Training and "the word"

Training has definitely begun. Our days start at 0530 with physical training. Classes are a regular staple of daily activity. If we have downtime, a corporal or sergeant takes out his trusty notebook, and does a class on the spot... changing tires on the LAV, towing blown up vehicles, calling for medevac, calling for fire, all the way to veterans benefits when we return. There is barely any rest, and little sleep. All of this is necessary though to give us the best chance possible of coming home alive and well.

Getting 'the word' is a big deal. From the schedule for the week to the conditions in Afghanistan. There are so many unknowns at this point and knowing anything makes you feel like you have a better handle on the situation. The downside to this- I'm an emotional yo-yo. I hear about my type of vehicle being blown up and killing the commander (my exact position)... For several hours I'm convinced I'm walking dead. Then I hear and read about several engagements where marine forces were ambushed and able to have minimal casualties while decimating the enemy, and I'm reminded that I'm in the best company in the batallion... then I'm excited to serve my country in such a situation. Instead of worrying, I focus on what is important to me: training, and filming this insane experience so that maybe civilians can understand better exactly what it is that we go through in the marine corps infantry.

Logistics and Freedom

All of my equipment is assembled. I now have a helmet camera capable of doing what I need. I also now have a HDV camera that should give me the visuals I want when I have time to pick it up and shoot. I'm ready to go on the documenting front, and very excited about what I can capture.

I've been through one other deployment, which lets me know that the time I am spending now is the time I will think back to while I'm in Afghanistan, like Peter Pan thinking a happy thought. The care-free-ness in these last few weeks of freedom is astonishing. I feel, even more so, that I can say what I'm thinking and do what I want with almost no regard for the consequences. Who is going to remember that off-color joke I told on stage 1 year ago in Newport, KY??? NOBODY!! I don't feel reckless, but I certainly feel freer than normal.

Reality

I sit at home in San Francisco. I'm 25 years old, and I've been in the US Marine Corps for 6 years this October.  My life consists of film school at SFSU, stand up comedy, and one weekend a month driving 8 hours to train with my reserve unit at camp pendleton. I like school. I love my friends and family. I love my life here in SF. But, that reality is about to change dramatically

July 10 I report to annual training, where I will begin getting prepared for deployment to Afghanistan. I know some of what I will go through, and some of it I can't imagine. I know there will be pain and laughter, sometimes both at the same time. 

It is my intention to film as much of this experience as possible. I want to create a film that shows the average american what we, as reservists, go through leaving our world and going away for 10 months into dangerous situations. I want to show the hardship, and the joy. The exhilaration one feels getting on the plane to come home, and the misery of being 1 month into country, sitting alone and sleep deprived on guard duty.

I will use this blog to update, as frequently as possible, my current exploits and to keep everyone informed on the status of the film (keeping in mind that certain pieces of information will be exempted due to operational security).