Living Vicariously

I've been reading some reports from the rest of my team in Afghanistan and am incredibly proud to be associated with those guys.

The troops out with teams are really doing some incredible things and demonstrating what it means to be a technically competent weather guy and a tactictally proficient SOF troop.

These guys are not only collecting environmental data and sending it up, but are being trusted to lead patrol elements and clear areas. It is the way it should be, but the way it always has been.

Sweet.

It's great cause my job, in general, is to make sure they are ready and have what they need to do it. A little sad cause I don't I'm stuck in the JOC while they do it.

So it goes.

That said, my hare-brained scheme is working. Manufacturers are responding to my requests for test and evaluation samples of their equipment for some members of my unit back home.

We may have a new radio pack and new field uniforms to test during the next pre-deployment train-up. One of my guys will be hitting a variety of exercises and I may tag along on one or two.

We will take pictures and document the performance of the equipment in the field. My plan is for us to compare it to similar but more expensive equipment in use by some of the Active Duty units.

If it is truly up to par, then we'll be recommending it to everyone. If it is close, then due to budget constraints, we may just buy it for our unit as a stop-gap for now. Unfortunately, it may mean spending more in the long run to replace it, but we'll see.

However, my prediction is that the equipment will be equal in quality but just different in some subjective features.

While the companies are hoping this turns into a large sale, they are both very eager to suppor the end users in the military community.

The reps I've dealt with are fomer military members themselves. They want sales, but they also want feedback so this can be win-win.