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.
Showing posts with label Soldier Leader of the Cycle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soldier Leader of the Cycle. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
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.
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