Whew!

Since my last post, we have had probably the busiest 4 weeks of my entire life.  We had our first Block I Gunnery Exam, JCATS (Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation) Defensive OPORD brief, a graded Fire Support shoot, tons and tons of homework, and finally, our Gunnery and Fire Support Block II Exams.  I passed them all (some were better than others), and am ready for this ride to slow a little.  We were told that these past few weeks would be be our hardest, and that if we made it through them, we should be OK for the course.  Oh yeah, we have also had Snowmageddon I and II over that period.  The first storm resulted in 3 days off from class, and the last turned out to be just buildup.  The roads were a little slick, but most of the snow was on the grass.  When it snows in Oklahoma, it is different than anywhere I've ever seen it.  The wind blows so hard here that the snow might only be 6 inches, but the drifts will blow up to 18 inches in spots.  I will definitely be glad when springtime arrives.

We are now going to be starting the Automated portion of Gunnery, so everything we have MANUALLY learned to compute up until now is going to be AUTOMATICALLY computed by AFATDS system.  As easy at that sounds, you still have to build the databases correctly in order to get the right numbers, but in my opinion, it is much easier.  I feel much more comfortable with a computer screen in front of me than I do with a calculator and a piece of paper.  Here's to hoping that the 206th has working systems when I get there!   Not sure what is in our Fire Support future, but I think we are going to start working more with Laser Range finders and other automated systems that will assist with that side of the process.  That is fine with me as well.  Give me a gadget, and I am happy. 

 So, since I passed both exams this week, I get to actually go home to see Helen and the kids, and celebrate Will's 11th (yes, he is 11) birthday!  I was pretty upset about missing Lizzy's, but maybe I can make it up to her this weekend.  She's the only one who has anything to say to me when I call home besides Helen.  John John is too shy to talk, and Will is always gone!  Oh well, I guess they DO grow up faster than you want them to. 

Well, you would think I would have a little more to talk about, but I've been going nonstop for the last 15 hours, so I'm gonna finish watching Bones, pack a bag for the weekend, and go to sleep.  I'll need it for our 10K run in the morning......at 15 degrees.

Paulson out....