MAIL CALL!
Fall in, you maggots, for letters from the soldier!
December 2004
Hello guys! I finally have a moment or two to write about some of the stuff I have been doing; I can't tell all that I have done nor all that I have to do but I will do my best. We left in Oct. to the tunes of some very badly played bagpipes; it was sad but nice to see my family there. We flew to McCord Air Force Base in Washington. On the way I got a good view of Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. It was cool. We are staying in WWI or EARLY WWII barracks: open squad bays, bunk beds... real Full Metal Jacket-ish...but more wooden and upstairs. Anyway, for the first week we had no heat except the hot water in the 4 shower heads (yes 4 shower heads) for the 50 people living in that barracks - weeeeee. Anywho we went to the supply people and got our gear that we didn't get the last place we were at and went out to the range with our weapons and ALL our gear on - if you're not aware ALL your gear means about 50-60lbs of extra stuff unless you're a Medic - then it means about 80lbs extra stuff. So we went out to shoot our rifles....all 100 of us, 14 at a time and we were last to go. Needless to say it was very very dark by the time I got to shoot that day. Then we went again the next day to qualify, which I did (Expert as a matter of fact). The next couple of days it was PT and cleaning followed by a trip to the Gas Chamber: they line you up, take you to a very wet place in a very dark forest and stick you in an equally wet tent and throw a CS (tear gas) canister in with you. You put on your mask and do exercises then you brake the seal on your mask and open your eyes and mouth then reseal and leave (much like boot camp but without all the yelling at you). This was fine with me as I am kinda immune to CS with all the CS I was exposed to last time I was in the service... fun fun fun. So then we did some MOUT (Military Operations Urban Terrain). Cordon and search stuff. Breaking in doors, killing bad guys, running around a fake town...very cool actually. We also did Patrolling, Night Live-fire, Land Navigation, Searching POWs, IED (improvised explosive devises) Training - not making them just what to do if you run into them - then we did Radio Training, and now we are doing Convoy Operations. Before I come home for Christmas this year on leave I will qualify with my 9mm and do hand to hand stuff and some more riot control stuff... anyway I will tell you in person when I see you at my birthday party.. MY 40th Birthday Party by the way! :) So anyway I gotta go do more training...Cya!
February 2005
I
am now in the Balkans (weeeeee!) I spent 3 HELLISH weeks in Hoensfels
Brian
Price
Co
C 1-635th AR BN
TF
Tornado KFOR 6B
Camp
APO
AE 09340
Thanks,
wish I could be there for the album and the show - but I gotta do this thing.
Miss
you guys.
March 2005
Well, I've been here nearly a month now and I think its time I told you what it is I do here in Kosovo. I'm a driver/medic and right now I just drive the Platoon SGT around as he follows the Platoon Leader (the LT). We drive around our sector and stop to talk to important people like mayors, council members, police, doctors, teachers, school admin., clerics, etc. We listen to their needs and we ask them questions; I mainly sit or stand by my hummvee until they are done chatting inside where its warm and drinking coffee - HEY! Anyway we drive around in 9ft wide hummvees on streets made for horse carts and European cars (very, very narrow), some with drop offs and cliffs - very cool and very scary. The vehicles here range from expensive SUVs and Mercedes sedans to horse carts; the coolest vehicles are Jaloopi DeVilles and Kosovo Harleys. Jaloopi DeVilles are like mini car frames with 2 to 4 seats, no roof and powered by a band saw in the front. A Kosovo Harley is a Tiller. A big Tiller attached to a horse cart with a car seat on it (I will have to send pictures of that one). Anyway, I also work a radio show in one of our towns. We have "Tanker Talk in the Jungle"; we play music - yes the Jolly Rogers are heard on the air in Kosovo - and we talk and give out information to the public. My name is Funky D Doctor of Love... don't ask why cause I really don't know, the LT made it up. It is a wacky show, wish I could have you guys help me write it. Anyway let me describe Kosovo to you. Its a mountainous valley (if that makes sense), kind of an alpine valley thing. Its old and new; its like the Middle Ages would have been if they had cars, guns, drugs, explosives and plastic. TRASH is everywhere! They don't have sewage systems to speak of, they literally have a sewage stream, or sh*t river as we say, INCHES from their houses, coming from the houses down to a big stream that leads to another bigger stream, etc. They dump their trash anywhere though some of the villages have a town dump or two but they are RIGHT outside of town. Dead animals and plastic bottles are all over also; their livestock runs free everywhere. The kids run up on us where ever we stop.. they say "HEY MAN, HEY MAN, gimme MRE" (Meals Ready to Eat), or "Gimme pen", or "Gimme light" (flashlight) or "Gimme candy", "Gimme money", "Gimme gimme gimme!" They are very pushy - imagine me in Poland - it's worse. Anyway some of them are very nice, they aren't starving they are poor but they are just being kids and think if they ask enough we will let them have something just to get them to go away. We don't though because we are trying to wean them off the military aid and more on to International aid and self help. Anywho I gotta run again.
Bye Bye,
Funky D Doctor of Love - Peace out
April 2005
Brian has sent along some photos (these are just a few)! Enjoy!
