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.

Before

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.

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.