Issue #1

Olympic 98   -   Issue #1, 27 Aug 98

 

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MAJ Philip Logan

 

How I Spent My Summer Vacation...
Welcome To Neah Bay

 

By MAJ Philip Logan

Commander, 122nd MPAD

 

It’s funny. Sometimes you have to travel a long way to get right back where you started. Several days ago, my unit got the State Active Duty call to support Operation Olympic ’98. As we gathered to start loading out equipment, an NCO reminded me that exactly one year had passed since my unit returned from our Bosnia deployment. He was right, and here we are…again. It’s kind of like the movie Groundhog Day.

As of this writing, dozens of media have come through (or flown over) to see what we are doing. What are they reporting? Oddly enough, they are getting the story right: We're doing great stuff out here, and our families and friends are seeing it. All of the media folks we have escorted around have made comments like these two: "Wow, I didn’t know you guys could do all this," and "No one is complaining about being out here!," as if that was some deep secret.

This is the first issue of the Olympic 98 magazine. What we will try to do is bring you news and pictures about…well, you. After all, what you’re doing is the story. Let us know what you think, and what you would like to see us cover.

We expect the exercise to end sometime this weekend, and that is still several days away. At the risk of sounding like your mother (or your First Sergeant), now that the initial adrenaline rush of getting here is tailing off, all of us need to continue the focus on professionalism and safety. The idea is to go home with everyone we brought. Okay, end of lecture.

Finally, for all you heroes who sat through our media awareness class, remember: "Life, property, and public safety," and you can’t go wrong. Oh, and take a minute to stop and look at the ocean. It is summer vacation after all.

"Tent City"

Setting Up The Task Force

By SPC Jack Eden

Our convoy of trucks hit the road at 0800 hours, rushing through the madhouse known as Interstate 5 and across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, headed for Neah Bay. Thereafter, we settled down to a more leisurely pace. The vehicles wound like a snake along Washington’s highways, and moved from the sunlight into the shadows of the tall pines lining the narrow roadway. This particular convoy would arrive ahead of the "main body" in order to prepare an area in the foothills above the bay for our soldiers.

"We’re setting up a 'tent city' for the units still to come," said SSG Thurman of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry. "We’ll make arrangements for them the same way we did for Firestorm of 94. We set it up, and they occupy it. That leaves them free to do training and their mission when they arrive."

Heavy equipment operators of the 898th Engineer Battalion also arrived with the first convoy. They brought bulldozers and Small Emplacement Excavators (SEEs). "Top priorities to clear tonight are the Helipad and the Medic’s area," said 2LT Lawrence Pitre, of Company A, 898th Engineer Battalion.

The cooks had their Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT) assembled quickly. "We’ll be up and ready to serve in the morning. It usually takes an hour to set up and serve," said SSG Thurman. The cooks will serve both breakfast and dinner, but lunches will be Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs).

The medics set up a Battalion Aid Station (BAS), were sick call will be held, and where any injuries will be treated. The BAS is completely self-contained, and includes a sleep tent, a treatment tent and holding tent. For serious emergencies, the BAS is next to a Helipad, for medievac.