"Op-For, This Is Agent 91– How Do You Read This Station, Over?"

Op-For has quietly placed a correspondent in Afghanistan, a graduate of the Class of 91. We hope that he will be able to give us the ground truth there from time to time, all within opsec bounds of course.

He sent me a couple of recent updates on his odyssey from CONUS staff job to player in the new Great Game…

From last Saturday: Just landed in Shannon Ireland on the way to Kuwait. We will be on the ground for about six hours and they have easy wireless access in the airport terminal, so I thought that I would catch up a little.

NIACT (Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training) is designed to give sailors the most basic level of ground combat training. In two weeks, we covered basic M-16 marksmanship, land navigation, Law of War, Code of Conduct, stress shooting, reflexive shooting, heavy weapons training, MOUT, room clearing, and everyone’s favorite, road marches.

The Army drill instructors who conducted our training were very professional and made sure that everything was done safely. I am sure they had nightmares about a bunch of sailors running around with weapons [no comment!], but they taught everyone what they needed to know. I have just gone over 16 years on active duty and this was the first time I have ever received formal marksmanship instruction. I have always maintained that the Navy needs to get a whole lot more serious about firearms training and this only strengthened that opinion. I fired the M-16 for the first time on a Tuesday and qualified sharpshooter the next day. The reflexive shooting courses and stress shooting range were all conducted with live ammunition and there were zero negligent discharges.

We were issued the IBA “system” as soon as we got there and spent the next two weeks wearing it at every opportunity. I have spent more than a little time in Navy fire fighting ensembles, but wearing 65 lbs of body armor in the South Carolina sun and humidity is an entirely different experience. The best was the road in black flag conditions with weapons on loose sand and gravel. We had ten percent of my training company drop out. I have a whole new appreciation for everyone walking patrol throughout Iraq wearing that every day.

And then the next day: I am sitting in the AMC terminal at Bagram AFB. From here, I will be flying on to my final destination. I will let you know when I get there. I spent six days in Kuwait, three of them on the Udari range. That was an experience worthy of its own email…

Keep your head down, but your eyes and ears open. We look forward to more when you get the chance.