waking up in the field always sucked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

practicing building fighting positions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a proper fighting position has 18 inches of overhead cover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

putting the final touches on our position. the position is equipped with a mark 19 fully automatic grenade launcher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my good buddy merritt. when i first got the platoon they had three of us in a room together and he was one of my roomates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

my other buddy vanderwerf. he was our other roomate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

after living with those guys for a few months i moved next door with eric totten. eric and i lived together for a couple of years and he was one of my best friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i absoloutly despised our living conditions in the army. we had to share rooms and they were very small. this is what a soldiers personal space area would be. originally they had 3 soldiers to a room but they were in process of changing it to only 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

each room had a bathroom and small refrigrator. we werent allow to cook any food in the rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

merritt with all of the drinking trophys. those guys could serously drink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

picture of totten on a deployment we were on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lilly, another good buddy who i used to hang out with a lot. lilly met a girl, gina, on our panama deployment and married her. this was their apartment off post where we would chill out enjoy coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this was the room i lived in the last year i was in the army. it was much better because i had it all to myself. we had to share a common bathroom on the floor but it was worth it to have my own room. this is my last week in the army ssgt brazil came by to say goodbye. so many good friends in the army. i often wonder where they are now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

eric and i in ft benning, ga visiting the worm pitt at ranger school and remembering rough days on the ground behind us.