WEEK THREE 01 SEP TO 06 SEP

Another fun week at Ft. Dix. This week we will be at the range and conducting advanced driver training. I will add some video clips to this blog. Our range days were Monday and Tuesday. Here’s the picture: We arrived to the range around 0900 with M4 rifles and M11 (SigSauer 9mm handgun) sidearm. For whatever reason, the military feels it is necessary to give their own designation to weapons even though the weapons have perfectly good names to begin with. Like the SigSauer 9mm handgun, which the name clearly describes what it is. So what does the 11 stand for when the military identifies it as an M11? I don’t know, and I really don’t care, as long as the bullet comes out of the same end as the 9mm, I should be okay. What's next. Changing the direction in which the gun shoots so you will have to turn it backwards to shoot a bullet the other way? That’s because the military is a little backwards at times. And the M4? I dunno what the 4 stands for, and I am sure there is a normal name for the gun, I just don’t know what it is. It doesn’t really matter as long as it does what it needs to do. But that's the military, giving names and acronyms for everything. Do you know what "sweeping for FOD is? Me neither until the end of our loast shooting day. FOD, Foreign Objects and Debris. So everyone had to sweep the area for FOD. I never heard that term before. That's just crazy!

So anyway, here we are at a Ft. Dix shooting range. 100 meters (that’s a little more than 100 yards for those civilian folks) of lovely dirt and sand about 4 inches deep, no shade, 40+ pounds of stuff, long sleeves, hot as, well you know, and humid. After a while the environment begins to wear on you. Running, moving, kneeling, shooting, shooting, shooting, more running, oh yeah and did I mention that it was HOT! Good stuff if you are a scorpion, or a chigger (sand flee), or a tick. Then we went to moving in teams while others shot in our direction. We were offset so you had people behind you shooting at you. Hopefully, past you or away from you, but accidents happen. This time, no accidents and no one got shot by friendly fire. I really like shooting, especially high speed stuff like tactical, but man that vest and the heat suck it out of you. My lower back was screaming by the time we finished. It seems the younger guys have the same issues with that added weight as I did. We all were feeling a little pain and discomfort by the end of day 1.

Day two at the range was even hotter. And we did a lot more running and moving than the day before. You feel like falling out but you won’t, you feel like slowing down but you won’t, you feel like dogging it but you would never do that so you have to suck it up or as one of our crazy insane instructors would say "learn to embrace the suck.” This time we are running 100 meters up and 100 meters back, over and over again. The bullet from an M4 behaves a little differently depending upon the distant the target is from you. So the farther you are away, the more you have to compensate for windage and elevation that's why we have to shoot at various distances.

Day three we had a “fun” experience, which was a culmination of all our physical training sessions into an action-packed “fun four hours” with the beast (vest) on of course. Hurting, tired, exhausted, and glad it is over. But I must say it was a great workout time.

Day four begins our driver training. We are driving cars that look like they have been competing in a human pinball game with cars. Dents everywhere, mirrors missing, engines knocking and pinging and smoking, and you may be one of the lucky ones with a seatbelt. We started out driving around 40 MPH coming to mock intersections with sharp turns having to maneuver the car or SUV so as to negotiate the turns but keep your speed up. We then learned how to make other cars spin out, how to drive in a motorcade or convoy, how to recognize and escape from ambushes. Then we started the high speed driving 60+ MPH, which was a greater challenge. One guy blew three tires on his car but the car was a POC anyway (Piece of Crap) so no harm done. I will add some video clips of the driving and range time to this blog in the near future.

Day five and six is the second day of driver training. The intensity increases with Humvee driving, attack recognition (which basically means if you hear a gun or an explosion that probably is someone attacking you) and getaway or avoidance, and car ramming to escape an ambush. We drive the typical POC vehicles, which reminded me of the car I had during my high school years (yeah ROC folks, we did drive cars back then). Once I get a chance I will add the videos of the driving but I could not edit the language completely so I apologize up front for anything you might hear that is offensive.

Day Six is a Saturday so this was a short weekend break, and home I went.