supported my decision to enlist.
I took my second to last oath of enlistment at MEPS on July 03, and was at Lackland AFB later that night. I'm going to skip most of my BMT stories because honestly - I had fun there. No, not in an easy way, but in a sick, demented, I like this crap, way that my MTI ran things (he ran them old school, and I am very grateful that he did).
Over the last few years BMT was extended two weeks to a total of 8 weeks. When past trainees graduated at the 6 week marker and became airman, we were going through BEAST (Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training). Picture a simulated deployed environment, random people in middle eastern garb outside the wire with AK's, scorpians, TEMPR tents, MRE's, etc. I was in charge of a sector in my zone, putting me in charge of approximately 80 trainees, in addition to the 51 we had in my flight. Part of this training involved a chalk walk.
We went outside the wire, and I gave up my role to another young trainee - a gung ho guy, smart, liked by many, pretty level headed. On our chalk walk we had 14 trainees counting myself. We had a mission to complete, which was locate, give aide (if needed), and evacuate a wounded airman in a town. We all had our battle rattle and rubber dummy weapons. One of the staff was there if we had any questions. Stumph asked some questions, but he forgot a very key part - if we are engaged in a firefight, how do we actually terminate the threat (these weren't laser guns or anything)?
Well, time came and there's the town. We had split up into 3 teams - two rifle teams and one medevac. However, team leaders hadn't been assigned, nor had even a general thought process of how to enter been discussed by Stumph. I had a really bad feeling going in. I was the only one that had been in a situation actually involving a gun in the group before, and the only one with any training involving firearms or tactics. I was on the medevac team as a last ditch guard for the medic.
20 seconds in we lost 9 guys. Machine guns were going, as were explosions. Hardly anybody took cover, most froze and 'died'. Most of the remaining members couldn't bring their weapon on a threat - they were paralized. I don't know if it was the adrenaline, or that they have never thought they would have to actually point a rifle at another human since they joined the Air Force, not the Marines (news flash - guess who we deploy with fellas
).
Obviously our mission wasn't successful. The medevac team fell back to hard cover outside the town and radioed for 'reinforcements' and the situation was called over. Nearly all were completely unprepared for what they were doing that day. Why? Honestly, I blame the training we received at BMT. Our hands on combatives / rifle training culminated less than a day's training combined. Most everybody there, and even here at tech school, are beyond content with the training they have gotten and have no desire for any more. I tell them the story of Paul the Rifleman, and they still do not believe it can happen to them (hey, we're intel, I'm told a lot).
Train. Evaluate your skills and your gear. Push yourself. Shoot competitively. Take classes. Buy ammo by the cases, and shoot the crap out of your guns. Learn how your platform works. Learn it's weak spots, learn its strengths. Exploit the strengths, minimize the weaknesses. Perform routine preventative maintenance.
You have to be willing to understand that every platform has compromises, and you must be willing to choose the best platform for you regardless the brand based upon your needs.
But far, far, far more important than that, is to maintain vigilance.
I've been absent from these forums for a while. Predominantly due to work, and changing carry platforms. I tend to go seek out as much info as I can about the equipment that I utilize. I went from starting work making sandwiches at a casino shortly after I made this original post, to working at a high tonnage food production plant in the ghetto. The pay was great, the hours sucked, and the neighborhood - wow.
It really hit home for me when I was driving to work and found a dead body in the street. Mind you this neighborhood is one of those places where nobody ever knows, saw, or heard about any happenings. What struck me most wasn't that I found somebody in the street, or the phone call I made after that - no. It was my reaction. I didn't think anything about the person laying on the ground, or their family - the only thing I thought of was "****, now I'm late to work." I had been desensitized that much.
The plant was an anti-anything-that could-possibly-be-concieved-of-as-a-weapon place, yet they issued box cutters like they were going out of style - go figure. I won't say for sure, but I'll let you imagine how well I agreed to, and complied with, their rules (mind you, I still would not have broken any laws either way).
I got out of there shortly after that, and started working at a gun store. I took a big paycut, but I was happy, and that's what mattered. I worked in a neighborhood that was right between a really, really rich neighborhood and a really, really poor neighborhood. We got plenty of people from both sides of life coming in, and everybody got along just fine (save some confused gang bangers that tried to influence us paying insurance.....that was funny). One of the biggest reasons I enjoyed working there is there was a 24/7 gym across the parking lot - the real reason though, is that they were very flexible with my work hours due to being in the USAF Delayed Entry Program, and they strongly supported my decision to enlist.
I took my second to last oath of enlistment at MEPS on July 03, and was at Lackland AFB later that night. I'm going to skip most of my BMT stories because honestly - I had fun there. No, not in an easy way, but in a sick, demented, I like this crap, way that my MTI ran things (he ran them old school, and I am very grateful that he did).
Over the last few years BMT was extended two weeks to a total of 8 weeks. When past trainees graduated at the 6 week marker and became airman, we were going through BEAST (Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training). Picture a simulated deployed environment, random people in middle eastern garb outside the wire with AK's, scorpians, TEMPR tents, MRE's, etc. I was in charge of a sector in my zone, putting me in charge of approximately 80 trainees, in addition to the 51 we had in my flight. Part of this training involved a chalk walk.
We went outside the wire, and I gave up my role to another young trainee - a gung ho guy, smart, liked by many, pretty level headed. On our chalk walk we had 14 trainees counting myself. We had a mission to complete, which was locate, give aide (if needed), and evacuate a wounded airman in a town. We all had our battle rattle and rubber dummy weapons. One of the staff was there if we had any questions. Stumph asked some questions, but he forgot a very key part - if we are engaged in a firefight, how do we actually terminate the threat (these weren't laser guns or anything)?
Well, time came and there's the town. We had split up into 3 teams - two rifle teams and one medevac. However, team leaders hadn't been assigned, nor had even a general thought process of how to enter been discussed by Stumph. I had a really bad feeling going in. I was the only one that had been in a situation actually involving a gun in the group before, and the only one with any training involving firearms or tactics. I was on the medevac team as a last ditch guard for the medic.
20 seconds in we lost 9 guys. Machine guns were going, as were explosions. Hardly anybody took cover, most froze and 'died'. Most of the remaining members couldn't bring their weapon on a threat - they were paralized. I don't know if it was the adrenaline, or that they have never thought they would have to actually point a rifle at another human since they joined the Air Force, not the Marines (news flash - guess who we deploy with fellas
).Obviously our mission wasn't successful. The medevac team fell back to hard cover outside the town and radioed for 'reinforcements' and the situation was called over. Nearly all were completely unprepared for what they were doing that day. Why? Honestly, I blame the training we received at BMT. Our hands on combatives / rifle training culminated less than a day's training combined. Most everybody there, and even here at tech school, are beyond content with the training they have gotten and have no desire for any more. I tell them the story of Paul the Rifleman, and they still do not believe it can happen to them (hey, we're intel, I'm told a lot).
Train. Evaluate your skills and your gear. Push yourself. Shoot competitively. Take classes. Buy ammo by the cases, and shoot the crap out of your guns. Learn how your platform works. Learn it's weak spots, learn its strengths. Exploit the strengths, minimize the weaknesses. Perform routine preventative maintenance.
You have to be willing to understand that every platform has compromises, and you must be willing to choose the best platform for you regardless the brand based upon your needs.
But far, far, far more important than that, is to maintain vigilance.
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