So I am going to use this forum to brag a little about my eldest son. Against my better judgment, I was online chatting with him on Facebook from 12:30 to 2:30 AM last night...or this morning...whatever.
Ramsey was sitting in a tent some place, not Afghanistan, waiting for the go-ahead to make the last leg of the flight to FOB Lagman, the base where he'll spend the next ten months. He sent me a photo attached to an email of him qualifying on the M4, a type of machine gun. It's kind of weird looking at a photo of your son in full battle gear intently firing a machine gun.
I asked him about the photo; what he was doing, who the other people in it were. He said it was taken on a shooting range at Camp Shelby, MS, where he was shooting targets while walking. Ramsey is the lead soldier on the right. The soldier directly behind him is an instructor. For those of you who have any experience shooting a firearm, it's difficult enough to hit a target when you are stationary, much less on the move. Ramsey qualified as an Expert on four weapons: the M4, M9, .50 caliber, and the M-240. Expert is the highest weapons qualification. It may come as a surprise to those of you who know Ramsey, and are aware of his reputation as a hunter, that this is the first time he has qualified as an Expert . Apparently, this is not an easy accomplishment.
Ramsey is a member of the 951st Combat Engineer Sapper Company, whose job it will be to provide route clearance...locating, disarming, and disposing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), aka roadside bombs. In addition to his training to carry out this duty, Ramsey will also man the .50 caliber machine gun mounted on top of a vehicle, and perform emergency life saving medical tasks, like controlling bleeding and starting I.V.'s., as a trained Combat Lifesaver.
While it is very difficult to think about what our son may experience in the coming months in Afghanistan, I am very proud of him and his willingness to serve our country. I am proud of his accomplishments and abilities gained during his years of training in preparation for this assignment. I am thankful for the gifts God has given Ramsey and His Hand upon him shaping him into the young man he has become.
Ramsey was sitting in a tent some place, not Afghanistan, waiting for the go-ahead to make the last leg of the flight to FOB Lagman, the base where he'll spend the next ten months. He sent me a photo attached to an email of him qualifying on the M4, a type of machine gun. It's kind of weird looking at a photo of your son in full battle gear intently firing a machine gun.
I asked him about the photo; what he was doing, who the other people in it were. He said it was taken on a shooting range at Camp Shelby, MS, where he was shooting targets while walking. Ramsey is the lead soldier on the right. The soldier directly behind him is an instructor. For those of you who have any experience shooting a firearm, it's difficult enough to hit a target when you are stationary, much less on the move. Ramsey qualified as an Expert on four weapons: the M4, M9, .50 caliber, and the M-240. Expert is the highest weapons qualification. It may come as a surprise to those of you who know Ramsey, and are aware of his reputation as a hunter, that this is the first time he has qualified as an Expert . Apparently, this is not an easy accomplishment.
Ramsey is a member of the 951st Combat Engineer Sapper Company, whose job it will be to provide route clearance...locating, disarming, and disposing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), aka roadside bombs. In addition to his training to carry out this duty, Ramsey will also man the .50 caliber machine gun mounted on top of a vehicle, and perform emergency life saving medical tasks, like controlling bleeding and starting I.V.'s., as a trained Combat Lifesaver.
While it is very difficult to think about what our son may experience in the coming months in Afghanistan, I am very proud of him and his willingness to serve our country. I am proud of his accomplishments and abilities gained during his years of training in preparation for this assignment. I am thankful for the gifts God has given Ramsey and His Hand upon him shaping him into the young man he has become.
7 comments:
I am extremely impressed with all that Ramsey has accomplished.
And proud of him and grateful for his service to our country.
Just think he used to hang out at our house! I think Daniel may have given him his first practice in hand to hand combat.
Daniel lost.
lol...I never thought of that. Thanks to Daniel for his part in serving our country! ;)
Of course you can brag about the Rams Man. I suppose I probably should not call him a dough head any more. It just doesn't seem right to call someone serving our country a "dough head"!
Oh, the Army's not fussy...they take dough heads. ;)
Peterbilt, Ford, Big Buck Killers (like me)rule.
Hi, Walker.
Many moons ago I qualified expert with the M-16, M-60 and .45...
I salute your son, he's truely one on my brothers.
God keep him safe.
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