So I have the rough itinerary for my weekend. Needless to say I'm not going to give specifics here, but it does involve typically Army things like guns and gadgets. So on the one hand I'm excited. The former Navy mechanic in me is a bit more concerned and has pointed out that my entire boot camp "combat training" at Great Mistakes [NRTC Great Lakes] consisted of firing 3 clips of .22 from a full-size 1911 pistol. Luckily I have fired AR15s (the single-shot-only civilian version of the M16) before, and I'm hoping my hours of playing America's Army will magically translate into useful soldier knowledge. So what's a resourceful Web guy to do? Research of course. Before you drop a few 10 spots to buy copies of Army Manuals check out the Army Digital Library. It's a treasure trove and well worth suffering through the poor interface and slow server. So I now know how to field strip an M16...in theory...as long as I have my laptop in front of me...and infinite time......man I'm in trouble.

     
To make my "Stranger in a Strange Land" gitters worse, I don't have any BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform - aka camoflague shirt and pants) and probably won't be issued any for "several months." I can buy some as soon as I get a new ID card but it looks like I'll spend this weekend being all I can be in jeans and a turtleneck. It is a green turtleneck. I should wear a suit and really freak them out.

     
Oh and the weather is turning out just super (thanks for asking). We've already got 2-3 inches of nasty slippy sludge on the roads and it's only midnight. Maybe we'll be cancelled, but I doubt it. Plus I'd rather get this initial culture shock over with. Waiting another month would be torture.

Yep coming soon, the adventures of Sergeant Dave: UH-60 Repairer and aspiring Flight Medic of the 224th Aviation Battalion, Maryland Army National Guard.