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Posted: 4/15/2006 3:15:41 PM EDT
Leaving next week for a month of war games and sunshine. Anyone been there recently?
Thanks 
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Posted: 4/15/2006 3:17:37 PM EDT
[#1]
Sand, the whale, and your lucky it is still relatively cool there. It would sure suck to be there in August.
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Posted: 4/15/2006 3:17:39 PM EDT
[#2]
Getting your ass kicked by OPFOR.
CS bombs while you are sleeping. Dust. MRE's. |
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Posted: 4/15/2006 3:18:06 PM EDT
[#3]
it can go from hot to effing cold real fast. the OCs are a pain in the ass. if you're mech, bring a little coleman propane burner and a lot of instant coffe since you're going to be sitting around "dead" a lot (at least I did, the OPFOR guys have some brutal counter recon)
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Posted: 4/15/2006 4:21:37 PM EDT
[#4]
The army has radically changed the NTC experiance from the 4 times I went in the 90's. You'll occupy a FOB and run missions that are hopefully supposed to mirror real world missions in OIF and OEF. CALL has a bunch of recent trends from NTC and tips for success, under the new stuff tab, these briefings could be useful.
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Posted: 4/15/2006 4:26:30 PM EDT
[#5]
Manic_Moran probably has experience there. He's an armor commander, from California, been to Iraq.
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Posted: 4/15/2006 10:38:08 PM EDT
[#6]
You can always go into Barstow for a night on the town in the big city. May still get some rain, and if you get a lot of rain things can get exciting in the desert. Snakes are coming out now.
Good thing is it very likely won't get too hot, but can still get relatively cold. |
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Posted: 4/15/2006 10:39:52 PM EDT
[#7]
our guys seemed to like it alot. Said it was some bad ass training. Most of our mortar platoon didn't get to go though so don't be too let down if they limit the number of joes going.
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Posted: 4/15/2006 10:42:41 PM EDT
[#8]
Never been this time of year. Just consider that it's rocks, sand, and repeat. The OPFOR is vicious. Remember, they do that everyday. We never were allowed any off time to go into Barstow or anywhere else.
 Get used to replacing track.
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Posted: 4/15/2006 10:48:28 PM EDT
[#9]
Hot dam Hott hot enough to do some crotch pot cooking!
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Posted: 4/15/2006 10:53:32 PM EDT
[#10]
I was there during the summer of 1993 with the 1st Brigade of the 24th Infantry Division (Mech.)
All i can say is that you will be in the "Dust Bowl) for a few days while you pick up vehicles, MILES equipment, do PMCS out of everything you'll take out and then is off to your designated grid. You'll find sand, rocks, scorpions, black widow spiders, scorpions, the whole enchilada. Keep hydrated and make sure you keep your boots high (otherwise they'll end up as a nice cubby hole for a scorpion) Enjoy the sunburn and the lack of a shower for 3 weeks.
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Posted: 4/15/2006 11:08:48 PM EDT
[#11]
BTDT.
The dust bowl is the worst part. Once you get out to the field, it gets good. Being dirty sucks. Hopefully your squad is cool about taking, "Bitch baths." Mine was. |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 12:33:20 AM EDT
[#12]
I've not been there since January, and Christ it was cold. I'm not sure who's the OPFOR for the next rotation: 11th ACR are back home as of a month or two ago, and the 221st Cav are about done with their tour. If it's the 11th, they're liable to be a bit rusty. 221st will be up to speed, but looking forward to going home. Not all the NTC rotations are FOB/Iraq-type. Some of the rotations are still full-scale conventional mechanized warfighting. Don't want to get too rusty, after all. Depends on if your unit is in a pre-deployment spin-up or if it's just regular conventional rotation. It's (Fighting?) Hellfish (That's his name, isn't it?) who you really want to talk to, he's a 221st cav scout. NTM |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 12:40:44 AM EDT
[#13]
My brother leaves then too! You're not going from Hawaii are you? |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 3:34:45 AM EDT
[#14]
Heh heh heh....
Whats your MOS? |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 6:32:01 AM EDT
[#15]
I was there July/August 1985, ugh!
Prepare yourself for very long days and longer nights. try to bring as much pogey bait as you can. and a little am/fm radio with lots of batteries. We had one guy stand on top of the Bradley with a 5 gallon can of water while we stood along side the track and took a shower. what a sight! 4 dudes standing in a row nekkid while one dude is pouring water on them. The first three days were spent in tent city to "get used to the heat" and gather/pmcs the gear. The vehicles arrived on day 2, the rest was rock and roll. Make sure your mask is in good working order, they used lots of CS gas on us. The nights were the best, laying on the vehicle's tarp staring up at the stars was awsome. I really enjoyed those three weeks. here is my Bradley out in the desert somewhere....  |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 6:39:39 AM EDT
[#16]
At night it gets REALLY, REALLY dark. It was just something that stuck in my mind over the years. Walking out of a lightd tent into a overcast night. I couldn't see a damn thing. You folks that live out in the sticks know what I am talking about. |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 7:12:37 AM EDT
[#17]
I grew up in Barstow. I survived it as a kid, I'm sure that you folks can survive just as well. Morning times are bit cool, 40s-50s, day times are usually fairly warm, and the evening times can get cold. In the summers it could get into the 100-110ºF. And it is real, dry, practically zero humidity. The USMC has the largest supply depot west of the Mississippi here. You will see acres and acres of military equipment stored here. Even though I've never been in the miliary, my family woudd go there when they had the open houses, ie Armed Forces Day. In my days, I knew it as Camp Irwin, and the Army upgraded to NTC years later after I left Barstow. I think this is one of the few(and I think only) where you can shoot a cannon at max elevation and not hurt/kill anything. The place is huge. For the local weather click here: observed at Daggett-Barstow, CA For the local newspapers in the Barstow/Victorville/Apple Valley areas: www.highdesert.com/ In the summer time it will get really hot. I remember one soldier died when he was left behind, and his team mates didn't notice he was gone. He died of dehydation. |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 7:50:57 AM EDT
[#18]
Damn,what was your MOS,a file clerk ?  J/K11B's didn't get any time off the whole month,we didn't expect it either. One early AM we were dug in for the night in our BFV and one of the "judges" threw 3 CS cannisters in our hole,and into the BFV.We were supposed to be rotating "guard",but we were all sleeping after all night manuevers. We were smoked the fuck out.Lotsa snot and tears trying to find our gas masks..it was quite funny actually. Lesson learned: Stay awake during manuevers/guard/watch. |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 8:11:37 AM EDT
[#19]
Things have changed alot since 1985.  There is a bunch of Circus sized tents built now, called "Tent City". The old car ports where people used to sleep under are still there. There is a nice little PX at Tent City/Dust Bowl. There's also an internet trailer, a little restaurant and some other stuff. Almost daily we could go to Irwin's PX if we wanted. Course, we did specialized training for our job in Iraq but the other companies did similar training to us.  We were there from Oct. 1 to Nov. 10th. It was hotttttttt the first two weeks of being there. Then the last 3weeks at night, it was down right chilly. Course, the tents hold the chilly in at night. It was colder in the tents than it was outside in the wee morning hours. You'd freeze on your way outside to go to a porta-potty then it'd be all warm outside. |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 10:40:28 AM EDT
[#20]
Hell I slept in the vehicle (M113A3) when we were in the dust bowl. That was the best part. Away from all of those people.
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Posted: 4/16/2006 11:01:56 AM EDT
[#21]
My NTC rotation was at Fort Hunter-Leggitt.
 What's this dust-bowl you guys speak of? CHRIS |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 12:48:17 PM EDT
[#22]
Does anyone have a copy of the email that went around once that said "You know you're having a bad day at the NTC when..."
And it's things like "When you go for breakfast, OPFOR are standing in the chow line..." NTM |
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Posted: 4/16/2006 2:00:38 PM EDT
[#23]
Yes I am leaving from Hawaii, 11b recon section. |
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Posted: 4/17/2006 9:34:12 AM EDT
[#25]
Dirt, sand, those little whitish-tan lizards (fast as shit!), scorpions (if you leave something sitting
for more than a few minutes, check to make sure one didn't crawl under it for shade). As Black-Tiger said, put your boots up when you take them off, or give them a good shaking before you put them back on. Critters like to use them for shelter..... Drink, drink, then drink some more..... Standing on the ridge, looking down into the Whale, you can get a real good feeling for how easy it is for a person to die in that terrain if they're lost or stranded. Tarantulas - the cold makes them lethargic, so you can literally turn them over w/ your boot in the morning, and they lay there like that, then SLOWLY right themselves. Fast when warm though. Not sure if the standard has changed (I doubt it) but when you go to turn your equipment back in at the end of the rotation, they are ANAL about their check-in PMCS's. Bring coffee, as TheRedHorseman said, as you'll be sitting around playing dead a lot HOT in the day, COLD at night. Take your fartsack - they rest of the guys thought I was crazy for taking mine. I stayed warm at night, and they shivered in their poncho-liners. 
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Posted: 4/17/2006 9:30:33 PM EDT
[#26]
My Cingular wireless phone worked all the way out in the box.
Bring it, and a charger. I didn't bring a charger and had about 6 batteries. I was able to text my gf even when I was in the field, and I let my fellow soldiers use the phone as well. If I'd had a charger, the guys would have really appreciated it....but I didn't. |
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Posted: 4/17/2006 9:33:21 PM EDT
[#27]
I'm leaving from Hawaii next week too. 2-35 Cacti. Can't wait.
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Posted: 4/18/2006 6:20:08 PM EDT
[#28]
psst I was in the Navy. While you guys do your AT's out in North Yermo, I used to do mine at Subic. I leave it to you to guess why I picked the Navy.  I get out by there for my recreational shooting periodically. Barstow is the Flower of the Mojave, a garden spot for vacationers. (well maybe not)The desert can be a cruel place, very unforgiving of mistakes, as noted this time of year it can be very very cold and windy at night and miserable in the day. Probably going to be close to 90 in the next few days, in the summer it can be worse. Good place for training. I don't mind going out there for shits and grins, wouldn't want to live there. |
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Posted: 4/18/2006 6:23:06 PM EDT
[#29]
sand
rocks dust dirt hot cold lots of nothing. that was back in '86 and I'm willing to bet that hasn't changed at all! 
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