These are pictures taken during C Battery, 2/200 ADA Battalion's Annual Training in June 2002. The unit convoyed down to McGregor Range at Fort Bliss and fired 7 of 8 Patriot missiles with the last missile being a misfire. It was neat to see another live fire in a Patriot unit and really neat to have been so close to the launchers when the missiles went off. Here is part 1 of this set of pictures. Enjoy!
Here we are lining up at the armory in Rio Rancho to hit the road.
Rest stop somewhere on I-25 between Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
It was a long drive, but late in the evening we finally arrived
outside the Tobin Wells training site and settled in for the night.
Ah, but the fun was just starting. To get the real life experience of
a Patriot battery in the desert, we had one of the E-6's get their
launcher stuck in the sand. Here they are digging the truck in more.
Finally, the truck free from the almost fighting position sized hole,
it was time to settle in for the night. This wasn't the first time
I'd seen the sun set behind the mountains in El Paso, Texas. :-)
Morning! Since we were just staying here overnight, we didn't bother
to set up any tents. Just got out some cots and sleeping bags and slept
under the stars. It was a really nice night weather wise so we slept good.
Here you see our sleeping quarters for the night before. The wind had been
blowing a little bit so it was blowing up sand and we all took "shelter"
next to the truck which blocked most of the wind and sand from us.
Ah, the sun is up! And the outside temperature goes from a nice cool
70 degrees to about 90 in the time it takes to get up and get dressed.
After packing up our stuff real quick, it was off to the main site to
get some chow and find out what the HQ folks had planned for the day.
Nothing like a hot meal cooked in an MKT and eaten outside. :-)
After breakfast we found out we would be moving to the main Tobin Wells
training site to set up our equipment. Here you see another battery
setting up. Note the large refrigerator. Hey, it is the Guard! ;-)
While we were setting up, the ice cream man stopped by and was a big hit.
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