This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

NIACT day two has officially come and gone and life is getting more interesting by the hour. So far it's been a lot of hurry up and wait,, a lot of standing in line, and a whole lot of "hooah," which in army talk is interpreted as meaning "everything but 'no'" and is primarily used as both a question and as the only appropriate answer to that question. Yeah.

Every step of the way we've been padded down with more and more gear - I'm up to 3 full sea bags of stuff I need, one full of stuff I was issued for some reason but don't need, and still with NBC (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological) yet to come. The "need" will all be going forward with me, most prominently my body armor and weapon issue. It's a little weird to think that the things I'm carrying and wearing around right now will be the things that may save my life or end somebody else's when I'm in theater.

My IBA (Interceptor Body Armor) is WELL worn and has obviously been there and back at least once, as have both of my weapons, so at least I'll be accompanied by some experienced gear. I'll only be taking the M9 with me from here, which is good because the M16 they issued me is crap. I'll carry a rifle as needed in Iraq, but for my day-to-day activities on base I'll only need a pistol. This is both a welcome relief and a somewhat worrisome omission.

Altogether my full "battle rattle" with weapons and ammo is somewhere between 75 and 90 extra pounds. Pretty ridiculous. I have a huge amount of respect for the guys who run around and fight in this stuff all day.