W.VA MILITARY RUKUS

This evening, Mike and I were driving through town on our way to get a late dinner, and we were obliged to stop downtown as a procession of military personnel carriers and trucks rushed out from a side street! Apparently the Marines that have been visiting our area were doing exercises after dark! We followed them until we were stopped by road blocks and police. I jumped out of Mike?s truck and went dashing off on foot to see what was going on. Lots of local residents were swarming around watching as they Marines did ?war games? around some abandoned factory buildings. They ran about with M16s and crept through peoples? yards as the startled homeowners looked on from their porches! The soldiers set up small cannons of some sort and shot out the windows of one building and then stormed it! They staged a rather loud battle and then made ready to ?evacuate the wounded?, which of course were only other uniformed men pretending... Word spread through the crowd that a helicopter would be landing several blocks away in an old field, so I ran back to Mike and his truck and ordered that he rush me to said area. Once we were there, he and I both scurried down to the field where a multitude of onlookers had already gathered. Not long afterwards, armored personnel carries (with M60s and 50 calibers mounted on top) arrived and began to ?secure the field?. The men darted around, spaced out in the weeds and grass, then dropped to their bellies and set up their rifles (M16s) and aimed them around. One even took aim at me, but I just smiled at him because I knew it was pretend. Then two other men moved out into the field, lit a couple of orange glow sticks, and tied them to a long string. Meanwhile, a helicopter could be heard circling around. It didn?t have any lights on, as though it were ?sneaking? into the area, so we could hear it but couldn?t see it. Then the soldier with the glow sticks on a string began to swing them around over his head to direct the helicopter in! The thing seemed to materialize out of the darkness and landed in a rush or wind and noise. It was a Chinook (two propellers) and was huge! The other men on the ground helped the ?wounded? from the vehicles and assisted them onto the helicopter. One was limping, one was being carried, and one was actually drug as though he was half dead. I cannot help but wonder how the soldiers posing as injured and dieing men fresh from battle felt about it all. I would guess it was rather haunting... There was some brief activity on board the helicopter, then it lifted off and disappeared again into the darkness of the night sky. The other men and troop carriers seemed to dissipate into the night as well, and soon there was only the murmuring of the gawking crowd. Mike and I were quite impressed, and I was stunned into silence...mentally trying to decipher everything I had just seen. We ventured to a Wendy?s for a now very late dinner and went through the drive-thu and then sat in the truck in the parking lot while we ate. Suddenly, just as mysteriously as they had vanished, the personnel carriers reappeared! A long procession of military vehicles of every description came down the road, heading out of town and back to Camp Dawson. I waved as they passed and several soldiers smiled and waved back at me... Then they were gone again. I hope they come back and do some more excitement before their stay is up. Several people I talked to said that they have been doing activities in the same area recently, so I am going to keep an eye out in the days to come. And, on a more somber note, I have learned that these troops are training for combat in Iraq. After they are done with their training they will be shipped off to war...

-Fettish *is impressed with and proud of US military*

 

You should see it "for real". I did first hand as a Hospital Corpman in the Navy during Desert Storm.

Difference is the soldiers were not playing and the pain and death was real.

That's a feeling I'm glad I don't have to live over again.

It is impressive to see our forces in action.

I recall that we had squads of fighter jets and bombers flying over my base in Saudi Arabia heading towards Kuwait and Iraq. Some were very high up and you could just barely make them out. Some were closer and easily heard.

 

I hope you are not offended by my trivial account of the event... But I did try to convey how strange it must have been for the men "pretending" to be wounded. I assume they wonder if they will be in a similar situation in the future......only for real.

I didn't know you were in desert storm. I am very proud of all our troops in action. My husband was in the army at the time and his was the only unit in the area that wasn't sent over...

-Fettish

 

Oh my goodness no, I wasn't offended at all. I was just giving a personal account from the "real" perspective. That's all.

Actually, I wish I could've seen what you saw.

it's cool watching manuvers. My best time was when I was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I had previously trained with the Marines and got to Helo-repel. That is to say me and 8 others were tied to a rope and lowered out of a heliocopter. What a rush, just fastened to a rope in mid-air flying along....I'll see if I can dig up some photos if anyone wants to see them.

Again though, I wasn't offended. (Sorry if it seemed that way)

-Sal

 

Hey - they are supposed to be doing that here!!! Repelling from helicopters...

*jumps about in excitement*

This evening, I'm gonna gas up my truck and go drive around and see if I can find them again. They are doing stuff every day/evening it seems...

I'd love to see pics! Send 'em along!

-Fettish

 

Look sir, paragraphs!

j/k ya the war games are nice and all but the helicopters are taking some getting used to

-Dot