I've been getting a lot of questions about what's next, so here are the most recent updates:
Battle Handoff
I've been officially handed over to my unit, so I now sport the patch for the 36th Infantry Division on my uniform (its an arrowhead with a capital T in it). I'll be a part of this company until I am assigned a branch of service. If I end up as an infantry officer chances are I'll be at that unit, but if I get a different branch assignment I'll end up somewhere else.
Officer Training
For a while there was some debate as to which route I'd be taking to get my commission. One of those options was eliminated as the Accelerated OCS program is not currently available to officer candidates in Texas. ROTC was also on the table so I could go back to school for my masters degree and my commission at the same time. The problem with that program is that it's really designed for full time students and working while going to school would have been a logistical nightmare for 2 years. The final option, and the path I'll be taking is the National Guard Traditional OCS program- one weekend a month for 18 months. The training is held outside Austin, TX at Camp Swift. That program starts in March 2012 and I will be drilling with my current unit until then. Once OCS starts I'll be promoted to a "Candidate" and be paid as an E-6 (2 grades higher than I am now) and once the course is finished I'll be given my commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. Training won't stop there- I'll still have a 4-5 month Officer Basic Course (OBC) where I'll learn my specific branch responsibilities (similar to AIT) and a 6 week Basic Officer Leadership Course II (BOLC II). It may sound like a lot of training but it's also a lot of responsibility to be handed, so it'll be worth the journey over the next few years.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
BCT AAR- Reflections on Becoming a Soldier
An AAR is an After Action Review, and we conducted them throughout BCT after various training events to debrief. We'd talk about what went well, what didn't and what could be changed to make it better. It's been about ten days since I graduated and I had some time to reflect over the Thanksgiving holiday driving countless hours to and from Texas to think about those things.
I'll start with the good.
Brotherhood- In an age where friendship can be defined as a webpage you have access to because you happened to meet someone at a coffee shop, its become too cheap of a word to use here. Brotherhood has nothing to do with social networks. Brotherhood is love on a level that allows you to willingly lay down your life for another soldier without hesitation. In just ten short weeks I was able to develop this sort of camaraderie with a select few guys in my company- these are men that I'd love to have to my right and left on a desolate mountainside in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we're all off in different directions now and will most likely never serve together but the units that receive them will be better off because of them. I'm thankful to have had their support and encouragement.
Mental Toughness- I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into when I got on the plane to Columbia, SC. I knew there were going to be long days, pain, the possibility of injury, lack of contact with the rest of the world, and a host of other challenges. I also knew I have a tendency to be a wimp on the inside. The questions of "What if I can't [fill in the blank]..." constantly hit me, and the fear of being exposed as weak or incapable haunted me. In spite of this I held on to what I knew to be true that God had a reason for me to serve my country and that regardless of my insecurities and weaknesses his power was able to be seen that much more in me. He constantly reminded me of David in the Old Testament and all battles he won with God's strength. Psalm 18 was my reminder when I needed strength, particularly verses 31-39. And the Lord made me stronger- whether it was fighting through the pain and doing the exercises right when we were getting smoked, cutting minutes from my two mile run time, or staying alert on guard duty when I felt like falling asleep- I could feel his presence pushing me on and making me a better soldier.
Leadership- I've been in leadership positions for as long as I can remember from Boy Scouts through college and at work, but this was a different experience entirely. Army leadership is gruff, concise, and confident. It was incredibly intimidating to be handed the command of 50 people with a handful of drill sergeants as your immediate supervisors, and then even more so to be in charge of the company with the real first sergeant and all the drill sergeants in the company as your supervisors. And effectively leading 160 people required a completely different skill set than leading a few of people that you could micromanage if necessary- that was impossible to do when leading a company. I would know. I tried. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity I had to be student first sergeant and learn valuable lessons in using the chain of command effectively and learning when to yell like a drill sergeant and when to just be cool and collected. I also learned the value of results-driven leadership. No one wanted to hear an excuse when they came to collect information from me. I had to respond along the lines of "no, the task isn't complete" or "yes, here's whatever you needed from me." Anything along the lines of no plus an excuse wasn't acceptable. If they asked for a reason why something wasn't done I could give one, but most of the time they didn't care. Results or don't waste my time. Valuable lessons and ones I'm glad to have learned so early on in my career.
Family- Most people don't immediately think of the sacrifice it takes for the family of a soldier to send their loved one off. I am extremely blessed to have a supportive wife that has stuck with this decision to be a part of the military from the beginning. She worked extremely hard while I was gone to take the reigns of the work I normally do, and did it all very well. (I also have to pause here to thank our friends who stepped in like family and helped out in big ways to ease the burden on her as our immediate families are both half way across the country.) But we did well as a couple while we were apart, doing our best to love one another through letters that arrived two weeks after they were sent, and because of this we also feel more prepared to face the inevitable deployment[s] that will separate us for a much longer period of time. I'm also thankful for my parents and their consistent letters of encouragement. My mom's letters were constantly filled with scripture and support- it wasn't hard to figure out why I cried watching the music video for "Letters from War" during church in the second week of basic- having just received my first letter from her. Letters from dads were proudly held high when they came in the mail. Grown men still want their father's approval and nothing comes close to the sound of hearing your dad say he's proud of you. I think John Michael Montgomery nailed the way we feel about it in his song "Letters from Home" (which my wife posted in an earlier entry- but in case you missed it here is the knock off youtube version). So thanks Dad, for your letters- they mean a lot. And thank you to my sisters, grandparents, my wife's side of the family, and to all my other friends that sent me mail while I was gone- I've got a stack that I brought back with every letter I got because I'm appreciative of them all.
The things that were hard.
I don't really have topics per se for the things that I didn't like at basic- there were the obvious like being stripped of freedoms, good food, and a full night's rest but those things were temporary, and now they're nothing more than a memory. Those types of "pain" were easier to overlook- or as the Army calls it: embracing the suck. There were other struggles that were harder to overlook and most of those were from problems I had with other soldiers. Sometimes those soldiers were individuals that got to me but usually it was an unofficial group that was capable of driving me to the edge of my breaking point. [From this point forward everything will probably sound more like a rant, but I hope it's a constructive one.] Nobody made me or several hundred thousand other soldiers in the US military sign up. There was no threat of jail time if we didn't enlist. And I'm sure even the Amish people without TV's know we've been in a war in the Middle East for the last decade. So on some level everyone I trained with wanted to be there and knew there was a good chance they'd eventually be shipped out to war, but looking at the company as a whole- you'd never be able to tell. To this day I still have no idea why people with no respect for authority and no self discipline would sit down in a recruiter's office and literally sign their life over to the government. Always looking out for number one they never became part of the group and I could never trust them to protect my life. I really wanted to get the phone numbers of their quota-filling recruiters so I could give them an earful when I got back from BCT for all the lives they jeopardize for not recognizing when someone is too far gone to be useful as a soldier.
The other category of soldiers I couldn't stand were the ones who willingly skated by doing the minimums. I don't care how hard basic might seem- I looked at every day as an opportunity to learn something that would keep me and my buddies alive whether that meant getting stronger or getting smarter. But the problem is- when that's not everyone's attitude chances are they're going to be the one that makes a mistake that gets people killed. I signed up because I knew that I'd do everything in my power to complete my mission and get the men in my command back home. This isn't a game we play and I don't have a lot of tolerance for most things period, let alone things that could cost the lives of American soldiers.
I'm not sure how I would improve the things I had problems with, but if it were totally up to me I'd hand out more dishonorable discharges and leave graduating basic up to a vote by your peers.
Basic training is something I hope to never repeat, but I'm proud of the fact that I went through it. It's an honor to be inducted into a family that's been protecting this nation for generations. After ten weeks I came out better than I went in- more mature and disciplined, in prime physical condition, and part of something that I've always had the utmost respect for. Thank you again to those of you who have been a part of this journey thus far- I couldn't do it without y'all, and I look forward to continuing to share where this takes me.
I'll start with the good.
Brotherhood- In an age where friendship can be defined as a webpage you have access to because you happened to meet someone at a coffee shop, its become too cheap of a word to use here. Brotherhood has nothing to do with social networks. Brotherhood is love on a level that allows you to willingly lay down your life for another soldier without hesitation. In just ten short weeks I was able to develop this sort of camaraderie with a select few guys in my company- these are men that I'd love to have to my right and left on a desolate mountainside in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we're all off in different directions now and will most likely never serve together but the units that receive them will be better off because of them. I'm thankful to have had their support and encouragement.
Mental Toughness- I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into when I got on the plane to Columbia, SC. I knew there were going to be long days, pain, the possibility of injury, lack of contact with the rest of the world, and a host of other challenges. I also knew I have a tendency to be a wimp on the inside. The questions of "What if I can't [fill in the blank]..." constantly hit me, and the fear of being exposed as weak or incapable haunted me. In spite of this I held on to what I knew to be true that God had a reason for me to serve my country and that regardless of my insecurities and weaknesses his power was able to be seen that much more in me. He constantly reminded me of David in the Old Testament and all battles he won with God's strength. Psalm 18 was my reminder when I needed strength, particularly verses 31-39. And the Lord made me stronger- whether it was fighting through the pain and doing the exercises right when we were getting smoked, cutting minutes from my two mile run time, or staying alert on guard duty when I felt like falling asleep- I could feel his presence pushing me on and making me a better soldier.
Leadership- I've been in leadership positions for as long as I can remember from Boy Scouts through college and at work, but this was a different experience entirely. Army leadership is gruff, concise, and confident. It was incredibly intimidating to be handed the command of 50 people with a handful of drill sergeants as your immediate supervisors, and then even more so to be in charge of the company with the real first sergeant and all the drill sergeants in the company as your supervisors. And effectively leading 160 people required a completely different skill set than leading a few of people that you could micromanage if necessary- that was impossible to do when leading a company. I would know. I tried. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity I had to be student first sergeant and learn valuable lessons in using the chain of command effectively and learning when to yell like a drill sergeant and when to just be cool and collected. I also learned the value of results-driven leadership. No one wanted to hear an excuse when they came to collect information from me. I had to respond along the lines of "no, the task isn't complete" or "yes, here's whatever you needed from me." Anything along the lines of no plus an excuse wasn't acceptable. If they asked for a reason why something wasn't done I could give one, but most of the time they didn't care. Results or don't waste my time. Valuable lessons and ones I'm glad to have learned so early on in my career.
Family- Most people don't immediately think of the sacrifice it takes for the family of a soldier to send their loved one off. I am extremely blessed to have a supportive wife that has stuck with this decision to be a part of the military from the beginning. She worked extremely hard while I was gone to take the reigns of the work I normally do, and did it all very well. (I also have to pause here to thank our friends who stepped in like family and helped out in big ways to ease the burden on her as our immediate families are both half way across the country.) But we did well as a couple while we were apart, doing our best to love one another through letters that arrived two weeks after they were sent, and because of this we also feel more prepared to face the inevitable deployment[s] that will separate us for a much longer period of time. I'm also thankful for my parents and their consistent letters of encouragement. My mom's letters were constantly filled with scripture and support- it wasn't hard to figure out why I cried watching the music video for "Letters from War" during church in the second week of basic- having just received my first letter from her. Letters from dads were proudly held high when they came in the mail. Grown men still want their father's approval and nothing comes close to the sound of hearing your dad say he's proud of you. I think John Michael Montgomery nailed the way we feel about it in his song "Letters from Home" (which my wife posted in an earlier entry- but in case you missed it here is the knock off youtube version). So thanks Dad, for your letters- they mean a lot. And thank you to my sisters, grandparents, my wife's side of the family, and to all my other friends that sent me mail while I was gone- I've got a stack that I brought back with every letter I got because I'm appreciative of them all.
The things that were hard.
I don't really have topics per se for the things that I didn't like at basic- there were the obvious like being stripped of freedoms, good food, and a full night's rest but those things were temporary, and now they're nothing more than a memory. Those types of "pain" were easier to overlook- or as the Army calls it: embracing the suck. There were other struggles that were harder to overlook and most of those were from problems I had with other soldiers. Sometimes those soldiers were individuals that got to me but usually it was an unofficial group that was capable of driving me to the edge of my breaking point. [From this point forward everything will probably sound more like a rant, but I hope it's a constructive one.] Nobody made me or several hundred thousand other soldiers in the US military sign up. There was no threat of jail time if we didn't enlist. And I'm sure even the Amish people without TV's know we've been in a war in the Middle East for the last decade. So on some level everyone I trained with wanted to be there and knew there was a good chance they'd eventually be shipped out to war, but looking at the company as a whole- you'd never be able to tell. To this day I still have no idea why people with no respect for authority and no self discipline would sit down in a recruiter's office and literally sign their life over to the government. Always looking out for number one they never became part of the group and I could never trust them to protect my life. I really wanted to get the phone numbers of their quota-filling recruiters so I could give them an earful when I got back from BCT for all the lives they jeopardize for not recognizing when someone is too far gone to be useful as a soldier.
The other category of soldiers I couldn't stand were the ones who willingly skated by doing the minimums. I don't care how hard basic might seem- I looked at every day as an opportunity to learn something that would keep me and my buddies alive whether that meant getting stronger or getting smarter. But the problem is- when that's not everyone's attitude chances are they're going to be the one that makes a mistake that gets people killed. I signed up because I knew that I'd do everything in my power to complete my mission and get the men in my command back home. This isn't a game we play and I don't have a lot of tolerance for most things period, let alone things that could cost the lives of American soldiers.
I'm not sure how I would improve the things I had problems with, but if it were totally up to me I'd hand out more dishonorable discharges and leave graduating basic up to a vote by your peers.
Basic training is something I hope to never repeat, but I'm proud of the fact that I went through it. It's an honor to be inducted into a family that's been protecting this nation for generations. After ten weeks I came out better than I went in- more mature and disciplined, in prime physical condition, and part of something that I've always had the utmost respect for. Thank you again to those of you who have been a part of this journey thus far- I couldn't do it without y'all, and I look forward to continuing to share where this takes me.
Family Day/Graduation
Note: These last three entries I [the soldier] have been writing at home from memory- there simply wasn't enough time to write home during training given my leadership responsibilities. I've gone back and made some edits to previous posts and added photos that our cadre posted to the battalion's facebook page during our cycle so be sure to check those out if you haven't seen them yet.
Family Day
We finally made it to Family Day and it was well worth all the effort to get there. We were up late the night before on our recently reacquired cell phones catching up on facebook, texting, and doing all the things our generation is so proficient at- so much for breaking those technology addictions. We got up at 0500 and started cleaning weapons (again) so they could be turned in after breakfast. They threatened to take us away from our families if the company didn't pass the armory inspection, so we were all pretty nervous about that but nothing ever came of it. At 1000 we were finally reunited with our families in a really cool ceremony. We were "hiding" in the wood line behind the parade field and after the commanders had sufficiently run out of patriotic statements to make smoke grenades and artillery simulators started going off and we rushed out onto the field. It was very Revolutionary War feeling- the whole battalion (about 800 soldiers) charging behind our respective guidons to Toby Keith's "Red, White and Blue." (Well I guess the last part wasn't very 1774...). Many of us were unexpectedly emotional about the whole thing- I was holding back tears and about everybody else I talked to later was doing the same with varying levels of success. Something about standing proudly in front of my wife as a soldier brought on intense emotions that I didn't anticipate. The families were released to pick us up on the parade field and my wife blind sided me. (Several guys told me later that night they were able to hold in the tears until I was nearly tackled and that just put them over the top. Way to go wifey, you make grown men cry) She was the first one on the field and found out later she nearly knocked over my company 1st sergeant to get there. Words can't express how good it felt to be with her again. We didn't have an off-post pass so we spent the rest of the day going around the base- took two trips to the PX, checked out the museum, had dinner at the NCO Club, and wandered around aimlessly. My mother-in-law (a retired field grade officer) surprised me and came that afternoon and spent the rest of the day with us too. We were back at our company at 2030, got smoked for no good reason and went up to conduct "bay maintenance" but most of us were so tired we just crashed.
Graduation Day
Graduation was a lot like Family Day, we were back on Hilton Field and we got bussed there instead of having to march like the day before. The ceremony was quick and to the point, probably lasted about 30 minutes. I was in a special detachment with the other honor graduates (Soldier Leader of the Cycle, Soldier of the Cycle, High BRM, High PT- each of the 5 companies had one of each plus the Drill Sergeant of the cycle). We were awarded the Army Achievement Medal by the Lt. Colonel and our families got to sit in VIP seating. After the ceremony the Post Commander (a Major General (2 star)) spoke to the honor grads and we received a coin from him and a coin from the post's Command Sergeant Major. So I got three coins total at basic (I forgot to mention earlier that I got one from our Platoon Sergeant/head DS for being chosen as Soldier Leader of the Cycle- which I also forgot to mention that my platoon had three of the four honor grads for our company which greatly pleased our DS's). (Coins are a military tradition and are given in recognition of achievement and probably several other reasons that aren't coming to mind presently.) My parent's surprised me and were there at the ceremony which I wasn't expecting so it was a huge blessing to be able to celebrate with everyone from my family that came down. We were given an off-post pass on Graduation Day so we all went out for a pizza before we had to go back home. I got to fly back the night of graduation, so my parents and I all went to the airport together. I had some great friends pick me up from the airport (my wife didn't get to fly home until the next morning) and they took me straight to BWW's before going home- my friends know me so well... It was good to sleep in my own bed and it was very good to be back home.
Family Day
We finally made it to Family Day and it was well worth all the effort to get there. We were up late the night before on our recently reacquired cell phones catching up on facebook, texting, and doing all the things our generation is so proficient at- so much for breaking those technology addictions. We got up at 0500 and started cleaning weapons (again) so they could be turned in after breakfast. They threatened to take us away from our families if the company didn't pass the armory inspection, so we were all pretty nervous about that but nothing ever came of it. At 1000 we were finally reunited with our families in a really cool ceremony. We were "hiding" in the wood line behind the parade field and after the commanders had sufficiently run out of patriotic statements to make smoke grenades and artillery simulators started going off and we rushed out onto the field. It was very Revolutionary War feeling- the whole battalion (about 800 soldiers) charging behind our respective guidons to Toby Keith's "Red, White and Blue." (Well I guess the last part wasn't very 1774...). Many of us were unexpectedly emotional about the whole thing- I was holding back tears and about everybody else I talked to later was doing the same with varying levels of success. Something about standing proudly in front of my wife as a soldier brought on intense emotions that I didn't anticipate. The families were released to pick us up on the parade field and my wife blind sided me. (Several guys told me later that night they were able to hold in the tears until I was nearly tackled and that just put them over the top. Way to go wifey, you make grown men cry) She was the first one on the field and found out later she nearly knocked over my company 1st sergeant to get there. Words can't express how good it felt to be with her again. We didn't have an off-post pass so we spent the rest of the day going around the base- took two trips to the PX, checked out the museum, had dinner at the NCO Club, and wandered around aimlessly. My mother-in-law (a retired field grade officer) surprised me and came that afternoon and spent the rest of the day with us too. We were back at our company at 2030, got smoked for no good reason and went up to conduct "bay maintenance" but most of us were so tired we just crashed.
Graduation Day
Graduation was a lot like Family Day, we were back on Hilton Field and we got bussed there instead of having to march like the day before. The ceremony was quick and to the point, probably lasted about 30 minutes. I was in a special detachment with the other honor graduates (Soldier Leader of the Cycle, Soldier of the Cycle, High BRM, High PT- each of the 5 companies had one of each plus the Drill Sergeant of the cycle). We were awarded the Army Achievement Medal by the Lt. Colonel and our families got to sit in VIP seating. After the ceremony the Post Commander (a Major General (2 star)) spoke to the honor grads and we received a coin from him and a coin from the post's Command Sergeant Major. So I got three coins total at basic (I forgot to mention earlier that I got one from our Platoon Sergeant/head DS for being chosen as Soldier Leader of the Cycle- which I also forgot to mention that my platoon had three of the four honor grads for our company which greatly pleased our DS's). (Coins are a military tradition and are given in recognition of achievement and probably several other reasons that aren't coming to mind presently.) My parent's surprised me and were there at the ceremony which I wasn't expecting so it was a huge blessing to be able to celebrate with everyone from my family that came down. We were given an off-post pass on Graduation Day so we all went out for a pizza before we had to go back home. I got to fly back the night of graduation, so my parents and I all went to the airport together. I had some great friends pick me up from the airport (my wife didn't get to fly home until the next morning) and they took me straight to BWW's before going home- my friends know me so well... It was good to sleep in my own bed and it was very good to be back home.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
BCT- The Last Days
Well even though training is over, it doesn’t mean the DS’s
control our lives any less. We’re still waking up at 0500 and doing PT, then we
spend the rest of the day cleaning, getting smoked, cleaning, eating chow… you
get the idea. The day after the ruck march we got our first decent meal at the
DFAC- I got to eat BBQ ribs, warm dinner rolls, a loaded baked potato, an ice
cream sundae and the best piece of German chocolate cake I’ve had in 10 weeks. Then
we got smoked. Should’ve seen that one coming…
The next night we got about 3 hours of sleep because the DS
on night duty kept us up past 0130 cleaning our rifles and then we got to wake
up at 0445. Outstanding. The other days are more or less a blur, more of the
same- late nights cleaning everything from our bays, to our gear, and more
weapons cleaning. We had an inspection where we laid out all our gear, broke
down our weapons and our Sergeant Major came by to inspect it. We got all
dressed up in our Class B ASU uniforms and the inspection really wasn’t as bad
as the DS’s made us believe it would be.
I guess I haven’t commented on being Student First Sergeant
yet. It’s a lot of extra responsibility without any benefits (except I get to
pick which MRE I get when we eat MRE’s). I’m learning a lot about what it takes
to manage a group of 160 soldiers- its definitely not anything I’ve had similar
experience with before. I think I’m the only student leader in the company that
hasn’t been fired yet- most days I wish they’d just do it so I don’t have to be
the center of attention for the DS’s. It will earn me an Army Achievement Medal
when this is all over, so I guess it’s worth it.
We got to make a phone call home to tell our families that
we graduated, but for some reason my wife’s phone number wasn’t working each
time I got to try so that was pretty frustrating, but the night before family
night we got our personal bags and cell phones back so hopefully I’ll have
better luck then. Just a few more days and I’ll be out of here!
Victory Forge
The last FTX (named Victory Forge) is a four-day, three-night culmination of all
the skills taught at BCT. They bussed us out to a remote location on the base
that was set up like a FOB (Forward Operating Base) just like the ones in Iraq
and Afghanistan (except we didn’t get internet or Xbox). During the day we’d go
outside the wire (leave the base) and conduct patrols. Inevitably we’d run into
enemy contact and we’d respond appropriately. The down time was really boring
but when we were actually conducting missions it was really fun. Some of the
missions involved searching for enemy mortar teams, using land nav to meet up
with other coalition forces, searching an entire village for enemy combatants,
searching for IED’s, and reacting to an ambush. At night we ran some night ops
and got to use the NOD’s to go on patrol and react to enemy contact.
We slept in big military tents that could hold about 20 of
us on cots (much nicer than the one-man tents we used on the last FTX). There were wild rumors that we’d be hit
with mortar or grenade attacks in the middle of the night if the DS’s got
overzealous but nothing ever happened. The weather couldn’t have been better
for that time of the year. When the sun went down it got pretty cold- cold
enough that your hands hurt and you didn’t want to touch the metal on your
rifle, but the day warmed up to the mid 70’s which is an ideal temperature to
be running around in body armor.
The very last training event was a “10 mile” batallion ruck march (the
Army requirement is 16k/10 mi but we ended up doing 12.3 miles- that's just how Fox Company rolls) from the FOB
back to our company area. We started off at 1700 and marched exactly 4 hours
back to our barracks. The pace was pretty quick and we were under a full load.
Every hour to hour and a half we’d stop and take a rest. On the first break we
pulled out our MRE and got to eat the main course and whatever else we could
cram down in five minutes. They found the most uphill portions of the base and
then laid down loose sand and that was the course we took. In the dark. Not
exactly the family hikes you take on vacation. Surprisingly, by this stage of the game no one from our company fell out of the march. Just a few short weeks ago we had people that couldn't hack a 2 mile march.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Pass!
From the wifey-
He has officially passed BCT. They are kind of in a waiting mode, getting things wrapped up and all. Graduation is this week! We are so close!
He has officially passed BCT. They are kind of in a waiting mode, getting things wrapped up and all. Graduation is this week! We are so close!
Soldier Leader of the Cycle/ US Weapons
10/31-11/4
It's been another blur of a week. This is my first chance to sit down and write. The week started off with a day at the Convoy Ops range. We got to ride around in Humvee's on patrol and learned how to react to enemy fire and IED's while mounted in a vehicle. I actually fit once I got in, but getting in and out with full gear and my long legs is going to take some practice. After mounted patrols, we took a class on IED's and did a foot patrol to see it we could spot them. Our platoon got blown up 7/10 times because we failed to see the device. The point of the class was to show you how closely you need to watch for the signs.
That night I lost the fight to fever, the flu, and feeling terrible. I'd been sick for 3 days prior and wasn't getting better, so I went to the acute care center after dinner Monday and was admitted with a fever of 101 degrees. They gave me two shots in the butt, Motrin, and sent me to spend the night in the hospital sleep quarters. For dinner I had an MRE and got to keep the peanut M&M's, so I got my Halloween candy. :) I woke up the next morning without a fever, so I got out as quickly as possible. Missing training this late in the game could easily make you miss your graduation date and restart the phase with another company. Speaking of phases, when I got back our flags were switched over to Blue Phase, the last phase of BCT.
We took a vote in each platoon for Soldier of the Cycle and Soldier Leader of the Cycle. Each PLT chooses a representative to compete at the company level, and ultimately, from the 6 nominees, one will win from each of the categories. I was voted by my platoon as Soldier Leader of the Cycle, which made me really proud. Before I left home, my unit commander told me I'd better not come home without the award, so I was one step closer to satisfying that requirement. The DS's gave us a HUGE packet to study and it covered topics we've learned about at BCT, but in far more detail that we learned. We had 2.5 days to cram for our review board while still maintaining our roles as PG's and such. The day of the board came and I was about as prepared as I was going to get. The board consisted of the head DS from each of our companies' 3 platoons and the company 1st Sergeant. We gave a short bio and then the grilling started. Non-stop questions until they were satisfied. If you got an answer wrong, they turned up the pressure by diving deeper into the topic and making you look like an idiot. After about 25 minutes, I was dismissed. I felt semi-confident when I left, just hoping the mistakes I made were overlooked for the most part. When we got back from lunch, the 6 nominees gathered in the 1st Sergeant's office to have the winners announced. To my surprise, they called out my name for Soldier Leader of the Cycle and my buddy from my platoon won Soldier of the Cycle, our platoon's DS's were quite pleased with us. I got promoted from Platoon Guide to Student 1st Sergeant, so I'm the student leader responsible for the whole company now. Any information the DS's want passed along, I'm responsible for. So if I mess up, they promised to make me pay for it. Awesome.
We took our end of cycle APFT and I did well. My overall score was 260/300. I did 52 push-ups, 74 sit-ups, and ran a 13:35 2-mile. 10 points shy of my goal, but it's still a decent score.
The week ended with a US weapons course. Since I'm the Soldier Leader of the Cycle, I got to shoot the AT-4. It's a $10,000 anti-tank, shoulder-fired rocket. It was the coolest thing I've done here at basic. I sank the round straight into the side of an armored personnel carrier and was rewarded with a huge explosion and shrapnel flying in the air... And I thought the grenades were cool... So thank you US tax payers for allowing me the amazing opportunity to demonstrate that weapon system for the soldiers I'm training with. Then we got 150 rounds of ammo for the machine guns... 50 for the M249 and 100 for the M240B, and after that we shot 2 dummy rounds from the M203 (The Noob Tube for all the Call of Duty players.) (Wifey note: Really? Call of Duty?) Talk about a good day. It's days like this I'm so glad I signed the contract.
The weather is getting cold and lousy. Just in time for our field training exercise all next week. One more week of training, a few admin days, Family Day, graduation, and a flight home. Almost there.
It's been another blur of a week. This is my first chance to sit down and write. The week started off with a day at the Convoy Ops range. We got to ride around in Humvee's on patrol and learned how to react to enemy fire and IED's while mounted in a vehicle. I actually fit once I got in, but getting in and out with full gear and my long legs is going to take some practice. After mounted patrols, we took a class on IED's and did a foot patrol to see it we could spot them. Our platoon got blown up 7/10 times because we failed to see the device. The point of the class was to show you how closely you need to watch for the signs.
That night I lost the fight to fever, the flu, and feeling terrible. I'd been sick for 3 days prior and wasn't getting better, so I went to the acute care center after dinner Monday and was admitted with a fever of 101 degrees. They gave me two shots in the butt, Motrin, and sent me to spend the night in the hospital sleep quarters. For dinner I had an MRE and got to keep the peanut M&M's, so I got my Halloween candy. :) I woke up the next morning without a fever, so I got out as quickly as possible. Missing training this late in the game could easily make you miss your graduation date and restart the phase with another company. Speaking of phases, when I got back our flags were switched over to Blue Phase, the last phase of BCT.
We took a vote in each platoon for Soldier of the Cycle and Soldier Leader of the Cycle. Each PLT chooses a representative to compete at the company level, and ultimately, from the 6 nominees, one will win from each of the categories. I was voted by my platoon as Soldier Leader of the Cycle, which made me really proud. Before I left home, my unit commander told me I'd better not come home without the award, so I was one step closer to satisfying that requirement. The DS's gave us a HUGE packet to study and it covered topics we've learned about at BCT, but in far more detail that we learned. We had 2.5 days to cram for our review board while still maintaining our roles as PG's and such. The day of the board came and I was about as prepared as I was going to get. The board consisted of the head DS from each of our companies' 3 platoons and the company 1st Sergeant. We gave a short bio and then the grilling started. Non-stop questions until they were satisfied. If you got an answer wrong, they turned up the pressure by diving deeper into the topic and making you look like an idiot. After about 25 minutes, I was dismissed. I felt semi-confident when I left, just hoping the mistakes I made were overlooked for the most part. When we got back from lunch, the 6 nominees gathered in the 1st Sergeant's office to have the winners announced. To my surprise, they called out my name for Soldier Leader of the Cycle and my buddy from my platoon won Soldier of the Cycle, our platoon's DS's were quite pleased with us. I got promoted from Platoon Guide to Student 1st Sergeant, so I'm the student leader responsible for the whole company now. Any information the DS's want passed along, I'm responsible for. So if I mess up, they promised to make me pay for it. Awesome.
We took our end of cycle APFT and I did well. My overall score was 260/300. I did 52 push-ups, 74 sit-ups, and ran a 13:35 2-mile. 10 points shy of my goal, but it's still a decent score.
The week ended with a US weapons course. Since I'm the Soldier Leader of the Cycle, I got to shoot the AT-4. It's a $10,000 anti-tank, shoulder-fired rocket. It was the coolest thing I've done here at basic. I sank the round straight into the side of an armored personnel carrier and was rewarded with a huge explosion and shrapnel flying in the air... And I thought the grenades were cool... So thank you US tax payers for allowing me the amazing opportunity to demonstrate that weapon system for the soldiers I'm training with. Then we got 150 rounds of ammo for the machine guns... 50 for the M249 and 100 for the M240B, and after that we shot 2 dummy rounds from the M203 (The Noob Tube for all the Call of Duty players.) (Wifey note: Really? Call of Duty?) Talk about a good day. It's days like this I'm so glad I signed the contract.
The weather is getting cold and lousy. Just in time for our field training exercise all next week. One more week of training, a few admin days, Family Day, graduation, and a flight home. Almost there.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Grenades
Week of 10/23
This week has been crazy. I can't seem to separate the days any longer, so I'll try to hit the highlights. Sunday was the same as always - church and work detail, cleaning up our parts of the base. Monday we all got different jobs around post. I spent the day getting a range cleaned up and replacing targets. Our DS's left us along for the most part, so it was a pretty low-key day. The real fun started Tuesday: grenade qualification. We ran a course where we had 6 different types of objectives to assault (bunkers, vehicles, trenches, individuals) with grenades. We used practice grenades that are identical to the real deal minus the high explosive. They do "explode" with an entertaining bang so you know when to pick your head up and start moving again. I did pretty well and as the saying goes - close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
The big change of the week was Tuesday morning when I was appointed platoon guide! Finally I get a chance to lead from up front. The platoon was relieved the DS's picked me too - the last few haven't been anything to write home about. It's a lot more responsibility with no extra benefits. But it's what I signed up to do, so I'm glad to have the position. I'll probably have it for a week before its changed again - the DS's haven't let anyone stay much longer than that so more people will get to have some experience leading.
Wednesday was Part 2 of grenade qualification: live grenades. Somehow the Army figured out how to take up an entire day for 160 some soldiers to throw 2 grenades each. We had to throw 2 dummies again to prove we wouldn't kill ourselves or anyone else. Then we got 2 frag grenades to qualify with. It was crazy to think there was so much destructive power in the 2 baseball-sized frags I had to carry on my chest (pause for a Tim Allen grunt). I'm pretty sure you earn an irrevocable man card once you've thrown explosives of this caliber. It was extremely satisfying to hear and feel the concussive explosion from behind the protective bunker. Few things have brought a smile of that magnitude to my face in my entire life. Here's to hoping those aren't the last grenades I'll ever throw.
Random update: I'm now in Run Group A (or "A Train")- the fastest group. (I did it for you, Mark and David.)
Thursday was a prequalification for team firing. That's where two people assault an objective by laying down, covering fire while the other soldier bounds forward. The lanes are about 200m long and they simulate a city street with cars, barriers, buildings, etc. to get cover behind. By the time you throw a dummy grenade at the end of the course, you're pretty winded from all the quick movements and diving around. It's all good and fun - it sure beats a day of sitting behind a desk. Friday we did it all again with live ammunition instead of blank rounds. That freaked some people out because you could potentially shoot and kill yourself and your battle buddy on accident. But when you do everything the way you're trained, there's nothing to worry about. It was a fun week, and I'm glad another one is crossed off the calendar.
Note from the wife: he said in his personal letter to me that he is sick. He could use your prayers.
This week has been crazy. I can't seem to separate the days any longer, so I'll try to hit the highlights. Sunday was the same as always - church and work detail, cleaning up our parts of the base. Monday we all got different jobs around post. I spent the day getting a range cleaned up and replacing targets. Our DS's left us along for the most part, so it was a pretty low-key day. The real fun started Tuesday: grenade qualification. We ran a course where we had 6 different types of objectives to assault (bunkers, vehicles, trenches, individuals) with grenades. We used practice grenades that are identical to the real deal minus the high explosive. They do "explode" with an entertaining bang so you know when to pick your head up and start moving again. I did pretty well and as the saying goes - close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
The big change of the week was Tuesday morning when I was appointed platoon guide! Finally I get a chance to lead from up front. The platoon was relieved the DS's picked me too - the last few haven't been anything to write home about. It's a lot more responsibility with no extra benefits. But it's what I signed up to do, so I'm glad to have the position. I'll probably have it for a week before its changed again - the DS's haven't let anyone stay much longer than that so more people will get to have some experience leading.
Wednesday was Part 2 of grenade qualification: live grenades. Somehow the Army figured out how to take up an entire day for 160 some soldiers to throw 2 grenades each. We had to throw 2 dummies again to prove we wouldn't kill ourselves or anyone else. Then we got 2 frag grenades to qualify with. It was crazy to think there was so much destructive power in the 2 baseball-sized frags I had to carry on my chest (pause for a Tim Allen grunt). I'm pretty sure you earn an irrevocable man card once you've thrown explosives of this caliber. It was extremely satisfying to hear and feel the concussive explosion from behind the protective bunker. Few things have brought a smile of that magnitude to my face in my entire life. Here's to hoping those aren't the last grenades I'll ever throw.
 |
| Frags in hand ready to move to the throwing pits |
Random update: I'm now in Run Group A (or "A Train")- the fastest group. (I did it for you, Mark and David.)
Thursday was a prequalification for team firing. That's where two people assault an objective by laying down, covering fire while the other soldier bounds forward. The lanes are about 200m long and they simulate a city street with cars, barriers, buildings, etc. to get cover behind. By the time you throw a dummy grenade at the end of the course, you're pretty winded from all the quick movements and diving around. It's all good and fun - it sure beats a day of sitting behind a desk. Friday we did it all again with live ammunition instead of blank rounds. That freaked some people out because you could potentially shoot and kill yourself and your battle buddy on accident. But when you do everything the way you're trained, there's nothing to worry about. It was a fun week, and I'm glad another one is crossed off the calendar.
Note from the wife: he said in his personal letter to me that he is sick. He could use your prayers.
Live Rounds and Pizza
Monday 10/17
Another beautiful day at Fort Jackson. We're at the range all day in our full gear. We'll spend the rest of basic in full battle rattle, save for Sundays, PT, and chow. My shoulders will get use to it eventually. We're still doing ARM so we're getting more trigger time on the M4 with all the high speed attachments at the range today. We're still shooting from behind barriers in different positions (standing, kneeling, prone). I shot really well today and it doesn't count for anything, but it feels good knowing I'm getting better. We're doing another night shoot, too, with NVG's, so that'll be fun. The only down side to night shoot is that you get back around midnight and still have to wake up at the same time. I'm on range detail today, so I'm one of the first soldiers to get to the range, help set up targets, load rounds into magazines (We were allotted 16,000 rounds for our company of 163 soldiers - all to be spent at the range.), and tear down/clean up. It's usually a good gig to be put on range detail, but today we're out at the range over 12 hours and we have a lot of work to do, so it's not as plush of a job as usual. With that - gotta get back to work.
Tuesday 10/18-Friday 10/21
It's been a busy week, so in order to catch up I'm just going to condense a few things. Tuesday was an admin day, the weather was lousy, and fall temps have set in, which would be great if we could pick our own warm clothes to wear, but ACU's don't keep you the slightest bit warm. I think they were designed to keep you comfortable in an air conditioned office. We cleaned our bays and spent 3 or 4 hours cleaning and re-cleaning M4's before they went back to the armory. I'm pretty sure they were cleaner then when they came out of the factory. The highlight of the day was getting all the backed up mail. I got 10 letters and found out my little sister got her driver's license, my college roommate is dating the girl I told him he needs to go out with, and that Steve Jobs died. It was good to hear from everyone, so thanks again! (Side note: with as long as it takes to get mail here, don't send me anything after the 1st of November. I probably wouldn't get it here.) Wednesday we went back up to the 120th Reception Battalion where we did our initial processing, so we could get our dress blue uniforms. We saw a bunch of troops that got in the night before - it was hard to believe we looked that pathetic 7 weeks ago, too. :)
Thursday was our first overnight FTX. We marched about 8 miles to the site in full battle rattle. My legs were ready to go another 8, but my back and shoulders were done. We've got a 10 mile in 2 weeks, but it's the very last graduation requirement so I'm sure I'll be motivated to keep pushing. During the day, we learned about IED's, more MOUT, and how to conduct vehicle checkpoints. It was really good, hands-on training. For some reason, the DS's were not in a good mood, so we got smoked every time we had time. When the sun went down, we did a night obstacle course in full gear and no lights. We jumped over barriers, crawled through pitch black storm drains, low-crawled under barbed wire. At the end, we lined up in a WWI style trench and at the command of "Go!" we got out and started low-crawling (head in dirt, using your arms to drag your body forward) while live 50 cal rounds were shot over our heads. They shot up flares and dropped simulated mortars all around us as we crawled 200m+ to safety. Talk about a work out. We had fun though. It felt like we were in a scene from a movie. We got back to our tents around midnight and after getting up at 03:00, a march, and a long crawl, I was ready to crawl in my sleeping bag, but I got put on fire guard. So I had to patrol our site until 02:00. I finally got to bed only to be woken up to "YOU"RE LATE!" Apparently, the last fire guard shift didn't wake us up on time, so we had to scramble in the dark to pack everything up and get in formation. Well, we didn't make it on time, so we started getting smoked early. Outstanding. The rest of the day we practiced assaulting objectives - and we kept getting smoked. We got to ride a bus back to our company area where we got smoked some more then finally got some sleep.
Saturday 10/22
We got to do some high-realism First Aid training. There was an area set up like an Arab market just after a suicide bomber detonated a vest, so we had to go in, secure the area, and treat the wounded while still under fire. I got to be a victim and got dressed up in mutilated prosthetics, fake blood, and it all looked real and guts hanging out, blood all over. It was gross. We also had mannequins that were remote controlled and had 2 severed legs that sprayed blood until the tourniquet was on right. It was high-stress, but the experience was invaluable.
In the evening, somehow we were allowed to go to a concert on base. A lot of other BCT and AIT soldiers were there. We also got to buy pizza, candy, and Gatorade, so I ate a whole medium Dominoes pizza, a Snickers bar, and some Gatorade. Big and Rich were the headliners and the guy who sings "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" was the opener. Civilian food, country music, and a little relaxation was the perfect recipe for a morale boost. When we got back, we were expecting to "pay" for the fun we had, but we were actually complimented on being the most disciplined soldiers out there. Normally, all we hear is something along the lines of "You are the worst company we've ever had." No candy turned up in our shakedown, so they let us go to bed. A good day.
Another beautiful day at Fort Jackson. We're at the range all day in our full gear. We'll spend the rest of basic in full battle rattle, save for Sundays, PT, and chow. My shoulders will get use to it eventually. We're still doing ARM so we're getting more trigger time on the M4 with all the high speed attachments at the range today. We're still shooting from behind barriers in different positions (standing, kneeling, prone). I shot really well today and it doesn't count for anything, but it feels good knowing I'm getting better. We're doing another night shoot, too, with NVG's, so that'll be fun. The only down side to night shoot is that you get back around midnight and still have to wake up at the same time. I'm on range detail today, so I'm one of the first soldiers to get to the range, help set up targets, load rounds into magazines (We were allotted 16,000 rounds for our company of 163 soldiers - all to be spent at the range.), and tear down/clean up. It's usually a good gig to be put on range detail, but today we're out at the range over 12 hours and we have a lot of work to do, so it's not as plush of a job as usual. With that - gotta get back to work.
Tuesday 10/18-Friday 10/21
It's been a busy week, so in order to catch up I'm just going to condense a few things. Tuesday was an admin day, the weather was lousy, and fall temps have set in, which would be great if we could pick our own warm clothes to wear, but ACU's don't keep you the slightest bit warm. I think they were designed to keep you comfortable in an air conditioned office. We cleaned our bays and spent 3 or 4 hours cleaning and re-cleaning M4's before they went back to the armory. I'm pretty sure they were cleaner then when they came out of the factory. The highlight of the day was getting all the backed up mail. I got 10 letters and found out my little sister got her driver's license, my college roommate is dating the girl I told him he needs to go out with, and that Steve Jobs died. It was good to hear from everyone, so thanks again! (Side note: with as long as it takes to get mail here, don't send me anything after the 1st of November. I probably wouldn't get it here.) Wednesday we went back up to the 120th Reception Battalion where we did our initial processing, so we could get our dress blue uniforms. We saw a bunch of troops that got in the night before - it was hard to believe we looked that pathetic 7 weeks ago, too. :)
Thursday was our first overnight FTX. We marched about 8 miles to the site in full battle rattle. My legs were ready to go another 8, but my back and shoulders were done. We've got a 10 mile in 2 weeks, but it's the very last graduation requirement so I'm sure I'll be motivated to keep pushing. During the day, we learned about IED's, more MOUT, and how to conduct vehicle checkpoints. It was really good, hands-on training. For some reason, the DS's were not in a good mood, so we got smoked every time we had time. When the sun went down, we did a night obstacle course in full gear and no lights. We jumped over barriers, crawled through pitch black storm drains, low-crawled under barbed wire. At the end, we lined up in a WWI style trench and at the command of "Go!" we got out and started low-crawling (head in dirt, using your arms to drag your body forward) while live 50 cal rounds were shot over our heads. They shot up flares and dropped simulated mortars all around us as we crawled 200m+ to safety. Talk about a work out. We had fun though. It felt like we were in a scene from a movie. We got back to our tents around midnight and after getting up at 03:00, a march, and a long crawl, I was ready to crawl in my sleeping bag, but I got put on fire guard. So I had to patrol our site until 02:00. I finally got to bed only to be woken up to "YOU"RE LATE!" Apparently, the last fire guard shift didn't wake us up on time, so we had to scramble in the dark to pack everything up and get in formation. Well, we didn't make it on time, so we started getting smoked early. Outstanding. The rest of the day we practiced assaulting objectives - and we kept getting smoked. We got to ride a bus back to our company area where we got smoked some more then finally got some sleep.
Saturday 10/22
We got to do some high-realism First Aid training. There was an area set up like an Arab market just after a suicide bomber detonated a vest, so we had to go in, secure the area, and treat the wounded while still under fire. I got to be a victim and got dressed up in mutilated prosthetics, fake blood, and it all looked real and guts hanging out, blood all over. It was gross. We also had mannequins that were remote controlled and had 2 severed legs that sprayed blood until the tourniquet was on right. It was high-stress, but the experience was invaluable.
In the evening, somehow we were allowed to go to a concert on base. A lot of other BCT and AIT soldiers were there. We also got to buy pizza, candy, and Gatorade, so I ate a whole medium Dominoes pizza, a Snickers bar, and some Gatorade. Big and Rich were the headliners and the guy who sings "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" was the opener. Civilian food, country music, and a little relaxation was the perfect recipe for a morale boost. When we got back, we were expecting to "pay" for the fun we had, but we were actually complimented on being the most disciplined soldiers out there. Normally, all we hear is something along the lines of "You are the worst company we've ever had." No candy turned up in our shakedown, so they let us go to bed. A good day.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The Fun Stuff
Wednesday 10/12
Sorry about the entires this week - I'd like to go into more detail, but apparently the DS's figured we got enough personal time Monday, so we don't get any the rest of the week. Thus I'm writing when we have 5 or so minutes of down time.
Today was probably the most fun we've had at Basic so far. We had our first all day FTX (Field Training Exercise). We spend the whole day in our armor learning the basics of what will build into a full 4 day - 3 night FTX at the end of our training that incorporates all we've learned at BCT.
We covered setting up a camp, and each got to set up our one-man tents. They also extensively covered personal hygiene in the field. Apparently, it has been a problem in past cycles.
Next we learned how to turn the tide of an ambush to gain superiority over enemy forces. That is the type of training I've been wanting to cover - high speed soldier skills.
After that we laid a foundation for MOUT training (Kicking in doors and taking down bad guys). We practiced checking for booby traps and entering rooms quickly and effectively. It was just like what we did in White Phase at RSP again - more fun.
Lastly, we covered radio communications: radio etiquette, how to call in a MedEvac, and how to report spotting enemy troops. Definitely important information to know, but most people botched it up. Hopefully, we'll get more practice.
We didn't spend the night - that will be next week. It was a good day and we learned a lot. I'm glad the pace has picked up a bit.
Thursday 10/13
We had our 2nd APFT this morning. The DS grading me was super strict, so I lost a few points from my first test on push-ups and sit-ups. I did drop over 2 minutes of my 2-mile time adn ran a 13:38. 13:00 is a perfect score and I hope to drop another 60 seconds off my time by the last test of the cycle. I'm happy with my time. It's the fastest I've ever run a 2 mile. A drastic change since May when I started running again.
The rest of the day was pretty light. We had a class on night vision goggles, M-4 carbines, and the optics and lasers used with them.
I got 2 great letters from friends that caught me up on current events and some articles from artofmanliness.com - I can't thank you all enough for those. Anything to make life here seem more "normal" is worth its weight in gold. I've gotten a few letters with pictures and those are great too! About 3 weeks of training and 4 til I get home, so I'm zoned in on getting Basic Training behind me.
Friday 10/14
Highlights of the day:
2.5 mile AGR this morning for PT
Familiarization on M-4 with red-dot optics. We show 30 rounds moving in our gear at pop up targets. Fun. Fun. Fun.
Night fire. FUN. FUN. FUN. Shooting pop up targets using night vision goggles (NVG), IR lasers (that you can only see with the goggles), and the M-4. I've never shot at night before or used night vision. I'm a fan of both. Let's put it this way: If Francis Scott Key had NVG's, the National Anthem would've sounded more like the theme song from Top Gun.
My shoulders are about to fall off from spending the whole day in my gear.
Saturday and Sunday 10/15-16
Saturday was pretty chill. We started a course on hand to hand combat and practiced for a few hours. Then we got word another soldier from another company contracted a deadly strain of meningitis, so we all went up to our sleep bays to bleach everything. (We got news at church that the soldier will make a full recovery, so we were thankful for answered prayers.) I got a rocking MRE for dinner that had cookies and a Poptart. It's the small things here you have to look for... It has become blatantly obvious that we're going to be one of the companies that never gets to call home. Some people I've talked to are getting the full "relaxin' Jackson" experience, but not us. We'll be better off, I guess.
The weather here has been great the last few days - it'd be perfect for camping.
Sunday morning I went to church with my buddies and we did laundry before lunch. We went to the PX and did yard work the rest of the day. Another week down and closer to Family Day.
Sorry about the entires this week - I'd like to go into more detail, but apparently the DS's figured we got enough personal time Monday, so we don't get any the rest of the week. Thus I'm writing when we have 5 or so minutes of down time.
Today was probably the most fun we've had at Basic so far. We had our first all day FTX (Field Training Exercise). We spend the whole day in our armor learning the basics of what will build into a full 4 day - 3 night FTX at the end of our training that incorporates all we've learned at BCT.
We covered setting up a camp, and each got to set up our one-man tents. They also extensively covered personal hygiene in the field. Apparently, it has been a problem in past cycles.
 |
| Setting up our 1-man tents |
Next we learned how to turn the tide of an ambush to gain superiority over enemy forces. That is the type of training I've been wanting to cover - high speed soldier skills.
After that we laid a foundation for MOUT training (Kicking in doors and taking down bad guys). We practiced checking for booby traps and entering rooms quickly and effectively. It was just like what we did in White Phase at RSP again - more fun.
 |
| Stacking on the house |
 |
| Calling in the MedEvac |
We didn't spend the night - that will be next week. It was a good day and we learned a lot. I'm glad the pace has picked up a bit.
Thursday 10/13
We had our 2nd APFT this morning. The DS grading me was super strict, so I lost a few points from my first test on push-ups and sit-ups. I did drop over 2 minutes of my 2-mile time adn ran a 13:38. 13:00 is a perfect score and I hope to drop another 60 seconds off my time by the last test of the cycle. I'm happy with my time. It's the fastest I've ever run a 2 mile. A drastic change since May when I started running again.
The rest of the day was pretty light. We had a class on night vision goggles, M-4 carbines, and the optics and lasers used with them.
I got 2 great letters from friends that caught me up on current events and some articles from artofmanliness.com - I can't thank you all enough for those. Anything to make life here seem more "normal" is worth its weight in gold. I've gotten a few letters with pictures and those are great too! About 3 weeks of training and 4 til I get home, so I'm zoned in on getting Basic Training behind me.
Friday 10/14
Highlights of the day:
2.5 mile AGR this morning for PT
Familiarization on M-4 with red-dot optics. We show 30 rounds moving in our gear at pop up targets. Fun. Fun. Fun.
Night fire. FUN. FUN. FUN. Shooting pop up targets using night vision goggles (NVG), IR lasers (that you can only see with the goggles), and the M-4. I've never shot at night before or used night vision. I'm a fan of both. Let's put it this way: If Francis Scott Key had NVG's, the National Anthem would've sounded more like the theme song from Top Gun.
My shoulders are about to fall off from spending the whole day in my gear.
Saturday and Sunday 10/15-16
Saturday was pretty chill. We started a course on hand to hand combat and practiced for a few hours. Then we got word another soldier from another company contracted a deadly strain of meningitis, so we all went up to our sleep bays to bleach everything. (We got news at church that the soldier will make a full recovery, so we were thankful for answered prayers.) I got a rocking MRE for dinner that had cookies and a Poptart. It's the small things here you have to look for... It has become blatantly obvious that we're going to be one of the companies that never gets to call home. Some people I've talked to are getting the full "relaxin' Jackson" experience, but not us. We'll be better off, I guess.
The weather here has been great the last few days - it'd be perfect for camping.
Sunday morning I went to church with my buddies and we did laundry before lunch. We went to the PX and did yard work the rest of the day. Another week down and closer to Family Day.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Columbus Day/BRM Qualification
Monday 10/10
Since today is a government holiday (Columbus Day), all but 2 of our DS's have the day off. So we're not training at all today. We still had a 05:00 wake up and a short PT. The rest of the day we've been confined to the bays - save for the eating chow. It was pretty relaxed/prison-like, but I got a bunch of letters written and my wall locker is immaculate. A few guys got in a fight so we had to be silent for 2 hours, but other than that, nothing too interesting happened. We were all thankful for the day of rest.
Tuesday 10/11
We woke up to a steady light rain, but the show must go on, so we did BRM qualification Day 2 anyway. By the time we got to the range, the rain picked up and our DS's couldn't find the wet weather gear we turned into them for safe keeping. By the time they found it we were already soaked. I fired in the prone position, laying down in a cold puddle and the rain kept getting into my iron sights making it difficult to see any target beyond 150m. All that to say I didn't shoot any better than the other day. Pretty disappointing, but I'll have other chances in my career to do better. We didn't do much the rest of the day besides taking hot showers and cleaning weapons. Even a cold wet day at the range beats sitting behind a desk.
Since today is a government holiday (Columbus Day), all but 2 of our DS's have the day off. So we're not training at all today. We still had a 05:00 wake up and a short PT. The rest of the day we've been confined to the bays - save for the eating chow. It was pretty relaxed/prison-like, but I got a bunch of letters written and my wall locker is immaculate. A few guys got in a fight so we had to be silent for 2 hours, but other than that, nothing too interesting happened. We were all thankful for the day of rest.
Tuesday 10/11
We woke up to a steady light rain, but the show must go on, so we did BRM qualification Day 2 anyway. By the time we got to the range, the rain picked up and our DS's couldn't find the wet weather gear we turned into them for safe keeping. By the time they found it we were already soaked. I fired in the prone position, laying down in a cold puddle and the rain kept getting into my iron sights making it difficult to see any target beyond 150m. All that to say I didn't shoot any better than the other day. Pretty disappointing, but I'll have other chances in my career to do better. We didn't do much the rest of the day besides taking hot showers and cleaning weapons. Even a cold wet day at the range beats sitting behind a desk.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Locker Inspection/BRM
October 5 Wednesday
Well none of my uniforms fit like when I got them. We haven't done height and weight since we got here so I don't know how much weight I've lost, but I'd guess about 10-15 lbs. so far. All that married weight from my wife's good cooking (which I could really go for right now). :)
The wheels are falling off the platoon right now. Peer leaders were chosen by the DS and no one is following their lead or coming together as a team. Correction: There are about 15 of the 55 of us that are mature enough to move forward and want to be here (in the Army, that is). Everyone is at each other's throats constantly and the DS's recognize this and are turning up the heat. They're playing mind games with us and making us march around with our White Phase guidon* all furled up - which is the equivalent of riding a tricycle when all your friends are riding 2-wheelers - it's humiliating. I'm doing a good job so far of not letting it get to me. It's really the slackers that are upsetting me. All just part of the game.
BRM this week has been going well. Tomorrow is pre-qualification where we shoot at pop-up targets our ranges from 50-300m. If we hit 40/40 targets we get a meal from anywhere we want. I'd order a feast from BWW's if given opportunity. (Wifey note: Buffalo Wild Wings).
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| On the 300m pop-up range |
After we got back from the range today we had locker inspections. The DS's went through bay by bay ripping people's lockers apart looking for contraband. Some people's lockers got totally dumped and had their stuff strewn out across the bay. The DS's were definitely profiling because my locker was squared away when they opened it and I fixed all the damage they did to it in less than 5 minutes. Others were not so lucky. The DS's came out with a handful of contraband with the most notable being love letters between two soldiers in another platoon - the DS's made him call his fiancee and tell her everything. Yeah. The other was a bag of sunflower seeds hidden in the ceiling tiles in my bay. No one fessed up to it, so we all go dragged out to the "beach" as we affectionately call it and the smoke session started. About 5 minutes in, a guy from my platoon took the fall for it even though everyone knew it wasn't his. That was enough to satisfy the DS so the smoke session ended early.
On the way back everyone from our platoon "admitted" to eating some of the seeds even though non of us had ever seen the bag before. The bag was found on the 3rd platoon side of the bay so our DS knew we were all lying but surprisingly he was thrilled we were all lying as a team. We were sentenced to cleaning the bay and to figure out who actually had the seeds. The rest of the company got smoked for the other stuff that showed up in the search. The night ended up much better than it looked like it would and we made it to bed by 22:00.
One of the tactics I've been using to keep my sanity throughout all this stress is to escape to a place far from here. A few months ago, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary at Disney World. It's the least stressed I've been in a along time, so normally I just picture myself there. Silly, but it works.
*The furled guidon symbolizes a failure to progress to the next phase with the rest of your company.
October 6 Thursday
Today marks one month since leaving home. One month and 9 days til Family Day.
We skipped PT this morning in lieu of an 8K road march - another graduation requirement. We wore all of our gear and about 1.5 gallons of water. The pace was pretty slow, so nobody fell out (that's a first). I was tired and the end and my shoulders were pretty sore, but nothing worth complaining about. We've got another 10K before the big 15K at the end of our cycle. The weather was cool this morning and most of the march was over before the sun was up. Plenty of time to think and pray on the move.
Random note, I found out one of the guys from the 3rd platoon just moved about 3 miles from where I live, so we'll probably end up in the same NG unit, so that's pretty cool.
We shot at pop-up targets at 75, 175, and 300m today. I shot 30/40 and 31/40 the two times I shot which is better than I've been doing so I'm pleased with it. After range time, we hopped on a bus back to our company area. My feet were glad we didn't walk. Nothing too interesting happened after range time. We got about an hour of free time before bed though so I got to shower and read my Bible for a while. Not a bad day.
October 6 Thursday
Today marks one month since leaving home. One month and 9 days til Family Day.
We skipped PT this morning in lieu of an 8K road march - another graduation requirement. We wore all of our gear and about 1.5 gallons of water. The pace was pretty slow, so nobody fell out (that's a first). I was tired and the end and my shoulders were pretty sore, but nothing worth complaining about. We've got another 10K before the big 15K at the end of our cycle. The weather was cool this morning and most of the march was over before the sun was up. Plenty of time to think and pray on the move.
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| On the move with our Captain |
Random note, I found out one of the guys from the 3rd platoon just moved about 3 miles from where I live, so we'll probably end up in the same NG unit, so that's pretty cool.
We shot at pop-up targets at 75, 175, and 300m today. I shot 30/40 and 31/40 the two times I shot which is better than I've been doing so I'm pleased with it. After range time, we hopped on a bus back to our company area. My feet were glad we didn't walk. Nothing too interesting happened after range time. We got about an hour of free time before bed though so I got to shower and read my Bible for a while. Not a bad day.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
White Phase
Sunday 10/2
Regular church services were canceled this week for a concert. Two Christian groups played (Flame and December Radio). The volume was way too loud and I left my ear protection in the bay, so my ears were ringing for an hour. Billy Graham's grandson gave a short sermon and it was over. Several hundred soldiers stood to accept Christ for the first time, so that was really cool to see.
We made our bi-weekly trip to get sheared and to stock up on the necessities at the PX. They weren't gentle with my sun burned scalp. I'm looking forward to not having velcro for hair after I get out of here.
The rest of the day we cleaned our company area and they gave us 2.5 hours of free time before bed! I spent most of it catching up on getting my locker back in order. I had a mini-disaster area in there after the lack of personal time last week. At any rate, it was nice to have some personal time finally.
Monday 10/3
Fall is here in SC. It was in the 40's here this morning at PT. It reminded me of how miserable gym class was this time of year in high school standing there in shorts and a t-shirt.
After PT, we got on a bus (we usually march) and headed to the range for the day. My TX blood isn't ready for this sudden drop in temperature and I thought the DS's were going to let us freeze to death while we were waiting for chow to show up. (le note de wifey: Oh gosh! Somebody is being dramatic!)
The range today was cool. It was a 300m range and it used pop-up targets and microphones to give real time feedback to the exact point of impact on the target were were shooting at. The data displayed on a monitor next to each shooter. Friday is our big qualification day for BRM. I'm hoping to shoot 36/40 targets or better so I can score as an expert with the M16.
This evening our company commander met with just the privates and let us complain and state our grievances about anything. It was a total waste of time, but it made some people feel better. We finally were bumped up to White Phase tonight, so it feels good to have met that hurdle in our training.
I've realized how impatient I've become thanks to modern methods of communication. It can take upwards of 2 weeks for the originator of a letter to get a response back, so trying to have a "conversation" via mail doesn't work here at Basic Training. Most of the letters I get here are post marked 8-10 days prior to when I get them. Occasionally, it is 3-5. The DS's also hold mail if they don't feel like delivering it or come up with an "excuse" not to. Such is life for the soldier at BCT.
Thank y'all for your letters though. They bring a great deal of encouragement and moral support. Another day down and another closer to Family Day.
Regular church services were canceled this week for a concert. Two Christian groups played (Flame and December Radio). The volume was way too loud and I left my ear protection in the bay, so my ears were ringing for an hour. Billy Graham's grandson gave a short sermon and it was over. Several hundred soldiers stood to accept Christ for the first time, so that was really cool to see.
We made our bi-weekly trip to get sheared and to stock up on the necessities at the PX. They weren't gentle with my sun burned scalp. I'm looking forward to not having velcro for hair after I get out of here.
The rest of the day we cleaned our company area and they gave us 2.5 hours of free time before bed! I spent most of it catching up on getting my locker back in order. I had a mini-disaster area in there after the lack of personal time last week. At any rate, it was nice to have some personal time finally.
Monday 10/3
Fall is here in SC. It was in the 40's here this morning at PT. It reminded me of how miserable gym class was this time of year in high school standing there in shorts and a t-shirt.
After PT, we got on a bus (we usually march) and headed to the range for the day. My TX blood isn't ready for this sudden drop in temperature and I thought the DS's were going to let us freeze to death while we were waiting for chow to show up. (le note de wifey: Oh gosh! Somebody is being dramatic!)
The range today was cool. It was a 300m range and it used pop-up targets and microphones to give real time feedback to the exact point of impact on the target were were shooting at. The data displayed on a monitor next to each shooter. Friday is our big qualification day for BRM. I'm hoping to shoot 36/40 targets or better so I can score as an expert with the M16.
This evening our company commander met with just the privates and let us complain and state our grievances about anything. It was a total waste of time, but it made some people feel better. We finally were bumped up to White Phase tonight, so it feels good to have met that hurdle in our training.
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| 4th PLT during the phase change ceremony |
Thank y'all for your letters though. They bring a great deal of encouragement and moral support. Another day down and another closer to Family Day.
Personal Time Ban Lifted
Friday 9/30
We've had our free time taken away for most of the week, so I couldn't write, and I can't remember what I covered in my last letter. It looks like we will make it to White Phase this weekend. The DS's haven't been as upset with the company the last few days. We started doing Ability Group Runs (AGR) during morning PT. We run every other day during PT, and our run days alternate between sprinting drills and AGR's. I made it into B group, the 2nd fastest run group. I missed A by 15 seconds on my qualification run.
Our days have settled into a fairly regular schedule. It's just the training activity that changes:
04:20 I wake up to get ready, shower, shave, make my bed to Army standards, and figure out which uniform is the least dirty that day.
05:30 1st Formation, overview of the day, personnel count, reciting The Soldier's Creed, more practice at standing at attention.
06:00 PT, running, stretching, pull ups, push ups, sit ups/core building exercises
07:30 Shower again and hand up sweat-soaked PT uniform (Note from the wifey: Am I the only one who thinks its totally gross that they just get hung up and not washed? I think they only do laundry like once a week...)
07:50 Breakfast chow. French toast/pancakes, "eggs," hash browns, breakfast meat, grits/oatmeal/cream o' wheat, fruit, and sometimes yogurt. It's always the same thing pretty much, but it's a solid meal and most people like it best.
08:30 Training starts
12:30 Lunch chow
13:00 Continue training
17:20 Dinner chow
18:00 Clean weapons
19:00 Personal time or "corrective training"
20:30 Final count
21:00 Lights out
This week was all shooting - all day, every day at the range. This is what I was waiting for. In the first two days, we zeroed our rifle to our eyesight. today we practiced on the 25m range shooting silhouettes of varying sizes, simulating targets at ranges from 50m-300m. Fun times. I shot pretty well all week considering they had to "fix" some of my civilian shooting habits. It's definitely easiest for people who've never shot before, oddly enough.
Saturday 10/1
We redid the APFT since it was rained out last time. I rocked sit ups with 3 shy of the max score. I showed an improvement of 14 push ups more than the test last week and my 2-mile time was 15:45. That needs some work, but we haven't run much since we got here - that's changing though.
In the afternoon, we did Pugils (hand-to-hand combat vs. each other). I was one of the first to go. You get to call out any soldier to fight, so the fights are usually heated and fun to watch. The DS asked one soldier who they wanted to fight and they responded, "You pick, I don't care." Next thing I heard was my DS screaming "You're up!" So I was instructed to fight with no mercy until they called the fight. I followed orders and the fight didn't last long. The soldier I fought learned they should probably pick on their own if given the chance so they don't have to fight the biggest guy in the company. (Wifey note: I'm so proud!) Everyone (save one) was entertained and in the end no one sustained any serious injuries. We all wore a lot [read: too much] padding. It was a fun day, but I got really sun burned.
We've had our free time taken away for most of the week, so I couldn't write, and I can't remember what I covered in my last letter. It looks like we will make it to White Phase this weekend. The DS's haven't been as upset with the company the last few days. We started doing Ability Group Runs (AGR) during morning PT. We run every other day during PT, and our run days alternate between sprinting drills and AGR's. I made it into B group, the 2nd fastest run group. I missed A by 15 seconds on my qualification run.
Our days have settled into a fairly regular schedule. It's just the training activity that changes:
04:20 I wake up to get ready, shower, shave, make my bed to Army standards, and figure out which uniform is the least dirty that day.
05:30 1st Formation, overview of the day, personnel count, reciting The Soldier's Creed, more practice at standing at attention.
06:00 PT, running, stretching, pull ups, push ups, sit ups/core building exercises
07:30 Shower again and hand up sweat-soaked PT uniform (Note from the wifey: Am I the only one who thinks its totally gross that they just get hung up and not washed? I think they only do laundry like once a week...)
07:50 Breakfast chow. French toast/pancakes, "eggs," hash browns, breakfast meat, grits/oatmeal/cream o' wheat, fruit, and sometimes yogurt. It's always the same thing pretty much, but it's a solid meal and most people like it best.
08:30 Training starts
12:30 Lunch chow
13:00 Continue training
17:20 Dinner chow
18:00 Clean weapons
19:00 Personal time or "corrective training"
20:30 Final count
21:00 Lights out
This week was all shooting - all day, every day at the range. This is what I was waiting for. In the first two days, we zeroed our rifle to our eyesight. today we practiced on the 25m range shooting silhouettes of varying sizes, simulating targets at ranges from 50m-300m. Fun times. I shot pretty well all week considering they had to "fix" some of my civilian shooting habits. It's definitely easiest for people who've never shot before, oddly enough.
Saturday 10/1
We redid the APFT since it was rained out last time. I rocked sit ups with 3 shy of the max score. I showed an improvement of 14 push ups more than the test last week and my 2-mile time was 15:45. That needs some work, but we haven't run much since we got here - that's changing though.
In the afternoon, we did Pugils (hand-to-hand combat vs. each other). I was one of the first to go. You get to call out any soldier to fight, so the fights are usually heated and fun to watch. The DS asked one soldier who they wanted to fight and they responded, "You pick, I don't care." Next thing I heard was my DS screaming "You're up!" So I was instructed to fight with no mercy until they called the fight. I followed orders and the fight didn't last long. The soldier I fought learned they should probably pick on their own if given the chance so they don't have to fight the biggest guy in the company. (Wifey note: I'm so proud!) Everyone (save one) was entertained and in the end no one sustained any serious injuries. We all wore a lot [read: too much] padding. It was a fun day, but I got really sun burned.
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| Me, dominating the fight |
From a few days ago...
Wednesday 9/28
I don't have long to write, but I'll give a quick update on what's going on. Apparently, our company isn't disciplined enough to progress to White Phase, so they took away our personal time and told us we couldn't write letters. Pretty lame. No sign that we'll be in White Phase any time soon. We'll still continue on the same training schedule- we just don't get any additional "privileges" like personal time and maybe phone calls. We're also still stuck being punished as a group instead of individuals - that's probably the worst part. Morale is low because of all this too. There's just a few people holding the rest of the company back.
We started basic rifle marksmanship on Friday. Monday we went to a simulated range that used replicas of our M16's attached to a pneumatic system to simulate the recoil of the weapon. The back wall of the range was filled with a screen that shows the targets - the rest is like a video game. At the end it shows all kinds of cool stats about each shot.
(More later...)
I don't have long to write, but I'll give a quick update on what's going on. Apparently, our company isn't disciplined enough to progress to White Phase, so they took away our personal time and told us we couldn't write letters. Pretty lame. No sign that we'll be in White Phase any time soon. We'll still continue on the same training schedule- we just don't get any additional "privileges" like personal time and maybe phone calls. We're also still stuck being punished as a group instead of individuals - that's probably the worst part. Morale is low because of all this too. There's just a few people holding the rest of the company back.
We started basic rifle marksmanship on Friday. Monday we went to a simulated range that used replicas of our M16's attached to a pneumatic system to simulate the recoil of the weapon. The back wall of the range was filled with a screen that shows the targets - the rest is like a video game. At the end it shows all kinds of cool stats about each shot.
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| Practicing at the EST2000 Trainer |
(More later...)
Friday, September 30, 2011
Gas Chamber and More
Note: I got 3 letters all at the same time, so instead of doing separate posts, I will write them all into this one and separate them by date.
Tuesday 9/20
The day started on a lousy note. We had our first road march towards our graduation requirements and it was pouring rain. I ate a light breakfast since we were going to the gas chamber. We put on our uniforms, assault gear, helmets, and lots of water [read: weight] and set off in the rain. We only hiked 2 miles, but we were soaked from head to toe. About 10 people from our company fell out - it's sad how completely out of shape some people are.
Our destination was the gas chamber. The range cadre checked our masks to make sure they sealed properly, showed us how to clear them (very similar to clearing a diving mask). We filed into the chamber filled with CS Gas and did drills to gain confidence in our equipment. The we lifted our mask slightly and had to seal and re-clear it. That didn't go so well. I didn't get all the gas out and started hacking for a few seconds until the gas filtered out. My eyes and exposed skin also started burning - like a really bad sunburn. Then we had to take our mask off and hold it over our heads while saying the soldier's creed. I got about 2 lines out before I started coughing, dry heaving, and dripping mucus from my face. It was the most unpleasant thing I've ever done. After 30 seconds without masks, they let us out. We stumbled out flapping our arms (per the instructions) and tried to regain composure. I couldn't see very well and almost blacked out. After about 3 minutes we could report our names clearly enough to have them checked off. A few tissues and a few more minutes later and we were back to normal.
I wasn't scared or apprehensive the entire time through, so I think that helped. It was very unpleasant, but if I was forced to do it again, I would. Another graduation requirement done.
We had hot-A's (Army catering in the field), which are better than MRE's, but worse than the DFAC. (Actually, MRE's are pretty good. Saturday night is MRE night and we can actually talk quietly and eat at a reasonable pace. We can't keep or eat the candy in the pouch though.) Then we marched back to our barracks. It stopped raining for the afternoon hike and all the sand was packed from the rain, so it was easier on the way back. We spent the next 5 hours going over CLS for our test tomorrow. Long day but we knocked out 2 graduation requirements.
Wednesday 9/21
We had a PT session in the morning followed by chow and death by Powerpoint. The weather has been rainy recently and apparently we can't do our next training cycle in the rain. We don't have classrooms (no idea if that is intentional or not), so we sit on the bay floor with a projector for the slides. Not really a fan. (Wifey note: he hates sitting on the floor for any length of time. Period.)
We took our CLS test and I thought I got a 100%, but I missed a few questions apparently. They didn't show us the graded test. Only 2 people in the whole company got 100's and they got to make a 5 minute phone call home. I got a 90% so I got 2 days off fire guard so I can sleep through the whole night! (Fire guard is where you and your bunk mate guard the bay and clean for an hour shift at night. Usually you get it every other night.)
After dinner we were each told to grab a sand bag and report to our sleep bay. Then we had to push our bunks to the walls and open all 60 sand bags on the floor. The DS dumped water on it and the fun started. After getting smoked for about 45 minutes he told us to clean up our mess. When the DS walked out a huge yelling match ensued with all the hot headed males stating their grievances with each other. Eventually we level-headed "old guys" brought the situation under control before the fists started flying... And a few hours later our beach was nowhere to be seen. I got to bed around 23:30 only to be woken up at 00:15 to get smoked because our fire guard wasn't wearing his uniform correctly. It was a short night.
Thursday 9/22
It rained all day today so we were stuck in the classroom all day. We went over sexual harassment policies, Army law, rules of engagement, and the basics of shooting a rifle. We go to the range for the first time next Tuesday so we're all excited about that.
I can tell I'm getting stronger - I'm doing better at pushing through the smoke sessions without getting to muscle failure as soon. We haven't run as much as I expected so I'm kind of worried about my 2 mile time on our next APFT. Apparently, we run more in the next two phases.
I got 5 letters at mail call tonight and that was a huge boost to morale - so thanks to all of you who wrote! Overall, I'm in good spirits. The first 2 weeks were hard to adapt to, but I'm starting to get used to the pace. I still don't have a lot of time to read my Bible, but there's plenty of time standing at the position of attention to pray. Friendships are starting to form and there are about 3 guys I talk with most.
I suppose I should say a little about my DS's. First off, NCO's submit applications or are selected to serve as DS's for 2 year terms. All of mine have had extensive combat experience and they range in age from 27-36. Our lead DS was in the 160th Aviation Regiment - a special forces unit that takes the aviation missions too dangerous for regular units. He's been shot down 3 times, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Our platoon is named the "Night Stalkers" after the 160th. He's cool with us when we do things right and is everyone's favorite. One has an infantry background and has one volume: Loud. He's Irish/Puero Rican and grew up in Miami so understanding his colorful, limited vocabulary is often difficult. He's the most quoted DS in the bay at night. The other two are pretty stereotypical - one has an MP background (our only female DS) and the other has an infantry background.
Everyone is getting sick. Long days, short nights, limited hygiene, and cramming 60 people into bays are a recipe for mass sickness. I've got a bad cough and constant nasal drainage. I usually can't talk until about noon. We can't have medicine and wasting a day at sick call could mean you'll miss important training and restart with the next cycle at Day 1.
That's all I got for today. Happy birthday to my favorite brother!
Friday 9/23
More rain this morning. (Is there a hurricane on the East Coast? If someone wants to highlight some current events in a letter, that'd be cool! We're totally cut off from what's happening outside our company.) (Wifey note: Would someone please do this for him? I, um, don't keep up with world events well enough to know a) what's happening, b) what's important - I did see that Michelle Obama was shopping incognito at Target, but I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of news he's looking for...) So, today is "Admin Day" so we're doing the same things we did yesterday. We keep geting bogus writing assignments that keep us up at night, so we can't use our personal time or get to sleep at a decent hour. We try to write during some of our classes, but if we get caught, the consequences aren't fun, so we try to be sneaky. They only collect about 1/2 of what they assign, but if you don't have what they asked for, they double or triple the original amount. For examply, they made us write "The Soldier's Creed (the whole thing, not just the title) 60 times. It took 10 hours to finish and they never collected it. Needless to say, this will be a short entry. When rain stops, I'll have more to write and when I finish my assignments, I'll write the people back that have sent letters. (Wifey note: If you wrote him and you don't EVER get a reply, please, please, please don't be upset. He just may never have the time - it's not personal. Just know that your writing to and thinking of him is an encouragement.)
Friday 9/23 Afternoon/Evening
Since it was an Admin Day, some people went to exchange bad boots and glasses. So we sat in a classroom for about 2.5 hours while people took care of getting replacements. It was the most "free time" we'd had since we got here. The DS's left one of the NCO's going through BCT with us (He's transferring from the Air Force, and the Army made him go through Basic again even though he is an E-5 with 6 years prior service.) He let us talk so I got a chance to learn more about some of the guys I'm with. We actually got to "rest" for a few hours.
The pendulum has started swinging the other direction on our way to dinner when our platoon was corrected by 2 different DS's from other companies. Then people wouldn't stop talking when the DS was trying to explain something, so the head DS flipped out. Only when he gets angry with us he gets quiet. Well, this was the most upset he's been with us. Our 2 hour smoke session involved sand in the barracks (again), running, and our winter PT uniforms. It wasn't fun. At all.
I got about 5 letters at mail call and they were all extremely encouraging with great Scripture to lift me up.
More fun started when the DS's found 8 people doing laundry outside the bay after lights out. Apparently, the 2 people on fire guard didn't even try to stop them. So we were all woken up at midnight and had to have 12 man fireguard teams wearing full battle gear pulling 2 hour shifts. We'll do this until the DS lets us go back to normal 2 man, 1 hour shifts. I got about 2 hours of sleep that night.
I hope my overall tone hasn't come across as whiny or overly dramatic. What we have to do here is challenging and stressful at times, but nothing a reasonable person can't handle. Red Phase especially is designed to be taxing, but if we get our act together, Red Phase will be done in a week and I'll have more fun and positive stories to share about White Phase.
Keep my health in your prayers. My cold has made a turn for the worse and now I have some kind of infection. Also, pray that the weather will cooperate with our training schedule. The rain this week put us significantly behind. Thanks to everyone who is taking care of my bride while I'm gone - I can't tell you how much that means to me. (Wifey note: I can't tell you how much it means to me either. I tell him in my letters about all the things people have reached out and done. I do not know if I will ever be able to thank you enough.)
Saturday 9/24
We woke up at 04:00 after our long night in body armor for our first full APFT. We started off doing our push ups and sit ups and I passed both. My form still isn't 100% correct. All the repetitions I do actually get counted. While I was standing in line, I was so tired I actually fell asleep standing up. Fortunately, I woke up before I fell over. I can't say I've ever done that before.
We were then broken off into groups of 8-10 to head out to the track to run the 2 mile. About 2 groups finished before a cold, driving rain started. By the time my group started it was an all-out down pour that flooded the track. When the lightning and thunder picked up, they finally called it off, so I'll have to re-do that event sometime.
The rest of the day was uneventful. We went over more BRM basics, got a long lecture on how we needed to shape up/how we're "pathetic human beings" and our Saturday night MRE dinner. Mine came with spaghetti, blueberry cobbler, Skittles (that I couldn't eat), crackers, and some other random goodies. At least 4/5 people like what they get. I've got CQ "tonight" from 03:00-05:00" which is essentially a 2 hour fire guard in the DS office with the overnight DS. It's usually pretty chill and they let you write letters and do laundry. One more week is done.
Tuesday 9/20
The day started on a lousy note. We had our first road march towards our graduation requirements and it was pouring rain. I ate a light breakfast since we were going to the gas chamber. We put on our uniforms, assault gear, helmets, and lots of water [read: weight] and set off in the rain. We only hiked 2 miles, but we were soaked from head to toe. About 10 people from our company fell out - it's sad how completely out of shape some people are.
Our destination was the gas chamber. The range cadre checked our masks to make sure they sealed properly, showed us how to clear them (very similar to clearing a diving mask). We filed into the chamber filled with CS Gas and did drills to gain confidence in our equipment. The we lifted our mask slightly and had to seal and re-clear it. That didn't go so well. I didn't get all the gas out and started hacking for a few seconds until the gas filtered out. My eyes and exposed skin also started burning - like a really bad sunburn. Then we had to take our mask off and hold it over our heads while saying the soldier's creed. I got about 2 lines out before I started coughing, dry heaving, and dripping mucus from my face. It was the most unpleasant thing I've ever done. After 30 seconds without masks, they let us out. We stumbled out flapping our arms (per the instructions) and tried to regain composure. I couldn't see very well and almost blacked out. After about 3 minutes we could report our names clearly enough to have them checked off. A few tissues and a few more minutes later and we were back to normal.
I wasn't scared or apprehensive the entire time through, so I think that helped. It was very unpleasant, but if I was forced to do it again, I would. Another graduation requirement done.
We had hot-A's (Army catering in the field), which are better than MRE's, but worse than the DFAC. (Actually, MRE's are pretty good. Saturday night is MRE night and we can actually talk quietly and eat at a reasonable pace. We can't keep or eat the candy in the pouch though.) Then we marched back to our barracks. It stopped raining for the afternoon hike and all the sand was packed from the rain, so it was easier on the way back. We spent the next 5 hours going over CLS for our test tomorrow. Long day but we knocked out 2 graduation requirements.
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| Before |
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| After |
Wednesday 9/21
We had a PT session in the morning followed by chow and death by Powerpoint. The weather has been rainy recently and apparently we can't do our next training cycle in the rain. We don't have classrooms (no idea if that is intentional or not), so we sit on the bay floor with a projector for the slides. Not really a fan. (Wifey note: he hates sitting on the floor for any length of time. Period.)
We took our CLS test and I thought I got a 100%, but I missed a few questions apparently. They didn't show us the graded test. Only 2 people in the whole company got 100's and they got to make a 5 minute phone call home. I got a 90% so I got 2 days off fire guard so I can sleep through the whole night! (Fire guard is where you and your bunk mate guard the bay and clean for an hour shift at night. Usually you get it every other night.)
After dinner we were each told to grab a sand bag and report to our sleep bay. Then we had to push our bunks to the walls and open all 60 sand bags on the floor. The DS dumped water on it and the fun started. After getting smoked for about 45 minutes he told us to clean up our mess. When the DS walked out a huge yelling match ensued with all the hot headed males stating their grievances with each other. Eventually we level-headed "old guys" brought the situation under control before the fists started flying... And a few hours later our beach was nowhere to be seen. I got to bed around 23:30 only to be woken up at 00:15 to get smoked because our fire guard wasn't wearing his uniform correctly. It was a short night.
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| In the classroom |
Thursday 9/22
It rained all day today so we were stuck in the classroom all day. We went over sexual harassment policies, Army law, rules of engagement, and the basics of shooting a rifle. We go to the range for the first time next Tuesday so we're all excited about that.
I can tell I'm getting stronger - I'm doing better at pushing through the smoke sessions without getting to muscle failure as soon. We haven't run as much as I expected so I'm kind of worried about my 2 mile time on our next APFT. Apparently, we run more in the next two phases.
I got 5 letters at mail call tonight and that was a huge boost to morale - so thanks to all of you who wrote! Overall, I'm in good spirits. The first 2 weeks were hard to adapt to, but I'm starting to get used to the pace. I still don't have a lot of time to read my Bible, but there's plenty of time standing at the position of attention to pray. Friendships are starting to form and there are about 3 guys I talk with most.
I suppose I should say a little about my DS's. First off, NCO's submit applications or are selected to serve as DS's for 2 year terms. All of mine have had extensive combat experience and they range in age from 27-36. Our lead DS was in the 160th Aviation Regiment - a special forces unit that takes the aviation missions too dangerous for regular units. He's been shot down 3 times, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Our platoon is named the "Night Stalkers" after the 160th. He's cool with us when we do things right and is everyone's favorite. One has an infantry background and has one volume: Loud. He's Irish/Puero Rican and grew up in Miami so understanding his colorful, limited vocabulary is often difficult. He's the most quoted DS in the bay at night. The other two are pretty stereotypical - one has an MP background (our only female DS) and the other has an infantry background.
Everyone is getting sick. Long days, short nights, limited hygiene, and cramming 60 people into bays are a recipe for mass sickness. I've got a bad cough and constant nasal drainage. I usually can't talk until about noon. We can't have medicine and wasting a day at sick call could mean you'll miss important training and restart with the next cycle at Day 1.
That's all I got for today. Happy birthday to my favorite brother!
Friday 9/23
More rain this morning. (Is there a hurricane on the East Coast? If someone wants to highlight some current events in a letter, that'd be cool! We're totally cut off from what's happening outside our company.) (Wifey note: Would someone please do this for him? I, um, don't keep up with world events well enough to know a) what's happening, b) what's important - I did see that Michelle Obama was shopping incognito at Target, but I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of news he's looking for...) So, today is "Admin Day" so we're doing the same things we did yesterday. We keep geting bogus writing assignments that keep us up at night, so we can't use our personal time or get to sleep at a decent hour. We try to write during some of our classes, but if we get caught, the consequences aren't fun, so we try to be sneaky. They only collect about 1/2 of what they assign, but if you don't have what they asked for, they double or triple the original amount. For examply, they made us write "The Soldier's Creed (the whole thing, not just the title) 60 times. It took 10 hours to finish and they never collected it. Needless to say, this will be a short entry. When rain stops, I'll have more to write and when I finish my assignments, I'll write the people back that have sent letters. (Wifey note: If you wrote him and you don't EVER get a reply, please, please, please don't be upset. He just may never have the time - it's not personal. Just know that your writing to and thinking of him is an encouragement.)
Friday 9/23 Afternoon/Evening
Since it was an Admin Day, some people went to exchange bad boots and glasses. So we sat in a classroom for about 2.5 hours while people took care of getting replacements. It was the most "free time" we'd had since we got here. The DS's left one of the NCO's going through BCT with us (He's transferring from the Air Force, and the Army made him go through Basic again even though he is an E-5 with 6 years prior service.) He let us talk so I got a chance to learn more about some of the guys I'm with. We actually got to "rest" for a few hours.
The pendulum has started swinging the other direction on our way to dinner when our platoon was corrected by 2 different DS's from other companies. Then people wouldn't stop talking when the DS was trying to explain something, so the head DS flipped out. Only when he gets angry with us he gets quiet. Well, this was the most upset he's been with us. Our 2 hour smoke session involved sand in the barracks (again), running, and our winter PT uniforms. It wasn't fun. At all.
I got about 5 letters at mail call and they were all extremely encouraging with great Scripture to lift me up.
More fun started when the DS's found 8 people doing laundry outside the bay after lights out. Apparently, the 2 people on fire guard didn't even try to stop them. So we were all woken up at midnight and had to have 12 man fireguard teams wearing full battle gear pulling 2 hour shifts. We'll do this until the DS lets us go back to normal 2 man, 1 hour shifts. I got about 2 hours of sleep that night.
I hope my overall tone hasn't come across as whiny or overly dramatic. What we have to do here is challenging and stressful at times, but nothing a reasonable person can't handle. Red Phase especially is designed to be taxing, but if we get our act together, Red Phase will be done in a week and I'll have more fun and positive stories to share about White Phase.
Keep my health in your prayers. My cold has made a turn for the worse and now I have some kind of infection. Also, pray that the weather will cooperate with our training schedule. The rain this week put us significantly behind. Thanks to everyone who is taking care of my bride while I'm gone - I can't tell you how much that means to me. (Wifey note: I can't tell you how much it means to me either. I tell him in my letters about all the things people have reached out and done. I do not know if I will ever be able to thank you enough.)
Saturday 9/24
We woke up at 04:00 after our long night in body armor for our first full APFT. We started off doing our push ups and sit ups and I passed both. My form still isn't 100% correct. All the repetitions I do actually get counted. While I was standing in line, I was so tired I actually fell asleep standing up. Fortunately, I woke up before I fell over. I can't say I've ever done that before.
We were then broken off into groups of 8-10 to head out to the track to run the 2 mile. About 2 groups finished before a cold, driving rain started. By the time my group started it was an all-out down pour that flooded the track. When the lightning and thunder picked up, they finally called it off, so I'll have to re-do that event sometime.
The rest of the day was uneventful. We went over more BRM basics, got a long lecture on how we needed to shape up/how we're "pathetic human beings" and our Saturday night MRE dinner. Mine came with spaghetti, blueberry cobbler, Skittles (that I couldn't eat), crackers, and some other random goodies. At least 4/5 people like what they get. I've got CQ "tonight" from 03:00-05:00" which is essentially a 2 hour fire guard in the DS office with the overnight DS. It's usually pretty chill and they let you write letters and do laundry. One more week is done.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
News From This Past Week
Saturday, 9/17
Today we did the Teamwork Development Course. It was a lot like other challenge courses that I've done at summer camps. Our platoon did well and worked as a team at the course, but it was back to bickering and individualism when we got back. The people that are just here for the money are really pulling us down. They talk all the time, they don't push themselves, and the complain about everything - they're most of the reason we get smoked and the rest of us are tired of it.
Sunday, 9/18
I went to church and Sunday School this morning. I miss being at church at home, plus it's a little odd that we have rifles in one hand and a Bible in the other. Most people go to chapel on Sunday morning but its more of a sleep time for the majority of the people there.
Right after church I got my head butchered again and we got to take a trip to the PX to pick up a few odds and ends. Instead of a Sunday nap, we had a work detail all afternoon cleaning up after the last session. Apparently, the Army doesn't believe in a day of rest. The lack of freedom (mainly personal time) is getting to me. But that's part of the game. It's only 10 weeks.
Monday, 9/19
It's been a long day. Wake up was at 00:30 and we marched out to the LandNav course. They gave us coordinates and we had to find 5 markers in the woods. We ran the course once in the dark (hence the early wake up time) and again with a 2nd set of points after the sun came up. It was about a 2.5 mile hike to the course wearing our assault gear. With the pace our DS set, we worked up a good sweat. The DS's have been smoking us all day and its been exhausting. They've woken us up in the middle of the night to smoke us several times in the last few nights. It gets old really fast. We got our gas masks for our trip to the gas chamber tomorrow. Looking forward to having that behind me. I'm off to dinner and then we'll do more studying for our Combat Lifesaver (First Aid) test.
Miscellaneous
The DS's are constantly playing Words with Friends against each other on their phones. It's kind of amusing to watch, especially when the boneheaded one complains about losing. Our company of 160 (3 Platoons of about 55) has already lost 9 soldiers. 2 went off the deep end and had mental health discharges and the others were insubordination. One of the crazy kids kept trying to tell the DS how he was wrong and would always say "It's not time yet." whenever he was given an order. That's a sure way to make a DS flip out on you.
The guys here are really cool for the most part and I like working with them. It's cool to see the groundwork being set for the military camaraderie you always hear about. There's a lot to be said for trusting your buddies when the bullets are whizzing past.
We got our first round of mail over the weekend and it did a lot for overall morale. It was just like that country song "Letters From Home."* Quite a few guys cried and got emotional about it but no one made fun of them for it. We all just understand. It's hard to be away from your family. Thanks to everyone who has written me! We're slowly getting more personal time, so I should be able to write you back soon.
*This, obviously, is not the official music video, but I posted it - just in case you weren't familiar with the song. It's a great one, even if you don't like country.
Today we did the Teamwork Development Course. It was a lot like other challenge courses that I've done at summer camps. Our platoon did well and worked as a team at the course, but it was back to bickering and individualism when we got back. The people that are just here for the money are really pulling us down. They talk all the time, they don't push themselves, and the complain about everything - they're most of the reason we get smoked and the rest of us are tired of it.
Sunday, 9/18
I went to church and Sunday School this morning. I miss being at church at home, plus it's a little odd that we have rifles in one hand and a Bible in the other. Most people go to chapel on Sunday morning but its more of a sleep time for the majority of the people there.
Right after church I got my head butchered again and we got to take a trip to the PX to pick up a few odds and ends. Instead of a Sunday nap, we had a work detail all afternoon cleaning up after the last session. Apparently, the Army doesn't believe in a day of rest. The lack of freedom (mainly personal time) is getting to me. But that's part of the game. It's only 10 weeks.
Monday, 9/19
It's been a long day. Wake up was at 00:30 and we marched out to the LandNav course. They gave us coordinates and we had to find 5 markers in the woods. We ran the course once in the dark (hence the early wake up time) and again with a 2nd set of points after the sun came up. It was about a 2.5 mile hike to the course wearing our assault gear. With the pace our DS set, we worked up a good sweat. The DS's have been smoking us all day and its been exhausting. They've woken us up in the middle of the night to smoke us several times in the last few nights. It gets old really fast. We got our gas masks for our trip to the gas chamber tomorrow. Looking forward to having that behind me. I'm off to dinner and then we'll do more studying for our Combat Lifesaver (First Aid) test.
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| Plotting a Course- Land Nav |
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| Day Course- Land Nav |
Miscellaneous
The DS's are constantly playing Words with Friends against each other on their phones. It's kind of amusing to watch, especially when the boneheaded one complains about losing. Our company of 160 (3 Platoons of about 55) has already lost 9 soldiers. 2 went off the deep end and had mental health discharges and the others were insubordination. One of the crazy kids kept trying to tell the DS how he was wrong and would always say "It's not time yet." whenever he was given an order. That's a sure way to make a DS flip out on you.
The guys here are really cool for the most part and I like working with them. It's cool to see the groundwork being set for the military camaraderie you always hear about. There's a lot to be said for trusting your buddies when the bullets are whizzing past.
We got our first round of mail over the weekend and it did a lot for overall morale. It was just like that country song "Letters From Home."* Quite a few guys cried and got emotional about it but no one made fun of them for it. We all just understand. It's hard to be away from your family. Thanks to everyone who has written me! We're slowly getting more personal time, so I should be able to write you back soon.
*This, obviously, is not the official music video, but I posted it - just in case you weren't familiar with the song. It's a great one, even if you don't like country.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Welcome to F Co., 3-60th Infantry Regiment
Reception 9/6-9/9
I had a few extra minutes so I thought I'd start letting you know what I've been up to. Reception is like a party you have to go to, but no one wants to be there. I arrived at the Columbia, SC airport and waited for a few hours at the USO for the bus to take us to Ft. Jackson. We arrived at the base around 20:30 and immediately started processing. They had us up and checking things off our to-do list until 01:30, then we made our bunks and "slept" until 03:00. It sounded like metal lunch boxes were falling every 5 seconds or so with all the noise people were making. So I got about 30 minutes of sleep. Reception is a lot of standing around in lines - hours of time in silence, on your feet, in new boots. Far from pleasant. There are drill sergeants (DS) there but they can't really make you do anything, but you start to get a sense of how your peers respond to authority. I'm not surprised at all, but there are a lot of kids here with no respect for authority and they make the rest of our lives miserable.
We were assigned platoons so we could figure out how to march as a group and make formations. Thanks to RSP, all the NG and AR (Army Reserve) soldiers know a lot more thank our active duty counterparts at this stage.
The food at reception is low-quality cafeteria food and they make you wolf it down in less time than in takes to microwave a hot dog. We all got sick and felt constant pain from the food.
We got hair cuts/scalp butchering down, 6+ shots (I lost track), uniforms, boots, and lots of gear. I got measured for my dress uniform and I can't wait to get it. I felt like a real soldier trying that on. They told me I'm the tallest recruit to come through Jackson this year.
We finished early Friday morning at reception and were ready for the real fun to begin.
BCT - The First Days
Basic started just how I pictured it. We loaded up on to white buses with a bag full of gear and rode in silence until we got to our new company area. The buses stopped and they started yelling for us to get off the bus, get into formation, and get our bags over our heads. We spent the next two hours (literally) with the bags over our heads. If anyone put their bag down, they were immediately attacked by one or more DS's. Our new DS's yelled all day long that day. Somehow, I managed to escape a personal attack that day. I've been praying for strength a lot and God has blessed me with what I needed.
I've been assigned to 4th Platoon, Fox Company, 3-60th Infantry Regiment (known as the River Raiders).
The next couple of days we've rotated between paperwork/processing and PT - heavy on the PT. We get smoked all the time for mistakes anyone makes. Everyone pays. I've tried to keep a good attitude about it and think of it as working out rather than getting smoked. The physicality of this week has been a challenge, but I'm doing everything I'm told and the DS's have left me alone. Those who don't follow orders get a lot of extra attention.
Sunday I went to chapel. It was good to have 2 hours to worship and have some away time fromt he DS's, but the chaplain was pretty weak. He did say though that last cycle, privates had their own Bible studies in their bays at night. I'll probably start one when they actually give us free time in a week or two.
Monday we went to Victory Tower. It's a rope course with all sorts of obstacles. I had a blast. We got to repel down a 40 ft. tower, commando crawl on ropes, climb, etc.
We also got issued a M-16A2 Rifle (not gun). It's just like my rifle at home minus the "burst" option on the rate of fire selector. We carry it everywhere and its usually used as an 8 lb. weight to hold for extended periods of time.
Wednesday we did our initial PT test I did alright considering how sore I was. We also started studying for our Combat Lifesaver (first aid) test next Monday. If we get 100% on the test we can make a 5 minute phone call.
The food here is much better and doesn't make us sick. We're also getting 5-6 hours of sleep, so we're more rested than at reception.
Well, those are my random thoughts for now. Tired and sore, but doing pretty well. Thanks for your prayers.
I had a few extra minutes so I thought I'd start letting you know what I've been up to. Reception is like a party you have to go to, but no one wants to be there. I arrived at the Columbia, SC airport and waited for a few hours at the USO for the bus to take us to Ft. Jackson. We arrived at the base around 20:30 and immediately started processing. They had us up and checking things off our to-do list until 01:30, then we made our bunks and "slept" until 03:00. It sounded like metal lunch boxes were falling every 5 seconds or so with all the noise people were making. So I got about 30 minutes of sleep. Reception is a lot of standing around in lines - hours of time in silence, on your feet, in new boots. Far from pleasant. There are drill sergeants (DS) there but they can't really make you do anything, but you start to get a sense of how your peers respond to authority. I'm not surprised at all, but there are a lot of kids here with no respect for authority and they make the rest of our lives miserable.
We were assigned platoons so we could figure out how to march as a group and make formations. Thanks to RSP, all the NG and AR (Army Reserve) soldiers know a lot more thank our active duty counterparts at this stage.
The food at reception is low-quality cafeteria food and they make you wolf it down in less time than in takes to microwave a hot dog. We all got sick and felt constant pain from the food.
We got hair cuts/scalp butchering down, 6+ shots (I lost track), uniforms, boots, and lots of gear. I got measured for my dress uniform and I can't wait to get it. I felt like a real soldier trying that on. They told me I'm the tallest recruit to come through Jackson this year.
We finished early Friday morning at reception and were ready for the real fun to begin.
BCT - The First Days
Basic started just how I pictured it. We loaded up on to white buses with a bag full of gear and rode in silence until we got to our new company area. The buses stopped and they started yelling for us to get off the bus, get into formation, and get our bags over our heads. We spent the next two hours (literally) with the bags over our heads. If anyone put their bag down, they were immediately attacked by one or more DS's. Our new DS's yelled all day long that day. Somehow, I managed to escape a personal attack that day. I've been praying for strength a lot and God has blessed me with what I needed.
I've been assigned to 4th Platoon, Fox Company, 3-60th Infantry Regiment (known as the River Raiders).
The next couple of days we've rotated between paperwork/processing and PT - heavy on the PT. We get smoked all the time for mistakes anyone makes. Everyone pays. I've tried to keep a good attitude about it and think of it as working out rather than getting smoked. The physicality of this week has been a challenge, but I'm doing everything I'm told and the DS's have left me alone. Those who don't follow orders get a lot of extra attention.
 |
| Photo Credit: Facebook, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment" RIVER RAIDERS" Page |
Monday we went to Victory Tower. It's a rope course with all sorts of obstacles. I had a blast. We got to repel down a 40 ft. tower, commando crawl on ropes, climb, etc.
We also got issued a M-16A2 Rifle (not gun). It's just like my rifle at home minus the "burst" option on the rate of fire selector. We carry it everywhere and its usually used as an 8 lb. weight to hold for extended periods of time.
Wednesday we did our initial PT test I did alright considering how sore I was. We also started studying for our Combat Lifesaver (first aid) test next Monday. If we get 100% on the test we can make a 5 minute phone call.
The food here is much better and doesn't make us sick. We're also getting 5-6 hours of sleep, so we're more rested than at reception.
Well, those are my random thoughts for now. Tired and sore, but doing pretty well. Thanks for your prayers.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remembering 9/11
Walking through the halls of my high school that Tuesday morning I was a few years shy of the legal age to enlist. In retrospect, that was probably a good thing- I had a lot of growing up to do. The last ten years have flown by but that morning is frozen in my memory, with all the emotion I was filled with and the ever increasing desire to bring justice to our attackers.
Four years of college and two years of living as an adult went by and I couldn't shake the nagging in my mind that I needed to serve. This was my generation's war. I had friends go and place their lives on the line, yet I wasn't contributing. I stood over the gaping hole in New York City last year, and with tear filled eyes I knew it was still my duty, my personal obligation, to protect this nation.
The doors opened for me the minute my wife said, "go for it." I found a recruiter that said the military could still use someone my height and the rest of the story is in the pages of this blog.
I thank the Lord for the unique talents and passions he's given me and for the ways he's allowed me to live them out. Serving in the military is a privilege I didn't think I'd get to have so it truly is an honor to fulfill my duty to my country.
Ten years after that disastrous day I'm proud to be at Fort Jackson. I'm proud to finally be in the line of defense that keeps terror off our shores and it is an honor to be able to shout with my fellow soldiers that:
Four years of college and two years of living as an adult went by and I couldn't shake the nagging in my mind that I needed to serve. This was my generation's war. I had friends go and place their lives on the line, yet I wasn't contributing. I stood over the gaping hole in New York City last year, and with tear filled eyes I knew it was still my duty, my personal obligation, to protect this nation.
The doors opened for me the minute my wife said, "go for it." I found a recruiter that said the military could still use someone my height and the rest of the story is in the pages of this blog.
I thank the Lord for the unique talents and passions he's given me and for the ways he's allowed me to live them out. Serving in the military is a privilege I didn't think I'd get to have so it truly is an honor to fulfill my duty to my country.
Ten years after that disastrous day I'm proud to be at Fort Jackson. I'm proud to finally be in the line of defense that keeps terror off our shores and it is an honor to be able to shout with my fellow soldiers that:
"...I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier."
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