How many of you have been refreshed by the sensation of the sun shining on you after a cold dark night in the "field"?

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 10:46:33 -0400

Staying awake all night in a fighting position, walking on patrol, pulling guard duty at some remote location were sometimes challenging and sometimes boring experiences. When the sun rose after a cold or cold and wet night, feeling the warmth of the sun hitting me seemed to breath new life and energy through me.
I expect many of you have had similar experiences.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Sep 29 at 2015 10:51 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 10:51:23 -0400

I have been warmed many times in the field after the sun rose. Once or twice in a field, many times in a fighting position and once or twice on guard duty as a young enlisted man. Whether there was snow on the ground, green grass or just sand or dirt didn't seem to matter. The sun hitting my face as it rose was a wonderful sensation and still is.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 10:56 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 10:56:23 -0400

While stationed at Fort Hood, I spent up to 3 weeks at a time in the field. the days were usually sunny and hot and when it cam time to rack out, the sky would usually darken and start pissing on us.. never failed.. when the sun came out, it was like it never happened..

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Sep 29 at 2015 11:00 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:00:21 -0400

Absolutely ...

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Sep 29 at 2015 11:06 AM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:06:39 -0400

LTC Stephen F. for me it was going the opposite direction. I was on an guided missle destroyer. The smoking deck at night was in the breezeway. We had the darkened ship blankets to keep the red lights in the breezeway from causing light pollution. I would go out at night sometimes and just look at the stars. There is nothing in the world like being out there seeing the bioluminescence, the stars, the sky, the moon. It was beautiful. Combine that with the sound of the water hitting the hull of the ship. Just a magical moment. Didn't even realize how much it meant to me until typing out this reply.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 11:38 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:38:40 -0400

Many instances in Iraq while pulling Force Protection duties.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Sep 29 at 2015 11:51 AM

COL Jon Thompson — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 11:51:42 -0400

As a light infantry platoon leader, we always looked forward to the big heat tab in the sky rising. That meant I could also break out my little stove and heat up water for my coffee. During my Sinai rotation in 1987, I worked the midnight-0600 shift on watch in the TOC. I would go out in the morning and see the sun rise over Saudi Arabia on the other side of the Gulf of Aqaba. It was a little different there because that meant the heat of the day would increase for the next several hours.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 12:19 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:19:58 -0400

By sun shining you mean a hot shower with a cold beer?

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Sep 29 at 2015 12:32 PM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:32:44 -0400

I remember Christmas morning, 2003. I watched the sun come up from a guard tower at Victory Base, Baghdad. I'd volunteered for guard duty to give a Junior NCO/Enlisted the night off. As the sun just peaked out and it began to warm, vawoom! Three rocket were fired about 200 meter from my tower towards down town Baghdad. I'll never forget that night.
The fun part was reporting for guard duty. I'd found out who had duty and told a Speedy 4 to take the night off, (after I talked to his 1SG). When the SOG called the kid's name I answered up. I got the "we need your soldier for duty" routine. When I told them the deal, I got nods of approval and a couple thumbs up. I enjoyed it.

Response by 1SG Cameron M. Wesson made Sep 29 at 2015 12:34 PM

1SG Cameron M. Wesson — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:34:19 -0400

LTC Stephen F. I was smiling when I read this! Hell... on a few occasions it felt like a "rebirth" after a long cold, or wet, miserable night. My son didn't understand until his year in Aftghanistan. He said, "Dad, I was so glad to see the sun on the horizon that I began to laugh and cry at the same time"... he had been at FOB Apache... and for those of you that know the locaiton... you can relate.

Response by SGT Jude Stenson made Sep 29 at 2015 12:53 PM

SGT Jude Stenson — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:53:13 -0400

Spent a few mornings at Stand To. Called it B.O.B. Big Orange Ball.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Sep 29 at 2015 12:53 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:53:49 -0400

One of the best feelings. Of course, you have to remember, the Indians attack at Dawn.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 29 at 2015 12:55 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:55:59 -0400

I love it! I did some decent research for grad school on circadian rhythms and working at night. I may revisit it soon actually. Long story short is that the sun has a huge impact on us.

Response by COL Ted Mc made Sep 29 at 2015 1:10 PM

COL Ted Mc — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:10:13 -0400

LTC Stephen F. - Colonel; Thanks for stirring up some pleasant memories.

Response by 1SG Michael Blount made Sep 29 at 2015 1:15 PM

1SG Michael Blount — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:15:30 -0400

I'm old enough to be an original sun worshipper

Response by SGT Bryon Sergent made Sep 29 at 2015 3:28 PM

SGT Bryon Sergent — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 15:28:40 -0400

FIELD in Campbell sucked! Only time it warmed be was on the last day, or after freezing my a$$ off on ange rd guard post after a long division guard over night!

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Sep 29 at 2015 3:31 PM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 15:31:49 -0400

..and all the Infantrymen rejoiced and said "Amen!"

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Sep 29 at 2015 3:57 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 15:57:51 -0400

Wow, that was something I hadn't thought about in a really long time but brought back a lot of memories. So many cold nights ended standing bone tired in relief as the sun finally broke the horizon.

Response by SFC Kenneth Highland made Sep 29 at 2015 4:47 PM

SFC Kenneth Highland — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 16:47:12 -0400

A NEW MORNING ALWAYS BRING A NEW LEASE ON LIFE, ITS THRILLING TO WATCH THE ENVIRONMENT WAKE UP WITH THE SUNRISE.

Response by CSM Michael Chavaree made Sep 29 at 2015 6:42 PM

CSM Michael Chavaree — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 18:42:58 -0400

Yes I am solar powered

Response by SSG John Jensen made Sep 29 at 2015 9:24 PM

SSG John Jensen — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 21:24:22 -0400

it's Bob! Big Orange Ball

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Sep 29 at 2015 10:35 PM

MAJ Ron Peery — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 22:35:17 -0400

Yes! Trying to sleep in the driver's seat of a UAH with temps in the low 40's (that's really cold when you are used to 120 in the afternoon). Two hours on, two hours off, cramped, bored and waiting for something to happen, then the sun comes up and my bones thaw. First cup of coffee, and good for the day.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2015 8:31 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 08:31:54 -0400

I had been "in country" a couple of months when an Army peer asked if I'd like to accompany his unit on a mission in a nearby province. It was certainly an opportunity to get out and spend a week or so where things were "going on"...so naturally, I was stoked.

As the mountains of Afghanistan are decidedly cold in the winter...there were some very long nights. One time, I came off my rotation on over-watch and hit the dirt to catch a few winks. My friend thought I was out and began a conversation with another solider, "Hey...how's the Lieutenant doing with the cold?"..."Ah, he'll be fine...I heard his Old Man was Airborne."

Thanks Dad for teaching me how to "embrace the suck" :)

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Sep 30 at 2015 9:56 AM

SSgt Terry P. — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 09:56:15 -0400

LTC Stephen F. And giveaway my position?No,thank you,sir. LOL

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 30 at 2015 5:54 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 17:54:10 -0400

For me, the fresh air gets me going as I climb out of that sleeping bag.

Response by SFC Michael Peterson made Oct 1 at 2015 10:59 PM

SFC Michael Peterson — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 22:59:59 -0400

We always looked forward to seeing "BOB" in the morning. BOB was our acronym for Big Orange Ball.

Response by Sgt Andrew Zapf made Oct 2 at 2015 1:36 AM

Sgt Andrew Zapf — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 01:36:31 -0400

The only sunrise I got was temporary. We were soaked in mopp gear. After we moved from the defense into assault. A giant sand storm from hell came. This was 2003 btw
So my marines as I looked like sugar cookies. But we still faught that morning and completed the mission with zero casualties
In my book that's a good damn day

Response by SGT Apollo Sharpe made Oct 7 at 2015 5:06 PM

SGT Apollo Sharpe — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 17:06:19 -0400

It is, indeed, a wonderful feeling!

Response by LTC Mo Vanderslice made Oct 8 at 2015 3:37 PM

LTC Mo Vanderslice — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 15:37:49 -0400

I was happy to just finally change into a dry uniform and dry shocks, spit out the MRE instant coffee that I was dipping, and brush my teeth!

Response by SSG John Gillespie made Oct 9 at 2015 7:06 PM

SSG John Gillespie — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 19:06:07 -0400

Absolutely! And what a welcome sight the sun is after such a night.

Thankfully, the last time I had to man an actual perimeter in the real world was back in early '02 at Kandahar, but that was in the middle of winter and it was a fairly miserable experience. I'm not counting all the nights spent on ECP in deployments since then as we were always manning a secondary cordon.

During training, I spent many more nights walking with a full load rather than fixed in place. Some of those were just as cold and the activity was the only thing warding off the chill, though not completely.