Well, it's been a week since coming back from NC and I wish I was still there. I'm in the MD Army National Guard and our AT this year was being the OPFOR during the SF's Robin Sage Phase 4 exercise. Two weeks of living in a tent, eating MRE's, and generally being a thorn in the side of the SF canidates as best we could making them earn their graduation. We were just outside of Ashboro in little towns like Star, Troy, and Biscoe to name a few. I have never been to a place where we got more thumbs up, waves, and salutes from the local people. Everwhere there's land to go shooting, fishing, or hunting. I can seeing buying some acres there someday it's that nice.

Anyway, I'll caption some of the following pic's but our missions ranged from raiding base camps, presence patrolling, and QRF. The SF's had a tendency to hang around the objective alittle too long and we would go in to provide some incentive to get in/get out quick like they would in real life. I meet one of the G leaders and even have a bunch of Pineland currency called Dons. Not sure about the origin of the name though. It's weird. There's SF safe houses all over, teams moving around undetected, and us rolling around everywhere with gunners up top the HMMV everybody else weapons ready, and the people take it in stride. Must be something to see outside looking in.

See below for some pic's. Thanks to Skammy for hosting these me.

Mk1III

Red X's I'll host em for you if ya want..

Ahhh Pineland.  Did you manage to stay away from the draw monster? It ate me once. Took 2 hours to get 200 meters.  
The pictures don't work for me.

Did you spend any time at Camp Mackall?
I would really like to see these pictures. Could you IM me a way to see them?

Me getting ready for our final mission at a local airport. PVS-14, M16A2, Aimpoint Comp M, CQB Solutions Sling, MOLLE FLC (4 RACK M4 pouches, 2 canteen/util one of which holding my Nalgene bottle, 2 medics pouches, 2 grenade pouches) & my Goretex. I knew we'd be getting down and dirty in the mud and the EWCS makes clean up so much easier.

I'm the driver and this is my truck. I'm not normally on a TOW truck, but the thermal was kick as spotting these guys recon units out in the bush. They think they took the airport, but they never had a chance in reality.

Here's a good bud SGT ****. I didn't talk to him yet so I'll respect his privacy. Biggest gun nut in the unit next to me of course and another Geardo. He sports the SDS Rack and M203. He and another guy was on foot doing CQB in and around the hangers and had mock kills like 10 to 1. They would make up passwords and shit when they'd see one like "I'm Black, I'm Black!" (dosen't mean a thing :) and the SF'er would shoot them. When they'd drop their guard, the Sgt would cap them. Oh, and since they knew we were there waiting for them the SF'ers used a fire truck from a local FD to try to surprise us. Didn't work, but it was a nice idea though.

Doing a presence patrol here on a railroad bridge. I'm on the 60 doing securitywhile two walks across it doing a bridge clasification. Through the thermals on the TOW vehicle behind us we same a recon element in the wooded high ground on the other side. We did not engage as we were not fired upon. They did right and didn't get suckered into a fight and comp their position.

Something new I learned about three point slings are they are great for running and gunning while driving. Once during a particulairly heavy ambush they set up for us I was firing, doing mag changes, and driving to get the hell out of there all at the same time. The paralell to what working Iraq might be like was obvious. Left hand on wheel, barrel pointing out the door, right hand on grip ready to fire. I drove like that for hours and got pretty used to it.

This was a raid on one of their G bases. For those that don't know the SF'ers have to link up with rebel forces, gain their trust, train them, and do missions with them. Just like in A'Stan. We were the Taliban so to speak being the OPFOR. Anyway, here's the SF'ers doing EPW searches after a raid on their camp. Lot's of times we were there to die in place, but we were there for their training so that's ok. So long as we both are learning it's all good.

Here's my hooch or where I lived for the two weeks. I am the hooch master! I made a tepee shower area, and hooked others up waterproofing their hooches building shelters out of ponchos and tarps. After the first couple of days getting the routine down I was damn comfy and dry. I could go into a long product review but here are the must haves:
Thermarest sleep pad
Apex II camp stove and APEX I aluminum cook set box (cooking, wash clothes in the pot, hot shower)
Solar Shower (sunny day it got to 120 degrees on it's own, Rainy days 50/50 cold & hot from stove)
Utimate Stool (got that and shower from Campmor.com they are awesome)
Under Armor Shirts (I could go four days before changing and they dry quick after I washed it)

I'll have to get a picture up of the Pineland money along with an EK bowie knife that I Strider wrapped while I was there. Be patient with the pic's working at first. I'm trying a new hosting site.

Please forgive me if this is inappropriate.

If this the same style excercise where there was a mix up and some SF candidates and Sherriff(s) died a few years ago?

yup

Great pics. Do you have any more?

It is the same exercise where two troopers got shot while role playing with an LEO. Only thing is he wasn't. I have a laminated card that I kept which states to the effect" This person is a role player in the exercise known as Robin Sage" etc, etc... I'll post a pic soon. They have rules now that say any contact with LEO and the role playing stops. They stayed well cleared of us. We had gunners up at all times on the 50's and TOW's and I'm sure they felt somewhat awkward around that and gave us a wide berth.

I could very much use help hosting these as my normal place Hunt101.com is down and this place I'm using now seems touchy. Skammy I'll email you about hosting these.

YOU ROCK SKAMMY !!!! THANKYOU

I could very much use help hosting these as my normal place Hunt101.com is down and this place I'm using now seems touchy. Skammy I'll email you about hosting these. YOU ROCK SKAMMY !!!! THANKYOU

email me anything you need hosted

Outstanding pics, looks like you had a great time.

Don is the Korean word for money. Mi-Guk Don-American Money. Han-Guk Don-Korean Money.

Sounds like a fun FTX.

Quoted: Don is the Korean word for money. Mi-Guk Don-American Money. Han-Guk Don-Korean Money. Sounds like a fun FTX.

I thought it was Won?

Were ya'll using MILES gear to let you know of a hit was scored?

Great pics and nice little campsite you have set up.

GunLvr

Tagged

Quoted: Quoted: Don is the Korean word for money. Mi-Guk Don-American Money. Han-Guk Don-Korean Money. Sounds like a fun FTX. I thought it was Won?

Won is to dollar as Don is to money, IIRC. It's only been 15 years....but I'm sure I'm correct.

First off, after reading things now the spellings nazis are going to crucify me. It was late and I was typing as fast as I can so please disregard.

Thanks for the Don money explaination. Good stuff. I didn't hear mention of a draw monster so I don't know what that is but I did get us stuck once in what looked like fairly solid ground which turned out like a peat bog. Good times let me tell ya.

I have more pics but they are more of me or other troops doing things in the field. Not real exciting to look at to most. See the SF's did a great job of not being seen and sometimes not making the objective so I didn't see them but two or three times the whole two weeks. I will post pics of the Dons and the role player card I have later today. I wanted one of those magnetic vehicle signs that say The Peoples Republic of Pineland but they keep pretty tight tabs on those as we were leaving.

Great pics.

Quoted: Well, it's been a week since coming back from NC and I wish I was still there....We were just outside of Ashboro in little towns like Star, Troy, and Biscoe to name a few. I have never been to a place where we got more thumbs up, waves, and salutes from the local people. Everwhere there's land to go shooting, fishing, or hunting. I can seeing buying some acres there someday it's that nice.

Thanks for the kind words

I've been to Troy and Biscoe, along with Ellerbe and a few other little towns.  Lot more sandy and pine trees down there than around here, I live about 35 miles due west of Asheboro.  Glad to hear you liked our little state.

No MILES gear so it was bang you're dead / No I got you first, you're dead stuff. You could tell who got the drop on who most of the time. Interesting point is if a canidate got killed in play, he was dropped and had to restart. Ouch!

Here's some pic's of the Pine Land money called Dons and a look at the role player id cards everyone was issued.







I would like to be able to offer some of the Dons to interested collectors. I have a lot of the $20 ones in particular. The only thing I know I'll need in return would be a self addressed stamped envelope or if you want an assortment of say a $10, $20, & one other denom up to me, I'd ask for a few dollars in exchange. Email me if your interested.

[email protected]

Hope the pic's work

I think a DINNER PIC was in order!

Quoted: No MILES gear so it was bang you're dead / No I got you first, you're dead stuff. You could tell who got the drop on who most of the time. Interesting point is if a canidate got killed in play, he was dropped and had to restart. Ouch!

mk1iii,

Forgive my ignorance but could you clarify that statment about them being dropped? They are dropped from this EXERCISE and had to restart it,  or were dropped from the WHOLE EVOLUTION and had to start the candidate school ALL OVER AGAIN.  

That would suck like a Tiajuana hooker......

The cadre was concerned about our thermals giving us too much of an unfair advantage against the canidates and stated to the effect that the would have to restart if they did something really stupid & were killed. Knowing how the Army always has phases for things I take it to mean that phase only but it was never detailed any further.

If the newest pics should be ok now as this hosting place allows hot linking. If they crap out after a while someone please feel free to host them for me.

Thanks,
Mk1III

You can be relieved or recycled.  You have to go to a board and if you are NTR then you have to wait a year before coming back to the course, pending appeal.  If you are recycled you have to wait until the next phase 4 and you can start over.  Some people get recycled to phase 2 and have to go through that again before coming back to phase 4.  I have a few Don around here someplace also.

We used simmunitions also for some of the raids.

For what team were you OPFOR?

I deer hunt in Chatham Co, the last county on that list of hospitals

Good memories!  One of my old units use to send non-infantry types up there from Lejeune to play guerrilla's.  Best two weeks I had as an admin type!

I was going to volunteer to help out with that, but couldn't fit it into my work schedule very well.  Maybe next time.

WOW..talk about some memories... I was at Ft Bragg 73-76 and remember spending time out in the woods with an A- Team for 3 weeks out near Pinehurst and a few other places I'd need to look at the map to get their names. I was a 63H20, wheel/Track vehicle mechanic and we were in formation bright and early one morning and they asked for "volunteers"... well you know what they say about volunteering... Well, for me the coolest things I got to do in the Army were from volunteering and this turned out to be one of the neatest things I got to do.... I forgot the name of the exercise but there were a bunch of A-teams working with local (us) guerrillas and we were to torment the guys from the 82nd by "blowing up " bridges and causing general mayhem... Most of the A-Team guys were pretty sharp, a few didn't seem to give a shit , but I learned how to track a person (long since forgotten) and learned some basic demolition stuff (also long forgotten)....coolest part of the 3 weeks.... we caught a rifle company that just put down from a couple of Hueys in an L shaped ambush and we lit their asses up good.....ahhhhhhhhh...memories

Pre raid planning at the Airport. I believe the plan was to really land a C-130 once it was secured but it didn't happen while we were still there.


Back at the railroad tressal on security with the M60


PFC on the .50 and another private purchase three point sling for the M16A2. Good view of the Role Player vehicle sign in this one.


Had to wire tie that BFA to the sixty to keep it on but once fixed it worked very well. We really use the 240 Bravo but we loan them out to a deployed unit in Iraq. First time hands on with the wepon and I like it. Much lighter than the Bravo.

That's about it. The question was asked what teams we went up against. I don't know that except each team was only know by their G base number. We operated in three sectors. North, Central, and South covering a large part of the state.

Thanks for looking,
Mk1III

siggy socky siggy socky, oy oy oy!!!!!!

so, how ARE the UPAs??????

so how do you send a self addressed stamped envelope In a way that it can be sent back?

Quoted: images.yorkphoto.com/33%3B6289523232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3A%3B4%3D%3A47%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3B282%3A273ot1lsi Pre raid planning at the Airport. I believe the plan was to really land a C-130 once it was secured but it didn't happen while we were still there. images.yorkphoto.com/33%3B6289523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3A%3B4%3D%3A47%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3B282%3A276ot1lsi Back at the railroad tressal on security with the M60 images.yorkphoto.com/33%3B6289523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3A%3B4%3D%3A47%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3B282%3A284ot1lsi PFC on the .50 and another private purchase three point sling for the M16A2. Good view of the Role Player vehicle sign in this one. images.yorkphoto.com/33%3B6289523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2335%3D%3A%3B4%3D%3A47%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3B282%3A288ot1lsi Had to wire tie that BFA to the sixty to keep it on but once fixed it worked very well. We really use the 240 Bravo but we loan them out to a deployed unit in Iraq. First time hands on with the wepon and I like it. Much lighter than the Bravo. That's about it. The question was asked what teams we went up against. I don't know that except each team was only know by their G base number. We operated in three sectors. North, Central, and South covering a large part of the state. Thanks for looking, Mk1III

I was going to ask about that. I didn't think anyone used the 60 anymore.

Quoted: so how do you send a self addressed stamped envelope In a way that it can be sent back?

It puts the envelope in another envelope high speed.

ahhhhh well if all you need is that in return then you have email inbound.