Days 14-29

So...Maryland. I really want to make sure everyone realizes what a paradise Maryland has been compared to South Carolina! SC was a "soldier" type setting. Formations, body armor, lotsa bunk beds in one big room, exercise, hands on Army training, and long power point classes. In Maryland I don't have formation, I live in the "permament party" barracks with my own room, bathroom, and kitchenette, no exercise (which is probably bad), and best of all...it's a college setting! That means just normal Broadcast Journalism classes! It's great, I love it!
I guess I'll go back to my first day here...it was nuts. My two battle buddies and I are the first Broadcast Journalists to ever come through as IRR recalls so they didn't know what to expect. We even thought for a minute we might get stuck in the student/AIT barracks (the same ones we all stayed in 3 years ago when we came thru here the first time). Thankfully someone sent us to the NCO Detachment and they set us up with these very nice, new barracks rooms. Unfortunatley no one had the keys to get us bed linens so our first night here was a bit rough. The school, DINFOS (Defense INFOrmation School) was really on top of our classes. They had to cram a 3 month course into a 14 day refresher, which we then crammed into 8 days to get weekends and Thanksgiving off. That's why I haven't really been in contact with anyone...it's been nuts!! School was fun and I could write a whole blog just on that but no time now. We'll just say the instructors were awesome and really helped us keep our good additudes. We graduated this morning...yayy!!! I finish my Secret security clearance stuff tomorrow then we wait for orders. I'm definitley a bit nervous. Wish me luck!!

Washington DC Nov 19th

My two battles, Bobby Laron (that's Bobby eating my hair or something) and Mikal Calvert and I went to DC and had a blast!! I was especially excited because my old Army buddy (whom I havn't seen in like 3 1/2 years!) John Slosser and his girlfriend Marie met us there. Before Slosser got there my battles and I wandered around the Museum of American History. I really liked it and upstairs we saw a great exhibit on America's wars...we all cried. We did ok thru most of it but the Vietnam part really got us. It was really detailed and gave a realistic view (I think) of how things were then for everyone. The protesters, the soldiers, the families, the government. Very moving. They even had it pretty up to date and included stuff from Desert Storm and even the newest crap in the Middle East. It really sobered us up. At the end we were ready to go outside in the sunshine and make some jokes to lighten the mood. Then we visited the WWII memorial and a bunch of other good stuff. THEN SLOSSER GOT THERE!!! Oh, I was so darn happy to see him! He is one of 3 people I've kept in touch with. He was in Afghanistan for a long time, Korea for a year after that, then he wandered around Africa. I have missed talking to him and it was really great to meet up. I was soo happy to meet his girlfriend, it always makes me happy when my friends are happy and in good hands.
After Slosser and Marie left for home Bobby, Mikal, and I rode the Metro to some nightclubs and had a great time. That's all I'll say cause my Mommy and Daddy read this and, as always, they know I'm a perfect angel. That's about it, we had a good time and I hope you had a good weekend too!

Day 11-14

OK, sorry I kinda fell off the face of the Earth. I'll try to go back and tell what happened.

South Carolina-
My last day or two we did that Convoy and Urban Ops training I was talking about. It was okay, even though we were in all our gear including the body armor. Just a little heavy. I hurt my ankle running the day before so the Drill SGT's put me on the Humvee instead of the big 5 ton. They didn't want me jumping off that far with my ankle hurting. It turned out to be awesome luck! My buddy SGT Pierce was our SAW gunner. That's a big truck mounted machine gun. Since I was sitting next to him I got to be his battle buddy. I was supposed to give him any help he needed with the SAW. We're cruising along, not knowing what to expect. We've got our rifles locked and loaded. By the way, we use blanks, no worries Mom! We were supposed to watch for anything suspicious. After a somewhat eventful ride we get to the "village" a little city of trailers that "insurgents" and "civilians" were in. As soon as we pulled up we were being shot at. Everyone but SGT Pierce and I jumped out and scattered like we were taught. We had to stay with the SAW while he laid down suppressive fire. Not even 5 minutes into it, he got shot down. (We had on Miles gear that beeps when we get shot so we know we're dead) He told me I had to take over the SAW! That was so freaking cool!!! I was spraying rounds into every "bad guy" that peeked around the corner and it was great!! I never want to do that for real but I'd do it with blanks and fake bad guys anytime!

Whoa, this is getting long so I'll go faster. We came back sweaty but done...yayy!! The female Majors and I finally went to the day spa and got the works! I blew so much money, but it was sooo worth it. We got manicures, pedicures, facials, and full body massages. Ahhh...good stuff! Rachel came into town again, we had a great time, AGAIN. We had a great time, of course. Such a good time I missed my flight to Maryland and had to catch a later one, I'm such a dork, I know!

My flight from Maryland was so late there wasn't a connecting flight till the next morning so I had to sleep in the New York Airport. That sucked horribly! At least now I can say I've been to New York!? That's all for now, I'll get to the Maryland stuff later...hugs and kisses!

Day 10

11-09-05 10th Day Back In the Army
Well folks, today was a little tougher than the last few days. They let us out early yesterday so I think I got a little spoiled, getting done around 3pm. Yesterday was just a practice run with the rifle. We practiced all the different firing positions like being in a foxhole (a cement hole in the ground about 4x4x4) and laying on the ground all war movie style. We did practice with live rounds yesterday but it was fun and there was no pressure. Today was a whole other story! It was a record high of 83 degrees and we did the real deal. I had to qualify today, with a time limit, so I was much more nervous. After the regular firing we had to don our gas masks and fire 20 rounds with it on. In case anyone was wondering, I'm a totally worthless shot past like 150 meters with a gas mask on, so just don't rely on me to ever save your butt in a gunfight with poison gas in the air!! Anyway, the first time I tried to qualify I missed it by 3 shots, which kills me cause yesterday I did great and at Basic Training I did good! So I felt like a dork having to try again (I wasn't alone though) and passed the minimum by 3. Whew! By the time I got out of that foxhole I was sweating buckets (sorry Mom and Dad, I know that's not very ladylike, but it wasn't a ladylike glistening sheen either!) Come to find out, I stressed over nothing! Apparently, the Army needs people soo badly, it wouldn't have mattered if we qualified at all! We had 3 people who didn't qual at all and they were told not to worry about it, they'd get a waiver. How scary is that?? Well, you're a terrible shot and couldn't hit 23 out of 40 even with a 2nd chance but it's ok, don't worry, you can still take that nice vacation to Iraq!
Tomorrow should be the longest, hardest day yet according to our Drill SGT's. We do Convoy and Urban Ops. In the heat. With our rifle, web belt, ammo pouches, full canteens, Kevlar helmets, and body armor. Which all adds up to an extra 40 freaking pounds! Wish me luck. No, seriously, please wish me luck, I really could use it!! From what I understand we get to pretend we're driving a convoy of 3 vehicles in the desert, we'll get attacked or blown up, and react quickly and correctly by jumping off the trucks and finding cover and all that. Should be about 2 hrs long. Then we spend the rest of the day learning, practicing, and executing clearing a building with snipers in it. It really may be a fun day! Hopefully? I'm staying optimistic so I don't feel how heavy all that junk gets tomorrow! The plus side is we get Friday and Saturday completely off!!!! Yayyyy!!! Sunday I ship out to Ft. Meade, MD. And I think my lil' sis Rachel might come down to visit me again...even better! Oh jeez, it's almost past my bedtime! It's already 10 till 8!! Yes, I know that's the lamest thing ever but I get up at 5am and work hard the whole day. Did I mention my workday actually starts at 5:45 am and goes till usually around 5 or 6pm? So don't laugh at me for going to bed by 8, got it? I might come back tough and beat you up!!
Love, hugs, and kisses (you know which you get!)
-Stacy Sanning

Day 8

11-07-05 8th Day Back In the Army
Sorry everyone, I kinda let my blogs fall to the wayside. I had a good reason though! My little sister Rachel came to visit, yayyy!!! That's us up above. But I'll tell you all about that in a minute. First let me back up to this past Saturday and the gas chamber. Oh yeah, good stuff. Actually, let me back up ALOT further and tell you a story about baby Stacy back in the early 80's. According to my mom when I was really little my dad used to run a gas chamber in Camp Pendleton, CA. He'd come home from there with CS gas still on his clothes and skin and he'd pick me up, not thinking about it, and baby Stacy would freak out and scream. Fast forward to Basic Training in early 2000. I was sooo nervous about going in the gas chamber, not knowing what to expect. I was in the 3rd wave of soldiers to go in so I got to see the first groups come out. It was so scary to see them come running out, grabbing at their eyes, puking, long streams of snot pouring out of their noses; everything on the face that could expell bodily fluid (mucus, tears...) was doing it's job double time! When I went in the Drill SGT's made us take off our masks and give our name, rank, and Social Security #. My eyes burned and teared up, my face felt like it was on fire, but when I got out I was pretty much ok. I wiped away my tears, sniffed my nose a liitle and walked back to the bleachers. I came out ok!!?? Mom said it was because I was predisposed to it at such a young age. Whatever the reason, the same thing happened this time!! A guy next to me never even got his mask sealed all the way and had a very bad time of it. I walked out pretty much the same way I did the first time, I shouldn't have stressed over it so much! At least it's over now.
Rachel came in later that night and I met at her hotel. I was there waiting for her because if I didn't get off post before 9pm I wouldn't be allowed to leave. So when I heard a knock at the door my heart jumped and so did I! I jumped up and ran to the door to look thru the peephole. Rachel is standing in the hallway with her videocamera and we had a goofy hug while she tried to get it on tape. We were screaming and hugging and then...the door shut behind me! I took one look and just laughed cause I realized I had left the darn key in the room!! Of course Rachel got a big kick out of that and she got to tape me getting a new key from the front desk like a goober. The rest of the night was just a fun adventure of clubbing and talking. That's all I'm going to talk about here cause my family reads these blogs and they just know that Rachel and I are perfect angels!!! We got back to our hotel room at like 10:30 in the morning, slept for 2 hours and had to check out. Our only plan for the day was to watch the movie Jarhead but between bad directions from the guy at the front desk, driving around looking for a theater for like 3 hours (no kidding!!), eating lunch, finding a theater that wasn't playing it, and finally finding one that was, we finally got to watch the movie at like 4:20 pm!! It's always an adventure for us! The movie rocked, of course, then we ate some Mexican food and she drove me back to post with the promise of visiting me in Ft. Meade, Maryland in like 2 weeks. I had such a good time and now I miss my sister even more!
Today was actually a pretty good day. A hard but accomplished day. Did PT at 5:45am and actually ran without feeling like I was dying! I read online about some breathing techniques that actually worked so I felt really good about my run. Then we learned about Convoy Operations...essentially, how to be a soldier when traveling dangerous roads when you run into enemy fire or bombs. I had to jump off the side of a truck (a 5 ton for anyone who knows military vehicles) that was like 12 feet up in the air. Then we had to spread out in attack formations and point our rifles while laying on the ground to show that we had all sides covered. It was hot outside but cool. Other than that, not much else to talk about I guess...dinner was ok, they served fish and pasta and I made myself a salad. Oh, and I may have to take my belly button ring out cause my uniform sits right over top of it and it kinda hurts. I haven't decided all the way yet though. Ok, that's definitley everything so good night all!!

Day 5

11-04-05 Day 5

Well sorry I skipped yesterday, there wasn't really anything good about yeasterday and I didn't feel much like sharing. I'll run through it fast so I don't bum you all out or get down myself. They woke us up at 4am to give us a pee test at the crack of dawn. Not very nice, it felt like Basic Training all over again with the surprise wake up, pounding on the door and throwing on the lights. No biggie to me but I will say I think there's one guy who won't pass it cuz he kept asking me quietly how long it takes for marijuana to leave your system...hypothetically. And we did have an older guy that couldn't pee for like 3 hours...poor guy missed that great breakfast of eggs and grits, darn! After that it was pretty much a day of crappy classes. The only one that keeps running thru my head is the one on IED's, or Improvised Explosive Devices and the damage they cause to the human body. It started by showing all the crazy and unexpected things you have to watch out for because they could be bombs. Stuff like a pile of rocks, a coke bottle, a gas funnel, and pretty much any little piece of trash laying on the side of the road. That really sucks because everyone keeps telling us that the entire country is covered in trash. I guess it's cause no one wants to pick it up and lose an arm! Our instructors, a couple Drill SGT's, kept giving all these examples of what not to pick up by telling us what happened to their buddy or what almost happened to them. They did a good job of making it very real. I could tell it was already affecting me because my legg wouldn't stop tapping up and down and I'm usually a pretty calm person. Then it only got worse because for each explosive device they had shown us, they showed photos of what happened to humans from the very same bombs. I will just say it was sickening. It's the kind of thing that if it had flashed on tv at home I would have looked away and changed the channel to cartoons. But I couldn't change the channel and I had to sit there and nod my head like, uh huh, yup, seen that before. I have 3 other broadcasters in the class with me and no one wants to know that their future battle buddy can't handle some bad stuff. OK, that's all. One good thing from yesterday...I had spaghetti for dinner and it actually tasted good and it didn't hurt to chew anymore, yayy!!

Today was way better! Well except for having to run this morning. I could have done without it but I'm a little glad we're starting now since in about 6 weeks I'll be wearing an extra 60 lbs around everyday in body armor and stuff. My legs could use the extra workout beforehand. I was pretty proud for the first 3/4 mile (we only ran a mile) cause I kept up and was brething ok. But all of a sudden, as I was about to pass a very fit female (my Major Sherry Rodriguez) I realized my lungs weren't working as well as I thought! I just hit a point where all I could get were burning ragged breaths. I need some breathing tips for sure! Any suggestions?? Anyway, I had to slow the heck down and put my hands on my head, I was seeing spots, not cool. But after like 100 feet I could breath again and quick jogged the rest of the way in. The whole rest of the day I've been coughing up a storm and my throat still hurts. I don't feel like I quit smoking (January 11th, 2005 for those of you who didn't know!) I feel like I'm still a smoker, it sucks! My body feels pretty good though, I was pretty sure this morning my legs would have kept going if my lungs hadn't skipped town!

The rest of the day we learned how to read a map and to some convoy ops. I remembered alot of the map stuff from Basic and both Drill SGT's seemed impressed with how "high speed" I was. Matter of fact, I stood out so well they started picking on me for stuff so I spent the day passing crap out in class and cleaning up after. Seriously, for those of you who don't know, this really is the way a DS rewards their soldiers. I don't know what twisted individual teaches them at Drill SGT school that the good kids get more chores but I'd really like to have a say in their curriculum! The convoy operations stuff was kinda cool until I asked a DS, only half joking, "I won't actually have to do this kind of stuff as a Broadcast Journalist, right?" and he looked at me like, oh you disillusioned child, and proceeded to tell us about a squad of paper pushers and computer guys. The first month they were in the sandbox they had to clear a building that kept firing at their offices. None of them had ever done any combat and they had to go across the street with rifles and freaking clear a building of snipers just so they could work. Ah well, at least the Drills are giving me a realistic idea of what to expect, that's good right? I'm loving them right now because they let us go today at 1pm, yaayyy!!! I really haven't done anything productive but I don't care. It's nice just to put on civilian clothes and pretend for an afternoon that I'm just visiting here, hahaha!!

Well folks, it's chow time (I can't help but picture dogs in Army uniforms eating at tables when I use that word!) and I don't want to miss...well, actually I probably DO want to miss whatever they made but I'm starving so I'm out. Wish me luck for tomorrow, it's time for the gas chamber. Omigod, I can't think about that! I'm soo glad I didn't get a facial today. Open pores in a gas chamber? My face would feel like it was melting off! Pain...terrible pain! Heck, I'm not even going to shower tonight on hopes that my body oil will keep the CS gas from burning my skin. Dirty girl, I know it's gross but oh well!

Good night,
Stacy Sanning

Day 4

11-02-05 4th day in the Army
So this will be a short one...cuz it's been a long day and I'm ready to go to the bar and get a shot. My mouth still hurts a bit from the fillings I got yesterday and I'm thinking some Southern Comfort may just do the trick. Maybe just a couple shots...that outta do the trick. Maybe I'll sleep better on my "high speed" Army bed too??

So reality hit today...well actually it felt like reality smacked me in the face! I got my new Army uniforms today. When I went to the dressing room to try them on and saw myself in the mirror I got all misty eyed. Not from pride or patrotism though, oh no! I was so dismayed to see myself back in a uniform I really never thought I'd see myself in again. I know that sounds so melodramatic and I promised Mom, Dad, and myself that I would try to keep a good attitude but it was a sad sight to see. On the plus side the new uniform, the ACU (the new camoflage uniform) is pretty sweet! The first time I was in the military I had to wash, starch, and iron my uniforms to a crisp. You got 2 winter sets and 2 summer sets. The new ones are wash and wear! That is soo freaking cool! They're alot softer, have mostly zippers instead of buttons, and just look better. The new PT's are way better also. They are more comfy as well but more importantly, they have reflective lettering and symbols. I guess they realized making us run in the street before the sun comes up probably wasn't very safe. One of the changes I do not like is the new PT. It is a slowed down version of old PT with some football practice exercises and more upper body stuff thrown in. Seriously, even the Drill Sergeants think it's dumb and worthless. It doesn't actually stretch anything out and u spend 30 minutes doing stuff that should only take 15.
I've been seeing famous people down here! Did I mention that? Yup, we've got all the stars. The lady who gave me my new boots (oh yeah, did I mention I don't have to shine the new boots? Hell yeah!) sounded just like the comedian Wanda Sykes. Drill Sergeant Smalls sounds exactly like Chris Rock when he yells at the "ate up" Privates. I think I hurt his feelings when I told him so. He gave me a hurt look and asked, "I'm not intimidating? I'm funny?" I told him it's probably alot funnier to me because I know he's not gonna smoke me (make me do exercises till I want to die) and I'm sure the Private's are shaking in their ill fitting boots. It made him feel a little better. Oh, and I don't want to forget our own genius...the First Sergeant who said this afternoon that "war is a thinking man's sport." That really got me. My view of war is just a little different.
I think my little sister Rachel may come down to visit me Saturday night and Sunday. I'm soo freaking exciting I can't even express it. I haven't seen her since this past summer because she lives in North Carolina and I've been in Missouri. I'm just sitting here beaming at the computer and the other people in the room probably think I'm crazy, oh well!
Oh yeah, some good news! I'm in a barracks with 3 other females, all Majors (a pretty high up officer) and we all agreed to bribe the one guy who brought his own vehicle down and force him at rifle point to take us to the salon for facials and massages the day after we do the gas chamber. It's going to be heavenly!! CS gas does not feel good on your skin and we could all use a stress relieving salon so I get to hobnob with officers at the salon. And one of them, Sherry, has offered me a job! Actually what happened was the dentist I went to said I had a great personality and when I get back from war if I wanted a job he'd pay for my school! When I told her she said to please consider working for her husband, also a dentist, and they would pay for my school! They have a practice in Memphis, Tennessee, how cool is that?
Okay folks, I totally lied, this wasn't short at all! One last thing...all the Drill Sergeants are laughing at me because I'm so girly! This is a big turn around from the first time I was in when I was such a tomboy I was more tough than alot of the males. The DS's laughed at me filing and buffing my nails at the dentist office. When I tried on my new boots today DS Taylor actually giggled when he saw my pink and white ankle socks and underneath? My hot pink toenails of course!! They said I'm gonna love it in the desert.
Love you all!! Good night!
Stacy Sanning

Days 1-3

For any of you who don't know I've been involuntarily activated back into the Army (I've been out since August 02)to go to Iraq. I got the letter a month ago and I just arrived in Ft. Jackson, South Carolina for 2 weeks of inprossessing. I'll get my records updated, get new uniforms, learn how to do PT (physical training)...stuff like that. After my 2 weeks here I go to Ft. Meade, Maryland for 2-3 weeks of refresher on being a military broadcast journalist. After that I go to Iraq, it's still up in the air how soon though.

11-03-05 My 3rd Day Back In the Army
So I guess I'll actually go back a few days...my first night I flew in a little late so all I really did was get on post around 11pm, got some bed linens (who calls it that but the military and hotels?), and tried for about 2 hours to fall asleep on the most uncomfortable bed ever. And let me stop there...anyone who has been near me in the last 6 months knows I just blew about $1000 on the best bed on Earth, a Stearns and Foster (a $1600 bed I got for $700 at the Slumberland Outlet) and Egyptian cotton sheets. I LOVE MY BED. That's all there is to it...I absolutley love my bed. I don't have my bed here. Need I say more? I will just in case. My bed is super soft with great support. My new "high speed" Army bed is not. It's a 3 inch thick mattress on top of metal links. I now sleep on a flat feather pillow. Ok, enough said.
Woke up at 0500 hrs in the freaking morning. Omigod! The last month I was home there were many mornings I didn't go to bed till 5 in the morning. Aw jeez, it's pretty rough, no kidding. And we have to eat breakfast. Mom will be so proud. None of it is very healthy. None of it is very good. Everyone already knows about military food so I'll move on.
Spent the day doing paperwork and getting everything "squared away". Pretty much the same thing for the first 4 days I'll be here. Found out for sure that my scoliosis (crooked spine) is not bad enough to keep me from deploying so they're definitley keeping me. Got 3 fillings today...ouch! Got my new ID card today; the picture, of course, is terrible. Talked to the people who were supposed to be able to give me some answers. They told me I am going to Iraq. No, they don't know for sure where. I should find out a few days till the end of my stay in Ft. Meade, Maryland (about 5 weeks from now) and that's all they had for me. The good news I got from them is I can be promoted without having to take a PT test (I may not have to take one the entire 18 months I'm active duty) and I wouldn't have to even go to Sergeant School. So that's cool. Also, I found out from Finance today that I'll be getting paid like I've been in for 6 years! I thought only my time in would count (about 2 years) but even the time I've been out counts for me and that ups my pay big time. The money should be pretty good for me on top of the fact that the day I arrive in the Sandbox (Iraq) taxes stop coming out of my pay. Yay!!
Guess I'll get off the internet for now...gotta be up early tomorrow and my mouth still hurts a bit. Good night all. I love you and miss you!!
-Stacy