Well, what a day. I started my morning off by meeting the honorable Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, US Army General Retired. While waiting for Sec. Shinseki's arrival, I had an interesting conversation with his body guards about the Veterans Administration. Sec. Shinseki arrived and we all headed down the the ROA breakfast where he addressed the attendees.
The room was huge and filled with all kinds of officers from every branch of service. So I stepped to the back of the room to get a wider view.
President of the ROA, David Bockel, formally introduced me to Secretary Shinseki after his speech. He even gave me his coin. As I listened to Secretary Shinseki's presentation, I was truly hopeful that everything he said he would make happen - would happen.
Almost serendipitously, I received my Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) rating from the DOD today, which is great news. It only took several months... LOL! I suppose I am doing better then most. I am, however, still awaiting the rest of my VA disability rating. But I will wait patiently with the rest of America's veterans who are waiting too. Cross your finger for me.
I took this picture as Secretary Shinseki and Mr. Bockel shook hands. I couldn't decide which one I like better. 
Help... which one?!?!
After I finished covering the breakfast presentation, I got to venture over the area where several companies were exhibiting. Tucked in the rear of the exhibit hall, was PEO STRI. This group of people isn't any company in the sense of "big corporation" or "big business". Rather, they are a group made up of soldiers and civilians dedicated to advancing pre-deployment military training.
My first stop was the medical simulation section. The doll you see above actually breathes and takes on several combat wounds, which soldiers may practice healing. I wish I had something like this prior to my deployments.
My next stop was the Call for Fire Trainer. A young and energetic Army Cadet was shown how to call in the "big guns" on enemy targets. Below you can see CFFT expert, Sergeant First Class Brent Ludlow demonstrating the systems capabilities.
In case you were curious, I used one Nikon SB-900 on-camera and one camera left. The flash on-camera was not emitting any light - it was only acting as a slave. I used the Nikon D3s Camera and 24-70mm Lens. I had my camera set on Aperture Priority as well as my flash. This way, the camera and flash can talk and adjust the exposure based on F-Stop and subject-to-camera distance. Since I was using supplemental light, I used a low ISO (for quality too). To eliminate the background, I used F-2.8 and the strobes to knock the background out. The strobe also helped separate the subjects and give the pictures more dimension. Here's a good tip... try to shoot on the shadow sides of your subjects. The light in a photograph exposes the frames and the shadows add dimension. If you shoot with the light to your back, the subject will seem relatively flat. However, if you step to the shadow side, many exciting things can happen!
Above is a picture of Major Tom Nguyen. He is explaining the EST 2000 Engagement Skills Trainer to an ROA patron. My first run in with this system was at Fort Jackson. I go there from time to time to cover the soldiers going through basic training. By the way, I'll be heading there again soon. During my chat with the Major, I learned that he is an Iraqi Freedom veteran. It was those skills he learned downrange, that he has applied to the system he now trains soldier with. He's nice guy too.
Here's a fun gadget - The Laser Marksmanship Training System. Yup, an M-16 rifle simulator. They had an M-9 pistol I got to play with too. The pistol was tough, I have to admit. My shakes got the best of me, but I ultimately got the laser where it needed to be. Andy keeps asking me if we can get real guns and shoot at the range. I am thinking I may say yes. There's a caveat though; no guns in the house.
Have you ever played Call of Duty? Here's something better. The STRI war simulation games give soldiers opportunities to encounter every type of combat scenario. While I am not into gaming, many of the younger generation are. Ha! Younger generation...it's funny I am saying that. Does this mean I am getting old? Don't answer that!
Lastly, I drove the CEVT-WL. It's an earth mover - a big one. I managed not to wreck it and I'm sure my husband, Andy, would be proud. Did I mention it's stationary? Here are some pictures of Colonel Terry Fobbs giving a whirl before me. The gentleman behind him, Staff Sergeant Darren Shavers, walks him through the simulator step-by-step.
So that was my crazy-busy day. I did go to other conferences and heard other speakers, but this was my favorite part of the day... meeting the STRI crew. They were all very nice and genuine folk, who were happy to share the real world knowledge. I hope that I can do more with them in the future.
As the snow clears, more comes. Yes, D.C. is expected to get snowed in again. Yikes! Wish me luck in getting home.
Here are Andy's Day 38 Picture-A-Day Photos
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