I was also filling in for my boss last week. Answering all the e-mails and “taskers” that keep people on a staff busy. Turns out we’re the only staff around that doesn’t have a separate “Transformation” office. So that’s become my real title, “Transformation Plans.” We’re getting another Reservist for three weeks here soon, and I think I’m bringing one of my sailors out for his two weeks later in August. Building a small empire.
So the rest of this is pretty much just about the gun shoot I did yesterday. Here in Korea, you have to qualify once a year. For O-4 and above (LCDR is an O-4 in the Navy) you only have to qualify on the pistol; the rifle is optional. As Reservists we are supposed to get this done before we come over for the exercise. But since I came over early I still had to shoot.
On Thursday afternoon, I was hanging out in the hallway talking to our GM1 (Gunnersmate, First Class). When I reminded her that I still needed to get my gun qual, she told me there was a class next week, or one the next day. So after the one hour training lecture Thursday afternoon, I was clear to go shoot on Friday.
We got on a bus to CP Tango bright and early Friday morning. CP stands for Command Post. The Army has these command posts separate from the regular “posts” or bases. I think most or all of them are underground bunkers. This is where the generals go during wartime to ‘command’ the troops.
We drove an hour or so up into the hills to get to CP Tango. At first I thought we were driving northwest from Seoul, but I later found out it was southeast. That makes a little more sense, if you know where Seoul is in relation to North Korea. Since the bunker is underground, that leaves the surface available for things like weapons ranges. Still, you’d think they would have a weapons range a little closer to civilization.
There were actually some farms inside the base, as well. I guess it has to do with the original property owners and how the government couldn’t just take their land, even in the name of national defense. I think it just makes for a good cover-up. Not like the North Koreans haven’t figured out where all the South Korean bases are. There’s still a big gate at the entrance with military guards.
So the shoot goes something like this: (1) Safety talk, (2) hints on shooting well, (3) shoot pistol, (4) shoot rifle, and (5) clean weapons. There were only eight of us shooting I think, so we only had one “line” and it went pretty fast. For some reason they made one guy stand some sort of security watch with the Army range master, so he was his own line and went after the rest of us. But that was cool, because it let me take some pictures.
Yes, of course I brought my ‘big Cannon’ out for the day. Another kind of shooting. But ironically, one of the summer interns also came with the official CNFK camera. These interns are American high school students that I guess CNFK pays minimum wage to basically sit around and not do very much. But this girl was working the Public Affairs Officer and taking pictures all summer. She already had one published in Stars and Stripes, so I tried to give her some tips on shooting good photos. With cameras these days, it really comes down to just framing the shot. Fortunately the CNFK camera has a couple lenses, one of which is a nice zoom lens. Hopefully she got some good photos.
So, to make a long story short: I qualified on the pistol just fine. But only one person qualified on the rifle, and it wasn’t me. With the pistol, you shoot at 3, 7, and then 15 yards. Rifle is much harder; you shoot from 25 yards at a tiny target. So unfortunately, all those guys (except the other LCDR and the guy who did qualify) will be back out there, sweating in the July heat and humidity next week. And they told us the Army is now making people shoot in full protective gear: helmet, flack jacket, elbow and knee pads, etc. At least it won’t hurt as much laying and kneeling on the gravel at 25 yards.
I think I last shot the rifle in 2002. Before that, I hadn’t shot for qualification since 1990, Plebe Summer at the Academy. Since then the Navy has become real sticklers on ammo. They didn’t even let recruits shoot at boot camp for the longest time. Changed a little since 9/11, but not much. I was actually the Gunnery Officer on Shiloh. The ships get to shoot more, and we had a few ‘more-bigger’ guns than just pistols and rifles. Like two 5”/54-caliber guns, the 40-mm gun (for deployment), several 50-calibers, 60mm machine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers, and some others I’m probably forgetting. Of course the 5” guns aren't personal weapons, nor are the 20-mm CIWS guns (think radar-guided gattling gun). But all we did was shoot holes in the water. I think we called it familiarization or ‘fam’ training. But most people called it 'fun' time!
The Gunnery Warrant Officer who was overall in charge is from the MESF community. We got talking on that subject. I guess I’ll be shooting a lot more in San Diego before we go over to the Middle East. So this was good practice, even if I didn’t qualify on the rifle. Takes a while to get it dialed in.
So that was my day Friday. Well half a day or so. Went to the Navy Club for its grand re-opening Friday night. They had free appetizers and drink specials. It’s actually been open again for two weeks or so. It’s a very cool place. Katie will love it. We’ll probably go there at least once or twice when she comes out. Mongolian BBQ on Thursday night, for starters ☺
Oh, the other cool thing I did this week was order my ‘challenge coin.’ The Army and Air Force are real big on these. And any Navy guys that have been stationed overseas, especially in the Far East. There’s a story behind how they evolved, but the best way to describe them is as collectibles. While you can go out and buy generic ones at the Exchange, you’re supposed to get them for performance. Then you buy the appropriate sized display rack and show them off for all to see.
For my coin, I wanted the CNFK coin design on one side, but instead of the generic U.S. Navy design on the other I wanted something to represent The Fighting Det. C – Sacramento. I’ll talk to the design once I get it back from the coin makers. I’m getting a hundred made. I’m going to try and get 18 to the Korean who were there in Japan with us. I’ll give some to the CNFK staff when I leave, and then my entire unit next time I see them. The rest I’ll give out to others along the way. Never know if I’ll ever be in command again.
Katie is here in a week. So it might be a couple weeks before I write again. We already have a good plan. Tour of Seoul one day, tour of the DMZ another, baseball game one night, and of course some nice dinners, both on and off base. We’re staying at the Dragon Hill Lodge. I’ll have to work a little while she’s here, but hopefully have afternoons and a couple full days off.
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