timbslim

It was about 82 degrees on a fairly breezy evening around 10:30pm. The weather had blessed us with the first relief in some time since I have been here. One hundred nineteen of us were scattered along the edge of the woods. We were awaiting our orders for a mock, night infiltration of a city. I have to say that I was not scared, but certainly anxious. I was worn to a nub. It had been a long week. We were told to get into formation and insert our earplugs. We marched down into a trench with concrete walls on each side. We then awaited the order to go. This is where it really gets cool. At the signal, we scaled the trench wall and began a 100-meter high crawl to the end. A high crawl means that you are on your belly with your head looking forward. We climbed under live fire as well as random explosions. We also climbed under a couple of barbed wire obstacles. It was pretty sweet. This was the culmination of a long 3-day field training event. We began our field training o...

Why Are My Lungs on Fire? I was about 5 years old riding down the road with my dad, and sister. My dad had borrowed a car from a college student. I don’t remember exactly why we borrowed the car. But, we did. This college student, Pam, evidently was quite prepared for a potential attacker. This would become evident soon. We were in a bit of a hurry. So, my dad was driving at a greater than normal speed. This becomes a factor later in the story. We were driving down this particular two lane road to the airport to pick up some preacher. I don’t know who. At this point, I spotted a small container. I evidently couldn’t read well. All I recognized was that the word began with a “P.” I can still see it today. I reached for the container and picked it up. I interpreted the word that began with a “P” to be Perfume. Immediately, I recounted that my dad didn’t like strong perfume. This conclusion lead me to the next logical and near fatal action. In my mind I envisioned my da...

Well, I am in good Ol’ Fort Jackson, SC. Some of you may be surprised to here this. I am not sure where you have been if this comes as a surprise. Either way, I am here. I got here last Saturday, June 07, 2008. It has been one long week. The mornings have been early. The nights have been short. But, I have been getting some sleep. I’ve been getting my usual 5 or six hours. They just come at a different time of the day than they did prior to being in the Army. The Army life is certainly one of production. It is a large system made up of many subsystems. Quite frankly, it works well. There are times of waiting and wondering what is next. However, it seems to come together well. For such a large system, the result is productivity and action. I have said “Hua” more than I have ever heard it in my entire life. “Hooah” is word that is used in the affirmative. It is a word used when one agrees with what is being said or sometimes done. It means “yes,” “ok,” or that one agr...