CAST - First Thoughts

Here I am at Combat Airman Skills Training (CAST), at Camp Bullis, TX (near San Antonio). It's already the most military thing I've ever done in my life and we're only on day 2. We're wearing body armor, shooting rifles, riding in "tactical vehicles" (i.e. Humvee's). I think tomorrow we're doing Small Unit Tactics, whatever that is.

CAST is an interesting experience for a science & technology guy like myself - and I've met a few kindred souls who also feel like we're in unfamiliar territory. That may sound like a strange reaction for a dude with 17+ years in the Air Force, but this training is like no AF I've ever known. Now, they're not trying to turn us into soldiers or anything - in fact, the stated purpose of this training is just to ensure we can "survive for 1 hour" in a situation where we've been separated from friendly forces.

As far as I can tell, this training is far above and beyond what I'll actually need when I'm in Kabul. Most of the time I expect to be in an office, working on a computer, having meetings and drinking coffee. But on the off chance that something crazy and unexpected happens, I think this training will go a long way to delivering a happy ending.

Anyway, being me, I've naturally been looking at the designs of our various equipment. As far as I can tell, whoever invented my bullet proof vest is a genius. Here's why: It's not exactly comfortable, but it's much easier to wear the thing than to carry it around by hand. And once it's on, it's a lot easier to just leave it on than to take it off and put it back on again 10 minutes later.

The end result: we put it on and leave it on. Which is kinda the point. Like I said - genius.

Now, by the end of today, I'm pretty sure someone swapped my vest out for a much heavier version that looked & smelled just like my original one. OK, maybe the heavier one smelled a bit worse, but I definitely don't recall my morning vest being quite as ponderous as what I wore at the end of the day.

So... I'm making some friends, learning some stuff and constantly being thankful that the heat wave broke before we showed up. The weather has really been gorgeous so far.

And now... I'm off to get some sleep.