PreMob Pt 1 - 15 Feb 2009 - 0600

Since we have a lot of down time here while we wait for our plane to our next destination with not much to do, I thought I’d do a bit of a back story in a few installments. I didn’t just wake up one morning on a plane over Iraq after all. I joined the Army in Feb of 2001. Left for Ft Sill, OK for BCT (basic combat training) in June of ’01 after I graduated high school. After 9 weeks of training with the B Bat 1/19th, I left for Redstone Arsenal, AL in August of ’01 to start my job training as a 55B, (now 89B) Ammunition Specialist. I was assigned to the 2nd Platoon (which is now the 3rd Platoon) of the 295th Ordnance Company in Lincoln, NE. In early ’03 our Company was mobilized to Ft Riley but never deployed. We returned home after about 3 months. In ’04 our Company was mobilized again. This time the 295th was sent to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. I was injured during the premob when I severed the tendon in the middle finger of my right hand and was left behind. While the unit was gone I took the opportunity to work full time assisting the rear detachment. I was primarily put to work assisting the Unit Administrator with various S1 (personnel) tasks. A while down the road the Unit Administrator left and I was hired on for the position. The job is a civilian employee position and is a mandatory dual status job, meaning that to keep it I must stay in the reserves. Early on in ’08 the 295th was informed that we would be again deploying. This time, however, only a single Platoon would be shipping. The Platoon chosen was the 5th Platoon out of Hastings, NE. The numbers in this Platoon however were very low.It was decided by the Company Commander that it would be filled first with those organic to that Platoon, secondly by those who have not yet deployed and thirdly by volunteers from the other Platoons in the 295th. Since I fit the second criteria, I was chosen to tag along. The Army has taken me many places in my career… OK, MD, NY, NJ, DC, PN, TN, KY, KS, IA, VA, GA, MO, South Korea, and Germany (twice), but now I was heading for combat. My girlfriend (now wife) and I had talked about getting married before, but when I was informed that I would be going along, my girlfriend and I decided that it would be advantageous for us to tie the knot before I left. On August 23 2008 I married my beautiful wife Sarah. Now, not only was I going to war, but I was leaving behind a wife. This would make the process especially difficult. Just over a week after getting married, our premob process would start. Sept 2, 08 we were ordered to Hastings, NE to start our SRP (Soldier Readiness Program) and initial training. We were there from Sept 2 – Oct 1. During this time we were pummeled in the worse way known to man, DbP. (Death by PowerPoint) Intermittently, we would have training that lead us outside of the Reserve Center. We did a little bit of convoy training, some ECP drills (Entry Control Point), and a little forklift / PLS training which is more specific to our actual job skills. Myself, I was chosen to be the NCOIC (Noncommissioned Officer in Charge) of the Platoons SAAS section. SAAS is the Army’s ammo accounting software. I also was charged with the interim duty of 2nd Squad’s Squad Leader while SSG Wolf was in WA reclassing to 88N. We also had a lot of downtime. We used this time to become more familiar with the new faces of the Soldiers we would be deploying with. The Soldiers who have been around for a while are somewhat familiar with one another from Company events and Annual Trainings, but there were several new Soldiers deploying with us as well. Being an S1 for the Company I’m familiar with basic knowledge of almost everyone, (names, basic personnel facts, etc) but could not have picked most of them out of a lineup. It’s tough to keep a bored Soldier out of mischief. We stayed in the Comfort in during this time, 2 guys per room. We were catered 3 meals a day from 4 restaurants, KFC, Valentino’s, OK Café, and Russ’s Market. Needless to say by the end we were sick and tired of chicken, pizza and meals that were aptly named “OK”.