Robin Hardy Online
Oct 2006 FEX

The last two weeks of October, 2006, the Navy conducted a massive field exercise at Camp Pendleton in which Robin's son Glenn participated. With trusty camera phone and digital camera, he recorded some of the highlights.

Above: Panoramic view #1 of the camp on day 2 (before most had arrived): "this is where medical, the galley, the trans yard and all vehicles would eventually go."

Above: Sweeping right, panoramic #2: "This is command and control."

Above: Still sweeping right, "the berthing area."

Above: "Me in full battle rattle holding a M240 Bravo heavy machine gun that fires 7.62 rounds of heated death."

Outside Looking In: "this was our fighting position at the Entry Control Point to the camp."

Above: "The Humvee I drove around all through FEX--it was MINE."

Inside Looking Out: "the view down the road looking to the outside of the camp from inside the protective front line constantine wire."

"Miles Gear: Think of it as really, really expensive laser tag gear--costs $18,000 a week to rent and we never used it the whole time we were out there. Your tax dollars at work, America."

Above and Below: "Me manning the Humvee-mounted .50 heavy machine gun--here I come, [islamofascist terrorists]!"

Above: "Me in a self-made ninja mask with my gortex jacket. It was one in the morning and I was ready to kill people."

Sunrise, day ??

Above: "Alfred, a little field mouse that said hello to me once a morning for the first four days. Cool guy."

Above: "Put a kevlar helmet, jacket, gloves, and a gun on a 2x4 that was holding up the camo netting--it served as our scarecrow."

Above: "Roberts doing an imitation of General Patton. He was delirious at the time [due to lack of sleep]."

Above: "Bunch of M16s on the hood of my Humvee."

"Boxes of all kinds of ammo we didn't get to shoot because of the fire hazard level where we were, dammit." The FEX was cut short by several days because of the wildfires.

Posted Oct. 28, 2006

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See the Aug. 2005 Seabees ACB-1 photos here.

See the Jan. 2006 Navy Fire Team photos here.