Elements of the 2nd AD, 35th ID, 34th and 1st ID (2nd ID) participated in a joint effort to drive the Germans and Italians from the continent of Africa.

Some layman explanation first;
After further research, the 36th trained in Africa but did not actually fight there. So that being said, they are off of our menu for units to use in Africa.

We had 6 guys show for our unit;
Bones, Martin, his son Andy, Mark came for Sat, Myself and new guy Rand, a former student of mine.

As we all know, this site offers very little cover and even less shade. Not to mention it is rocky as hell and tears up your feet and as Andy found out, boots too! THe objective of the battle was to attack an entrenched enemy on the defensive. The Germans chose 2 hills to hold as OP's. Much resistance was met for the majority of the morning hours. Just past about 1 o'clock on saturday, the 1st Id, successfully captured and held one of the German OP's. We met very little opposition. We then attacked the DAK aid station only to be done in by kevlar tents, kevlar German tunics and a P38 wielding DAK Nurse (ask Martin).

We all had a great time, even though it was VERY hot for October. Such is the nature of the desert. Most of us were suffering from exhaustion (being very sore) and injuries suffered in combat (blisters) to continue the fight on Sunday. There was sporadic action on Sunday, in which Pvt. Bunin participated in along with the 2nd Ad, 35th and BEF.

Wow the Big red One...do we need to clear that w/ anybody?
btw the whole thing sounded brutal....

Nurse with a pistol? Well if/when I go as medic I'll be packing heat then!

...or not, but yeah. Wow.

Kevlar tents and blisters and all, I still wish I could have made it. In solidarity to my fighting brothers I drank a lot, and also checked out the Australian "disposal stores": surplus stores in English, heh.

Ya i thought it was pretty nice. But we did have to deal with the germans new inventions. Such as Bulletproof tents, clothing, and I guess the foliage too.

Good Battle. Sun. Battle Seperated the men from the boys. And we know who the boys are. There's 5

We don't need to clear it with anyone, the only 1st ID is in the RPS. And whatever other impressions we do besides 2nd ID in the CHG at events are our own discretion. Or we could just not change patches and not be correct...ha.

Oh you mean like 2 other units that were there who weren't in N. Africa? Actually if the 34th guys just took off the 442 patch it would have been fine. Then again I saw a German wearing an SS camo smock and helmet cover. ???

I only made it out for Saturday, but still had a good time. The heat was brutal, but still had fun.

good job guys , SGT K

You guys can switch patches and say you're a different unit to fit the event. In fact, I encourage it. It's my opinion that every unit should have an easy alternate impression to pop in to for each theater. We were supposed to be 1st AD for this battle, but most of my guys either went slick sleeve or didn't switch the 2nd AD out (thankfully they look the same at over 10 feet).

Dylan brought up that you guys wanted to start a second impression as 36th ID. Although I agree with the Board that it doesn't need to be an official second impression, I think it's great that you guys would have an MTO alternate (not like we do too many of those, though). I'm trying to convince my guys to have an MTO alternate, like 1st AD or even a leg infantry unit, just for fun.

I thought the battle went well. Not sure how camping worked out but it seemed like nobody complained about noise. Some of the hit taking was a bit sloppy, but when hits were taken, everybody used the medical rules I set-up and seemed to think it worked well. In fact, the Germans I spoke to really liked it, even though it meant more walking for them.

Thanks for coming out and in good numbers. Glad you guys had a good time. Looking forward to seeing you again at Camp Roberts. Bill, your guys performed well.