From Fort Rucker... yes I am back at Rucker already!

So, I know Kim has been updating a lot more than I have (this is my first official post) and I thought i would chime in while sitting in my hotel room in Enterprise, AL. I have been at Rucker for my unit's Afghanistan Aviation Training Excercise (AATX for short) for the last week. It has been very busy as Kim alluded to, and I fortunately have only four days left. We are basically using simulators to receive and execute missions similar to what we will do in Afghanistan. I am working in the Tactical Operations Center (TOC for short, you'll notice the Army has too many acronyms) as a Battle Captain (BTL CPT for short... ha, i couldn't resist!). My role is simply to manage the "battle" whenever we have aircraft operating in our area of operation. In Afghanistan we will be operating out of Bagram in RC-East. We will have a lot of area to cover, and I've learned that we will be working for some French marines (yes France does have a military). Perhaps I will have to brush up on some of my french before leaving, although I'm sure most of them will speak english. While at rucker, we've simulated everything from missions to daily reports to shift change procedures (not sure the shifts in Afghaniland). While i would much rather be home or at least in hood getting progressed, I am learning a lot about the amount of work it takes for missions to happen as well as the purpose and function of the TOC. As Kim mentioned, keep your fingers crossed and your prayers flowin that I will get the chance to go to Hood before I leave, as this will pretty much guarantee that I will get to fly very soon after arriving in country. Good night from mother rucker!