After two weeks off (our real summer break) we all jumped on a bus at 4:30 AM and headed to Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. This is where USUHS conducts what is known as Operation Kerkesner. Here we are organized in our platoons and given assignments to carry out - just like an infantry platoon would do anywhere else in the world. Each day we had a different role. On the first day, we set up camp and had some free time which our platoon leader quickly filled with training. This is me all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready for the training. I was happy because I had showered that morning. As the next few days went on, we all got quite a bit more smelly and dirty and never had the luxury of taking a shower. Baby wipes are the substitute of choice for short-term operations.
Every now and again we were fortunate enough to hitch a ride in some large truck-like things (I should remember what they are called but three weeks of medical school and other summertime activities have purged my brain of much of the Army jargon...) So from left to right, this is Kristin Cox, me, Theresa Dalton, and Teddy Ajero.
Lucky for us we got to hit the 9 mil range the next morning. I own a 9 mil and though I don't get to go shooting too often, I can hold my own. This was my target - which was nothing compared to Ted Steelman's who put every one of his rounds in a 4" diameter in the center mass. He was a Navy fighter pilot before coming to med school so maybe that has something to do with it.
Unfortunately, phase two of day one was not so fun. After walking for an hour or two in the hot sun and wandering through the woods all stealth-like - we came across our objective: A large building in the middle of a clearing with several bad guys inside and a hostage to rescue. In truth, there was no real good way to the building, and intelligence (aka - the Major in charge of the training) told us we had to enter through this fine tunnel. So away we charged with nothing but blanks in our riffles. If you are wondering how it is that I had time to take pictures while everyone else looks so focused its because I was the first man on the field... (see next picture)
Despite the typo - I figured that I was pretty much toast as soon as I got this card. But hey - at least I got two rounds off before I went down right? Needless to say, I became the center of attention for the medics for the next little bit. Unfortunately I was the first of many that would "go down" and it created quit a crazy scenario. Don't worry though - our Army is smarter than to assault a building in the middle of an open field on foot - but for the sake of teaching us care under fire, it did its job at creating chaos for the medic.
The rest of the day we spent learning combative skills. Those who know how little I am can appreciate the fact that I did not post any pictures of myself fighting simply due to the fact that I want to retain some amount of dignity.
The next day provided us the opportunity to act as the Infantry unit for the day. This included a mission to rescue some down pilots and was followed by some paintball. That was fun. At the end of the day, we had a small piece of training on how to evade capture when behind enemy lines. They talked about how to blend into the environment and how to move with a buddy. Afterwords they gave us a map and a compass with two grid coordinates; one which told us where we were and another for where we were going. Pictured here are Ted and Kristin with some mud on their faces to help them blend in. I caked a lot more on my face but unfortunately did not get a picture. They gave us instructions on how to be picked up on the other end and then suddenly a loud alarm went off which scared the living daylights out of us. They started yelling at us to get out of there and we all went running for our lives. We ran and found a place to hide. It turned out to be a very eventful night. I did not make the pick up time but at least I know that if I am ever behind enemy lines and running for my life I could blend in and not get caught. Some of my colleagues were not so fortunate and were found right off the bat and received the "mark of shame" - a permanent marker line across the throat so that all would know they were caught.
Medical Platoon: Not Fun. This is me in MOP gear. It is a charcoal lined suit that is thicker than snow gear and hot as... let's just say that while you are in it that sweating doesn't even begin to describe the perspiration one experiences. The full suit also has boots but gratefully we were not given those for our training. During this day I was named as the field physician so I got to run around and take care of casualties that were brought to me from the exercises that other platoons were carrying out. Near the end of the day, it got a little boring because our defenses were set up in such a way that we spoiled a bunch of their plans - so we spend the day holding our guns and trying to get comfortable while we lay on the ground in a defensive position with our riffles for what felt like hours (and really turned out to be about 2 hours).
These fancy contraptions are designed to keep the bugs off of us during the night. They worked pretty well. I felt bad for John Saur. The poor kid is 6'6" - about 6" too tall for his bug net so he just roughed it. I guess we all stunk so much that the mosquitoes didn't give us too much trouble. The rain made it tough on us our last night when we pulled an all-night mission as a company (three platoons). It was long and wet and it took my feet about 2 weeks to recover from it. If I ever deploy in the future, I will be taking at least 2 more pairs of boots with me.
A parting picture that I am proud to post. I bit the bullet and volunteered to represent my platoon in an MRE eating contest. Of course, those in charge of the whole event chose the one meal that does not even taste or feel like real food: The Egg and Cheese Omelet with Bacon Hash Browns. It also had some crackers and nasty cheese spread along with a pop tart. On my left was Ensign Fiest. He ripped off his shirt and made quit the show. Frankly, he was utterly disgusting but my hat goes off to him. He beat me by about 30 seconds. Truth be told I am proud of myself for even finishing the MRE without throwing up. Robby (on my right) finished his last bite about 2 minutes after I had finished and immediately ran to the trees where he returned the meal that Mother Earth had so graciously provided for him. So while I did not win the contest, I did finish the Omelet, and that will forever be a great success for me. I have no plan of even looking at another Egg and Cheese MRE as long as I live.
After two weeks off (our real summer break) we all jumped on a bus at 4:30 AM and headed to Fort Indiantown Gap, PA. This is where USUHS conducts what is known as Operation Kerkesner. Here we are organized in our platoons and given assignments to carry out - just like an infantry platoon would do anywhere else in the world. Each day we had a different role. On the first day, we set up camp and had some free time which our platoon leader quickly filled with training. This is me all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready for the training. I was happy because I had showered that morning. As the next few days went on, we all got quite a bit more smelly and dirty and never had the luxury of taking a shower. Baby wipes are the substitute of choice for short-term operations.
Every now and again we were fortunate enough to hitch a ride in some large truck-like things (I should remember what they are called but three weeks of medical school and other summertime activities have purged my brain of much of the Army jargon...) So from left to right, this is Kristin Cox, me, Theresa Dalton, and Teddy Ajero.
Lucky for us we got to hit the 9 mil range the next morning. I own a 9 mil and though I don't get to go shooting too often, I can hold my own. This was my target - which was nothing compared to Ted Steelman's who put every one of his rounds in a 4" diameter in the center mass. He was a Navy fighter pilot before coming to med school so maybe that has something to do with it.
Unfortunately, phase two of day one was not so fun. After walking for an hour or two in the hot sun and wandering through the woods all stealth-like - we came across our objective: A large building in the middle of a clearing with several bad guys inside and a hostage to rescue. In truth, there was no real good way to the building, and intelligence (aka - the Major in charge of the training) told us we had to enter through this fine tunnel. So away we charged with nothing but blanks in our riffles. If you are wondering how it is that I had time to take pictures while everyone else looks so focused its because I was the first man on the field... (see next picture)
Despite the typo - I figured that I was pretty much toast as soon as I got this card. But hey - at least I got two rounds off before I went down right? Needless to say, I became the center of attention for the medics for the next little bit. Unfortunately I was the first of many that would "go down" and it created quit a crazy scenario. Don't worry though - our Army is smarter than to assault a building in the middle of an open field on foot - but for the sake of teaching us care under fire, it did its job at creating chaos for the medic.
The rest of the day we spent learning combative skills. Those who know how little I am can appreciate the fact that I did not post any pictures of myself fighting simply due to the fact that I want to retain some amount of dignity.
The next day provided us the opportunity to act as the Infantry unit for the day. This included a mission to rescue some down pilots and was followed by some paintball. That was fun. At the end of the day, we had a small piece of training on how to evade capture when behind enemy lines. They talked about how to blend into the environment and how to move with a buddy. Afterwords they gave us a map and a compass with two grid coordinates; one which told us where we were and another for where we were going. Pictured here are Ted and Kristin with some mud on their faces to help them blend in. I caked a lot more on my face but unfortunately did not get a picture. They gave us instructions on how to be picked up on the other end and then suddenly a loud alarm went off which scared the living daylights out of us. They started yelling at us to get out of there and we all went running for our lives. We ran and found a place to hide. It turned out to be a very eventful night. I did not make the pick up time but at least I know that if I am ever behind enemy lines and running for my life I could blend in and not get caught. Some of my colleagues were not so fortunate and were found right off the bat and received the "mark of shame" - a permanent marker line across the throat so that all would know they were caught.
Medical Platoon: Not Fun. This is me in MOP gear. It is a charcoal lined suit that is thicker than snow gear and hot as... let's just say that while you are in it that sweating doesn't even begin to describe the perspiration one experiences. The full suit also has boots but gratefully we were not given those for our training. During this day I was named as the field physician so I got to run around and take care of casualties that were brought to me from the exercises that other platoons were carrying out. Near the end of the day, it got a little boring because our defenses were set up in such a way that we spoiled a bunch of their plans - so we spend the day holding our guns and trying to get comfortable while we lay on the ground in a defensive position with our riffles for what felt like hours (and really turned out to be about 2 hours).
These fancy contraptions are designed to keep the bugs off of us during the night. They worked pretty well. I felt bad for John Saur. The poor kid is 6'6" - about 6" too tall for his bug net so he just roughed it. I guess we all stunk so much that the mosquitoes didn't give us too much trouble. The rain made it tough on us our last night when we pulled an all-night mission as a company (three platoons). It was long and wet and it took my feet about 2 weeks to recover from it. If I ever deploy in the future, I will be taking at least 2 more pairs of boots with me.
A parting picture that I am proud to post. I bit the bullet and volunteered to represent my platoon in an MRE eating contest. Of course, those in charge of the whole event chose the one meal that does not even taste or feel like real food: The Egg and Cheese Omelet with Bacon Hash Browns. It also had some crackers and nasty cheese spread along with a pop tart. On my left was Ensign Fiest. He ripped off his shirt and made quit the show. Frankly, he was utterly disgusting but my hat goes off to him. He beat me by about 30 seconds. Truth be told I am proud of myself for even finishing the MRE without throwing up. Robby (on my right) finished his last bite about 2 minutes after I had finished and immediately ran to the trees where he returned the meal that Mother Earth had so graciously provided for him. So while I did not win the contest, I did finish the Omelet, and that will forever be a great success for me. I have no plan of even looking at another Egg and Cheese MRE as long as I live.
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how's Jari. tell her hi for us. thanks for the post.
Princess and A.