More Night Ops simulation

Last night was pretty cool. We drove around in a convoy for hours, simulating different situations such as how to react to an IED, an ambush and a road block. Then we'd run all over the place firing blanks. I had a good time, and I don't think I was shot, but with blanks it's kind of hard to tell. I did shoot Jeff, who was a good guy also, but I promise that one wasn't my fault. He was told to flank the enemy, but the rest of us weren't told that he'd be crossing into our line of fire. Oops. He took his death from friendly fire in good spirits though. I'm pretty sure that was a mistake we'll learn from quickly. I had to lead the convoy as the driver of the first vehicle. Driving with night vision goggles on was a new experience. It took some getting use to, but I think I have the hang of it now. It’s kind of like playing a grainy video game while looking through a toilet paper roll tube. You have to do quite a bit of scanning from side to side to make sure that you’re on course. Despite the limited field of vision, NVG’s make it a hell of a lot easier to get where you’re going fast. If you’re a terrorist sneaking through brush at night, I’ll probably be able to see you, and you’re probably in big trouble.

Tonight we're going to do the whole mission again, only this time my platoon and I get to be the bad guys. We'll be able to plan some super stealthy moves to ambush our buddies. It's going to be another late night, but should be even more fun than last night. The best part about this whole Night Ops stuff is that once we get back from a mission we get to sleep almost the whole day away to rest up for the next mission. The last few days have gone by in a blink of an eye. If they'll only let me get twelve hours of sleep a day when I get to Iraq time will fly and we'll be back home in no time.