This morning I showed up to PT in my ACUs. I have training at 0800, so I just had to show up and be accounted for. I then had to go to the armory and pick up my weapon, then take it to our office to drop off. Once finished I headed home and ate a quick breakfast, grabbed my coffee and left to the theatre here on PHV. The training was supposed to start at 0800, but because there were some late arrivals…it started at 0900.
Today's training was all about security of our post. Once I go through this training I'll be certified to be part of what is called "QRF" (Quick Reaction Force) detail. When picked to be on this detail there is only one plus side…you are exempt from staff duty for the month. The drawbacks are that you have to have your full battle rattle ready to go for the entire month. When called for duty, you have to wear all that crap and stand at one of the gates with your rifle as a "show of force". I'm told the people on this detail do not do anything all day except stand at the gate all day long. The contracted security guards still do all the checking of IDs and searching of vehicles. Not something I really want to do, but then again…I wasn't asked if I wanted to or not.
The morning session of the class was all PowerPoint slides and especially during the first portion with the lights off, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Thankfully they had a quick break and left the lights on after that. The slides went over the various levels of escalating force that can be used and when to use them. He also stated what not to do while on duty such as take your helmet off and spin it on the ground, breakdance, or play air guitar with your rifle. These are all incidents that were caught on video (all gates have video) and people got into trouble with. In fact he said the air guitar player was an E7 and got demoted to E6 after that one. We then broke for lunch and I headed home. I'm glad this training was on PHV, because I could just walk home.
The second part of the training was in full battle rattle. I had to call my office and have them transport my rifle out to me. We are not allowed to take any weapons in our own cars, so the office had to bring it over in the TMP. Once there we all gathered around an MP car parked in a field. The MP then showed everyone how to conduct a proper search. We broke up into teams of 5 and practiced doing a search. The first team did fine, it was only the driver in the car. Each time afterward with each team it got harder and harder. They added more people to the car and also more attitude. By the time my team had it's turn, the guy in the passenger seat got out, put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a grenade! It took me a minute to register what was going on, then I hesitated to raise my rifle and point it at him. I've had it beat into my head never to point our rifle at anyone…muzzle awareness has been drilled into my head since basic. So even after raising my weapon at him, I was waiting for the instructor to start yelling at me for doing so. It turns out I reacted too late and everyone got blown up. I was definitely surprised and it was meant to show everyone how crazy things can get in a split second. This scenario was actually based on an actual event I guess from Ft. Bragg.
We waited for another group to go and finish, then the class was over. I rode back with HHD in their TMP and dropped off my weapon at the armory. Unfortunately it was not open, but the sergeant in the next office told me to leave my weapon with him. I didn't feel too comfortable leaving it there because I had signed out for it, but I really had no other choice unless I wanted to sit there for the rest of the day. So I left it with him and headed back to the office.
Once in the office I helped out a guy add some items we received to the safe. This is a big deal because everything has to be annotated and all paperwork has to be perfect. We have to sign and stamp each item and make note of when the safe was opened etc. Lots of paperwork and detail go into anything that is done when dealing with ComSec.
We then headed home and I did some homework. I'm not too excited about this class "Java Programming". I get the idea of programming in general, but when I try to learn it or read about it, my brain just goes numb. This will be a challenging class indeed. Let's just hope I can get by with a passing grade. We then sat back and watched some shows, then turned in for the night.
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