Museum Lays Out the Red Bull Carpet

The sudden sounds of machine gun fire so close to my position was, to put it mildly, a little alarming. Here I was, after all, thinking I'd found a cool and quiet spot to spend my lunch hour. I turned a dark corner, and found myself walking along the depths of a World War I trench. Another corner, and then another, and I found myself in No Man's Land.

Being downrange of a machine gun just feels wrong, even if it's being crewed by dummies. And, by "dummies," of course, I mean mannequins.

The Mississippi Armed Forces Museum located on Camp Shelby, Miss., is a 26,000-square-foot building featuring multimedia depictions of military life, equipment, and history. The museum recently laid out the proverbial red carpet for the Red Bull: A banner featuring the unit patch currently flies over the museum's entrance.

The museum is well worth a few hours' visit, although parents should prepare younger children for the occasional loud noise and other surprises driven by motion sensors. There are machine gun noises, and a tank that comes at you with its headlights. Upon entering a ship's bridge, klaxons sound while planes dive past the portholes. It's not quite "interactive," but it all is certainly is fun and educational.

More than 100,000 U.S. soldiers (and a few thousand Canadians) have mobilized through Camp Shelby since June 2004, including in the 2005 deployment to Iraq of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (1-34 BCT). Two battalion-sized elements from that 2005 are here with the 2-34 BCT, preparing for Afghanistan. These are: Iowa's 1st "Ironman" Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment (1-133 Infantry), and Nebraska's 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry (1-134 Cavalry).

A variety of ground and air vehicles are displayed on the grounds surrounding the museum, as well as stone monuments to units that have ties to Camp Shelby. One of those units is the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (R.C.T.)--a celebrated unit of Japanese-Americans who fought in World War II Italy as part of the 34th "Red Bull" Division.

The Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby, Miss., (near Hattiesburg on Highway 49) is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. It is closed Sundays, Mondays, and state and federal holidays. It is, however, open on Memorial Day, Independence Day (July 4th), and Veteran's Day.

Together, We Could Write History

Some people don't think they can write, but I disagree. If you can write enough to fill a postcard or Facebook status update, you can write.

Or, if you don't necessarily enjoy writing, maybe you take photos, compose songs, or make scrapbooks.

A couple of Red Bull Rising readers recently proposed some sort of collective effort, in which we could share our thoughts and words about the current deployment of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34 BCT).

I've since been playing around with various ideas, but nothing has really stuck. I just realized, however, that I don't have to be the one to do all the thinking. After all, y'all are a heck of a lot smarter than I am. Or maybe I should say, we're all a lot smarter together than we are individually.

I'm going to throw a couple of things out there, just to get the conversation started:

This project would potentially involve:

• Red Bull spouses, as well as other family and friends
• Red Bull employers
• Red Bull soldiers who are currently deployed
• Red Bull veterans and alumni

This project would focus on capturing words and pictures related to the 2-34 BCT deployment to Afghanistan. As part of this effort, we might potentially:

• Share tips on collecting family deployment histories, or keeping in touch with soldiers downrange.
• Workshop on writing, photography, art and/or crafting techniques focused on the deployment.
• Submit our project(s) in whole or in part for archiving in the Gold Star Museum, Camp Dodge, Iowa.

Other factors related to this project include:

• A potential need to keep some names and places temporarily obscured for security and privacy purposes, both home and downrange.
• A format that allows any level of participation--one-time, weekly, monthly, etc.

What are your ideas? What form(s) should this take? Is it a blog? A website? A Facebook discussion group?

There are probably a hundred reasons why you shouldn't participate, but a single reason why: You and your loved ones are making Red Bull history. It would be a shame to let those experiences slip away into fuzzy memories and forgotten Facebook posts, and I'd love to help put people and stuff together.

Let me know what you think! Put your ideas in the comments section to this post, or on the Red Bull Rising Facebook page!

Mississippi MultiCam Media Madness

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division has sure been in the news a lot recently--and all it took was a change of clothes.

The Iowa Army National Guard unit was the first-ever to receive the full-issue of MultiCam uniforms and equipment. Astute observers of the Afghan theater of operations will have already noted the camouflage pattern in limited use downrange. There were test fieldings and other experiments. During a special screening of "Restrepo" earlier this year, Red Bull soldiers noted that the 173rd Airborne BCT was sporting the mud-colors back in 2007.

The news was big enough to warrant a personal visit to Camp Shelby from Sgt. Major of the Army Kenneth Preston.

While the commercial/civilian market still calls the textile MultiCam, the Army is calling it the "Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern" (O.C.P.) That's opposed to "Universal Camouflage Pattern" (U.C.P.), which apparently isn't as universal as first thought.

The uniform itself is called "Flame-Resistant Army Combat Pattern" (or "Frak-You"). No, I am not making this up.

The 7-color camouflage pattern tends to look like yellowish mud against the pine-green forests of Mississippi. (Parents of young children might be reminded of something else.) On the subdued "Red Bull" patch, the beloved bovine skull is now yellow-brown, rather than sage green. "How now, yellow-brown cow?"

The uniforms are flame-resistant and insect-repellant. Hook-and-loop fastener tape (aka "Velcro") has been replaced with old-school buttons. Collars and crotches have been reinforced. And the infrared tab has been hidden away in a better place.

Related equipment includes lower-rise mountain boots, and a "plate-carrier" harness that will allow soldiers to ditch some of their armor while still protecting vital organs from the big 7.62 mm bullets. That means that, as mission dictates, soldiers can drop 15 pounds of equipment weight. A "Tactical Assault Pack" ("TAP") distributes more magazines more evenly than the old gut-buster ammo pouches.

The new uniforms won't be worn until after the Red Bull rotate through a major training exercise in California later this year. Soldiers will be allowed to break in their new mountain boots, however.

The Army Combat Uniform (A.C.U.) isn't going anywhere. The Red Bull soldiers will return and exchange the OCP equipment for their standard sage-greens when they return from Afghanistan in 2011. The Army says it may continue evaluating camouflage patterns. Meanwhile, so that its personnel on the ground can continue to blend with their Army counterparts, the U.S. Air Force appears to be moving toward MultiCam in Afghanistan. It will be interesting to see what the "blue-suiters" deploying with the Red Bull end up being issued.

Here's a list of recent MultiCam Media Madness, featuring Red Bull soldiers:

Army News Service:"New uniform for OEF protects soldiers, hides them better"

Army Times:"Soldiers receive new MultiCam ACUs, gear"

Des Moines Register:"Iowa troops get new uniforms, but pack them away for now" (text; photo comparing OCP and UCP)

KCRG-TV9:"Iowa soldiers will be the first to wear new uniforms in Afghanistan" (text and video)

USA Today:"Military sees it's time for change in camouflage" (text, photo, infographic)