Our platoon leader, 1LT Morgan, was a former MP Sergeant who liked to ruckmarch. We always would talk about doing a ruckmarch around Gnjilane and finally one afternoon they planned one for the next morning. I would be coming off my all night shift, but still wanted to get out and among the locals just for a while. I went back to my room, grabbed my rucksack without taking anything out of it (might as well get some exercise, right?), and loaded up the M249. It was interesting, but I think I could have taken *some* of the junk out of my ruck!
Here we are getting ready for the march.
Just outside the front gate of Camp Monteith. That's 1LT Morgan
looking toward the camera getting everyone gathered up and accounted for.
Giving us the marching order. On the left looking back at the camera
is SGT Wiggins, 1LT Morgan in the middle, and on the right is SGT Bell.
While moving through the town, we stopped by to visit with some 2/2 Infantry snipers
who had occupied the top floor of a building. Here are SPC (now SGT) Hinojosa
on the left and SPC Broussard on the right at the entrance to the building.
While I can't show many of the pictures I took up there of the sniper's hideout
I can show this one they had put up. It was pretty neat up there with all the
things they had going, but it had to suck to not have any electricity at all.
Here is SPC (now SGT) Riggle holding a sniper rifle they use. Don't know
for sure if they fired at anyone, but we did see empty brass in one spot.
On the left is SGT Bell and on the right is SPC Haeck. They are
standing in front of one of the sniper hides the 2/2 troops use.
And back to our ruckmarch. That's SPC Jessup on the left
looking back and that's 1LT Morgan in front with the ruck.
And still walking.
Here is yours truly showing everyone what an NCO getting his butt
kicked looks like. I'd really bitten off more I could chew with that
ruck *and* the M249 but I wasn't going to give up and quit. :-)
That's PFC (now SPC) Torgerson on the left taking a drink of water.
Here we are almost back to Camp Monteith. I'd made it
despite what my feet (and back) were telling me!
Return to Main Page