mech:

she let slip that she would be ' liaising' with some US mil units, so I'm making a guess that it has something to do with homeland security/cross border stuff- domestic ops that'll keep her local and ' busy' while BF is overseas in Poppyland.

as to her her ' training' - well, not to brag [ too much ] about the daughter, she has always been a bit of a tomboy in trying to keep up with her older brothers in the family military milieu..worked her way up as a no nonsense training officer who could outrun, outjump and outshoot most of the recruits under her care...

[ scared the sh*t out of more than one FNG by leaping off towers, rappelling off cliff faces and then telling them to do the same in her best Lee Ermy voice ]

She's also got the requisite academics and occifer training stuff under her belt so its nice to see that the higher ups have acknowledged she's got the skills, drills and guts to play

besides she's got to keep up with the rest of the family.. Number one son, of Sudan fame, told me on the weekend he's put in for a transfer [ hardly got the dust settled in his move to company commander of his new regiment ] to a Foreign Affairs posting [ offer was too good not to throw his hat into the ring ]and hopes to land same [ thus necessitating another shift in regiments ] as a military attache or something on the " Africa" desk..

kids these days.. no sense of complacency..when I was their age the rule was never volunteer, don't raise your hand, sit at the back and shut up..now they all want ' advancement ' and asap..

modern military...go figure...

It was the same for. Hide, try not to be seen, because somebody would wonderful ideas how to spend your time if they found you. My unit kept me moving all the time so I didn't catch too much B/S duty.
Congrates to all the Rocketeer clan on their achevments.

hmmmm, preachers daughter and all that?

Well, reality has set in for daughter no.2 as the future-son-in-law is packing to ship out on Monday for training work-up - although he'll get a bit of leave before departing ...leaves April for Afghanistan and won't be back until Feb. '09...

can't beleive the kit list and all the crap they're loading on the boys and girls these days..
why back in my day all we needed was a needle and thread and a Swiss army spoon..those were the days... guns to the left, guns to the right... [ harumph!!.. mumble mumble.. as they wheel Rocketeer back to the home.. "There I was at the head of the old 68th!..." ]

The situation down here is just as bad, I got this from the news paper back in October:

U.S. Soldier

World War II $170
Combat belt with equipment
Steel helmet and liner
M1 rifle
Leather combat boots
Equipment weight 35.8 pounds
Ratio of Wounded in action to killed
in action 41%1 to 2.4 wounded
11.3 million Soldiers served

Vietnam Conflict $1,112
Load carrying equipment
Steel helmet and liner
M16A1 rifle
Flack vest
Combat boots
Equipment weight 35.1 pounds
Ratio of wounded in action to killed
in action 32% 1 to 3.12 wounded
2.5 million served


Current Operations $17,472
Night and thermal scopes
Kevlar helmet
Close combat optic
Body armor
Fire retardant gloves
M4 modular carbine
Knee and elbow pads
Tan combat boots
Safety glasses
Equipment weight 75.3 pounds
Ratio of wounded in action to killed
in action 12% 1 to 8.3
766,066 served