Combat Livesaving

I am now a "Combat Lifesaver." I have a certified card and everything. It only lasts for a year, though, and then I have to re-certify. They loaded us up in buses Wednesday morning to take us to a faux "forward operating base" (FOB) where we were going to learn combat lifesaving techniques. As I mentioned, we had some tactical gear on and actually looked a little like real soldiers. As we got on the bus, my friend turned to me and said, "No matter what happens today, it will still be better than sitting in a classroom looking at PowerPoint presentations." Of course, as we got out of the bus, they directed us inside a huge room where they had us put our stuff down and take a seat. We then preceded to watch six hours of PowerPoint presentations.
The main skills they taught us were how to apply a tourniquet, how to seal a "sucking chest wound", and how to relieve tension pneumothorax (?) by sticking a needle into a person's chest cavity (this generally follows having to first seal their sucking chest wound). It was pretty heavy stuff and I was grateful their videos weren't working. The pictures they showed us were intense enough. I won't post any, but feel free to google images.

I spent my first Columbus Day weekend in Charleston and Savannah. It was a lot of fun, but I kept wishing my family were with me. Both cities have horse drawn carriages for the tourists, and when I'd see a horse, I'd yell "horsey!" Then I'd realize Carter wasn't there and get sad. Oh well. Only another month to go.