You're in the Army now....

So this is my first post from Camp Atterbury IN.

Wow, this is nothing like the Navy. There are both good parts and bad parts to this. Weekend is not even defined in the Army dictionary. We got here on Friday (620 am flight out of Norfolk), and I was prepared to have my entire weekend wasted. I was hoping actually to skate out of here and see Navy play ND (and kick some ass, as it turns out!). Instead, we started my first part of training on Saturday. This would never fly in the Navy. I feel really sorry for the Air Force guys, because the only thing open on the weekends at an Air Force base is the golf course. So instead of nothing to do, I had no time to watch even a minute of the Navy-ND game. What is this first part of training? Seven hours a day of Pashto. Seven. At 5pm, my brain feels like absolute mush after it has been smashed continuously all day with a language that makes Russian seem common sense. And then there's the teacher. A Native of Afghanistan (good), he doesn't even know the difference between feminine and masculine words in his own language. This bodes extremely well. He teaches us to pronounce the words (but acts like it's soooo simple)(there are like nine ways to pronounce "da"), and we teach him about sentence structure. It's a work in progress. I think I'm ordering Rosetta Stone.

And then there's the Army. Several Issues Here....

1. The Army Combat Uniform. ACU's are an awesome uniform. Comfortable, tons of pockets, built in pockets to put in elbow and knee pads, pocket for pens, velcro name tapes and rank badges (so getting promoted is not much of a hassle like the Navy). It's durable, rugged, and has a digital camo pattern. Unfortunately, it blends into nothing. Nothing. It's not green enough to blend in with a treeline. It's too green and not brown enough to blend into the desert. Seriously, it's a combat uniform that makes us stand out like sore thumbs. HO-AH

2. Army regulations. Once the whole PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) comes, we fall under General Order #1 of the First US Army. In short: No civies, no alcohol, no going off base, no private vehicles allowed. I'm a plebe at USNA all over again. Also, we have reflective belts. From dusk till dawn, all personnel are required to wear reflective belts. Even in my Navy PT uniform (which is bright yellow and has releftive lettering spelling NAVY on both sides).

3. Army bases: Makes me know how nice we have it in the Navy. Evey building here is a trailer. Seriously. Think of the Palm Harbor Homes display on the side of I-45, and then make it acres. About 95% of the buildings here could be moved if necessary. The Exchange is the size of a large gas station. Golf Course? HAHAHAHA.

Well, I have to go study my Pashto

Asalam Alekom, everyone.