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.
Monday, November 28, 2011
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.
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