Maybe a small thanks can go a long way

The other day I had to come into work on my day off for some extra training. What a day it was! For anyone new here, I work as a security officer at a nuclear complex.

Anyway, we got trained on the HK 69 grenade launcher. Yep, I got to shoot real grenades. It was pretty cool. I got a real "bang" out of it. = )

I also got to be trained on the FM 240 Bravo. For those of you who don't know, the 240 is a machine gun kinda of akin to the famous M60 that you see in all the movies. What a weapon. This is the swivel-mounted gun that you see on TV, mounted on the turrets of Humvees in all that Iraq war footage. After shooting of a belt of ammo, I actually almost felt pitty for Al Qaeda. I can't imagine squatting behind a mud wall while someone fires off bursts at you from that gun! What a nightmare that would be! At least it would be a short nightmare. But, also a HOOT to shoot. Everyone should have one!

But now the point of my whole post today. At the end of the day we did a combat scenario exercise with equipment that we call Miles Gear. Miles Gear ( and I may be spelling it wrong ) is basically a high-tech Laser Tag system that allows you to use basically a real gun, but shooting blanks.

The scenario pitted four of us against two snipers in the sage brush approx. 500 yards down range. It was a moving and tactics exercise. I partnered up with a guy named Chris and off we went leapfrogging through the sage brush desert. After about ten minutes of running, diving, shooting, crawling, and picking cactus needles out of our skin, I was exhausted! Suddenly I realized I had gained a new appreciation for our guys over there in Iraq. It was around 101 degrees for us, and I thought I was going to die from the exertion. My throat was parched, and my legs felt like rubber. I thought to myself while catching my breath behind some cover, " Man, those guys in Iraq have to do this in heat and conditions waaaay worse than this, and on top of that. . .IT'S REAL!

I just want to say, hats off to the American Military. They really are sacrificing over there for us and deserve our honor and respect. I don't care what end of the political spectrum you fall on, or if you agree or disagree with the war. These men and women deserve your respect, and your support. I can't imagine if I was there putting my life on the line, and hearing some of the crap coming out of people's mouths over here. So, here's my small and insignificant way of saying thanks to the troops. A lot of us believe in you.