A Soldier First

We are one day from completing Phase 1 of our training here at Ft. Lee, Virginia. I feel our class has grown both closer and stronger in the days since my last post, and I absolutely believe that trend will continue. I guess I really didn't know what to expect before I got here, but I definitely didn't expect to meet so many great people. I am a not going to lie, I am fairly independent and rarely venture outside my comfort zone (you could maybe even say I'm a bit stubborn), but I find myself drawn to the personalities of this great group and have enjoyed a level of camaraderie not had since playing football in college. We are all focused on the big picture - becoming Army JAG Officers. Getting there will definitely require everyone to help everyone each and every step of the way there. So far, this selfless attitude couldn't describe our class any better - it is apparent and is most certainly genuine.

The Cadre are tough but fair, and have always been consummate professionals. Just when I think I am living and working within the Army's written and unwritten regulations, I am corrected (first time with calm patience, the second time on the same issue, not so much). What is an unwritten regulation you ask? Well, an example: there is no regulation prohibiting an officer from having a mustache, but we've been told by the Cadre that it's just not something that's done. Of course, after we were told this, one First Lieutenant in our class began growing one - absolutely hilarious! So, to summarize, a particular activity or manner/style of dress/appearance in the Army might be legal (within Army Regulations), but it might not be "street legal." Actually, there appears to be quite a few of these unwritten rules in the Army, which I personally find very cool.

I can't say enough great things about our Cadre and our Student Leadership, which, if you recall from my previous post, the latter are 182nd class members, but are serving as student leaders because of their prior military experience. Actually, two of them are former Army Special Forces (SF) members (although, I suppose, once a SF member, always a SF member) who have joined the JAG Corps. Both the Cadre and the Student Leadership are tough, but there is no doubt they are that way only because they want us to succeed as Soldiers/Officers in the U.S. Army. The Cadre stress the importance of doing EVERYTHING correctly, which is the philosophy by which I've tried to live my life; if you are going to do something, do it right! And not just with the big picture items, but also in the what may seem to be a minor detail. For example, the other day the First Sergeant approached me and in a respectful, yet firm manner, brought to my attention the fact that I had velcroed the Iowa National Guard insignia onto my Army Combat Uniform (ACU) a bit off center. He took it off my shoulder and reattached it with painstaking effort to be certain it was centered. Really, before that, I had never paid much attention to how centered the patch was or had given much effort to other details like it. The First Sergeant's corrective measure in that instance taught me more about the Army than any manual or powerpoint ever could.



(above picture is my Iowa Army National Guard Insignia Patch on the left shoulder of my ACU)

The Cadre continually remind us that we are Soliders First, Judge Advocates General Second. The last four days of training served to reinforce the "Soldier First" philosophy. In the past week, we experienced the gas chamber, the 9mm range, and took part in a day long series of "warrior tasks" battle drills and various field training exercises, i.e., a taste of what we will likely receive in large doses at Ft. Benning, Georgia, this October.

The Gas Chamber: Bonding over CS Gas with a newfound respect for rioters/unruly protestors.

Last Saturday, the Army taught us how to wear gas masks, paraded us into a gas filled gas chamber, made us do various exercises, then made us remove our masks and recite our names and hometowns before we were allowed to exit said chamber. In short, it sucked. I have to admit, before we entered the chamber I wasn't worried or nervous. In fact, I was alarmingly calm. I asked myself, "how much worse could the air in the chamber be compared to the secondhand smog in the bars of Emmetsburg on St. Patrick's Day?" Well, I got my answer; a million times worse. Really, though, the after effects, which included, but are not limited to, nausea, irritable skin, and stinging eyeballs, only lasted a few minutes. Regardless, I survived and gained confidence in my equipment (gas mask) and my ability to deploy the same in a stressful environment. The true takeaway from the Gas Chamber was not any individual task associated with the exercise itself, but the team building that took place as a result. Like I said, it sucked, but we all experienced the suck together. Our classmates with prior military/gas chamber experience helped calm the nerves of those who had none and were terrified; we cheered as each soldier took his or her turn entering and exiting the chamber; those who had minutes before exited and had somewhat recovered were helping those who had just exited and were struggling; and we laughed and talked about our experience all the way home and into the next day.



(above, 1LT Ben Smith, Pre Gas Chamber, pretty cocky)



(above, 1LT Ben Smith, Post Gas Chamber, not so cocky. Right now I'm thinking "why do my lungs and eyes feel like they are melting?")


The Firing Range: "If he's worthy of one, he's worthy of three."

Sunday our class went to the firing range and, armed with 9mm Berettas, took on an army of Gumbies (see below picture). I volunteered for "ammo detail", which basically amounted to me and a few others hand loading (with no speed loader) almost 8,000 9 mm rounds into magazines. The range was awesome! After getting the green light to fire from the range tower, Gumby looking characters popped up from behind bunkers and we let loose on them. Once a Gumby was hit, it would go down and wouldn't return until the next round of firing. I really enjoyed firing the 9mm Beretta. Not much to add to this discussion other than I wish I had one of these ranges in my backyard. The range was run by the Cadre and Student Leadership in an efficient and safe manner. Student Leader (and former SF and current JAOBC 182nd member) Captain Horne, was in charge of range safety. I was completely blown away with his enthusiastic professionalism and attention to all matters related to range safety.



(lots and lots and lots of ammo loaded into lots and lots of magazines, sore thumbs not shown)



(many 9mm Berettas)



(Gumby and his brothers)



(Captain Horne)



(Captain Horne's ACU)

Playing in the dirt:

Last Tuesday our class went through warrior training field exercises. I volunteered to teach the military intelligence (MI) course with a fellow classmate, First Lieutenant (1LT) Sandys. The MI subject we taught was reporting, in real-time, enemy activity using the SALUTE reporting format. SALUTE reporting is the Army's version of Who, What, When, Where, and Why and is, basically, forward observers painting a picture of enemy activity/battlefield conditions for the rear command. Phonetically, the acronym SALUTE is as follows: Sierra (Size, how many enemy personnel), Alpha (Activity, what is the enemy doing), Lima (Location, where the enemy is located), Uniform (Unit, what insignias, clothing, or other indicators present that suggests who the enemy are (what country they are from and what type of enemy they are, i.e., infantry, armor, cooks, etc.), Tango (Time, what time you are observing the enemy activity), Echo (Equipment, guns, knives, maps, PS3s, etc.). 1LT Sandys and I provided SAULTE reporting instructions to squads of ten soldiers. The soldiers were briefed on reported suspected enemy activity and were tasked to enter the tree line, move forward until they spotted the enemy activity (two dimensional cardboard cutouts stashed in the woods), and then radio back to the rear command using the SALUTE format. I tell you what, instead of reinventing the wheel, I am going to refer you to 1LT Sandys' Army Strong Stories Blog to provide description of our class (below link). I urge you to read it as it is very entertaining:

http://www.armystrongstories.com/blogger/patrick-sandys/day-ten-playing-in-the-dirt/


Below are some pictures from of our field training exercise.









(We start them young here at Ft. Lee)





(Don't ask, don't tell)



(1LT Ben Smith and Insurgent)



(1LT Ben Smith and two-dimensional bad guys)



(2nd Platoon, 3rd Squad - My Squad, THE TOP SQUAD!)



Leaving Ft. Lee tomorrow morning will be bitter-sweet. I know I am ready to be moving on to Charlottesville for the next 2.5 months of Phase 2 training, but I think I am going to miss Ft. Lee. After all, this is where the journey began; it's where I first met the 182nd JAOBC and its Cadre. On the other hand, I am very excited to get to Charlottesville! I have heard nothing but great things about Phase 2 - a few being Charlottesville's college town (University of Virginia) atmosphere and the Army JAG school experience in general. Below are pictures of the Army Logistics University at Ft. Lee, which is where our classroom schooling took place.





There are many things I miss about Iowa. Of those, I most miss meeting with the morning Mass "regulars", visiting my Grandma and her gal pals and the staff at the Blackhawk Life Care Center, hanging out with Erin McCullough and Karen at Erin's law office during the day and my family in the evenings. However, I am falling in love with the Army life. I'm even coming around to shaving at 0400 :-) Also, I realize my five months of training pales in comparison to the sacrifice made by our men and women in uniform overseas and their families back home. I think about and pray for them all the time, especially the Iowa Army National Guard soldiers who will soon be leaving for Afghanistan for a year. If you get the chance, say a little prayer for them.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the post and my pictures. Feel free to ask any questions. One question I received was why hotel rooms? Easy, the lodging on base at Ft. Lee is full. So, the Ft. Lee powers that be have the choice of housing either eighteen- year old boot campers or Army Officer/Attorneys in off-base hotels. No brainer.