Day 26

Hurry up! Wait....  Hurry up! Wait...  Such is the Navy way and probably common throughout the military. Today, we met up at 8am and were immediately dispersed in 4 different directions. One stop to the supply shop to see if we needed to turn anything unnecessary in. Nope! Next stop was to the medical office to pick up our medical records. They were done being reviewed so we picked them back up. Next was a survey being conducted by "Big Navy" regarding our deployment experience thus far. The survey covered essentially the whole Yellow Brick Road up until now. Lastly, since we have finished our M4 rifle quals, it was ready to be turned in if we are not taking them to Oz, which I am not. I had cleaned the heck out of that weapon last night but they still found all kinds of carbon. Eventually after waiting in line for well over an hour (remember hurry up and wait, right?), I turned it in to the armory. Nice to not have to carry that thing around anymore. I do love that weapon, though. Loads of fun. After an extended period of dead time and lunch, it was time for another rollover.

If you remember back a few weeks ago, I did the Humvee rollover trainer where we were inverted in a vehicle and had to escape in full body armor. Well, the newest vehicle on the block is the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle. It is a mammoth vehicle created directly as a result of our enemy's method of attack on us, the roadside IED. By now, you should know what the IED is. I've been talking about them for days. The hull of this vehicle is V-Shaped to divert the blast outward from underneath the vehicle instead of up where the passengers are. (here's a press release from the Army about the MRAP and this rollover trainer) I have also included a generic stock photo on the right. It has saved countless American lives since it was introduced. As part of my training to go to Oz, all sailors, soldiers, and Marines are required to do this training. Up until now, this rollover training happened at my next stop on the Yellow Brick Road but a brand new trainer arrived within the past week here so we became the first class to do it. The first evolution spins us on our side. Well, in this vehicle, the passengers are sitting, facing each other so in a side rollover, one person is suspended in the air and the other on the back. I was on my back so I unbuckled from the 4-point harness, stood up, and helped the other person down. Then, all of the passengers had to exit out the roof, or the gun mount hole since we're on our side. The next rollover was a full 180 inverted roll. Remember, we are in full body armor, and upside down. Everyone inside the MRAP was struggling to break free but the weight of their bodies plus the armor made it difficult. I was the first to cut loose and I tried to brace my fall on my head.  I wasn't so lucky. All I heard was a ratcheting crunch in my neck. Ever have an adjustment by a chiropractor? You know how it's loud in your inner ear? That's exactly what it sounded like. It wasn't necessarily painful but it did scare me. Tonight, it's a bit sore but no other side effects of any kind. Once I got down, I crawled out to the back, opened up the two armored doors and helped get another person unbuckled so they could get out. Wowsers....what a ride!

It wasn't until after 6pm that we returned back to home base...more like 6:30pm. Since the galley closes at 7pm, most of us dropped off our armor and headed for dinner. After a brief stop at the mini-mart afterwards to get myself a Starbucks DoubleShot Energy+Coffee, I headed on back to chillax. Some FaceTime with Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow and even a runner-friend FaceTime'd me a bit later. Online chats, exchanging texts..it was a busy night while blogging in parallel.

It looks like we're getting some free time tomorrow to unwind. It's Scarecrow's Birthday Party tomorrow night so I hope to FaceTime in to that to sing her Happy Birthday. It's also Military Spouse's Appreciation Day tomorrow. While one day is designated, I appreciate Dorothy 24/7/365. We are certainly a team together serving our country. I am but 50%.

Goodnight, everyone.