The going away party

Scotty, Me, Nick, Kat, Leah, and Wayne Newton

Nothing like a good pre-army hazing.
I didn't even have a fighting chance.

So last night was the going away party. It was great, a few people from REI showed up, and a bunch of my friends from George Fox. Petey even came from Idaho and brought his dog. We ate 6 huge pizzas, and generally had a great time.

After a couple of hours, everyone came downstairs, and while I wasn't paying attention moved all of the furniture to the sides of the room. Then Darren tackled me and everyone held me down while Scott wrote on me with permanent marker. Had NO idea it was coming.

In the process, I kicked Kat (Sorry Kat, I thought you were Nick! - Nick, I kill you!) And we also got a picture of Darren, which may be the first picture any of us have EVER gotten of him. I don't think his mother even has any pictures of him. So here it is for all of you to see.

Today, I'm moving my stuff out to Bonnie and Harry's place and I've already taken a load of stuff to Lindsey's apartment (bookshelves, etc...) Tonight we're going back out to Chuck and Jaira's and I'll get to see Todd before I leave.

Later,

Trey

The death of the Jeep

Me by the truck


The now dead Jeep

Well, The Jeep is officially dead. After quite a bit of thought and research, Lindsey agreed that the easiest thing to to is for her to learn how to drive a stick, and use my truck while I'm away for training. So last night, Nick and I jump started the truck, inflated the flat tire, and the truck has be brought back to life.

I'm getting very excited about shipping out for OSUT (One Station Unit Training - Basic and Advanced training combined). I'll probably spend the day packing things up and hopefully pick up some book boxes from REI. My friends Paul and Joey are coming down from Seattle to see me before I leave and will get here tonight.

I've also decided which duty stations I'm going to request once I'm given the chance. The Army lets soldiers pick 3 CONUS (Continental United States) and 3 OCONUS (Non Continental) bases. My CONUS choices will be....

1. Fort Lewis, WA


2. Fort Drum, NY - 10th Mountain Div


3. Fort Campbell, KY - 101st Airborne

And my OCONUS choices:

1. Southern European Task Force (Airborne) - Vicenza, Italy


2. Fort Wainwright, AK


3. Bamberg, Germany - 1st Infantry Division

Fort Lewis is an obvious choice. It's close to all my friends and family in Oregon, and I LOVE the Northwest. The 10th Mountain Division is an easy choice because they train in Colorado and Alaska and are the only mountain division in the Army. And Fort Campbell is a good choice because the 101st Airborne is a great unit, and my friend Garth is stationed there.

The OCONUS choices were a bit more tricky. The first one in Italy is a fery small contingent, and would be nearly impossible for me to get into, so I placed it first because I'm pretty sure I won't get it. Fort Wainwright in Alaska sounds GREAT to me for several reasons. First, it's Alaska. It may get cold, but I like cold and I love snow. Second, it's not far from Oregon. And finally Bamberg Germany would be simply great, because I'd be back in Europe again.

Nothing is ever easy

The new Army Stryker vehicle.

Well, today my mom left Portland. We had a great time while she was here.

But nothing can be too simple, so Lindsey's Jeep broke down, and it sounds like it won't be worth repairing. Her grandmother is being put in a nursing home, and I leave for the Army in less than a week now. So Lindsey is VERY stressed, which means I'm very stressed.

Hopefully we'll be able to find her a new vehicle and be able to sell the broken Jeep before I leave.

Some links, just because....
172nd SBCT @ Fort Wainwright, AK
10th Mountain Div. @ Fort Drum, NY
Improvements to Cav Scout training

Duty stations

A genuine Argentine BBQ

The Army lets each soldier request 3 US duty stations and 3 overseas duty stations. You actually get to choose a Division sized unit, and each unit has an assigned base. Since so many of my friends live in Portland, I'm going to request the Stryker units stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, which are only a few hours north of Portland.

The 1-14 Cav @ Fort Lewis
The 2-14 Cav @ Fort Lewis

The Stryker is the Army's newest fast and mobile attack vehicle. It is an armored wheeled vehicle that comes in several variations, of which I will probably be using the reconnaissance version.

Information on the Stryker

Hey everyone!

Grandpa Groot and me

Hey, this is Trey. I just set up this blog to keep everyone up to date on what's up with me during and after basic training. Linds will update it all as often as I can write her. Today I went to the Hills house and Chuck took the time to teach me (very patiently) how to take apart an M16 (actually an AR-15, but the exact same firing mechanism).

I'm very excited about heading out to basic, and pleased that my mom is here right now to visit for a few days before I ship out. Everyone has been super supportive, so now I just have to start getting in shape in the little time I have.

More later on what a Cav Scout is and does.

Laters,
Trey