Desert training: Waiting for the big boom
5:05 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, 2008
This afternoon, we got out and saw some action, at least for a few minutes. After all of the meeting and greeting, we went along on a search-and-seize mission. The goal here was to obtain someone or something, I’m not sure which. We are allowed to follow along, but we aren't allowed to go into a terrible amount of detail in our reports. This obviously is due to the fact that someone from the insurgency can read this as easily as you can. The primary difference being they probably wouldn't have seen all of the on-air stuff because 49's signal probably doesn't reach the Middle East as well as you may think it does. Back to the point. While today's exercise was quite visual, it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. I know life isn't really like the movies, but I was expecting a few more booms.
Ft. Irwin has contracted with several pyrotechnic experts to rig explosives that mimic the real thing, without actually killing anyone, of course. Unfortunately, no one would tell me when and where an IED was about to explode. I suppose they figure that pointing the camera might give it away. On a side note, we have been told several times that if one of the people playing an insurgent tells you to move, you move. They know where things will blow up and even though they are fake, they still pack a punch that combined with the sand, will leave a pretty nasty mark.
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Read what Ben Bauman's third day was like in his travelogue.
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