Fort Stewart

I've been training now at Fort Stewart, Ga for the past month now.  We are about half way through our time here.  It is amazing that we only have two months to get ready for deployment to a combat zone.  We have learned a lot, and the schedule has been difficult.  We also have a lot of veterans from previous deployments that help out a lot.  We have learned how to operate our trucks as a team and how to fire on the move from our trucks.  We have learned how to fire by ourselves and with our convoys.  I have also learned how to operate a lot of different equipment and weapons.  One interesting thing that I learned yesterday was how to give an IV to a patient.  I had to administer one to my squad leader and he gave one to me.  It was a little nerve wracking, but I did it right on the first try (to the relief of my squad leader).  I don't like people sticking needles in my, but I really don't like sticking them in other people.  

I am doing ok.  It is hard being away from home and Julie and the boys.  I am starting to cope better and better.  Now, however, as we get close to the end of training, I'm starting to get a little nervous about where I am going.  In just over a month I will be in Kuwait!

Training for deployment

Well, I've almost completed one month of training for our deployment to Iraq. In a couple of weeks we will leave for Georgia for additional training and then off to the middle east. I have been training on all the different machine guns and vehicles that we will be using on our mission overseas. It has been hard being away from home and at this point doesn't look like I am going to get a chance to visit home before leaving for Iraq. We work hard, and don't get much time off. It was nice that it rained last week. It cooled things off a bit, but created a lot of mud. I have limited access to the Internet here. Surprisingly my access will probably improve when I get to Iraq. Most likely we will find the most comfortable living arrangements when we get there of any that we will see in training! Until then I won't be able to post any photos. Pray for us that are leaving and for those who are already there.

Nerves

I've been doing a lot the past couple of days to get ready to leave. Mostly that means spending money. I know that when I leave this next Saturday it will not be for the deployment, but Julie and I are treating almost like it is. We want to get everything in order so that in July when I have a couple of weeks home we don't have to worry about anything. We are pretty much ready to go except for a few things that we will take care of in the next couple of days. Finishing all the preparation will take a load off our shoulders. Unfortunately it also increases my anxiety. Instead of treating this training mission like I normally would, it seems like it is the deployment. That's ok I guess. It makes this like a training run. I can adjust in July and be more ready for the actual thing in August.

I am getting really nervous to go. Aside from the obvious anxiety of separation, I realized this last week that what I am really afraid of is that this training mission in Louisiana is going to be more like basic training than a normal annual training. Basic training was a pretty traumatic experience for me (as it is designed to be) and the thought of going back to an environment like that has me going crazy. I don't know why I am afraid of this. I am sure that it will be like a normal AT, just with a busier schedule, but the unknown has me worrying about the worst. I am often surprised at how much my experience at basic training has stayed with me in such a negative way. It really bothered me. I finished, and could do it again if I had to, but thinking about it just gives me a knot in my stomach!

I feel a little better though knowing why I was getting so nervous. It's easier to deal with the fear when you can face it head on.

This week will be interesting. The last week before all this crazy adventure really begins.

Well, I guess I started my preparation for deployment today.  I started to pack.  

We are going to have some extended training assignments over the summer in preparation for our deployment.  This first one is coming up in a couple of weeks so I went to the armory today to take care of some bureaucratic stuff and to pack.  I left home and had to come back after a couple of blocks because I forgot a piece of paper-one of the bureaucratic things I needed to do-.  Then I got a little further and had to turn around because I forgot the key to my locker that holds most of my equipment and clothing.  Finally, an hour after I started, I left for the third time.  The armory is 30 miles away mind you!  I got there, and had gotten some incomplete instructions on painting identification on duffle bags, so I didn't even get to pack.  In fact I had to UNPACK my two duffle bags and dump the contents loosely in the bottom of my locker.  I will have to go back next week to actually pack.  

I did get one thing done while I was out there: I got issued my bullet proof vest or IBA (Individual Ballistic Armor).  It weighs about 20 lbs and is not very comfortable, but it might come in handy some day!  

It is getting more difficult to get other things done as the day gets closer.  I know that I will be back from this training mission in a few weeks and will have a few more weeks after that with my family before we leave for good, but I can't stop feeling like the next two weeks are the last I am going to have for here at home for a long time.  I don't deal well with that situation.  I stress myself out with trying to grab on to every last moment and make it something enjoyable.  I get so stressed that the time I have becomes not very enjoyable and hence my downward spiral begins.  I am beginning to pass in and out of depression and anxiety.  It must be hard on those around me who also want to enjoy the next few weeks with me.  I think that I need to finish up all my projects in the next couple of days and just spend the rest of my time without anything else weighing on my mind or schedule.  That may mean canceling a few things that I have committed to.  At the same time, I have to avoid just sitting around doing nothing, for obvious reasons.  I don't want to have to do anything, but I can't just sit around doing nothing.  I guess this is the anxiety that most people go through when faced with such a situation.  I remember how I felt before my mission and before going to basic training.  This is a lot like those times, just a little more intense.  I wasn't leaving a wife and kids when I went on my mission, and I was only leaving for a couple of months when I went to basic training.  In neither previous case (with slight exception for Brazil) was there the likely hood that people would be shooting at me!

We'll take it one day at a time, just like we always do.  

 

Beginning

My name is Josh, at least for now.  In a few weeks I will be known as SPC Grimmett, and that will be my name for the next year or so.  I am in the Texas National Guard and am scheduled to be sent to Iraq sometime in the late summer or early fall.  

When I was 19 I volunteered to be a Missionary for my church.  I was sent to the Amazon rain forest in Northern Brazil for 2 years to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to perform community service.  While I was there we were instructed to keep a journal.  I bought a large, hard bound, blank book and wrote in it virtually every day that I was away from home.  It was a great opportunity to express my feelings and record my observations as they happened.  Now I can look back at them any time I want.  When I read it now I am sometimes embarrassed at how young I was.  Mostly I can't believe all the things that I have forgotten in the 10+ years since I returned and am grateful that we were told to do it.  

Just as I once left my family and friends to go off to a strange and dangerous place to serve my Heavenly Father, I know go to leave them to serve my country.  Although not instructed to do so this time, I wanted to learn from my past experience and keep a journal of my thoughts, feelings and observations.  A lot has changed in the last 10 years however, and a blank book just doesn't seem sufficient anymore.  I decided that the best way to keep my war journal was to follow the example of countless soldiers who are serving in Iraq now and keep a blog.  The disadvantage is the loss of personal connection with the hand written word.  The advantages are many.  My hand writing and bad spelling wont have to be deciphered; The information is stored somewhere far away from the dangers of war safe in case the unthinkable were to happen; and finally, I can include pictures and video to add meaning and a personal touch to my words.  

I hope that anyone who stumbles across this finds it at least interesting.  If no one does, It will still be worth it.  After all, after 10 years I am the only one who has ever gotten my missionary journal out to read it and yet I wouldn't give it away for the world.