Humping it. Soldiers from 29th Infantry Division “Blue and Grey”, 116th IBCT, 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, C Troop (RSTA), Virginia Army National Guard conduct a road march in preparation for upcoming EIB testing. (Photo taken 13 January 2013)  High-res

Humping it.

Soldiers from 29th Infantry Division “Blue and Grey”, 116th IBCT, 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, C Troop (RSTA), Virginia Army National Guard conduct a road march in preparation for upcoming EIB testing. 

(Photo taken 13 January 2013) 

(via jczellner)

New year, new chances. U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ryan Schulte, foreground, security force platoon leader for Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah, checks security upon arrival at a key leader engagement in Farah City. PRT Farah’s mission is to train, advise and assist Afghan government leaders at the municipal, district and provincial levels in Farah province, Afghanistan. Their civil military team is comprised of members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of State and the Agency for International Development (USAID). (Photo by HMC Josh Ives, 29 DEC 2012.) High-res

New year, new chances.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ryan Schulte, foreground, security force platoon leader for Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah, checks security upon arrival at a key leader engagement in Farah City. PRT Farah’s mission is to train, advise and assist Afghan government leaders at the municipal, district and provincial levels in Farah province, Afghanistan. Their civil military team is comprised of members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of State and the Agency for International Development (USAID).

(Photo by HMC Josh Ives, 29 DEC 2012.)

SOLDIER STORIES: Trolling an infantry platoon, a medic’s “how-to”

lovesdayoff:

Being a line medic puts you in a sometimes awkward situation. You’re surrounded by A type males who see you as a mother figure and sometimes their conscience. The set up doesn’t always have to be serious so have fun with it any chance you get. Being a line medic means that you half answer to a Medical platoon sergeant and a Battalion PA… but you hypothetically are supposed to answer to your Infantry platoon leader and Platoon sergeant. The line is usually blurred and everyone is too busy to keep track of you so you can normally get away with a lot more things than the Infantry dudes you are assigned to. These are some of the things I like to do that never really got me in trouble but seemed to make my line guys love me even more… kind of like a lovable mascot figure.

  • In formations Infantrymen like to sound off when called to attention screaming things in unison like “KILL!!!!!”. I like to wait until they finish sounding off with “KILL!” and then sound of own my own even louder, “SAVE!!!”
  • When Flu shot season comes up most medics inform the 1SG so he can tell all the guys to line up to receive them at some point during the day. That’s the clean, safe, organized way… NO FUN!!!. What I like to do is keep quiet and go to the Aid station and pick up a small cooler filled with enough ready-to-inject flu immunizations so that I have everyone covered. I neglect to tell them that it’s flu shot day and one by one I hunt them down like dogs where ever they are at and give them their shot and make them initial by their name on a roster. Some of the coolest places I have caught people is in bed asleep, coming out of a shower stall, I got a guy while he was operating a Bobcat construction vehicle, I got someone while they were bench pressing (It was an LT trying to hide but I got that rat bastard where he stood). It takes all day but it makes it fun for all of us. You recieve comments like “Doc, you sneaky f*ck!” and “Goddamnit, Doc how did you find me in the PX”. At the end of it all, when everyone is together in one place I choose a volunteer (Most are honestly scared to try) and I talk them through giving me my flu shot and I finally cross my name off the list.
  • Sometimes when people pull me to the side and ask me for medical advice I like to explain the simplest things in the most complicated medical terminology that I can muster. It could be something as small as why a paper cut hurts so much but my answer will have them like “Damn, Doc! Should I got to the ER?”
  • The 1st thing you do in the field or during deployment is hand over every band-aid you have to the Platoon Sergeant or Company 1SG. Explain to them that they are the keeper and everyone has to go to them for their little boo boo’s. When anyone asks you for a band-aid refer them to the keeper of the band-aids. It doesn’t get much funnier than a young Infantryman/scout/whatever trying to explain to a grizzled, hardened NCO as to why he feels he needs a band-aid for scraping his knee.

(via lovesdayoff-deactivated20130310)

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys… Bulgarian army soldiers conduct a convoy during a military advisory team (MAT) training exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. MATs and police advisory teams are designed to replicate the Afghanistan operational environment while preparing teams for counterinsurgency and improvised explosive device operations with the ability to train, advise and enable the Afghanistan National Army and the Afghanistan National Police. (Photo by Spc. Jordan Fuller, 3 DEC 2012.) High-res

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys…

Bulgarian army soldiers conduct a convoy during a military advisory team (MAT) training exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. MATs and police advisory teams are designed to replicate the Afghanistan operational environment while preparing teams for counterinsurgency and improvised explosive device operations with the ability to train, advise and enable the Afghanistan National Army and the Afghanistan National Police.

(Photo by Spc. Jordan Fuller, 3 DEC 2012.)

sean-p3: kiratala: Reposting to see if someone can tell me what the aircraft is.  Yes I am that Military vehicle ignorant >.< This is either an H-47 Chinook (Army) or an H-46 Sea Knight (Navy/Marines). Probably a Chinook. They’re very similar except the Chinook is a lot bigger. I can’t quite get an idea of the scale. [Phrogs have those strange humps over the rear wheels wheels though, and only a single front wheel assembly. Definitely a Chinook! -R] High-res

sean-p3:

kiratala:

Reposting to see if someone can tell me what the aircraft is.  Yes I am that Military vehicle ignorant >.<

This is either an H-47 Chinook (Army) or an H-46 Sea Knight (Navy/Marines). Probably a Chinook. They’re very similar except the Chinook is a lot bigger. I can’t quite get an idea of the scale.

[Phrogs have those strange humps over the rear wheels wheels though, and only a single front wheel assembly. Definitely a Chinook! -R]

I feel people take away from us Soldiers when you say we “pass away”

lovesdayoff:

Rarely does anyone “Pass away” downrange. We are ripped, blasted, scorched, smashed, and and shredded out of existence in the most violent ways possible. Remember the ways we fought and lived so that when you step into a leadership position you will thing very long on your course of action. Think twice before you send us off to do what we do and face what will be done to us.

(via lovesdayoff-deactivated20130310)

All the respect. victran: to those who give it all every single day High-res

All the respect.

victran:

to those who give it all every single day