Decked out in Kevlar
John and I got to go on an outing to McGregor Range yesterday, along with 6 of our co-workers. McGregor is part of Fort Bliss in El Paso, and a lot of it is set up to train soldiers going to Iraq and Afghanistan. We visited three main sites, and learned about IED detection, guard training for detainees, and how to clear “close quarters” – basically, how they train soldiers to enter a building and clear it of bad guys. It was a lot of fun, but more than that, really pointed out the seriousness of the Army’s training for those going to combat. Much of the site is set up like an Iraqi village, complete with Arabic graffiti and people hired to dress and act like terrorists. In the desert landscape here, it’s pretty convincing!
To give us a true experience, our hosts even opened a box of MRE’s for lunch, which was fun for novelty’s sake, but unfortunately was loaded with calories fit for a working soldier – oh, well!
Last night, we went to a great neighborhood dinner at Michael and Teresa’s – they made an excellent salmon with a little soy and brown sugar glaze. And Friday night, Caroline and Harold had us over for a delicious Jägerschnitzel dinner – unbreaded pork schnitzel with a mushroom sauce. So, aside from the MRE’s, we’ve eaten well this week!
On the home front, we watched the last Presidential debate on Wednesday night. Thursday, we trekked over to El Paso after work to buy a new laptop.
I also wanted to give you an update on the grass – John has done a wonderful job with it this summer!
