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187th JAOBC -- The Trip to Fort Lee (Day 3 of 3)
February 4, 2012
By: First Lieutenant Benjamin Hayek
Today 1LT Haugland and I awoke in Beckley, West Virginia, for our third and final day of driving to Fort Lee, Virginia. We departed at mid-day from Iowa City on Thursday, and made our way to Greenfield, Indiana. Like the energetic students we are, our first item of business at our hotel in Greenfield was some PT, followed by some down-time and bed. Gabe, as a prior infantry officer (and thus old-hat to basic courses), fell asleep almost instantly and slept well through the night. Me, being so...read more
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After several months of anticipation, the time as arrived. Tomorrow morning 1LT Gabe Haugland will arrive on my doorstep from Mason City, Iowa, where we shall link up for the 1013 mile drive to Fort Lee, Virginia. After spending the last week assembling all the necessary sundries required pursuant to our packing list, trying to determine whether I am sufficiently in shape (probably not), and making necessary arrangements for my clients for my absence, I am incredibly excited to begin this...read more
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I'm starting this post to keep my friends and family updated on my experiences as a newly minted army First Lietenant. I will be going to Ft. Sam in February to begin my officer basic training as a 65D, Army Physician Assistant. This has ben a life long dream to join the Army and I got in just under the wire(age limit). I look forward to serving my country and am proud to don the uniform of the US Army.
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We have one week left here at Ft. Polk. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier. I have decided the following about Louisiana: I will never choose to live down here. Don’t get me wrong – there are good people, fun fried food, and nice scenery. But the way that water interacts with the land here is just atrocious at times. And I’m here in the winter; I hear that the summers are unbearably painful. The last OMLT ahead of us was here...read more
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Day 2 began with a wake up call at 0530, followed by getting ready and gathering up my gear (the great thing about heading in Saturday morning rather than Friday is much less to pack). Back to JFHQ with so much time to spare that I managed to get a pot of coffee going in the JAG office. First formation at 0645. Since August, I had not elected to participate in Sunday morning chapel services, basically because I was too bashful to request to do so as the newbie. On this day, however, I...read more
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This past weekend was my last drill at Camp Dodge JFHQ in Johnston, Iowa. I regularly receive questions regarding what I do during these drill weekends, so will describe a typical drill weekend in this post. Johnston is around 115 miles West of my hometown of Iowa City, so the first item of business each drill weekend (after packing up my gear) is to decide whether to drive in that Saturday morning or go over the night before. For the second time since my first drill last August, I decided...read more
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I realize that it’s been a while since I last posted anything, but we’ve been busy with training in both the days and the evenings, and the internet at the MWR was down for about four days, so this is the first time I’ve been able to take the time to write anything. My apologies. We’ve been doing a lot of training lately that requires visual focus and mental understanding. Before Thanksgiving, we went through driver’s training on the MATV, which...read more
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Last week was the end of what seems like a long journey. “Graduation week” was a relatively uneventful period. Monday started off with PT for most folks. I say most folks because there were two-dozen class members who went to the Medical Clinic to have their injuries evaluated and recorded. As two-thirds of the class is from the Reserve Component, any injury sustained during active service must be documented as a “line of duty” injury or the...read more
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Salam alaykum! Man Zabett Griebel astom. Culture is an interesting thing. And it's cool to be able to observe other cultures in order to learn more about your own. Recently, we've begun working on our Dari language training. Written above, it basically says, "May God's peace be with you. I am sergeant Griebel." Learning the language hasn't been too bad. Having a masters degree in English definitely helps me understand...read more
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To the left is a picture of my immediate family and me from our Departure Ceremony, which was held at Joint Force Headquarters shortly before we left Colorado for Ft. Polk. Even though we are a rather crazy bunch at times, I do love my family and am greatly appreciate of their support and encouragement. And, as I write this, I am praying for my brother and his wife – that they may get pregnant soon because I am wholeheartedly convinced that they will be outstanding, loving...read more
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