The Devil is in the Details

*** Spoiler alert - this post contains TMI about my long lost boobies ***

Before I was diagnosed, I thought cancer was cancer.  Well, maybe I realized that elbow cancer was different from eyelid cancer, but I thought breast cancer was breast cancer.  Holy camole, was I wrong!  There are endless permutations of what kind of breast cancer one can have, and all of those permutations dictate details like your chance of survival, likelihood of recurrence, and what kind of treatment is recommended.

My tumor was:
- stage Ic
- 2 cm at its widest part (doesn't sound very big, but in cancer-lingo, its not tiny)
- ER+/PR+
- Her2+
- No evidence of it having spread to lymph nodes on either side
- Clean margins (expected, considering that they entire cut both boobs off)
- 5 of 9 on the Nottingham Histologic Scale (i.e., how "ugly" the cancer is)

I won't bore you with what that all means in English.  If you're interested, check out this link.  Bottom line is that:  (i) the ER/PR + means it will respond to hormone therapy like Tamoxifin; (ii) the Her2+ means it grows aggressively and has a higher likelihood of recurrence; and (iii) the existing tumor in the breast has been completely cut out, and there's no solid evidence that there are any other tumors anywhere else.

Insurance also paid for getting a full genetic screening.  If you know my family, you know the cancer cards are stacked against me, genetically speaking.  But, to my surprise, I had no gene mutations.  Which means this cancer was probably caused by exposure, not genetics.

So, you would think that since the margins were clean, and we caught it before it went to the lymph nodes, I would be able to avoid chemo.  Not quite.  The Her2+ means that its likely to come back, and if it does come back, it will grow wicked fast.  Also, because I don't have any breast tissue left, if it comes back, it will be metastatic in another organ.  So, the recommended course is to do a standard chemo regimen to clean out any stray cancer cells that might be floating around undetected.  That starts next week.  More details on that some other day.

See I told you the devil was in the details!




 

Laughter is awesome!

My insurance pays for two "breast prosthesis" and a "cranial prosthesis".  (That's fake boobies and a wig to normal people).  After a long morning of doctors and tests, I went for the fitting this afternoon.  Doug came with me.  Despite being way too sober for that kind of torture, it was actually fun!

The ladies at the shop were freaking awesome.  They certainly gauged their interactions by my mood.  The wig (uh, sorry, "cranial prosthesis") was first.  I am now a platinum blonde (with just the right amount of darker roots) in a very military-appropriate bob.  I tried the "California wavy" (way too old for that), the "spiky readhead" (way too scary) and the "soap opera 80's feather" (not slutty enough for that one).  Ended up with the boring AR-670-1 compliant bob.s  The silver lining here is that the last time I had that hairstyle (naturally) I spent a fortune every few weeks on highlights, trims and fancy products, and 45-minutes every morning with a flat iron.  To the extent I ever actually wear this one, its fully paid for and easy!!  Woo hooo!

Next was the fake booby fitting.  I had an option of being anything from an A to a DD.  Seriously.  I simply asked for "perky".  The first set the lady brought in made both Doug and I get the uncontrollable giggles .... especially when he said "be careful, you'll poke your eye out!!!".   There were so many options - soft, firm, lumpy, wide, narrow .... and the funniest - the ones made from little sand-like granules that you can wear while swimming.  WHO WEARS A FAKE BOOBIES WHEN SWIMMING?????

Anyhoo, after much laughter, we ended up with a whole bag full of goodies that I'll probably never wear.  But hey, insurance paid for it, so I might as well stock up for future "date nights" or something.

Filling in the Gaps

If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?  If a mountain-biking JAG doesn't post anything to a blog in almost 6 years, did anything happen?

Yeah, stuff happened.  I returned from Afghanistan in January 2012 and we moved to Ft. Huachuca, Arizona.  I went for the job (Intelligence Law) but we fell in love with the area.  We spent 2+ wonderful years in the high desert mountains of southern Arizona, where we mountain biked and hiked, lost 3 cherished dogs and rescued 2 more, made lifelong friends, and found the one place on earth that could be a suitable substitute for retirement in the New Hampshire mountains.  In August 2014, I got out of the Army and we started an epic road trip across the country to return to my civilian litigation job with the Army in Washington DC.

Did we make it to DC???  (Do you know me????)  Of course we didn't make it to DC.  Somewhere around Kentucky, I started getting nostalgic for the Army.  By the time we hit West Virginia, I hatched a plan to get Doug drunk and tell him I wanted to go back in the Army.  In Pennsylvania, I called the Army and begged them to take me back.  It all worked ...... with the caveat that I had to go somewhere totally shitty for the next 2 years to make up for all the headaches I caused along the way.

So off to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri it was.  Yes, it is true that the only way to pronounce Missouri is MIS-ER-EY.  The only saving grace was the job.  I became a criminal defense attorney and eventually moved up to run the criminal defense office for Ft. Leonard Wood.  For everything we hated about Missouri, the job made up for it - I truly found my "calling" (for real this time!!!).  It was a long two years, with long hours and lots of weekends spent in the office, but hell, there wasn't anything else to do in MISERY anyway.

After "doing time" at Ft. Leonard Wood, I was given my pick of assignments for summer of 2016.  I picked ..... (drum roll please) ...... returning to Ft. Huachuca!  They needed a defense counsel, and we needed to be back to somewhere that wasn't miserable, and where our mountain bikes got dirty again.  Taking that job meant that I'll probably never again be promoted in the Army (two tours as a defense counsel is not good for your career; neither is two tours at a postage-stamp sized training installation) - but it was a risk we were willing to take in order to be happy again.  Life is just too damned short to be miserable for too long.

We were happy beyond words to be back in Arizona.  The mountains were as majestic as we remembered, and the singletrack was so so sweet.  The pups were happy to be running off leash and chasing lizards again.  When we left Ft. Leonard Wood, we sold everything we owned and moved into the RV full time, so we were living in the RV park right on post, literally AT the trailhead to singletrack up into the mountains.  Life could not have been better.  We were happy.  We were at home.  I loved my job.  Our mountain bikes were dirty again.  Our pups were content.  We had everything we ever wanted and were truly at peace.

And then I got diagnosed with breast cancer.  November 2016, while at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for work, I went to the doctor, just to get something checked, thinking it was truly nothing. Hell, I had just had a mammogram in April and it was fine.  (OK, the truth?  I only went to the doctor to shut Doug up, because he wouldn't stop hounding me about getting the weird lumpy thing checked out).  In the course of 3 hours, I had several doctors squeezing my boobs, a mammogram, a biopsy, and a lot of pitiful looks from doctors who assured me that it "didn't necessarily" mean it was cancer, but I should probably stick around town until the pathology results came back.  On 8 November (yes, election day) I got the call that every woman dreads:   Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  So that night, as we sat in bed watching Donald Trump get elected as POTUS, we tried to absorb all the uncertainty and fear of it .... all of it.

And that's why I fired up this blog again.  This really is just another little adventure.  We'll get through it - maybe not in one piece, but we'll come out the other end at some point.  So why not share this little adventure too?  Stay tuned.

Greetings from Afghanistan

Two weeks ago, I got on a plane at Ft. Lewis and started my journey to Afghanistan.  A week ago today, I landed in Kabul.  So far, it has been every bit of the adventure I had hoped it would be!

Within 30 seconds of arriving in Kabul, I was assigned to a new job. I am now the lawyer for the Future Plans Directorate of the ISAF Joint Command, which means I advise on the legality of all operations being
planned for the next three or so months.  I’m the only lawyer on the team, so I am constantly being pulled into to planning meetings to listen to what operations the planners are coming up with, and then help guide them around any sticky legal issues.  It’s fascinating to watch them plan these ops – especially since I don’t have any military background – and to look for potential legal issues with what they’re planning and the effects of their plan.  Since they usually have at least a day (usually more) to solidify a plan, there’s always time to ask lots of questions and do some research, and help talk them through alternate plans that might be more legally doable.  It’s only been a week, and already I’m blown away by the intelligence and creativity of the officers I work with.  This being a NATO command, there are officers here from 48 different countries, some of which I’m embarrassed to say I could not point out on a map before last week. (Montenegro?  Tonga?)  The accents and the culture and the different personalities/dispositions of so many different people – all here fighting the same war – is just electric.  (Frustrating as all hell sometimes too, but 95% of the time it’s a good kind of “electric”!). I’m also fortunate to work directly for Brigadier General (one-star) Hix.  He’s a real John Wayne kind of character – hard as nails, quiet, always professional, smart -- and absolutely f**king determined to win this f**king war.


In addition to my duties as the legal advisor to the Future Plans directorate, I’m also assigned to the Stability Operations Team to coordinate Rule of Law efforts throughout the country.  That means establishing working justice systems in all of the key areas of Afghanistan, which many people think is impossible.  I’m not the one
that actually does that – my job is to coordinate all of the different agencies and people who are out there doing it, collect and assess data about the progress, and compare the progress with the overall campaign plan (i.e., comprehensive war effort) to make sure all of the programs are on track with what the Commanders expect.  The cool thing about this part of the job is that I get to travel to the US Embassy and ISAF HQ a lot, and work with a whole range of interesting people including State Department Foreign Service Officers and Ambassadors, military officers from a variety of different disciplines, and directors of agencies & organizations like USAID and the United Nations.  I am humbled by how many people – mostly civilians – are passionate enough about this issue to volunteer to come to Afghanistan (sans body armor and a big gun!) and do this work for years and years.  Of course, trying to coordinate such a diverse group of people (each with a slightly different mission, motivation, and definition of success) is a challenge some days, but it’s an amazing experience.   I don’t think there are words to express how much I absolutely LOVE this job.  For the first time ever, I feel like I might actually be making a difference, however small, in the world, and my brain is always engaged.

Life here at North KAIA (Kabul International Airport – where our base is located) isn’t awful, but it sure as hell ain’t the Ritz Carlton. I live in a tent with about 20 other women … luckily, I have a bottom bunk.   Bathrooms are a short walk away and actually have flush toilets and real showers!  Sure, it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s manageable.  Whenever I get frustrated, I just remind myself that there are lots of Soldiers living out in the villages, who haven’t seen running water or a bed in months.  My work day usually starts at 0800 and I work every night until at least 1100, sometimes a lot later.  The tent is really just the place I store my toothbrush and catch a few hours of sleep at night.   There are two dining facilities (cafeterias) that I think are absolutely awesome, but that most of my American counterparts hate.  There are tons of fresh vegetables, a
salad bar every day, lots of cheeses and meats and good crusty bread. I have no complaints (other than the lack of cold Pale Ale and a good Cabernet!).

I’ve taken a few pictures since getting here, but unfortunately I can’t get them posted to the blog from here.  I think you can see them on my Facebook page (even if you’re not on facebook) via this link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1814312925434.2086724.1468380254&l=bdc97cc012&type=1

Being away from Doug and the pups is hard, but Doug has been sending lots of pictures of the pups and emailing me tales of their adventures driving across the country.  They’re on their way to the cabin right
now, which of course makes me insanely jealous (especially since I know he will find his way to the Moat at least once!!).  The regular contact, even if only via email, helps us stay connected.  One good
thing about working 16+ hours a day is that I don’t really have time to think about how much I miss them!

That’s it for this installment.  Thanks everyone for the emails and Facebook posts.  Nothing makes me happier than when I check my gmail or FB and see new messages from family & friends!

After months of training and planning, the time has finally come to head to Afghanistan.  Its impossible to describe how I'm feeling this weekend.  Excited for the opportunity & the adventure, broken-hearted about leaving Doug & the pups, a little bit nervous about the job I'll be doing over there, and a little bit numb (because all those other emotions are absolutely exhausting!).

My plane leaves Tuesday afternoon, subject to the usual hurry-up-and-wait routine the military is so good at.  I'll be flying with about 100 other people from Ft. Lewis heading to the IJC - this is just one of four flights heading over.  Ironically enough, the first stopover may be Bangor, Maine (does anybody know if the whoopie pies at the Bangor airport are any good???).  We'll stop again somewhere in Europe, then its on to the US Air Force base in Kyrgyzstan, where we'll spend a few days in-processing, getting more vaccinations (probably the same exact ones they poked me with here a few weeks ago), and hopefully getting adjusted to the time difference.  Finally, we'll load into a C17 (military cargo aircraft) and head into Afghanistan.   It sure as hell won't be anything like the first-class upgrades I've grown so accustomed to on Delta, but I'll survive.  :)

If there's one thing I hope to remember about this time, its how important time is.  Time spent with the people who matter the most, doing the things that mean the most.  Never has that been more real than in the past few weeks, getting ready to deploy for a year.  I hope that when I come home, and slip back into that daily grind of work and life, I am still this passionate about making every minute count.  (And yes, you all have permission to remind me if I forget!)

OK, enough sappy stuff.  Lots of you have asked for my mailing address over there.  I don't really have an idea of what I might need or want until I get there.  On the forbidden list:  no porn, no pork, and no booze (seriously, they take ALL the fun out of it!!).   You have to write the name (no rank!) and address exactly as it is here:

Jennifer Norvell

N.KAIA-IJC-LEGAD

APO AE 09320

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and support leading up to this little adventure.  I'll keep you posted along the way.  Doug and the pups will be heading to the cabin for the summer, so they'll be kept busy driving across the country (again!) and puttering around the property once they get there.   

Heading Downrange

In early July, I'll head out to Afghanistan.  The Commanding General of I Corps, LTG Scaparotti, will become the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command (IJC), and is bringing a small staff, including six JAGs, with him. 

You can learn more about the IJC here.  Generally, the NATO mission in Afghanistan is broken up into six different Regional Commands (RC's):  East, South, Southwest, West, North, and Capital.  Each of these Regional Commands is led by a 2-star General from one of the NATO countries.  (Currently, the US has responsibility for the East, South, and Southwest RC's; Italy has the West, Germany the North, and Turkey the Capital).  All six RC's are under the command of the NATO International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF.  The Commander of ISAF (COMISAF) is currently GEN David Patreaus, but that will change when he retires later this summer.  The IJC is kind of the buffer between the Regional Commands and COMISAF.  The IJC is a relatively new creation (~2009), and this will be the first time a functioning Corps-sized element will be inserted together to command and run IJC operations.  Generally, the IJC is a strategic-level command responsible for overseeing the day-to-day tactical operations carried out by the Regional Commands and making recommendations for future operations and transition in Afghanistan. I'm one of only six JAG officers (NATO calls us "LEGADs" - short for Legal Advisers) from the US assigned to the IJC.  I am assigned to the Current Operations (CUOPS) cross-functional team, which means I'll primarily be providing legal advice on missions and operations happening currently.  In my spare time, I'll likely be involved in furthering Rule of Law initiatives and providing legal reviews of investigations.  

I am especially excited about serving in a NATO command.  I will be assigned to NATO (rather than to US Forces), and working shona ba shona (Dari for "shoulder to shoulder") with partners from 60+ nations, as well as officials from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) and partners from the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).  All in all, US forces make up only about 1/3 of the IJC, so I'll definitely be in the minority.  I see this as an excellent opportunity to learn some German or Italian (although, unfortunately, not to sample their beer or wine, as all US personnel are prohibited from drinking while in country!!) and learn about cultures around the world.

As far as living conditions, I won't be staying at the Ritz Carlton, but I will have a roof (well, tent) over my head, three hot meals a day, and an Internet connection.  Really, what else does a girl need?  The IJC is based at the North Kabul International Airport (NKIA), which is just a few miles from downtown Kabul.  (And no, I still haven't figured out whether its Ka-BOOOL or KA-bul .... tom-A-to, TOM-ahh-to, whatever!). From what I know now, I'll have a bunk-bed in an 8-woman tent (hopefully they'll pity the old lady -- like they did at DCC -- and give me one of the bottom bunks!).  There is a bathroom and hot-water shower just a short walk away (ask me again in January how "short" that walk really is!), a gym with a few treadmills, and a chow-hall that serves hot meals at least 3 times a day.  Because its a NATO facility, we don't have all the "luxuries" you've heard about at the big US Forward Operating Bases (FOB), but I consider myself very lucky that I'm not at a Combat Outpost (COP) having MREs hurled out of helicopters once a month.  I'll be able to get regular mail (will post address here when I have it), and have a pretty regular Internet connection most days (gmail & facebook).  So its not the Ritz, but its not awful either!  :)

Oh, and to answer the most popular question I've gotten so far:  No, Doug is not coming with me, nor does he have any kind of "special privileges" to visit me there (nor would he want to!).  He'll be carrying on with retired life, taking care of the pups and keeping the home-fires burning.  I will get a two-week R&R leave sometime during the year, and will be able to fly somewhere - probably Europe or Asia - to meet him. 

Bottom line is that I'm excited to go, but also heartbroken about leaving Doug & the pups for a whole year.  We'll make it, and we'll all come out the other end better for having experienced this!

Winter in the Pacific Northwest

Guess I've been a little delinquent in updating the blog ... but I think I can sum up the last four months pretty quickly.

We spent the month of December living in the camper.    After looking at lots of off-post rental houses, we decided to live in on-post housing, but had to wait for one to become available. 

We went all out at Christmas!

It was worth the wait.  On New Years Eve, we moved into our new house on post.  It doesn't look like much from the outside, but its a very comfy 3BR/2BA house with a big fenced backyard and a view of the lake, and most important -- one-level living for aging pups!

Even though we moved in on 31 December, our furniture or personal items didn't arrive until February.  We made do with the lawn chairs and the tiny TV from the camper (Hell, we were just so happy to not have to walk outside to get to the shower, anything remotely resembling a house would have been luxury!)  Happy to report that we are now fully nested in our house. :)

In general though, I gotta say, I'm not loving the pacific northwest.  It literally rains here every single day, and when its not raining, its cold and gray and depressing.  We've only been mountain biking twice since November, and both times were a messy disaster of hub-deep mud and impassable bogs.  People keep saying it will get better in the summer, but given that we're half-way through April and I have yet to see the sun, I have a hard time believing it.

The one redeeming thing about is that we are close to Doug's family.  We've been able to spend a lot of time with Doug's sons, Patrick and James, and James' wife Brookes, who all live in the Seattle area.  Doug was also fortunate to be able to serve as the best man at James & Brookes' wedding earlier this month. 

(yes, that's the same uniform he wore when he retired in 97!)

As far as work goes, there isn't all that much to write about.   I started out as a Complex Litigation Attorney in the Criminal Law Department, where I was responsible for overseeing & coordinating 85 separate financial fraud cases, that were all connected by the same stolen account number.  I hit the ground running, working the kind of hours I used to work in private practice.  The other JAs in the Crim Law shop were all really busy and stressed with a lot of high profile cases (perhaps you've read about them in the New York Times?) so there wasn't much fun to be had at work.  In January, I was promoted to Captain, and was thankful that Doug was able to participate in the ceremony, pinning (actually, Velco-ing) on my new rank.

Sometime during the winter, I learned that I would be deploying to Afghanistan in June/July.  That started an intense period of learning as much as I could about the country, the people, the politics, the legal issues, and the current command structure.   Our mandatory reading list was 3 pages long, and we attended several weeks of live training at the JAG school in Charlottesville and here at Ft. Lewis.   Next week, I head to CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, FL for one more week of training.  I have learned a ton, and am loving every minute of this new challenge!

Thankfully, one of the Army's pre-deployment rituals is "block leave", which is a set period of time when all deploying personnel are given a few weeks away from work to spend time with their families.   Doug and I escaped to the Big Island of Hawaii for 8 days to spend some quality time together.   Despite the fact that it rained almost the entire time (I'm cursed!!), we had an awesome trip! 

 

Well, that pretty much wraps up the last four months.  I know you all want to know more about the deployment, but that's for another post.  

America the Beautiful

A month ago today, we arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  The road trip here was, by far, one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  A few stats:

- Drove 3983 miles with 3 dogs in 2 cars and 1 camper
- Crossed 11 state lines (GA, AL, MS, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA, OR, WA)
- Discovered 8 awesome new mountain bike trails (in GA, AL, MS, OK, TX, NM, AZ)
- Devoured one pound of red Twizzlers, 12 bottles of Diet Coke, and several bags of puppytreats. 

My view for 3,893 miles ... The FunFinder XTRA!!

The pups made themselves very comfortable in the camper.

Doug did a fantastic job of planning our route so that we could MTB in as many new places as possible along the way.  We rode awesome trails in the most unexpected places (bring it Mississippi!!), had rides we’d rather forget in others (WTF Oklahoma??), and put others on our Bucket List of Places to Ride Again (Gallup, NM and Palo Duro Canyon, TX).  If you’re really interested in the maps, stats and pictures of our rides, check out Doug’s ride blog. 

Unfortunately, Mother Nature cut the MTB portion of our road trip short after Sedona, AZ.  We had planned to ride in Reno, NV and Bend, OR before heading up to WA, but record early-season snows closed many of the mountain passes, forcing us to re-route through the Mohave Desert and head north through California.  Although it was sad that our MTB adventures had come to an end, I found the route through the Mohave to be absolutely spectacular (Doug thinks I’m weird).  Our reward for driving through the never-ending desert:  In & Out Burger!!!!!

We got re-routed again north of Sacramento by more news of closed mountain passes and Doomsday weather reports, so we decided to head further west and take the coastal route.  (The fact that there was an excellent brewery in Eureka didn’t sway that decision at all … honest!!).    Although it was raining sideways for the entire trip up the Northern California and Oregon coast, the scenery was absolutely spectacular.   

Snow forced us to spend an extra night in Waldport, OR, which is the cutest little seaside town (and just happens to be a few miles from the Rogue Brewing Co headquarters … darn the luck!!!).   After a long day of dutifully tasting all that Rogue had to offer, we took the pups for their first swim in the Pacific ocean (not sure they understood it was anything different than the Atlantic, but whatever). 

The sand seemed to smell better on the West Coast.

Sandy's sticks were bigger.

And Maggie swam like a puppy.

We finally made the final push on Thanksgiving Eve and made it to Ft. Lewis in just enough time to officially sign-in and stop burning leave.  (The Army gave me 8 “free” days to travel from GA to WA.  Anything more than that was leave/vacation time.)  

The trip across country was amazing on a few different levels.  First, the luxury of spending 14 days on an adventure with Doug and the pups – without having to think about work or any other commitments – was simply awesome.  That kind of uninterrupted family time is too rare and absolutely precious.   

Almost as luxurious was spending hours and hours driving my car, completely alone except for a snoring Maggie in the backseat.  I’ll be honest, most of that time was spent singing Nickelback and P!nk at the top of my lungs, or practicing on the steering wheel for my next career as the new drummer of Shinedown, but some of it was spent thinking about bigger world issues and life stuff.    

What sticks in my mind though was how amazing it was -- and how lucky I am -- to be able to see so much of the United States.  I found myself completely awestruck so many times – and in the most unexpected places – at just how beautiful this country is.  Everyone knows how much I love New England, and I always thought I had found heaven when I moved to the White Mountains …. but this trip taught me that there are other parts of the country that are just as beautiful (gasp!!!) as N.H.!  This sounds silly, I know, especially from someone who’s traveled as much as I have.  But the majority of my travels (outside of New England/New York anyway) have been via plane … it’s a totally different experience to watch the miles pass, one by one, through the swamps and the plains and the desert and the rainforest. If you’ve never driven across the country – or just to a new geographic region – think about treating yourself to that kind of adventure on your next vacation.  (Just make sure to update your iPod playlists, and pack plenty of Twizzlers & Diet Coke!). 

A lot has happened since we got here too, but I’ll save that for the next post.  For now I want to leave you with a song that I listened to at least 300 times during the drive -- “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback.  I’m usually not one for quoting song lyrics (uhhh … hello cheesy) but this one really triggers something for me.   Take a listen here, or read the lyrics here, and then tell me that doesn’t make you want to get up and do that one thing that you always wanted to do.  Just sayin'...

On to the Next Little Adventure!

Woo Hoooooo!  DCC is over!  I am officially done with my initial Army training and on the road to my first duty station: Fort Lewis, Washington.  

Not much to report from the final week of DCC.   The focus was on patrolling and reacting to contact.  In other words: what to do when the shit hits the fan.  We spent the first two days practicing moving as a team and as a squad around the PT field and in the woods behind the PT field.  The next two days we spent doing the same thing in different training areas, with the added fun of shooting blanks from our M-16s.  The last day at the training area, the cadre turned it up a notch and tried to make it as realistic as possible.  During the final exercise, our squad took heavy “fire” from the “enemy” and I was “shot” in both legs.  After the firefight was over, my squad-mates had to get me and one other “wounded” soldier out of the woods and to the central collection point for “casualties” about a kilometer away from the firefight.  Cadre told me I was not allowed to help at all – both of my legs were useless and my teammates had to figure out how to carry me out without the help of a litter/stretcher.  (I was also instructed to scream loudly the entire time, but I let that one slide).  I weigh 146 pounds, and was wearing about 35 in additional gear, but none of the guys in my squad could carry me more than 30- 40 yards at a time.  I don’t think any of us had any concept of how hard it is to carry dead weight through the woods, over uneven terrain, through deadfall and pricker-bushes.  After they dropped me for the fourth time, the cadre finally showed us how to do a buddy carry.  Staff Sergeant “BZ”, who is about my height and can’t weigh much more than me, threw me up over his shoulder in one swift motion and started running.  When we finally asked him how he made it look so easy, his answer was: “practice”.   Sobering thought.

The final week wrapped up with a full day of weapons maintenance and my final goodbye to weapon #1034 1297.  The last few days were just out-processing, cleaning the barracks, and rehearsing for the graduation ceremony.  (Only the Army could rehearse a one-hour graduation ceremony for 7 full hours).  By Wednesday at noon, I had my DCC “diploma” in hand and as released to begin the trek across country.   Tonight we’re in Oklahoma – tomorrow is Texas.  We are trying to hit as many mountain bike trails as we can (life’s too short to just drive across country without having fun along the way!) and so far we’ve ridden in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi & Oklahoma.  If you’re interested in our rides, check out Doug’s blog (link to the right) – he’s been posting our Garmin routes and some pictures from our ride days. 

Finally, I’d be an idiot if I didn’t recognize how lucky I am to have had Doug with me throughout this adventure.  Sure, I could have gotten here by myself, but it wouldn’t have been half as much fun!  When the days were especially awful at DCC (e.g., the Land Nav debacle), being able to drive over to the campsite and share a cold beer with my best friend put everything in perspective.  This little adventure would be a whole lot less fun and a whole lot more suck if I didn’t have Doug and the pups here with me.  For that, I am eternally grateful.

 

Home on the Range

Thank my lucky stars, I survived five days of being surrounded by lawyers with loaded M16s.  Nobody got shot, and by the end of the week, all but one "qualified" by Army standards.  (Considering that during the prior DCC class, a 1LT shot herself in the foot, this was indeed an improvement).

I shot an M16A4 with a Close Combat Optic (CCO) that theoretically made it idiot-proof.

Simply point the little red dot on the thing you want to destroy and pull the trigger.  Theoretically, the bullet should whiz out of the rifle and fly straight downrange and destroy the target.  Theoretically.  Turns out there's a little bit more to it than that.....

The first morning, we spent several hours indoors, "zeroing" our weapons with a bore sight.  This tedious process just aligns the muzzle of the weapon with the sight.  Once we were aligned with the bore sight, we practiced dry firing (i.e., no bullets) in each of the four firing positions:  prone supported (lying on your belly with the barrel of the rifle resting on sandbags); prone unsupported (same thing, no sandbags); kneeling; and standing -- all while attempting to balance a dime on the muzzle of the rifle.  The trick is to keep your body absolutely still, time your breathing perfectly so that you are neither inhaling nor exhaling when you pull the trigger, and then pull the trigger slow and smooth.  I found firing a weapon a lot like golf ....... way too many things to remember before you get to have any fun!  Not to mention, the weapon weighs about 9 pounds, which gets really heavy to hold absolutely still, especially in the standing position.  By noon, we were out on the range for more "zeroing" -- this time by firing live bullets at a little piece of paper stapled to a target at 25 meters out.   Cadre told us that nobody was going to leave the range that day until everybody successfully zeroed their weapon.  No pressure.    No pressure at all.

Somehow, I managed to zero my weapon on my first try.  My first 5 shots clustered low on the silhouette, but just below the "bulls eye".  4 of my second 5 shots clustered in the bulls eye, with one stray shot up by his right shoulder.  The last of my 5 shots all clustered in the bulls eye.  The SSG assigned to my lane was surprised, to say the least.  He told me I had to take a picture of my target (below) and email it to Doug.  Of course, I eagerly complied.  :)

The next day, we went out to the LOMAH (Location of Miss And Hit) Range.  Each firing lane had a computer connected to it.  The targets were positioned at 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 meters, and each had a series of microphones under them, which supposedly sent information back to the computer about where the bullet hit (or missed) the target.   Each firer had a partner who watched the computer screen and coached based on where the shots were landing (high, low, left, right, etc.).  My first two times up, I was 40 for 40 each time (i.e., 100% of my bullets hit the target).  Shocked the crap out of me, that's for sure.  The third time up, we changed from static targets to pop-up targets, which was MUCH harder because you had to move the weapon around, steady it, and fire, all before the target popped back down into hiding.  (Personally, I think in the middle of combat, I should be able to tell the bad guys to just "hold still damnit!!" while I line up my shot .... apparently that's not all that realistic, so the Army insists we learn to shoot these silly pop up targets).  I didn't do so well on the pop-ups, only hitting 21 of the 40, completely letting all the air out of my party balloon. 

Wednesday was qualification day.   We were at a new range, with 8 pop-up targets in each lane at 50, 100, 175, 250 and 300 meters.  To qualify (and pass the course) we had to shoot a minimum of 23 out of 40.  We were given 20 rounds in the prone supported position, 10 at the prone unsupported position, and 10 at the kneeling position.  All of this wearing full "battle rattle" including:  the IBA (Interceptor Body Armor - 29 pounds); FLC Vest (Fighting Load Carrier - 12 pounds loaded); ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet - 4 pounds); and full camelback (7.5 pounds full).  Oh, and did I mention it was 92 degrees that day with no shade?  

 

Despite waddling around like a penguin in all that gear, and sweating off at least 10 pounds, I managed to qualify on my first try.  Apparently, I not only qualified, but hit 31 out of 40, which technically makes me a "sharpshooter" by Army standards.  (Hey Dad - I guess firing at those bales of hay when I was a kid actually paid off!).  As soon as I finished shooting, I had 15 minutes off to hydrate and eat, and then was pulled by Cadre to coach other students who were having trouble.  All in all that day, I spent about 9 hours in full battle rattle, in the sun, on the range, either shooting or coaching .... by the end of the day, I was completely exhausted.  I honestly do NOT know how Infantry guys do this every single day in 120+ degree heat in Iraq/Afghanistan.  Again, I am humbled by how hard this really is. 

Thursday we started the day with an awesome pre-dawn "Combat PT" session.  Wearing our IBA (29 lbs), we had to run around the track in teams, carrying our buddies on field stretchers, then run relay races carrying two 5 gallon water cans (about 40 lbs each), then run a relay race doing a buddy carry with partners.  Fun way to start a day!  The rest of the day, we cleaned our weapons.  I had no idea it could really take that long (or that many toxic chemicals) to clean a weapon that hadn't even fired 500 rounds!  Friday started at 0330 with a six-mile ruck march, loaded down with 20% of our body weight, plus full camelback, FLC vest, and carrying our weapon.  We've been doing lots of ruck marches all summer, so this wasn't a big deal, except that carrying the weapon added a new challenge.   The rest of the day was spent learning patrolling techniques, which essentially meant running around the PT field, dropping to our knees, and dragging our bellies/faces on the ground for hours.  More of that fun next week. 

After that fun-filled week, I think it goes without saying that I slept a lot this weekend.   One quick note about two important things I've been hammered over the head with during the past few weeks: (1)  Its impossible to appreciate how mentally and physically difficult it is to keep this pace and meet these challenges every single day.  I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it really is in real combat, outside of the safety-net of the training environment.  (2) One of the most important things I've gotten out of being in the Army for this short amount of time is an amazing boost of my confidence.  If you had told me a month ago that I'd walk through a snake-infested swamp at 0400 in the dark and not have a meltdown, or fire an M16 and actually hit the target, I'd tell you you were crazy (using much more colorful language, of course).  

One more week left!

Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh MY!

Week three of DCC:  Land Navigation.  Its been over since Friday, but I'm still having nightmares about being tangled up in thorny vines, unable to run from giant spiders and snakes.  Seriously.

Monday started with classroom instruction on using the UTM grid map system (i.e., military maps), plotting points, and identifying terrain features on a map.  Thanks to Doug's patient instruction over the past 10 months, this was all review for me.  Tuesday, we headed out to the Land Nav training area at Fort Benning.  First, the cadre broke us into teams of 3, provided each team 3 different 8-digit grid coordinates, a map & a compass and let us loose for 3 hours.  Using those grid-coordinates, we had to plot our points on the map, calculate the azimuth (direction) and distance from point-to-point, and go find them.  Each point was marked with a little metal orange & white box either nailed to a tree or on a post in the ground with a number on it.  After finding what you thought was your point, you had to record the number of the box and move on to your next point.  On the first round out, my team found all 3 points pretty quickly, and I was feeling good.  On our second round out, my team struggled a bit with our 2nd point, as there were two orange/white boxes within 30 meters of each other.  We argued a bit about which one was the right one. (Its critical to find the right one, not just to get credit for it, but also because if you measure your next azimuth off an incorrect point, you'll never find any of your subsequent points!).  Even after some arguing and backtracking, we were able to locate all 3 correct points and return to base camp with plenty of time to spare.

Wednesday got a little tougher.  We were on buses back out to the training area at 0300 and no longer working in teams.  Each individual was given 3 points to find, one little chem light, and sent off into the woods.  Earlier in the week, we had been briefed extensively on the Georgia wildlife, including poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, and angry wild boars.  Now I was out, all by myself, in the pitch dark, wandering through the woods looking for a little orange & white box -- that I wasn't going to be able to see in the dark anyway -- praying that I wasn't going to step on any poisonous snakes.  A few times, I heard the snort of a boar, but didn't see any.  Spiders, now that's a different story.  Breaking through the brush, spider webs were everywhere and I was constantly spitting out thick webs.  A few times I turned my headlamp on for a second (technically against the rules, but hell, it was 0500 and I was in the middle of the freaking woods) and was staring straight at a spider the size of my palm.  The only way to get through night land-nav is to just plow forward and focus on getting where you need to go.  If I let my mind wander to the snakes underfoot or spiders overhead, I never would have gotten through it.  Anyway, my first nighttime point was 1900 meters from my start point, and the cadre imposed a "no roads" rule, which means that all 1900 meters had to be trekked straight through the woods (no trails) at night.  Its nearly impossible to stay on an azimuth (direction), or monitor pace count (distance) while breaking through brush, in the dark, for 1900 meters.  I spent about 2 hours looking for my point, and then finally continued on to the boundary road and headed back to base camp.  I felt like a failure until one-by-one my classmates started popping out of the woods along the same road, cursing and dejected.   Later I found out I was less than 10 meters from the point right before I popped out on the road - I just didn't see it in the dark!  At least I was close.  After a short break to eat and rest, we all set out again to find more individual points.  This time, I set a time-standard for myself - I wanted to see how quickly I could move through the course, because I knew that would be important for the test the next day.  I booked through the course and found all my points in just over an hour, which made me feel pretty good about the test. I only had one close encounter with wildlife - a GIANT black & grey snake stretched out in my path.  I jumped and let out a little scream, but was so focused on finding my point quickly that I just stepped around it and plowed forward (hard to believe, huh?).   Anyway, after two successful days on the Land Nav course, I was feeling good about the test on Thursday.

Thursday morning, we were on buses again at 0300, but this time headed to a different Land Nav course for our test.  Cadre told us this course is brand new, which means it hasn't had thousands of soldiers trekking through it every week, helping to break down some of the brush.  Its also called "Little Vietnam" because of how thick the vegetation is.  It crosses two swamps, and is littered with barbed wire and dummy ammo from its former life as a Ranger training area.   We were given 8 coordinates at 0500 and had 5 hours to find 5 of our 8 points.  This time, there was no prohibition on using roads, so I attacked my first point by walking the roads about 2.5 miles to get closer to the point.  This also gave the sun a little time to rise!!  I had no trouble finding my road intersections in the dark, and shot my first azimuth into the dark woods, plowed through, and found my first point exactly where it should have been.  I was pumped!   What I didn't know was that between me and my 2nd point was vegetation so thick that I literally would not be able to move forward.  In the past when I'd come across thick obstacles like that, I'd just go around them and adjust my pace count & azimuth accordingly.  But there was no "going around" this stuff.  It was just thick thick vines and deadfall and thornbushes.  I'm not talking about raspberry-bush sized thorns - I'm talking like thick thorns about an inch long.  There was absolutely no other option but to just plow through with some hope of finding my next point so I could go the hell home.  Unfortunately, I spent the next 3 hours tangled up in vines, walking around in circles, looking for that damned point I never did find.  I used all the tactics Doug taught me, like going out to the road and shooting a new azimuth from a different point, but the vines/thorns/deadfall/brush was so damned thick, it was just impossible to move.  I lost my eye protection, my ACU pants were shredded, I was wet and cold, and my hands and neck were covered in blood by the time I finally ran out of time and had to head back to base camp.  Out of 111 people in the class, only 20 found the requisite 5 points.  The rest of us looked like we had been to hell and back, and are probably still having nightmares about those damned vines.
Several people were injured pretty badly - some were really cut up by the barbed wire and a few had sprained ankles and knees from falling into ravines or holes.  We were told that we would all have to re-test the next morning, but that they would let us start an hour later to give us an hour less of darkness.  Unfortunately, the vines and swamps and the ravines and the holes are still there in the daylight!

Thankfully, I had my Secret Weapon -- Doug.  As soon as I was released for the day, I headed over to the campground for some intense Land Nav instruction.  After throwing a brief pity party for myself (which he very quickly put an end to, of course) we pulled out the map and got to work.  It turns out the strategy for a course like that is never ever ever to plow through the swamp/woods/brush.  I should have been running the roads, and then just traveling short distances through the brush to my points, like I did for the first point.  A few hours of strategy later, I headed back to the barracks for a few hours of sleep before the retest.

Friday morning, I was ready to go.  I got my points, figured out my strategy, and started running.  And it worked.  I found my first 5 points without getting wet, shredded, bloody, or frustrated.  I still had 90 minutes left, so I went for my 6th point, just to prove I could.  This time, 80 more people passed, so now there are less than 20 who need to retest again next week.  I am still amazed at the difference in my experience between Thursday morning, plowing through the vines/thorns/brush and Friday morning, running the roads and attacking short distances in the woods.  Obviously, that makes sense, I'm just not sure why they didn't teach us that in the first place.  Thank goodness for my Secret Weapon ..... he really earned his Best Husband in the World title this week!  :)

Next week:  Range week.  111 lawyers with loaded M16A4s.   Now that's some scary stuff.

Bruised and Broken (but still having fun!)

Happy to report I survived Week #2 of DCC.  I am bruised and still licking my wounds, but I'm still walking and going back for more tonight (as if I had a choice......).  

We started the week at 0400 on Tuesday for a run in formation.  That means all 115 of us run side by side, so there is no room for different paces or abilities.  The cadre leading the run started us off at a 6.2 minute/mile pace.  Crazy.  (My normal pace is about 9 - 9:30/mile and I usually fall right about in the middle of the class!)  People were dropping like flies.  I dropped like a fly.  The group that was able to keep up with the crazy pace took off and left all the wounded flies to fend for themselves.  We, of course, got lost and had no idea how to get back home.  Another LT and I rounded up the "wounded fly" group and did our best to keep them in formation and lead them home.  Four miles later, we were back at the barracks getting yelled at for being so slow.  Just another day with the Infantry.   After a sprint through the showers and quick chow, we had a few hours of individual time to take care of the "ash & trash" we each needed to do on post (e.g., forms at the transportation office, ID issues, finance issues, etc.)  The afternoon was spent learning combatives.  It was a blast.  I was paired with a 6'3" guy and thought I would be toast, but the methods they teach really work.  We were flipping each other over and around in the grass.  (OK, maybe he let me win a few, but I'm sticking with my story that I was able to flip him over my head and pin him on the ground!).  By the way, Georgia Red Ants are angry and have huge fangs .... more than a few crawled up my pant legs and attacked while I was pinned to the ground.

After combatives, we were finally issued our weapons - M16A4. Holy crap!  If this Army thing didn't feel real before, it sure as hell felt real with that thing in my hands!!  The rest of the week focused on getting familiar with the weapon, learning how load, aim & handle, as well as take apart & put back together.  No ammunition yet - just getting acquainted with our new "best friend" and practicing with dry fire.  Throughout the week, we carried our weapons and completed the first 4 stages of our Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) training.  We learned how to disassemble & assemble; how to zero (i.e., adjust our rife to our optic so the bullet hits where the optic says its going to hit); and how to get comfortable in the three main firing positions:  prone (laying on your belly), kneeling, and standing.  By Friday I was pretty comfortable and am almost ready to hit the range with some real ammunition.   I'll get my chance to do that next week. 

Tuesday morning we tackled the Army Obstacle Course.  We were divided into squad teams and were racing for time against the other teams.  Each team had to complete the same 14 obstacles.  Some were easy (i.e., doing a low-crawl in sand underneath criss-crossing wires) and others were much more challenging.  My squad was fantastic - everyone cheered each other on and provided that little push of moral support to get through some of the scary ones.   I had a hard time physically on a few of them that required a lot of upper body strength, and froze for a few seconds on one really high one when I made the mistake of looking down, but in the end was able to complete all of the obstacles.  There were two obstacles that required running full force into a log to hoist yourself up and over it to the next part of the obstacle.  For those of us who are shorter, the log hit square-on in our sternum.  Today,  5 days later, it still hurts to breathe, twist, strain, reach, or otherwise move.  Its getting better as time goes by, but we were all beaten up pretty bad by that obstacle course.  

Also this week, I was Squad Leader, which means I was the leader of 17 other students, and 2nd in command for our Platoon.  While it was a lot of extra work, I loved every minute of it.  It brought me back to the old days of being an RD or RA in student affairs.  At the end of the week, the NCO (Non Commissioned Officer - a Staff Sergeant) assigned to my squad said "Ma'am, I'd work for you any day" That is one of the best compliments I think I've EVER received.  

By Friday evening, after a week of 0300 and 0400 wake-ups and late nights, I was ready to come over to the campground that Doug & the pups call home and just crash.  The only way I can describe the level of exhaustion is to compare it to the feeling I had the night after the 24-Hour of Great Glen mountain bike race each year.  Its that level of total exhaustion, but day after day after day.  I honestly do not know how these high-speed guys survive this level of training day in and day out, some for 20+ years.  I am humbled by how difficult -- both physically and mentally -- it really is.  

Next week:  Land Navigation.  I'm pysched.  Thanks to Doug and many hours of his patient instruction the past six months, this is one area in which I may actually be above the curve.  If there's no blog post from me next weekend, you'll know I was wrong and I'm still trying to find my way out of the pine forests of Ft. Benning.  :)

Let's Get This Party Started

Ahhhhh.....Fort Benning.  The final phase of my initial Army training!  Let's get this party started!

I signed into the Direct Commissioned Officer Course (DCC) last Sunday, 3 Oct.   The fantasy world in which I've been living the past 10 weeks is long gone.  No more maid service or wireless internet.   Hell, I do a happy dance when I can get enough of a cell signal to sneak in a static-filled call to Doug before bed.  (No, Mr. AT&T man, I cannot hear you now....).  I am, however, blessed to have four wonderful roommates -- nobody snores, nobody cries, and they were nice enough to give the old lady one of the bottom bunks.  At this stage of the game, you celebrate the little things!

The first two days were filled with painfully boring in-processing (i.e., filling in the same exact forms I filled in 12 weeks ago at Ft. Lee ..... although I'm pretty sure neither my husband's name or SSN has changed since then, I still had to write it on at least 35 DA forms anyway).   The saving grace of all this in-processing is that we had a few excellent early-morning PT sessions.   And when I say "early morning" I mean in formation at 0415.  These Infantry guys who run this course are freaking nocturnal.

Wednesday and Thursday we were bussed out to one of the training areas for our Combat Lifesaver Course.  It was a great course taught by retired Army medics, with one full day in a classroom (i.e., Death By Powerpoint) and one full day of hands-on instruction.  Combat Lifesaving techniques require you to disregard everything you've ever learned in any first aid or first responder course.  The only focus in saving someone's life in combat is to first control the bleeding, and second to fix a collapsed lung.  That's it.  No CPR, no checking for spinal injuries, no pain management.  Just slap a tourniquet on so they don't bleed to death and then get them the hell out of the line of fire.  The medics (hopefully) take care of the rest.  That was another one of those "holy crap .... I'm not in New Hampshire anymore" moments.  :)

After we were all given our shiny new "Combat Lifesaver" certification cards, we returned to post and rushed through all of our various cleaning details (yes, I'm cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors on a regular basis these days) and safety briefings before the long weekend.   Because Monday is a federal holiday, the Army gave almost everyone Friday off as well so we could have a four-day weekend.  The second I was released, I was in my car headed north of Atlanta, to the campground I left Doug & the pups in the week before.  I'm now on day 3 of the 4 day weekend and I think I might actually be caught up on sleep!  Next week, we start with radio communications, then learn modern combatives techniques (woohoooo!), then head to the range for the beginning of our Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) training.  I am definitely looking forward to less paperwork and more time getting dirty next week!

So yeah, I realize there's like a 5 week gap between the last blog and getting here to DCC.   The final four weeks of class were split between the final topics of Legal Assistance (e.g., drafting wills, family law issues, consumer protection laws) and International/Operational Law (e.g., rules of engagement, Geneva Convention application).   Then the final PT Test and graduation.  Mom & Dad drove down to Charlottesville for graduation, so it was nice spending some time with them before I head clear across the country.

The obligatory Doug and Jen picture! 

Mom and Dad after JAOBC graduation

Graduation was short & sweet, and Mom and Dad were glad they came.  I was one of four Honor Graduates (top 5% of the class academically) and won the TJAGLCS Award for Excellence (highest grade in a particular subject) in both International/Operational Law and Administrative Law.  The final PT test was also a success, and I met my own personal goal.  (Scores range from 1 to 300.  My personal goal was to exceed 290.  I got a 291.   Goal met .... until the next one anyway!)

The day after graduation, we loaded up the RV, corralled the pups, and headed south toward Benning.  The Army gave us three days to get there, so Doug planned an excellent adventure for the trip (he earned his Best Husband in the World title for this one!).   Our first stop was in southern Virginia at Fairy Stone State Park, where we set up camp, took the pups swimming and did some hilly mountain biking.  Then the next morning, it was off to Croft State Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina where we set up camp, took the pups swimming and checked out some fun mountain bike trails.   The next day, we headed further south, to Fort Yargo State Park just northeast of Atlanta, where we set up camp, took the pups swimming, and rode some awesome mountain bike trails.  (Notice a pattern??).   I must admit I am amazed at how awesome the parks are down here, and how much we are loving the riding down here.  New Hampshire will always be home, but we are psyched to be able to explore all these new trails, all with such different terrain than we are used to.   We finally moved the RV and the whole pack down to the Uchee Creek Campground on Fort Benning today (we took the pups swimming today, and hope to check out the trails tomorrow!).  It's run by the Army's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate (MWR) and is just 7 miles from my barracks room.  Doug will live here in the RV with the pups and I'll visit whenever I can (or whenever I want to use his high-speed internet connection or cable TV).  :)

That's it for now.  Hopefully the next 5 weeks here at DCC will be exciting enough to post more often, and I'll have time to do that on weekends.   A few of you have asked for my address here.  I supposedly can receive mail (although it is yet untested) until 10 November at:

1LT Jennifer Norvell
Direct Commission Course, 2-11 IN
BLDG 76, McVeigh Drive
Ft. Benning, GA 31905

Alive and Well in Charlottesville

Yes, I’m still alive.  Buried under a mountain of books and sweaty PT clothes, but alive!

It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Charlottesville for seven weeks.  Doug, the pups, and the staff of the Charlottesville Residence Inn have survived seven whole weeks of our furry little family living in a studio hotel room.  (Shhhh….don’t tell any of them there are still 3 ½ weeks left!)  Everybody is doing great, and we’ve actually managed to sneak in a little fun here and there. 

A typical weekday here starts at 0450 – time to get up, get ready, and walk up the hill (and 88 stairs) to the School for PT.  PT can be anything from a hilly five-mile run, to hundreds of pushups and shoulder taps, to a medicine-ball core workout and pull-ups.   The first few weeks, I was angry about the group PT program because I thought it paled in comparison to the running & gym workouts I put myself through before I sold my soul to the Army.  But, after 7 weeks, I’m in the best shape of my life (and weigh less – at age 39 -- than I did in high school).  On good days, they let us out of PT by 0700, which leaves 45 minutes to walk back to the Residence Inn, shower, shove an English muffin in my mouth, and walk back up the hill (and 88 stairs) to school for morning classes, which start at 0800.  (Class actually doesn’t start until 0810, but in the Army, you are required to be at least 10 minutes early for everything ….. finally, I understand Doug’s little obsession….).  Classes go straight through until they let us out for lunch at 1210.  Most days, I am able to go back to the hotel to have lunch with Doug & the pups – a true luxury that I will definitely miss when its gone – and then its back up the hill (and 88 stairs) for afternoon classes, which usually run until 1530 or 1630.  Most nights, there’s at least an hour or two of homework, and another hour or so of reading to prepare for classes the next day.    Somewhere in there, there’s dinner (I could have my own Food Network show:  “Creative & Healthy Microwave Meals in a Hotel Room”), puppy kisses, and a little bit of Doug time.  By Friday I’m definitely ready to get off the hamster wheel and take a break!

We have even managed to have some fun here on weekends.  Other than the ridiculous southern heat & humidity, Charlottesville is a beautiful area.  We’ve been able to ride together almost every weekend on some great trails that remind us a lot of New Hampshire (rooty, rocky, hilly, and mildly dangerous!).   There’s also a great little trail system right behind the hotel that circles the city – we usually just run on that, or bring the pups swimming in one of the many stream crossings.   And then, of course, there’s lots of local breweries to discovery.  We found South Street Brewery right away, and then a few weekends ago ventured out to the mountains for a beer & music festival at Devil’s Backbone Brewing (love that name!).   We’ve got 3 weeks left here and 2 more beer festivals (that I know of) on our calendar.  Can’t complain that it’s been all work and no play!  

Devil's Backbone Beer & Music Festival

As for the academics, it’s much more intense than I thought it would be.  Some if that is my fault – I still haven’t been able to stifle my inner perfectionist.  Each subject of instruction ends with an exam, which, of course, my inner perfectionist insists I study way too much for (and then beats me up for days when I miss one or two questions).  The instructors all use the phrase “drinking water through a fire hose” when they describe the style of learning/instruction at TJAGLCS, and I completely agree.  They’ve got to teach us – or at least expose us to – a LOT of information in only ten and a half weeks.   The instructors are also trying to teach to such a diverse group of students.  A few of us have been practicing for a long time, but the vast majority of students are only a few months out of law school and have never held a legal job in their lives.  There’s really no other way but to open up the fire hose and hope we absorb some of it. 

The first two weeks we focused on Administrative Law.  This is kind of the catch-all of all law in the Army that doesn’t fit into one of the other categories.  For example, there’s a very specific administrative discipline system for Soldiers who screw up, but stop short of committing a crime.  At each stage, it’s the Judge Advocate’s (JA) job to advise the Commander about what punishments are allowed and ensure the Soldier gets due process.  There was also a lot of instruction on the Army’s ratcheted-up version of professional responsibility rules, and the very dense ethics rules for the military  (never in ten years of private practice did I have to think twice about a client wanting to buy me a beer …. now I question how much it cost, whether the buyer outranks me, whether the buyer has bought me a beer in the past 12 months…yada yada yada).

Then it was on to two and a half very long weeks of Criminal Law.  The military has its own criminal code – called the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) – and they prosecute their own crimes independent of the state/federal system.  Most of the UCMJ crimes are similar to state crimes, but many have a life of their own (only the military could take a relatively simple crime and turn it into an 8-way flow chart that only makes sense on a PowerPoint slide).  After suffering through a week in class on criminal law, and an extremely difficult exam, it was time to move on to the Advocacy Week portion of criminal law.  I have to give kudos to the faculty for pulling this together.  We were each given identical case files, in which two male soldiers were accused of raping a younger female soldier in the barracks.  Each student had an opportunity to play the role of either defense counsel or trial counsel (prosecutor) for the mock guilty plea of one of the men, and defense counsel or trial counsel for the mock Court Martial (trial) of the other man.  Both the students and the faculty really got into this exercise, bringing in evidence/props, preparing “witnesses”, drafting pre-trial motions, etc.  This was fun for me – especially knowing that nothing was really at stake (no client was going to lose $4 million) – so I could, and did, have some fun with it.   I doubt my opponent in the mock trial has forgiven me yet for all those hearsay objections – (sorry buddy, but when you’ve been doing this as long as I have, it just kinda happens…)

Finally the mock trials were done and we moved on to Contract & Fiscal Law.  I know, I rolled my eyes and groaned too …. but it actually turned out to be the best two weeks I’ve had, probably since becoming a lawyer.  I absolutely loved this stuff.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to buy a paperclip in the federal government??  Now add to that the complexities of a war (e.g., building a latrine in Afghanistan with contracted labor, buying & selling military equipment or ammunition, supplying bandages for the docs who give humanitarian aid in places like post-earthquake Haiti, and the rewards and incentives we pay to keep the locals “on our side” downrange).  One of my classmates summed it up the last day of class when he said:  “if I got deployed tomorrow, I feel confident I could stumble my way through a rape prosecution, but I’m absolutely terrified to buy a box of staples!”.  I wholeheartedly agree!  Amazingly complex – but also very real.  I can hardly believe I’m saying this out loud, but I really want to learn more about fiscal & contract law.  The day after the exam, I sought out one of the faculty to get advice on how to attend advanced fiscal & contract law classes at TJAGLCS.  I think that officially makes me the biggest dork in the class. 

Now, we’re slugging through the Client Services block of instruction.  Every Army installation has a “Legal Assistance Office” which is staffed with young military lawyers who provide free legal advice to Soldiers, Families and retirees on general legal issues including family law, consumer law, estate planning, tax, and SCRA/USERRA issues.  Most JA’s spend at least six months staffing the Legal Assistance Office as kind of a “right of passage”.  It’s definitely not the sexy job of being a prosecutor or advising commanders on operational law.  But in my mind (kind of like the Contract & Fiscal Law stuff) it’s the real Army.  The Legal Assistance Office helps Soldiers and their families with the most basic stuff – stuff that is probably the most important thing in the world to them at that very moment.  If I get to help one Soldier who lost custody of her kids because she was deployed, I’m all over it.  (I just have to remind myself of that the next week while I’m struggling to stay awake during class #6 on Estate Planning.  Ugh.)

Its hard to believe there are only three weeks left before graduation.  The only topic left to cover is Operational Law (e.g., rules of engagement, international laws and treaties, etc.) and I’m looking forward to that.  Graduation is on 29 Sep and then it’s off to Ft. Benning for the Direct Commissioned Officer Course (DCC).  More on that in the next post.  

And here are a few more pictures for those of you who still can't believe I'm actually in the Army!

Wearing my ACU's

Wearing the ASU
(yeah, I know, my hair looks funny - remind me not to cut it myself next time!)

Exiting the Gas Chamber at Ft. Lee

Capturing the cardboard terrorists!