29 Stumps

[DevilDoc]

Hi All,

I have been away for a bit, stationed out at 29 Palms, CA Camp Wilson, on a Combat service Support Detachment, for the 1/25 that is about to deploy. Let me just say to those of you who have never been there...DON'T GO! if you can avoid it. What a shit hole, and that's being generous. We were out there with no heat, with temps dropping into the teens at night and 60 mile per hour winds. You get sunburned, windburned and sandblasted and theplace is a desolate pile of dust. No human being belongs out there. Here's the funny part, the base used to belong to the Army, they realized that it was really uninhabitable. Thinking they wouldn't get anything by selling it, they GAVE it to the Marine Corps. The only way they could get rid of it and of course the Marine Corps took it, so they could torture us. Well that's enough for now. Hope all is well. May God Bless and keep those in the 1/25 about to deploy.

[Da-Chief]

Dude,

Guess what.. the way you described "Stumps" is exactly what you will get when you get in theater.. Guess what..


The MARINE CORPS were forward thinking..

The Army for years were training in "EUROPE" in the forrests etc.. When was the last time we fought there??

Get a grip man.. Understand why we have 29 palms ... It might save your life..:shock:

Chief out..

[HMC Mullins]

Exactly right, da-chief is spot on more HM's need to realize that combined arms training and the ranges at stumps are as close as you can get to OIF. The ranges at Camp lejeune cannot support the fire and maneuver required to train Marines. A lot of people do not understand thebattalespace because they stay in the BAS. GetCorpsman out in the wind and let them try and treat someone. We all took an oath when we joined the Hosp Corps and many simplely need to revisit that and remember what we do is sacred.



Ken Mullins

BN Chief,V2/8

America's Battalion

[Da-Chief]

Good to hear from ya brother.. I hope the transfer went ok?

How is the wife doing and the kids?

Later

HMC Crone

[DevilDoc]

Well I never said it wasn't good training. It's just a hell hole. The fact is I volunteered to go out there, knowing ahead of time that it was nasty. My brother was in the Marines and had been stationed there, long before it was what it is now. However, we were living in worse conditions than most and from what I hear, those who have been going to Iraq lately are primarily staying in Air conditioned barracks w/ normal food. The only ones who aren't are the grunts out in B.F.E., and even they get some time to relax and sleep in real beds now and then. Either way, it didn't kill me out there. I lived to tell the tale of spoiled food, sandblast winds and dropping temperatures.

And by the way Chief, I am not a Dude....it would Dudette if you so choose.



Sempre Fi,

Devil Doc

[Paramedic8404]

So in the rear with the gear sucks huh....to bad dudette you won't get to go out in the "shit" and see what it is like for real.......Only thing is you are still in the suck. I agree with you 100% chief....The training is envaluable and the conditions suck, bt hey what did you expect.

Every day an adventure

Every paycheck a fortune

Every meal a feast

Every formation a parade

Here is 50mg of suck it the hell up sailor,make it happen!



Doc J 2/6 SEMPER FI

[HMSteen]

How can you complain about Camp Wilson. Camp wilson in the best place out in 29palms. I was there for 3 years and everytime I would go out to the field it was at least a days travel. Camp wilson, you have showers, a nice PX, phones. and a tin can over your head. 29 really is the best place for training, the whole Marine Corps goes there to train

[HMSteen]

get some

[HM2FMF]

I dont know about you DevilDoc, but there is a good reason why MAGTFC 29 Palms is the largest training area for the entireUSMC. Camp Wilson isnt that bad when you are waking up in the qwanza huts. I think that is better than waking up at 0400 at Lava Lake to start Mortar Missions when it is so cold you are wearing all your cold weather gear and you're still cold. I was stationed there for 3 years and I never complained aboutthe hot sun and not having air conditioning. You are aDevilDoc. Your marines expect you to beas motivated as they are. I was with a mechanized unit that did maintained MCCRES standards. 25 mile hikes. start at the obstacle course and walk to range 500 then turn around. So frankly, I dont want to hear about you being out a camp wilson working with Mojave Viper and having it so rough.. how long were you out there? maybe 2 months. But anyways, hope that you might realize how important 29 Palms can be.



HM2FMF

[DocRoy]

Devil Doc,

I concurr that 29 Stumps is as miserable a place as any where training venues are concerned. I did two 3-week Combined Arms Exercises out there back in the early 80's... And I don't imagine it has changed all that much since then. But, I'll tell you what, I'm sure any marine or FMF corpsman now serving in the REAL shithole (Iraq) would gladly choose that duty over what they wake up to every day across the big pond. Having said that, I'll get to the real purpose for this post. My second time there came right on the heals of 2 weeks Mountain Warfare Training up in Bridgeport, Calif. You want to talk about freeze your ass off?! Every night the temperatures hovered near the 0 degree mark and we were only wishing we had our MOP suits with us for added protection against the cold. I came down with pneumonia about 2/3rds the waythrough the training there. I wasn't fully recovered from that when my BN jetted down to 29 Stumps for 3 weeks of Dessert Warfare Training... And I was back to square one within a day; battling the pneumonia thing again. Me and my troops went from one weather extreme to the other in a span of 5 hours and the days seemed to take a lifetime to pass. Although, in my present condition, my platoon commander and platoon sergeant offered some small measure of consideration of my condition at the time, I still had to perform and keep up whenwe were humping from one LZ to the next in the 110 degree heat. I decided I needed to find a distraction. Something to keep my mind and hands occupied so I wouldn't notice how badly I was feeling so much. So, I volunteered to clean my marines rifles whenever we were dug in for the time. Of course, that was only when I wasn't tending to blistered heels, treating marines for heat exhaustion and lecturing on field sanitation and hygeine. I soon became comfortable with the idea that the time I have to spend in this baren and God-forsaken place was entirely what I chose to make it. To dwell on how sick I was and do nothing only made the days seem even longer. It is, as they say: "A watched pot never boils". Next thing I knew, I was back at Camp Geiger pulling up an empty rack in our troop living space (I lived off base). So I guess the point of this whole story is... Your time in the SUCK is almost entirely what you choose to make of it. The only exception to that would be, perhaps, when a hostile enemy is actually trying to kill you. I don't know how long you've been a corpsman but I can assure you that you will look back on the places you've been and reflect... And actually take pride in the fact that you endured such a shithole. Many others have and continue to endure worse. I thought surviving a shithole like Beirut in 1983 was bad. Hell... that was a walk in the park compared to our marines and docs over in the real shit today! I hope this helps you keep a healthy perspective the next time you find yourself in a less than desirable environment. Be creative! Make the best of a bad situation whenever possible.

Semper Fi, Devil Doc!

[Themaxx01]

I was stationed out there for 5 years, 3months strait, From May 1998 to Aug 2003. Your right only to a degree. Like HMC Mullins and Da-Chief said, that training area is so valuable to us and future missions in the Middle East. Everything, from Range Road and LZ Ripper, to Emerson and Lavic Lake, Range 400, 410 and 410A (my personal fave).

But!! Its in the middle of EVERYTHING. When you do get down time, and don't complain about living on Wilson, thats cake OK!,,,, but when you do get down time, Vegas, Phoenix, LA, and San Diego are all just about 3 hours away. And you know that Friday, not even SgtMaj wants to stick around so your going to be off prior to 1600. I thought honestly I would never say this, but I miss the DUCE NINER

[docteter3/11]

HOLY SHIT! MY FAVORITE DUTY STATIONWAS THE STUMPS! 2.5 YRS THERE WITH 3/11 ARTILLERY WAS AWESOME. I'VE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN IN MY LIFE. I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M READING COMPLAINTS ABOUT FIELD TIME. GARRISON SUCKS! THE FIELD IS THE BEST. YOU GUYS NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH ARTILLERY. THOSE GUYS KNOW HOW TO THROW A FIELD PARTY. EVER HEARD OF A SECTION ROLL? THAT'S WHEN ONE GUN SECTION WRESTLES ANOTHER SECTION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE POS. TO SEE WHO'S THE TOP GUN FOR THAT FEX. IT'S A BLAST!! SHOOTING NINER-8'S AND 0-5'S, GOING OUT TO ALL THE RANGES JUST TO SHOOT DIFFERENT WEAPONS, IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT.

OOOOHHH-RAHHHHH!!! :D



DOCTETER :D

[DOKROB]

Camp Wilson is like sitting on Al Asad, without the decent coffe of big chow hall. Like everyone here has said, there is a readon that when the Army and Air Force turned down 29 Palms, the Marine Corps jumped on it. Being here o n29 Palms is the closest you are going to get to the middle east without an emersion duty. I'm an IDC and SMDR here on 29 and believe me this place and the training offered by TTECG is the best you will get prior to Iraq, no question!! Bottom line, you aint gotta like it, you just gotta do it.

HM1 Rob

[EJRaven]

I agree, 29 Palms is as close as Iraq as it's gonna get without actually getting blown up on a daily basis lol.

You signed the contract buddy, it's time to... suck it up.


DOKROB wrote: Camp Wilson is like sitting on Al Asad, without the decent coffe of big chow hall. Like everyone here has said, there is a readon that when the Army and Air Force turned down 29 Palms, the Marine Corps jumped on it. Being here o n29 Palms is the closest you are going to get to the middle east without an emersion duty. I'm an IDC and SMDR here on 29 and believe me this place and the training offered by TTECG is the best you will get prior to Iraq, no question!! Bottom line, you aint gotta like it, you just gotta do it.

HM1 Rob

[SEABEEDOC8]

BEEN THERE....DONE THAT!! WE ARE 10 CLICKS BETTER THAN OTHER CORPSMAN IF WE SURVIVED THE STUMPS!



BE PROUD!