My stay there was interesting. The officer barracks held about 25 people and was about average (maybe below average) on quality. Overall, however, the training side was great. We learned survival skills, land navigation, shooting on the M-9 (a 9mm semi-auto handgun) and M-16 (a semi/fully auto rifle), IED training, Iraqi customs and culture training and many other things. The most fun was shooting the fully auto machine guns. As a guy that likes guns, I really enjoyed this part and took full advantage of the opportunity to light up the targets they had set out for us on the range. That said, I realize after wearing body armor for three weeks in 95+ degree heat, I am much more cut out for a desk job in public affairs than an infantry job.
Whether or not you want to be in the Army, you will feel like a soldier at Camp McCrady. I will tell you that the Army drill instructors are top notch. Some of them are a little odd, but very knowledgeable nonetheless. My favorite drill sargeant was a gent named Staff Sargeant Jacobs. He came in everyday in a great mood and really made us laugh. You could say he was one of those guys with an infectious personality.
I'm including a link to a video of him explaining to us that we needed to arrange our gear into two bags... in his words, a "need bag" and "don't need bag"-- basically the gear we would need for our training during our stay and the gear we wouldn't be using. If you have trouble understanding what he is saying, he is referring to our IBA (individual body armor), our IBA plates (the heavy metal plates that protect you from AK-47 bullets and our pistol belt (gun belt). You may not think this video is as entertaining as I do, but I can't help at laugh at the fact that SS Jacobs is used to making things very clear for his Army recruits. After all, they can be a little dense. Just kidding.
The biggest downside to the training-believe it or not-was the administration by the Navy side. For some reason, the Navy felt it was important that we were treated like recruits. There was no off-base liberty except for two days, we had to stand watches despite the fact that there was someone in the barracks at all times and even though we finished training early most days, we had to sit in a classroom and clean our weapons whether we had fired them that day or not. Having been in the Navy for almost 16 years, I find it some what demeaning and demoralizing that the leadership felt that we needed to be babysat like boot camp recruits. I honestly felt that the Navy leadership could have treated everyone with far more respect and treated us like we were capable of being responsible adults. Maybe the next administration will see things differently. That's my biggest gripe about Camp McCrady training... the rest was pretty good.
For those of you reading this for enjoyment purposes, you can skip this part. I promised some people I'd write a short survival guide. Here goes:
Things to bring:
Quick dry towels: someone recommended these to me and they came in very handy. It's damp and you have to hang your towel in your locker so regular towels don't dry out very well.
A headlamp: if you want to walk around in the barracks when the lights are out, these come in handy. They will also come in handy when you get to Kuwait where brownouts are frequent and lighting isn't great to begin with.
Universal power converters: for Kuwait
Carabiner clips: you can hook pretty much anything to your IBA and these will come in handy with all the gear you have to carry. I hooked my camel back to my IBA and several others hooked their kevlar, knee pads, elbow pads, sunglass cases, etc.
Coffee: if you like coffee, there are coffee pots in many of the barracks. I enjoyed skipping breakfast at the chow hall, which sucks btw, and drinking good coffee and eating my cinnamon pop-tarts.
Laundry detergent and dryer sheets: there are laundry machines and, while you can buy stuff in the shopette, the supplies are pretty limited and often sell out.
PT Gear: Take at least two sets... I recommend four.
Pillow/sheets/blanket: It's navy issue all the way and my guess is the blankets haven't been washed since WW2.
Locks: Take at least four locks with you. The best are the type that have all the same combo or all the same key.
Boots/socks: The boots issued to you are not good. Many will tolerate them and many will have blisters, but if you want comfort, Danner boots are a great investment. I spoke to several people and they were almost always recommended as the best brand. Even better, they are one of the cheapest of the higher end brands. I bought a pair and have been very pleased. Also, I would recommend some thorlo coolmax hiking socks. They will cost you, but they are worth it, trust me.
Colored duct tape: Not a necessity, but when you get to Kuwait, you will be sorting through at least 400 sea bags. If yours is marked well, it will be easy to find. Also, you never know when you are going to have to duct tape someone's mouth shut. Trust me, you will have several urges to do that at Camp McCrady.
Sharpies: Again, they always come in handy.
Gerber: You will get a Gerber issued to you, but if you want a nicer one, you could buy one. It will come in handy.
Civilian clothes: You won't get much liberty so one or two pairs of civvies will be fine. Anything else will just be in the way and space is limited.
Shower shoes: unless you want trenchfoot :-)
Books: there is a lot of white space.
Baby wipes: Also for Kuwait. You will have to spend what everyone says is three days on the Udiari range practicing convoy training. Really, you will leave in the evening, spend a full day on the range and then leave the morning of the second day (two evenings there). There isn't any running water so baby wipes will be your shower. Also, baby wipes are nice in Kuwait generally because you consistently have a fine coat of dirt on you.
Ballistic sunglasses: The issued type are pretty crappy. I can't really tell you what type to buy. I hear great things about Oakley's moisture repelling glasses. I wrote earlier (see below) about my experience with WileyX. Based on the post, one of my friends, Stephanie Shields, called Wiley and expressed her surprise at their response. According to her, they were very apologetic and told her that the person I previous dealt with was not stating their policy accurately. Needless to say, I received a new pair of sunglasses from them on Sept. 7, which pleases me overall.
PREVIOUS POST: [I will tell you that I have had an absolutely awful experience with WileyX. I bought a pair of their glasses that cost me about $100. Literally, within two weeks the nose guards came unglued and fell off. I tried glueing them back on and they came off again. So, I called Wiley when I was at Camp McCrady and they told me that without my receipt, they wouldn't do anything to help me. I explained to them that I had a grand total of four sea bags comprising all of my worldly possessions and that my receipt was likely packed in storage somewhere, but they had zero sympathy and, in fact, haven't even responded to a long letter I sent them.]
1 comment:
Oh wow Aaron, this is amazing! Keep me posted on this. I would not give up. Keep writing to them, in fact an actual hand written letter from Iraq to the head of the company might not be a bad idea. They should be ashamed! --- Stephanie
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