Soo...Everyone send me stuff. Anything, everything. Just lots of it. I'm the only guy in my platoon to not get mail yet. So send me lots of junk. And Q-tips. And for you gun enthusiasts, cleaning kits and parts for the M-16/M-4 family (5.56mm/.223 cal). We're notoriously short on weapons cleaning kits and the dust here in relentless on the weapons. Umm...I think that's all I need right now. OH! And tattoo magazines. Those are good too. Thanks!
PFC Caleb DeArmas
HHT 6/8 CAV
Unit # 42545
APO, AE 09361
25 November 2007
22 November 2007
IED's Aren't as Loud as You'd Imagine
I haven't posted lately because I've been really busy and I don't really have in internet connection. I'm working on it. I move into my own room in about a week then I'll have internet.
In case you don't know I was hit by an IED. I'll post the whole story later. I'm ok. My truck, is not.
In case you don't know I was hit by an IED. I'll post the whole story later. I'm ok. My truck, is not.
16 November 2007
Welcome to War
This is the only picture I have of my gunner. It's the only picture I'll be able to take of him in Iraq. His tour is over after 4 days in Iraq. Our first mission ended in a bang.
11 November 2007
My War Starts Today
In a few hours I leave.
I've spent all day getting my mind right for what it is that I will face in the next 15 months. Once I step off that C-130 tonight, I step into a world which very few of you have ever been. It is a place where people will be trying to kill me. It's a very weird sensation. I'm not really nervous, but I'm uneasy? I don't know. I know that I don't feel normal, that could be what it is that's bothering me.
Over the last few weeks I've slowly been turning into the warrior that I'm trained to be. Becoming callous to things that would normally unnerve me. For example today, before people started getting on the plane we all cut our arms open. Enough to draw blood, a rite of passage "bleed now, live later." I usually can't draw my own blood. I have a 3 inch incision on my bicep that I cut open with the saw blade from a gerber tool. I cut my gunner and the gunner for the squadron commander (SCO) too. It's weird. It's not intended to be too painful or gruesome, just some battlefield superstition, with no beginning, and I had no problem participating in it.
Don't take what I'm saying to be disheartening. I'm not turning into some cold-blooded killer with no conscience, hardly the truth. Rather, I'm building up a wall of sorts around myself to protect the part of me that I hold dear. The Caleb that you all know and love. He's still here, just in a temporary packaging. I've "turned it on" I've been slowly getting to this point, but now it is in full force. I am what I was trained to be. I am a warrior and unafraid. I will seek out those who look to harm the innocents and the children and I will destroy them. I will show mercy, but I will be quick to react to hostility. I am on a mission. I will never back down. Never give in. Its game time and I'm standing at midfield waiting for the kickoff.
I am cocked, locked and ready to rock. My adrenaline is up and I have developed and antsy energy. I can't keep still, my feet refuse to stay flat on the ground. My breathing is more steady. The blood on my sleeve has dried. The joking has stopped, and everyone is smoking that last cigarette and putting on their kevlars. Check your mags, 29 rounds, green tips. The spring is tight, good, no jamming. Clap the rounds to the rear of the magazine. Slide it into the mag well. Pull the charging handle. Watch the blot push the first round into the chamber. Double, Triple check the safety. Take one last look at Kuwait. Last time I'll see this place for a while.
Let's Roll.
I've spent all day getting my mind right for what it is that I will face in the next 15 months. Once I step off that C-130 tonight, I step into a world which very few of you have ever been. It is a place where people will be trying to kill me. It's a very weird sensation. I'm not really nervous, but I'm uneasy? I don't know. I know that I don't feel normal, that could be what it is that's bothering me.
Over the last few weeks I've slowly been turning into the warrior that I'm trained to be. Becoming callous to things that would normally unnerve me. For example today, before people started getting on the plane we all cut our arms open. Enough to draw blood, a rite of passage "bleed now, live later." I usually can't draw my own blood. I have a 3 inch incision on my bicep that I cut open with the saw blade from a gerber tool. I cut my gunner and the gunner for the squadron commander (SCO) too. It's weird. It's not intended to be too painful or gruesome, just some battlefield superstition, with no beginning, and I had no problem participating in it.
Don't take what I'm saying to be disheartening. I'm not turning into some cold-blooded killer with no conscience, hardly the truth. Rather, I'm building up a wall of sorts around myself to protect the part of me that I hold dear. The Caleb that you all know and love. He's still here, just in a temporary packaging. I've "turned it on" I've been slowly getting to this point, but now it is in full force. I am what I was trained to be. I am a warrior and unafraid. I will seek out those who look to harm the innocents and the children and I will destroy them. I will show mercy, but I will be quick to react to hostility. I am on a mission. I will never back down. Never give in. Its game time and I'm standing at midfield waiting for the kickoff.
I am cocked, locked and ready to rock. My adrenaline is up and I have developed and antsy energy. I can't keep still, my feet refuse to stay flat on the ground. My breathing is more steady. The blood on my sleeve has dried. The joking has stopped, and everyone is smoking that last cigarette and putting on their kevlars. Check your mags, 29 rounds, green tips. The spring is tight, good, no jamming. Clap the rounds to the rear of the magazine. Slide it into the mag well. Pull the charging handle. Watch the blot push the first round into the chamber. Double, Triple check the safety. Take one last look at Kuwait. Last time I'll see this place for a while.
Let's Roll.
07 November 2007
Getting Close to Leaving////
As I'm sure you all know by now. I can't say where I'm going in Iraq or when I'm going. But what I can say is, Veteran's Day will have a whole new meaning for me after this year.
We're super busy. I can't really update tonight.
Oh yeah, apparently Hawr Rajab is a pretty cool little town outside Baghdad. ( GOOGLE IT!)
We're super busy. I can't really update tonight.
Oh yeah, apparently Hawr Rajab is a pretty cool little town outside Baghdad. ( GOOGLE IT!)
05 November 2007
Laid Back Days
So the last couple days haven't been too bad. Longer than necessary, but not too bad. Yesterday we had classes all day so it wasn't bad. WE actually stayed inside all day which was a welcome surprise. It gets surprisingly warm outside. Today all we did was go to a zero range to make sure all of our scopes and sights are zeroed in and ready to rock when we go up North. We got more ammo than we needed so after everyone zeroed they let us just goof off, so we put a lot of rounds down range. It was pretty fun.
Tomorrow there's a basketball showdown between us and Bravo Troop. They're platoon sergeant came over talking trash and challenged us in CMD to a match, so thats what we're doing tomorrow, and as far as I know thats all I'm doing tomorrow, which is amazing.
Oh yeah, if any of you see something and you don't know what it means, please don't hesitate to post a comment I'll gladly explain it to you. For example, Mom - a POG is a Person Other than Grunt - or a paper pusher...we have much worse names for them, but for the sake of those reading I'll stick with POG, oh and it's pronounced pogue.
I gotta roll out.
Oh yeah, CMD (my new platoon) is the Combat Mobility Detachment for the Headquarters Troop. We do all the security for the command group and EOD (bomb squad) and stuff like that, plus regular patrols.
Tomorrow there's a basketball showdown between us and Bravo Troop. They're platoon sergeant came over talking trash and challenged us in CMD to a match, so thats what we're doing tomorrow, and as far as I know thats all I'm doing tomorrow, which is amazing.
Oh yeah, if any of you see something and you don't know what it means, please don't hesitate to post a comment I'll gladly explain it to you. For example, Mom - a POG is a Person Other than Grunt - or a paper pusher...we have much worse names for them, but for the sake of those reading I'll stick with POG, oh and it's pronounced pogue.
I gotta roll out.
Oh yeah, CMD (my new platoon) is the Combat Mobility Detachment for the Headquarters Troop. We do all the security for the command group and EOD (bomb squad) and stuff like that, plus regular patrols.
03 November 2007
Retarded Classes? Yes, Please.
So while I was in basic training I was given, oh I dunno, around 20 hours of driving time in a Humvee, that included driving at night with NODs (night vision goggles) and off-road. When I got to Fort Stewart, they made me a Humvee driver, so all I did was drive a humvee. Then earlier this week I went to like an agressive driving course where we ran cars off the road and stuff. Then this morning happened.
We woke up an hour before everyone else, put on all our gear and walked over to some tent for "Advanced Drivers Training." Ok, so let me start here, the up-armored humvee handles totally different from the humvee I've been driving in the States but after a few minutes you figure it out. So I'm thinking that this class today is going to be pretty cool.
The first sign that this was going to suck, was all of the people that don't drive humvees that went to the class with me. That should have alerted me something was wrong, but I just figured they were re-adjusting some of the other platoons. Then we got the brief on what we would do today. We would drive a half mile loop, and avoid 7 pot holes while maintaining a speed of 25mph. Are you serious?
About 150 of us finished the class today in 2 hours. They said yesterday they had a bunch of POGs and it took them 8 FREAKING HOURS. That makes me nervous. It's just like driving a car, but easier, cause NOTHING can hurt you. Whatever man, I'm over it. We're pretty much almost maybe done doing stuff. Now we just wait until we head up North, which is coming up, but no one really knows when. It's great.
So I'm dirty, I'm tired, I miss my Carlisle, and I am going to go take a shower. Until I get to the internet again, goodbye my precious readers.
OH! And send me some emails! It sucks checking your email and not having any. xsouthernx@gmail.com
We woke up an hour before everyone else, put on all our gear and walked over to some tent for "Advanced Drivers Training." Ok, so let me start here, the up-armored humvee handles totally different from the humvee I've been driving in the States but after a few minutes you figure it out. So I'm thinking that this class today is going to be pretty cool.
The first sign that this was going to suck, was all of the people that don't drive humvees that went to the class with me. That should have alerted me something was wrong, but I just figured they were re-adjusting some of the other platoons. Then we got the brief on what we would do today. We would drive a half mile loop, and avoid 7 pot holes while maintaining a speed of 25mph. Are you serious?
About 150 of us finished the class today in 2 hours. They said yesterday they had a bunch of POGs and it took them 8 FREAKING HOURS. That makes me nervous. It's just like driving a car, but easier, cause NOTHING can hurt you. Whatever man, I'm over it. We're pretty much almost maybe done doing stuff. Now we just wait until we head up North, which is coming up, but no one really knows when. It's great.
So I'm dirty, I'm tired, I miss my Carlisle, and I am going to go take a shower. Until I get to the internet again, goodbye my precious readers.
OH! And send me some emails! It sucks checking your email and not having any. xsouthernx@gmail.com
Hooray Kuwait!
Sooo...Kuwait is a very boring country. And there's not much to look at, but if you come with the United States Army you'll never be bored!
I have been so busy lately its almost ridiculous. I was moved to another platoon. And if you pray, pray more. The platoon I got moved to is going to be going outside the wire. I don't have too much time to elaborate. Hopefully I'll be able to knock out a good update later today.
I have been so busy lately its almost ridiculous. I was moved to another platoon. And if you pray, pray more. The platoon I got moved to is going to be going outside the wire. I don't have too much time to elaborate. Hopefully I'll be able to knock out a good update later today.
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