That's right, I'm back home now. Last Sunday night was the end of the exercise. 1SG Bernal got a paranoid in the last hour, assuming that the opposing force (OPFOR) would mount a massive assault, so we broke out the MILES AT4 so that we'd be ready to do some real damage! We loaded them and ran them out to the entry control point (ECP), but the MP's there were already packing up for the exercise. What a let down.
Over the next two days, we packed up the tents and all of our gear, and loaded them in our CONEX (Container Express, aka. a steel shipping container). On Wednesday, everything was packed and shipped, so there was nothing to do except enjoy ourselves! LTC Carter was able to get control of the rappelling tower, so several of us went and had a blast with that! In addition to the wall that everyone rappels down in Basic, they opened up the open side that simulates a helicopter rope decent! I only went down the wall, but the open side looked like a blast! After that, SPC Faith and SPC Dixit and I walked the mile out to Mission San Antonio de Padua. It's an old Spanish mission founded in 1771, and is in fact the third built in what is now the state of California. It's a wonderful place, and it was only a mile away the entire time! We had very little time to stay and enjoy, because the entire 5025th/651st was having a barbecue to celebrate the end of a good exercise.
That night, we moved out of the barracks and spent the entire night waiting for the bus. (I'll never know why we had to sleep outdoors with the bags.) The flight home wasn't bad, and getting home was a relief! I had a good time, but now it's time for a couple days of R&R.
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