Let's Get This Party Started!!

Hello Family and Friends!

I thought I'd start a blog to help ya'll peek in on my deployment as it passes. I'm enroute to be a healthcare provider at Camp Bucca, Iraq.  Of course there are some things that I can't show or talk about (else I'd have to kill ya....har har), but the interesting things both great and small i hope to present.

Best Wishes,

Captain Ryan J. Larson

On 1 November 2008 after a long hug and kiss from my beautiful wife, I flew into Fort Benning, Georgia to the CRC (the place where they train us up to go overseas. The weather in Georgia was peachy for sure :)





We were placed in these rickety barracks during our stay. I'll admit it had been a while since I had 3 roomies and slept on a bunkbed (ie Larson home circa early 80's). The Captain on the opposite side of the room snored like a freight train! I can hear him still.



The Army issued me a lot of stuff for this deployment and I had to cram it all into these lockers in my room. It was crazy finding stuff in there!!



Mindy would go crazy with this kind of organization!




The facilities. Very Impressive.

We did lots of fun stuff at CRC.  We put the famous Army mantra "hurry up and wait" to the test and it came through with flying colors.  Lots of standing in line, lots of doing redundant things, redundant things, redundant things...Lots of bus rides all over the place and lots of lectures.  We did do some fun outdoorsy stuff like qualify with the 9mm Beretta at the range.  I did pretty well and scored a "sharpshooter" mark, not quite an expert, but the next level down.  The targets were pop up targets and you had to shoot them before they went down.  Talking with others, I did better than most, but then I've always wanted to  be a cowboy.

                                             This way to the 9mm range!!

                                                  Go ahead, make my day!  Look at the fear in the eyes of the man next to me.



I didn't tell anyone about my "special hand gun"



One of Ft. Benning's outdoor training areas. There are a lot of beautiful pine trees down south.



                  The wheels on the bus go round and round...........it was great to see a bunch of grizzled Army docs singing that song.  J/K it didn't happen



We learned (AGAIN!) how to break down the M9 Beretta and clean it (AGAIN!)




More stuff to learn in the classroom....life is a classroom.



When I finished cramming all of my stuff into 3 duffles and a small back pack it was time for everyone to line up their stuff and wait. The duffle with my body armor was VERY heavy, I'm glad I could order some enlisted soldiers to come carry it for me! J/K We had to lug them ourselves.



smile before lugging! (The uniform "ACU's" make my belly look fat, its not my fat belly causing that, I promise)



Finally, got everything loaded and it is time to get on the bus to go the airstrip to fly outta here!



First Seargent Pemberton "SGT P", gives us some last minute instructions. For a small dog he had a loud bark!!  He was a prior drill sgt afterall.




From left to right, Here is a portrait of Mark Devenport (the other LDS kid in our group and a pediatrician), myself and Lloyd Runser(FP doc from Alaska). We are excited to be on the bus.



The took us too an enormous hanger at the airfield where we ate some grub, had our bags checked and waited to get on the plane.



Here is a better picture of our fiesty SGT. P. Yap Yap!

Needless to say it was a long flight!!!!!!!!!!!

Next entry: Can't wait to get to Kuwait, I'm a Can'twaiti!