From an Undisclosed Location, With Love

Hey John,

Writing with (very) limited net access from mob station. I’m not giving my location, unit, or anything else –but I thought I’d fill you in on what I’ve been up to. I spent three days at my home station armory doing staff officer work, prepping for movement, drawing new gear, and getting and giving briefings.

We ditched our Vietnam-era OD green equipment for the new MOLLE gear in the ACU pattern, and in short order we were shipped out across the country. Now let me tell you a little about mobstations:

No matter where they are, they are hot, dusty, have bad facilities, really bad food, and multiple layers of bureaucracy to go through to get anything done.

Not only do you have to coordinate with your higher echelon to get something done, you have to go through your TSB (training support brigade), the post commander and staff, and contractors. None of these issues I can classify as “complaints,” however. (I know- if a soldier’s not complaining, something’s wrong…) I see most of the obstacles we will have to overcome at mobstation as important leadership challenges to overcome, that will better prepare myself and my unit for our deployment. If we can’t successfully coordinate basic issues like logistics, information sharing, and scheduling with people in America that can’t speak English –how will we do it in our host country, working with multinational partners, in different languages, with different customs, courtesies, and other delicacies to keep in mind. And I haven’t even gotten to the point of the mobstation yet: training!

A mobstation is basically a place where you park your unit and go through a checklist of tasks. As you complete each task, it is checked off and you are “validated.” This process starts on the individual level: can Private Smith shoot a weapon? Can Sergeant Snuffy call in a 9-line MEDEVAC? It then moves toward more collective training: Can 1st Platoon conduct convoy operations? Can B Company do a Cordon and Search? And eventually a culminating exercise at a major training area like JRTC or NTC: Can this battalion conduct SOSO (stability and support operations)? So right now, I’m a cog in the machine.

My days are long, with PT, training, staff duties, lugging around equipment, and giving constant briefings. I’m away from my family and my girlfriend, which –admittedly- sucks. However, I’m motivated about the mission and the opportunity to serve my country, and many guys in my unit are already talking about volunteering for another deployment. Spirits are high here, and even though the training is long, the weather is hot, and there are many trails yet to be marched, I’m doing pretty good.

Sorry I can’t blog, but I can e-mail. I’ll try to stay in touch and give you an update whenever I can. I also want to put out the word to thank the families of all the service members –they deal with more stress and emotions than the guys deploying here. It’s one of those things you don’t think about until you get called up.

I’ve gotta run –duty calls. More to follow.

-Charlie

“Hail o Hail o Infantry, cause Nothing in this world is free.”

July 26, 2006 04:57 PM One Team One Fight

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Comments

Take care out there, Charlie. I know you and your troops will do great things.

Cpl M · July 26, 2006 05:42 PM

Hey, Thanks.

Tim Cannon · July 27, 2006 06:26 AM

"No matter where they are, they are hot, dusty, have bad facilities, really bad food, and multiple layers of bureaucracy to go through to get anything done."

So true.

Nathan · July 27, 2006 06:45 AM

Thanks for your service. Stay safe.

William Scharf · July 27, 2006 07:11 AM

"Cause it's T-S-B!!"

[Sung to the lyrics of AC/DC's hit song "TNT"]

Good luck Charlie, don't let staff duty get you down, and try not get assigned to be the FOO when you get over there!!

Nerf · July 27, 2006 09:08 AM

Thanks for that Charlie. Hearing about your all morale did more to buck my spirits and counter all the negative crap than a VDH article. I'm gonna go send a pizza to the IDF in your name. Thanks for everything.
Rodger Beals

Rodger Beals · July 27, 2006 09:10 AM

Thanks Charlie! Keep us posted.

Agnieszka O. · July 27, 2006 09:50 AM

Thanks Charlie! Keep us posted.

Agnieszka O. · July 27, 2006 09:51 AM

I have been very impressed with our military in the field lately. They have shown themselves to be more efficient, professional, and deadlier than ever. With that said, it's nice to know that some things never change.

Best of luck Charlie.

saw1 · July 28, 2006 05:04 AM

Ugh... MOB stations...

"Everyone (in the battalion) needs to get into alphabetical order." (this always takes a while).

"If you see a station with a long line and another with a short one, go to the short one first..." (Of course, this works fine in the first half of the day. By noontime, a great clot of soldiers with all their other stations done are waiting at the stations with the long lines and stays so for the remainder of the day).

My adivce: ALWAYS have your own personnal copy of your shot records at MOB stations, and make sure it matches the one in your medical file, shot per shot. I have saved myself from getting "the full set of steak knives" more than once this way!

Also, bring yourself a book to preoccupy yourself in those long lines.

CPT Rainmaker · July 29, 2006 08:36 AM

I guess all MOB stations are the same. That’s comforting and scary at the same time. I’m just finishing up with my MOB time and if your TSB is as poorly organized as the one I had to deal with then my prayers go with you my son. Forget the terms METL and MTOE right now. Make sure every single soldier signs every single sign-in roster at every single training event…and then make ten copies. The little dirty secret is that you WILL be validated in the end no matter what. Good luck and good hunting!

CPT B · July 29, 2006 05:32 PM

Thanks for sharing this with us John.

Maggie · July 29, 2006 06:56 PM

illegitimi non carborundum, Charlie. Godspeed and good luck.

LC Scotty · July 31, 2006 01:03 PM