Guest Blog from Captain Kennedy: "Keep it real!"

Have any of you been to the South?  By "the South," I mean states in the Southern United States, like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, or other states in that area.  Life is different here than in New York City.  People do speak more slowly and they have Southern accents, but, no, everybody doesn't talk like Forrest Gump.  Down here, there's also a beautiful thing called Waffle House.  It's kind of like IHOP or Denny's, but you can only find a Waffle House in the South.  They serve cheese-n-eggs, grits, and hash browns smothered with cheese and onions and jalapenos and chili and gravy...and, yes, I've eaten all of that and more during my last two breakfasts.  So, here's a photo of our visit to Waffle House this morning.  On the left is Captain Kennedy beside his girlfriend Laura.  On my right is Seamus, and Brendan is the guy with his eyes closed.

As promised, here's the second half of Captain Kennedy's message to you.  But first, here's Danny's blog post, to which Captain Kennedy replies:

i wanted to know if Jeff Kinney is offended by the Military games such as Call of Duty. i want to know because teens are not understanding that Call of Duty is not only in video games it in real life. in the game people are happy when they kills and some people in the war are full of guilt and regret when killing. another question is which one does he think is better? The Army, USMC (United States Marine Corps), Navy Seals, or the United States Army Rangers? What gun does he use? I'am asking because i hear The Army uses The M16 Carbine, and a 9mm pistol. What lead Captain Kennedy to make the decision to join The Army? Also what does it take to become a Ghille Sniper? Snipers are like ninjas to The Army they are personally my favorites (sorry Captain Kennedy) its that the Cheytec M200, the Barret 50 cal; and the M107. i love the way they protect the men on battle field and they can get away with a suppressed gun shot to the head. Sorry for all of the questions its that i am curious of the war. Hope you can Visit our school!

-Danny

And now, the words of Captain Kennedy:

Danny, you had some pretty specific questions about all of the equipment we’re using in our most recent deployment and I’ll do my best to fill you in.  Our snipers typically use the M107’s, but also can carry the Barret .50 cal; we used snipers a lot back in my last deployment during OIF V but have reduced lethal operations recently and did not use them in OIF VII.  To become a sniper you have to enlist in the Army as an infantryman or scout, qualify expert on all basic weapons (M4/M16, M9, M249, and M240), and the unit that you get assigned to will send you to sniper school and they teach marksmanship, stalking, and camouflage.  The average soldier will carry the M4 carbine as his only weapon; certain soldiers will also carry the M9 pistol.  The squad automatic rifleman will carry the M249 SAW, and two gunners in each platoon will carry the M240B.  In my last deployment, I was a Sapper platoon leader in a mechanized infantry unit, so I carried a M4 and M9, my vehicle had a M240C and the M242 Bushmaster.  I hope that was all the info you were looking for, let me know what else you would like to know. 

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support.  It means a lot to have you all behind me while I’m overseas.  I hope you all are doing well and working hard in school.  Developing the attention to detail, teamwork, and leadership abilities which have been critical to my success started with hard work in the classroom with Mr. Toomajian.  Let me know if you all have any more questions, and keep it real!

Jeff Kennedy

CPT, EN

TF 2-69 AR

Any more messages you want to send to Captain Kennedy?  He's sitting here in the living room with us, so now would be a good time to ask.  Enjoy Columbus Day and come back for another post tomorrow!