Hello all, we have been busy up here in VA. Well, I have been busy with work and Kelsey has been busy having fun in Texas, Pennsylvania and in Florida next week. I have been in and out of the field for the last few weeks, so I am glad she got to travel while I was gone. I have only five weeks left and two of those are in the field, then I am done.
Last week while I was in the field I recieved my MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), which in civilian terms, is my job. I will be an 1803, Assault Amphibian Vehicle Platoon Commander. AAVs were formerly known as LVTs (Landing Vehicle, Tracked) and are most known for carrying troops ashore at Normandy and Iwo Jima. AAVs or Amtracs, are now being used as more of a Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), for mechanized infantry and less as an amphibious transport since we are currently conducting desert operations in Iraq. Upon graduation from my MOS school, I will be assigned to either 3rd AAV Battalion in Camp Pendleton, CA or 2nd AAV Battalion in Camp Lejuene, NC. I will be in charge of four AAVs and the crew that operates and maintains those vehicles. So, to that end I will likely be with an infantry unit where I can provide them with armored transportation around Iraq or wherever I end up. My other main deployment option would probably be a MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit), which means I would be on a ship for a few months and be forward deployed somewhere in the South Pacific or Mediterranean Sea. I will go to school in Camp Pendleton, CA in San Diego for about 11 weeks after I graduate from TBS.
I will update the blog as soon as I find out when my school starts and what unit I will be with upon graduation from MOS school. I should know both within two or three weeks. Above are some pictures of the AAVP7A1 on land and sea (hence the name amphibious) and me at TBS.
