January 20, 2014 by Stephanie

Armucation: MREs

I have been hearing about MREs for years. It was about time I tried one out, and I figured I would share my experience with all of you.

MRE: Meal Ready to Eat.

These are a general purpose meal that you don’t have to have a kitchen, cook, or a table to have them. It meets every purpose for war. You don’t have to keep it in the fridge; you can throw it in your backpack and not worry about it. And they keep for years…

One might think that they will only use them while in theatre (deployed), but they actually eat them a lot stateside as well depending on the training that they may be going through.

When you open the bag this is an example of what you will find.

Hot Beverage Bag-unless it is super cold and going to make coffee, you don’t usually use this. Overseas there is bottled water every where, and you would just use your “tang” bottle instead. The hot beverage bags are a heavy duty Ziploc bags though and will be used to hold maps and electronics.
Grape beverage base powder-kind of like a Gatorade substitute. Some extra packets will have Crystal Light-like packet, and the blackberry is legit according to Tom.
Banana nut muffin top-pretty good by MRE standards. It is chewy and rubbery, but it will be powder on your clothes.
The bag everything came in-becomes the trash bag at the end
MRE heater and spoon-if done right you can use the heater to heat your side and your entre. The heater is activated with water and you place the meal and heater in the bag. The instructions also say lean against a “rock or something” while you are cooking it. These heaters are not always very reliable. The best way to make a MRE heater do what you want it to do is to put sugar and water in the bag. This works wonders.
Peanut butter-This is gold.
Extra stuff-see picture below
Wheat snack bread-super doughy dense bread
Pears (side item)-The side item will vary depending on the MRE.
Spicy Penne Pasta (entre)-some of them aren’t that bad. Beef stew, cheese tort and beef brisket are Tom’s favorites.

Every MRE comes with an entre and side item. There will be the heater and some extra elements. However, every MRE will differ a little bit. Tom has only ever seen 24 different versions. Case A has it’s own assorted 12 and Case B has its assorted 12. The case is essentially the big box that they come in.

Here are some of the accessory things that come in the pack.

Gum
Sugar
Instant coffee
Matches
Creamer
Moist Towelette
Iodized Salt
Pepper Sauce (some have tabasco sauce)
Toilet paper

They are super high in calories, but if you think about the place they are in, it makes since. In the situations where soldiers are going to need to eat these, the nutritional value is spot on.

MREs replaced the rations that were served in earlier wars. You can learn more about the historical context of MREs here.

There are lot of things that these MREs can be used for besides just eating, which is one thing I didn’t know before Tom started talking about them all the time. Like the matches are used for smoking or to light anything on fire. They aren’t really used for eating the meal.

A soldier may not need to eat everything at once. You may eat the entre and save other things for a snack later if you are on patrol.

MRE swaps also largely occur. With each pack having various accessories, this provides opportunities for soldiers to do tradeseys on any item they are not particularly fond of. The items people fight over: chocolate peanut butter, tropical Skittles, and first strike bars. Just picture elementary school lunch box swaps with adult hungry soldiers.

So how did my experience go with eating one of these ready to eat meals?

These are my pears. This was the only thing that tasted normal.

At first taste, this wheat snack bread isn’t so bad. Then you keep chewing. And keep chewing some more. And maybe just a little more chewing. They are super thick and dense. I ate one bite by itself and then two bites with peanut butter. It tastes like an old pop tart, without any of the good pop tart parts like the filling. Done with that.

My entre was the spice penne pasta. While it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t something I would choose to eat again freely. It has a weird after taste. I guess if I scarfed it down it wouldn’t be bad, but I am a slow eater. Tom chastised me the whole time as I sat and ate my meal at a leisurely pace.

It was really interesting to actually see what these were all about, but I will say it will probably be a pretty dire situation before I choose to eat one again. Also Tom says that he is not very happy about having to eat one over the weekend. He is a pretty rocking husband who loves me and wants to help me with the blog!

Here is a video of Tom eating an MRE, and keep in mind that this is actually a slow pace since I kept talking to him. If the situation calls for it, he can eat it under 4 minutes. There is some profanity at the beginning, but I promise this is a good video. And you actually get to see a “Talks with Tom” live!

I hope you enjoyed this special “Talks with Tom” and my education on MREs!

Have you ever tried an MRE?

December 16, 2013 by Stephanie

It’s a No Go

So EIB is over. If you didn’t read about EIB you can find more here. It is basically a week long test that soldiers go through to say they are an expert at their craft. (Honestly, it reminds me of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)

On Monday, the brigade had around 850 soldiers start EIB.

Monday consisted of a PT test, day land navigation, and night land navigation.

After PT around 450 people were left. After the navigation part, 200 people passed through to day two.

Tuesday-Thursday were lanes with specific tasks that are judged on every minute detail. If you do not get through a detail or task, you are given a No Go.

You are allowed 2 No Gos.

For the entire week.

Each day more people fell off the ranks.

Going into the 12 mile ruck march on Friday, there were less than 20 soldiers left.

Only 12 soldiers out of 850ish were pinned with their Expert Infantryman’s Badge.

Unfortunately, Tom was not one of those. Only one person from his company made it through the week. Tom made it until Wednesday, so he did not get to do the last lane or Friday’s march.

Personally, I think the entire unit was doomed from the start. They have been working up to this for awhile following all the codes and learning the rules one way. Then just a couple days before, they changed the rules so that they could only get two No Gos for the entire week, instead of the initial 2 No Gos per task. They also didn’t allow them to challenge their No Gos like the rules stated, so they weren’t able to be heard by the graders if they thought their No Go was unjustified. They got to protest, but no one listened like the rules say they are supposed to. Tom wasn’t even allowed to talk to the next highest rank about his only no go. And when his Platoon Sergent tried backing Tom up and fight for his right to challenge, both Tom and his Platoon Sergent were kicked off the lane. This was the end of the test for Tom.

I am still astonished by the fact that the passing rate for the week was less than 2% of the brigade. It just seemed pretty messed up to change the rules. I mean the graders got 6 No Gos when they passed, why would they change it all of a sudden? Not my fight, but it seems a little ridiculous to put all this time and effort to get the brigade ready for this week and make it nearly impossible for anyone to pass. Any Army class is supposed to be a 20% pass rate, and here they sit with only 12 people newly minted with the badge. A lot of time and money for just 12 people, but what do I know.

So in true infantrymen fashion, all of the men have been poking fun at the notion of “No Gos” since they aren’t “experts.” Tom has been shouting it for the past few days at anything that he finds disapproving. And this weekend at a get together with some of our Army family, of course this was a running joke for the night. No go this, no go that.

So they all seem to be taking the defeat well.

Before this all went down though, Tom was really excited about land navigation. He is really good at it. It just comes so naturally for him. However, he was still concerned about the course time limit to find the four points, and was looking for ways to shave off time and make things as easy as possible.

Tom’s brain went to work to invent a handy map holder to attach to his uniform.

He is a map checker. He is constantly re-evaluating his route, just to make sure that he is doing what is right with the land. So he will look at his map at least once every 2 minutes. His thought is that if you aren’t willing to always re-evaluate your route, you may screw yourself over without realizing it because even a minor mis-step can take you way off course.

He was keeping the map in a ziplock bag in his pocket, because inevitably when they do land nav the weather is miserable and wet. So you can see over a couple hour stretch how checking a map ever 2 minutes can be cumbersome.

So we bought:

one old army duffle bag from a surplus store in town
clear plastic vinyl
snap buttons
velcro
cotton webbing
We also had to buy a new sewing machine…

Crosby was not impressed with Dad taking over the living room for Army stuff.

Here is he making sure all the pieces fit where he wants them before sewing everything together. The green pieces are the old duffel bag cut up in squares. Then the vinyl plastic is on top to keep it water proof.

He added Velcro so it would fold up nicely and stay put.

He put the snap buttons on the straps so it can be attached to the FLC (vest).

Then it was just a matter of sewing everything into place.

He even made pen holders on the backside. So clever.

This is the FLC. He just used the snap straps to slide into the FLC molle. (those horizontal strips you see)

Modeling off his creation

It just flips out so he can read it just like that. Now he doesn’t have to fumble through his pockets and a crumpled map in a ziplock bag anymore.

So even though he didn’t get new bling for his uniform, he did get something new for his uniform. This one seems more practical if I might say so myself.

Also I might add, it was pretty hot to see Tom use the sewing machine. Just saying people, a man doing crafts deserves a one way ticket to my heart. Lucky for me, I already snagged this crafty soldier.

December 15, 2013 by Stephanie

One Year Ago

One year ago, I was gearing up for the holidays, and was dreading every moment being alone.

One year ago, I woke up every morning to my beautiful Gracie, but without my husband.

One year ago, my husband was here.

One year ago, we were having our holidays worlds apart.

One of the hardest parts of being part of the military is knowing that you will miss out on days together. Days to make traditions. Days to be lazy. Days that are holidays. Days that are just days.

Here is where Tom and 9 other soldiers stayed during on of their missions. He received “holiday” meals a few days after while on guard duty.

Last year I was so apprehensive to go home for the holidays. I didn’t want all the reminders that Tom wasn’t there to share them with us. These were also the few weeks where I had very little to no contact with Tom. Come to find out later, these were the biggest weeks for Tom’s unit because this is when they got their CIB and had some pretty out there missions.

But all I knew were the days of silence.

One year ago, I jumped every time my phone rang, vibrated, or shuddered when I looked at it and saw nothing. One year ago, I was grasping for peace of mind.

One year ago, we both had to make the best of our distance.

Deployments are hard. They are hard for so many obvious reasons.They are hard for reasons I could never begin to explain.

And because of that, I don’t want to take this year granted. I want to make these moments we have been blessed with ones that we will cherish forever. I have loved being able to experience holidays with Tom. I love the sense of being normal. I love knowing we are both safe. I love having the peace of mind.

I know that there are so many soldiers that are still overseas. Many military families are going to have distance between them this year. I think about this often, and know that this year I am extremely blessed to have my family whole again. My prayers, thoughts, and heart goes out to those who wait for their homecoming.

This company was shared with me recently, and I thought it was pretty neat to think about how far technology has come in the past few decades. It makes deployment a smidge easier to swallow when you can have glimpses of each other through the various means of technology like Dropcam.

This was taken from their website:

Dropcam’s simple live streaming abilities allow soldiers and their families to experience the joy of the holiday season together, even when they’re miles apart. Military members can tune in and watch the excitement on their children’s faces as they tear open presents on Christmas morning. Dropcam’s Two-Way Talk feature allows our soldiers to speak directly to their families as they watch the action unfold online right before their eyes. If schedules don’t permit our service members to tune into the live stream, 24-hour Cloud Recording makes it possible for them to relive the moments whenever it’s convenient for them. Dropcams can even be purchased by military members and their families using a special discount at the Apple Store

How cool is that? Looking back, Tom was not able to do much on either Thanksgiving or Christmas because of their mission at the time. Plus the time difference may not have allowed for our holiday contact either. We also only used Skype one time during the whole deployment due to the internet connection and availability. So the chance to have these moments recorded and saved for when it becomes possible for the soldier is really a great idea. Much better than pictures, or trying to mail tape recorders, although those are great too!

Dropcam also has shared some heartwarming holiday homecomings. Grab your tissues and be ready to weep! Obviously, the one that got me the most was the one with the dog. Such a powerful moment, to see your loved one again after so much heartache, unknown, and waiting. Such a relief and a renewed sense of life and focus on what matters. I remember one year ago watching videos like these on Christmas morning so thankful for these families to have their family together, and praying that mine was ok.

It is a gift to have our soldiers home, and one that I am not taking lightly this year!

December 10, 2013 by Stephanie

Armucation: Airborne vs. Air Assault

Since I got a pretty good response on the last couple posts about my little Army knowledge, I figured I would semi-regularly write about details and tidbits about the Army. It is really educational for me too, so I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about the Army.

There are a lot of qualifiers, training, and titles that go along with the Army. It can get confusing real quick!

Two of them are Airborne and Air Assault. These are known as qualifiers.

Fort Campbell is home of the 101st Airborne, which is one of the most famous units, most recognizably for Band of Brothers.

So most people have heard of Airborne before. If you were like me though, you may have never heard of Air Assault. One would think that it has to do with fighting in the air from plane to plane-assault in the air duh!

So here is your Armucation for the day.

Air Assault and Airborne are fairly similar. They both refer to the mode of transportation that a unit specializes in getting to their mission. And both have to do with vehicles that fly.

Airborne is when a unit jumps out of an airplane with parachutes. There is a school that you must go to at Ft. Benning, GA, to become qualified. It generally lasts for about 3 weeks. I am sure it involves some jumping in the air and what not.

Air Assault is when a unit deploys out of a helicopter. This also includes sling loads, which is basically a rope that is hooked underneath the helicopter. When Tom was deployed, this is how a lot of food, mail, supplies were delivered. The school is here at Ft. Campbell and lasts for 11 days.

both pictures via

Fast Facts:

These are an individual qualifier not an automatic right since you in stationed within the unit.
A soldier can be qualified for both, and it is not just restricted to the infantry.
From WWII there has always been an airborne unit.
The 101st Screaming Eagles is the only air assault unit in the world, but this doesn’t mean that other units aren’t air assault qualified.
There are a few Airborne units.
Everyone in the Army (or even infantry) is not qualified for either. From what I can tell, a lot of it may be due to your MOS and duty assignment and what options may be available there.
You can have gone on deployments before being “trained” for these. Tom went through the Air Assault school a month after he returned form his deployment.

There are two other “types” of transportation besides these Air Assault and Airborne.

“Light” is foot infantry meaning they come in by foot. They may use other vehicles, but they are made to do foot traffic.

“Mec” is mechanized infantry. This is when they roll in vehicles like strykers (kind of like a tank).

The mode of transportation will be picked depending on the mission and terrain they are going into. It is all situational, and the same area may call for all four depending on what is occurring at the time.

This is part of the Air Assault training. They have to rappel off the side you see but also off the other side where there is no wall. This thing is huge and kind of daunting, but I kind of want to do the jump…
Picture from http://www.campbell.army.mil/units/Sabalauski/Pages/AirAssaultSchool.aspx

It seems like I learn things about the Army every day. If there are things that you have questions about or you would love to see a post about, just let me know! I am by no means an expert at all things Army, but I love exploring new topics and sharing what I see as a military spouse.

I am starting a list of topics, so any ideas are welcome!

Hope you enjoyed today’s Armucation.

December 1, 2013 by Stephanie

Feeding the Army

Our first solo Thanksgiving went pretty smoothly.

We are adults! Whoop whoop!

The only hiccups were that we did not plan ahead on our grocery trip and waited until this week to get stuff. We had to make a couple trips to different stores to find what we needed. And the other, is that I over estimated how much time the noodles needed to be cooked for my Glinn noodles addition, so half of them were paste instead of noodles. Whoops.

Everything else went great.

We managed to have 8 adults, 3 small children, and 3 dogs in our small little kitchen. We literally fed the Army.

It was so great in comparison to Thanksgiving last year. My husband and the other 4 guys were deployed, so really my competition of Thanksgiving pasts was pretty low. I was most thankful to be able to share the day with my hubby and start making some of our own holiday traditions since this was the first time to celebrate any holiday under our own roof.

Of course I had to craft for the day. Since I knew that we were not all going to be sitting at the same table, and also that it was Army men I was feeding, I was not really concerned about place settings, chargers, napkin holders, and table runners. Someday I will, but not this year.

However, I still wanted it to be a little festive.

Supplies Needed:

scrapbook paper
canvas boards
paint
letter stencils
string

supplies

First, I painted the boards a nice fall brown. I only needed one coat.

Second, I picked out several sheets of scrapbook paper. I cut out flags for one board. I put the string on top and glued it down. The other is supposed to be a turkey, but it looks more like a flower.

I used a hot glue gun to put these in place. I am sure you could mod podge them, but I have never had good luck with mod podge doing what I want it to do.

Then I used the stencil to paint the saying on each one. It took awhile because I had to let each letter dry before moving on to the next one. I would have used my Cricut, but I cannot get it to cut scrapbook paper without ripping it, so if someone has advice I would love to hear it!

I have been wanting to do something with this saying for awhile!

We had a feast for the Army for sure.

The bird before.

The bird after.

I always struggle with making deviled eggs not look like I threw them back up. They always taste great, but I don’t have the knack of making food look great. So I was pretty impressed that they turned out decently this time.

Yes we bought paper plates. And I think they count as decoration. And so does the PT belt.

some of the sides

the rest of the sides

It was a great day with our Army family. So much to be thankful for!

These are all the leftovers. Tom and I will be eating Thanksgiving for awhile. Our fridge is like a puzzle every time we want something. Anyone want to come over?

We had a great time hosting, and we learned some tricks of what to do in the future. For our first time though, we did pretty awesome. High five to us!

I hope that your Thanksgivings were filled with fun and good eats. We had the best weekend in the Whitener household!