Side Trips from Ft. Lewis WAOperation Jack Frost, Alaska 1977In January 1977, the 2nd Ranger Battalion deployed to Alaska to act as OPFOR for the 18th Airborne Corp. Despite mild temperatures at Ft. Richardson, we acclimatized and prepared for continuous operations in the arctic. 72 degrees below zero, white out on the drop zones, and non-navigable blizzard conditions prevented re-supply or reinforcement. Bad scene. While assigned to the Rangers I was assigned to an M19 60mm Mortar Section. This weapon had been in the Army inventory since W.W.II.
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Jungle Operations Training Course, Panama Canal Zone 1977In November of 1977, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry deployed to the Panama Canal Zone as a world-wide contingency deployment. While in the jungle, out platoon functioned as a rifle platoon, and I had the misfortune of getting to carry a radio a majority of the time. Lucky me. Additionally, the unit's soldiers attended JOTC. Only about 40% of the soldiers who attended the training graduated from the course.
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Mt. Rainier National ParkWhile stationed at Fort Lewis, I had the opportunity to
visit my first national park. The southern entrance is
about forty miles southeast of Ft. Lewis. One thing that I
observed was that even if it is raining in Tacoma--and it
usually is--the weather will be nice in the park, unless
it's snowing. I made the mistake of taking off for
the park one day on my motorcycle and got
caught in a snowstorm. Oops.
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Olympic National ParkOne long weekend, a friend and I took a drive around the Olympic Peninsula. What I came to understand was that the Olympic National Park is really a composite of three different ecosystems. Separated from the main park, Ruby Beach provides recreational access to the Pacific Ocean. Once you enter the rest of the park, you pass through a dense primordial forest, climbing towards Hurricane Ridge's alpine tundra at elevations above 5000 feet. Olympic National Park
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US Army Mountaineering School (Alaska), 1979In 1979 B, 2-1 Infantry deployed to Alaska. Many of the NCOs had the opportunity to attend a US Army Mountaineering School in the Chugach State Park outside of Ft. Richardson AK. Despite the seeming good weather, fog and high winds grounded all aircraft over the mountain passes; and we had to walk out of the mountains back to Ft. Richardson.
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