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Personal Narrative: A Very Big Id

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The instructor took the wheel first, ours was a retired Army master sergeant who I suspect had been special ops, but a very cool and competent guy. We sped around the racetrack, he threw the car in reverse, slammed on the brakes and put the car in reverse direction. We would learn or try that maneuver...all of us, even the person who had never driven before. We learned how to avoid a roadblock and how to use this maneuver to turn around quickly and head in the opposite direction. We learned to be on the lookout for vehicles on the side of the road and not to drive by those either. Now, about the drinking the night before, I really didn't overdue it, but I got real queasy in that back seat while the others were driving, although I could …show more content…

Cars that did not look right. Of everything this helped the most, because one thing we learned was that a car that looked like it was full in the trunk and weighing the car down, could very well be full of explosives and be a VBIED. Commonly called a Very Big IED, the proper name was Vehicle Borne IED. See photo of VBIED aftermath.
After a day and a half of driving, and training it was time for what I had been excited about doing, shooting! Each person got 5 rounds in four weapons, the AK 47, the M4, the Beretta 9mm standard issue military pistol, and the Sig Sauer 9mm pistol, carried by RSO and others.
Of course, many in the class had never fired weapons before so prior to the range, we had an orientation to guns. Boring for me, but much needed, as the last thing you want to do is get someone shot on the firing range. I shot all weapons and would have qualified if there was such a thing and did well. Others...glad I did not have to depend on them. This was "if the shit hits the fan" training with the weapons. Basically, we were told we were not authorized to carry in the field, but if we came under an attack and got overrun, then we better know how to use them. Excellent point. More on my near uses …show more content…

Uneventful flight, both ways except for crying kid across the aisle from me all the way from London to Amman. We got to Amman, and split a cab to our hotels. My friend was staying in one, I cannot recall the name and I was in the Sheraton. Got in ok, checked in late, got up and in a cab at 7 the next morning for a Mil flight to Baghdad. On the way, the taxi driver gets a call from dispatch telling him the flight is cancelled. I asked him to take me to airport anyway and let me see what was going on. Sure enough, flight cancelled. This was Sunday and next flight out was not until next Thursday. All kinds of stories about sandstorms cancelling flights but the one that was probably true was that all the C-17 aircraft that we were to fly on had been diverted to take the Georgian troops in Iraq back to Georgia to fight in their little war with Russia. That had to suck, leaving a war zone where you were basically security and numbers back to a real

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