351st Military Police Company » Mobilization

Mob Day, Leaving on a jet plane

SGT Batavia — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:59:48 +0000

Fort Dix has been an adventure for us all. Now that we are getting ready to leave there are many types of emotion in the air. While some calmly read books, surfed the internet, talked to love ones or listened to music, others found a sense of companionship in huddling together to talk, play cards and even tossing a football with battle buddies, the same battle buddies they will spend the next 10 – 11 months with. We will learn to love these battle buddies as family, and at times even fight and argue but at the end of the day we are one team, one family. Will will learn and grow together, experience a life that only a few have walked through in past deployments. For those we are gracious and will look up to for guidance and support.

The general mood is somber but content, hopeful for a warmer climate and anxious of the unknown. Many are speaking to loved ones for the last time on friendly soil, the next time they speak will be via internet or MWR phones in Kuwait. For the loved ones at home that we all leave behind, rest assured that our leaders will lead, and our soldiers will do their job as they were trained. Our leadership is knowledgeable and experienced, our soldiers trained and proficient, we have been validated by those who have deployed before us and have returned to work at mobilization stations like Fort Dix. Their job is to ensure that new soldiers going to the field are taught the skills they need to do their job and return home safely. We are required to prove those skills in mock scenarios and earn the confidence of those who have walked before us. The time has come as they say, we are ready.

Below are just some shots of the night we sit here in this hanger awaiting our bird to fly to a far away place. I have tried to capture the mood and convey that for all to see, we ARE ready!

It is what it is, and that is all it is.

SGT Batavia — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:37:45 +0000

As the weeks closed in on days and days have now turned into hours things have been nothing shy of crazy busy around here. We soon will lift off and take a bird to a warmer climate, a small perk of leaving this frozen tundra. Our training at Fort Dix has been long and cold, but overall it has been good. At times our training here has stressed us and pushed our operations team to be creative in their ways of getting what at times seamed to be impossible time lines for soldiers to be in more than one place at the same time. With their valiant efforts they have made it through and did a great job of making it happen.

One observation I have made over the two months here is a rather new common saying which has turned into a slogan from our troops, “It is what it is”. It can be heard walking through the halls and even sitting in meetings, it’s a simple statement that is a way of coping with the obvious shortcomings of any organization with mass management of personnel. Anyone who has ever been part of a large organization or worked for a large company knows that sometimes things that make no sense are done just because “that’s the way it’s done” and for no other reason. Well I am sure that at a given level it may not seam to have a good reason but someone, somewhere made that particular rule or regulation for a good logical reason, even when it may not be so obvious to all, it probably is to the person who made the rule.

Now so far I have not heard an acronym for it, and in honor of the ARMY turning anything more than one word into an acronym I have taken the pleasure of creating one for it, I call it “IIWII” spoken as “ee-wee”. Today has been a long day for most of us here, I know I have gotten a lot done and I am ready to get moving on the bird, but we are not there yet, the next day or two will also be long days, oh well, (IIWII) I guess it is what it is.

Go Gators!

SGT Batavia — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:39:31 +0000

I would like to take a moment out of my busy night (meaning I should be sleeping at this hour, but honestly who needs sleep when you have a Gator victory?) and enjoy a joyous victory. It’s long been said at our unit that when we train hard and the trainings done, then we get to play hard. Tonight was an important day in history, and history was made. We were able to wrap our training up early today in time to sit and enjoy a little football game. It is a small treat our Commander LT Blocker and Quartermaster SSG Jacobowitz had in store for us, and for that we thank you both.

Tonight the previously #2 ranked Florida Gators lead by quarterback Tim Tebow beat the previously top ranked Oklahoma Sooners 24 – 14. This has been a great night for all us gator fans. I personally will enjoy walking into the TOC everyday in Iraq and looking up at the only team flag worthy of hanging in our operations headquarters. It’s that little piece of home that will serve as a daily reminder of the small sacrifices we make and why it is all worth it. Below are a few shots from the game tonight.