aadler | Day 6 at NTC

We were wakened at 6:00 AM, and had to take all our gear back to the truck. Once we were done with that, I returned to the TOC, fortuitously arriving just as the brigade Sergeant Major was doing his morning brief. I sat in on that, got the latest word on various issues, and returned to the truck.

Barracks had been assigned to us: another big tent, like the one back at the main base, but with better lighting and (as it turned out, but not for awhile because it took time to get it running) better A/C. We breakfasted on MREs I had brought back, and then processed to the new spot to set up cots and stage our gear.

The rest of the day was back and forth. I’d spend time at the TOC, then swing back to the tent to touch base with my men. At one point the Sergeant Major asked me about our shift plan, and I didn’t have a good answer. It’s very uncomfortable to lack an answer to a Sergeant Major’s inquiry, but this man was unexpectedly patient. Regretting my ignorance, I put in a call to my commander, and found him to be as nonplussed as I was, so it wasn’t just me.

We moved our truck to the motor pool. My ATL connected with a translator who was staying in the same barracks, and we were able to go over some of the material we had in recorded media. I brought back MREs for lunch, spent more time at the TOC, took a two-hour break back at the tent, returned to the TOC. About 8:00 PM — I think — I started back for barracks, saw the briefing tent being erected (one of the items in the Sergeant Major’s morning brief, participation being mandatory), and got one of my guys to join me in the endeavor, leaving the other to watch over our gear.

After two and a half hours, I needed a rest. I returned to barracks and sent the third member of my team to work in my place until the task was deemed complete, which was expected to take an hour. I was just tired, and my feet hurt. So, I used the extra time to reconfigure my web gear to fit over my body armor, so that I wouldn’t attract unwelcome attention from a bunch of chauvinistic infantry types (I may be unfairly stereotyping them, but I’d rather not find out) by wearing a Blackhawk tactical vest when they’re in more standardized gear.

My guys came back in around 11:15 PM, and we turned in for the night. Finally.

And, as it happened, I managed almost 500 words on “Queen’s Gambit” during the day.