Reasons to dislike rotations (Part II): Turning it over to fatties from the 1st ID

Speaking
of rotations, as we were yesterday,
Maj. Christopher Rowe, who was a company commander with the 173rd Airborne in Afghanistan in 2009-10, in
a recent Leavenworth interview recalled
the handoff to a 1st ID unit:

"I
think it was with 3rd Brigade, 1st ID, 1-26. When they came in, their heavy
weapons company commander replaced me there. That was kind of interesting too
because that was getting to be the time of Wanat.
They did not seem very well prepared at all. There were reports of guys from my
other platoon that was attached, Chosen Company, guys getting up into the watch
towers for night security, without night vision goggles (NVGs), without ammo in
their weapons, falling asleep in the guard towers; it was scary. Okay. We had
been in country and you go through the natural weight loss, hardening
progression but they were showing up fat and just -- how are you an Infantry
guy? It was very visible. The majority of us did not want to handoff to them.
We would have rather stayed there until another unit was ready, honestly."