Uncertainties during an operation

I spent the first couple months in camp because what we would do we would launch our birds from there. We would send them off into the AO (area of operation) and we would conduct our flights from what we call a GCS (ground control station) which is basically a sea can. But we did have guys pushed out to different FOBS (Forward operating base) as well. What we would do, we would hand over the bird to them through a standard operating procedure and then they could essentially push that bird farther away so we could cover more area and more ground. So after I did a couple months there, I did do one of those trips out to one of those FOBS. The first time I went out was by vehicle and I remember also having the duty for dismounts in case it was ever required. So not an infanteer background but still a combat soldier so, you know, we trained a little bit for that but that wasn’t my primary role. But I will never forget that first time we stopped to get out of the vehicle because we got to do our 5’s and 20’s they call it, making sure they are just clearing the route. They want to make sure there’s no threat or anything like that. But seeing the families, you know, they live there. This is their home that we are rolling through. So you know when you get a bunch of guys dismounting vehicles and you’re all bound up in gear and everything like that and they’re looking at you like, I don’t know how they are perceiving me. Are they glad I am here? Are they thankful that we’re there? Do they hate us? Part of that drive was, you know, people waving as we drove by. People throwing rocks as we drove by so it was a shock. And that was early on in the tour.