Helo everyone! I'm going to take the opportunity to use this post to answer the rather lengthy comment posted for the last blog entry.
Haha! Hey Jarrod! Thanks for the update on my last posting! Breaking into teacher mode, in answer to your question, 'Biv' is short for 'Bivouac'. Though we use the French term, it comes from the German 'Beiwacht', which means 'to be on the watch' (I think). Also - the Recce Patrol (Recce in Canada, Recon in the US). That comes from 'reconnaissance', which means 'to recognize', or 'to know again'. It sounds like it rained alot on the Ex! As they say in the army - 'If it ain't rainin', it ain't trainin'!'. Once in basic training we were all looking at a very dark sky. The Sergeant walked up and smugly said to us: 'Oh, don't worry troops! If it starts raining, we'll just do what the Romans did!', then he walked away. We all stood there in amazement. you could see the glimmer of hope in each other's eyes: 'wow - we're gonna learn some reall cool, ancient secret!'. We then followed the Sergeant like a flock of young ducklings after their mother. 'Sergeant, sergeant - what did the Romans do when it rained?'. 'THEY GOT WET!'. Haha!
Well - the training you did will help you guys to know you can push the limit just that one step further. I'm proud of you all! Don't forget to apply that stuff to life, okay? I wish I was out there with you. Glad to hear you got home and were so tired that you slept like a baby! It must have been a rugged weekend... just like all Cadet Exercises should be! ;) Don't worry about not having done as well as you thought you could have. What matters is you know what to fix, and that you work really hard in ensuring the next time you do a recce patrol, you have it the way you want it - that's what leaders do. It's part of the learning experience. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. Believe me - I pray for you guys every day. I'm touched by the fact that you keep a chair open for me during meals and downtime. I'm with you guys in spirit, if not in body!
So rappelling for the next Ex? Great stuff! Just be sure you guys take ALL the safety measures, okay? Don't forget to get the permission forms all squared away, parental involvement, etc.. I wish I was there!
I'm looking forward to seeing the new Cadet video! I hope you guys can send me a copy of that!
So Remembrance Day is upcoming. What do you guys think you want to do for that? How can I help out from here? There are so many ways to approach the topic. Please help the College community to use Remembrance Day to really remember that the people involved in the events of Afghanistan are really not that far detached. I'll leave the rest of the message for you guys to come up with. Is there any way you can record the Ceremony? I'd love to be able to see that when I get back.
More on my trip to Helmand. You guys should try flying by military helicopter - it's awesome! The pilots aren't gentle, so the flying can be quite the rush... especially when they fly 'nap of the earth'! If you're not wearing goggles, earplugs and gloves - you're gonna have a wicked time! Once, the heli was coming in and we could hear it coming. I was running with all these battle hardened troops to the RV (Rendezvous) Point. Suddenly, the chopper appeared! All the soldiers dropped their rucks and packs and curled up like a ball behind them with their heads tucked to their chins and their hands over their heads. All within a split second, I saw this and wondered why they were doing that, then WHAM! This big huge wall of HOT HOT exhaust wind, rocks, sand, pebbles, and whatever else wasn't strapped to the ground jsut come flying at us. Then, I nearly got knocked over, so I turned away from the hot blast, only to get a blast of sand that forced its way into my nose, eyes, ears... everywhere! (Very gross!) Ah. Lesson learned, we won't repeat that experience again.
One FOB I visited had the most awesome gym. The troops had brought out exercise equipment from who knows where: rowing machines, exercise bikes, nautilus style weights, etc.. The neat thing is - they set it up outside. So when the sun went down their gym had the real planetarium of stars and the night sky to inspire them as they pumped iron. And - as there was nothing else to do there, these guys were MASSIVE.
Ramadan ends tomorrow for our Muslim friends (depending on the moon). Eid begins for them. This is a 3 day celebration that their fast is over.
Cheers then. Gotta crack on! It's about half nine here. (9:30 pm) Good night!
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