Things are looking good for the future of Charlie Company. New platoon leaders, new platoon sgts, and so far, we are working well together. I am getting a fresh start from the begining, rather than being thrusted into a position in the middle of combat. But now, I am pretty comfortable with my position (and continuing to grow into it), I know my men very well (although half of them are leaving the unit now), and I get along well with pretty much everyone in the company. It has become my second family and I hope I stay in Charlie company for a while.
Just got a new platoon sgt and so far, I believe this will be a positive experience for myself and give me a chance to work with a new platoon sgt from the start- set a good precedent, create a good relationship, and eventually kick some ass in combat (although I will probably be an XO by then). I am also eager at the chance to train some "new guys" as they come in to replace all the old people leaving... but that may be toward the end of the year...
So, as always, it is a waiting game. In the mean time, as the platoon slims down to maybe about 15-18 people in the next couple of months, it will be a perfect time to mold everyone into physical and mental shape and once the new guys arrive, the core group of vets will be able to mold the rest of them into great soldiers. Pretty exciting
In other news, went to Majorca, Spain this past weekend. Pretty crazy- probably the most partying I've done since Spring Break 2006... except it was only 3 nights and Majorca was full of British and Irish tourists.
OUT
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The adventures begins... as another ends
Think I titled one of my blog entries the same way a little while ago... hmmm
Well, I am back from leave, in Germany. Based on the events of the last month on leave and the month prior to that, and the month prior to that, I can safely say that I have come away from deployment mentally healthy and stable. The biggest factor in this was mainly the short nature of my deployment. If I ran combat operations for an entire year, I believe things may be a little different... at the least, I would need a larger decompression period after deployment in order to be "normal" again.
When I was back home, I successfully conversed with others about my deployment experience without too many issues. It helped me put alot of my own experiences in perspective and made alot of sense of the senseless. The next deployment could be different. Based on what I have heard since I have been back, Afghanistan is almost for certain next summer. Prep for war is begining right now, but the bulk of the work will be done in early winter- when we start training and when all of our departing personnel should be replaced.
The company is already begining to have a new face. Two of the platoon leaders have been replaced, so I am now the senior platoon leader in Charlie company. Big change from just a couple of months ago when I was the "new guy" or "new dick" as the assholes call them. The CO is leaving in a couple of months, and as I mentioned before, most of my soldiers will be leaving in the next couple of months. Also, the XO has been replaced by a classmate of mine from westpoint, he has been a platoon leader a while longer than I have, so now he is my boss, haha. He is a good dude, so I don't think it will be a big deal. I was also told I will be a platoon leader for a while- nice- so I should be able to start and train a platoon from scratch- not sure if I will be there long enough to deploy to combat with them... but more than likely I will have at least 8 more months.
In other news, I have a whole year in Germany... and until we start doing some real work, there are an abundance of 4 day weekends comming up, oh yeaaaaaa... not sure where I want to travel yet,but I know it will be a good time. At the top of my head right now is seeing the end of the tour de France in Paris later this month, but the possibilities are endless.
OUT
Well, I am back from leave, in Germany. Based on the events of the last month on leave and the month prior to that, and the month prior to that, I can safely say that I have come away from deployment mentally healthy and stable. The biggest factor in this was mainly the short nature of my deployment. If I ran combat operations for an entire year, I believe things may be a little different... at the least, I would need a larger decompression period after deployment in order to be "normal" again.
When I was back home, I successfully conversed with others about my deployment experience without too many issues. It helped me put alot of my own experiences in perspective and made alot of sense of the senseless. The next deployment could be different. Based on what I have heard since I have been back, Afghanistan is almost for certain next summer. Prep for war is begining right now, but the bulk of the work will be done in early winter- when we start training and when all of our departing personnel should be replaced.
The company is already begining to have a new face. Two of the platoon leaders have been replaced, so I am now the senior platoon leader in Charlie company. Big change from just a couple of months ago when I was the "new guy" or "new dick" as the assholes call them. The CO is leaving in a couple of months, and as I mentioned before, most of my soldiers will be leaving in the next couple of months. Also, the XO has been replaced by a classmate of mine from westpoint, he has been a platoon leader a while longer than I have, so now he is my boss, haha. He is a good dude, so I don't think it will be a big deal. I was also told I will be a platoon leader for a while- nice- so I should be able to start and train a platoon from scratch- not sure if I will be there long enough to deploy to combat with them... but more than likely I will have at least 8 more months.
In other news, I have a whole year in Germany... and until we start doing some real work, there are an abundance of 4 day weekends comming up, oh yeaaaaaa... not sure where I want to travel yet,but I know it will be a good time. At the top of my head right now is seeing the end of the tour de France in Paris later this month, but the possibilities are endless.
OUT
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