The next three modules of BOLC are very similar from an expectations perspective. The course curriculum changes but it's mainly testable classroom material. Subjects cover offensive and defensive tactics, general engineering, horizontal engineering (soil, waste water, roads and bridges) and vertical engineering (buildings, electrical, concrete). For those of you with an engineering or construction background the academics are a piece of cake. If you're good at math, you won't have any issues. If you don't meet any of the above criteria fear not- it's the Army and they'll get you through.
The work load varies considerably. One week you'll be bored out of your mind and the next you'll wonder when you're supposed to sleep. Take each with a grain of salt, keep your head down and just plow through it. One event at a time.
Some of the key tasks in these modules include a "15 mile" (more like 20) ruck, a timed 12 mile ruck, FTX II, a 5 mile run in under 40 minutes and exams based on course material. Most of those are self explanatory, but I'll mention that FTX II is 3 days and includes the "long walk" as the 15 miler has been dubbed. I say more like 20 because the walk is part of your operations so only the road miles count toward the 15 mile distance over the course of 24 hours and the miles spent humping up and down the Ozark Mountains don't officially count for anything (Bitter, party of one your table is now ready). We slept about 3 hours each night and conducted round the clock operations until we left the field.
It's physically exhausting work, but enjoyable- after all this is the kind of stuff I signed up for. Since combat engineers work so closely with the infantry you'll be expected to meet the same standards that they have over at the Fort Benning School for Wayward Boys (ladies included). In that regard, Engineer BOLC is considered the most challenging combination of physical and mental tasks out of all the BOLC schools.
A typical day for me was waking up at 0405, PT formation at 0500, class from 0800-1700, homework/free time until 2130 or 2200 and then hit the sack. Monotonous would be an understatement.
Showing posts with label ruck march. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruck march. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2015
Friday, October 24, 2014
Engineer BOLC- Alpha Module
Unsurprisingly, there isn't much written about BOLC from a student's perspective available on the internet, so I'll do my best to outline the things that are relevant. This first post will cover the first three weeks of the course, known as Alpha Module. Here are a few considerations for my overview of this course:
-I am here to learn a very specific set of skills that contain "trade secrets" vital to the success of the US Army on the battlefield. I will not discuss those things.
-The atmosphere for each class is very different and driven by the cadre mentors assigned to each class. The cadre for my class have been more relaxed and allowed this to be more of a "gentlemen's course." Friends of mine in adjacent classes have not had that experience.
Packing List
My welcome packet had two different packing lists that were similar but not identical. When in doubt, pack to the more rigorous requirement. There is a military clothing store on post (closed Mondays) that should help you close any gaps you have. If you arrive at FLW early I recommend knocking this out. There is no formal equipment layout- it's on you as an officer to ensure you have the equipment that's required of you when you arrive. I can't stress attention to detail enough here, bring what's on the list.
You'll need your federal oath of office (not state if you're Reserve or National Guard) almost as frequently as your orders. Have at least 10 on hand.
Only bring original documents (birth certificates, marriage license, etc...) if the data hasn't been entered into DEERS already. If your DEERS is up to date just bring copies.
You can bring your own TA-50 but you'll get issued everything you need here. For some reason they still rock the woodland LBE from before Desert Storm here at FLW, so none of your high speed MOLLE equipment will work here.
Make sure your boots are in compliance with the new AR 670-1. Since the new revision rolled out recently for our class, a lot of people had to go buy new boots that were in compliance.
The list also says to limit your civilian clothes. That's bad advice. You'll want a good supply of clothes to wear after duty hours every day and on the weekends. PT is light in this module so you'll be working out a lot on your own, bring several sets of civilian workout clothes. You'll have a large wardrobe for all your clothes, so storage shouldn't be an issue. Don't go overboard, but a weeks worth of civies and workout clothes should be sufficient.
Throughout the course you'll have plenty of time on the weekends/evenings for movies and video games so if you have a console I'd recommend bringing it; life as a BOLC student can get pretty boring some weeks.
Arrival
The welcome letter says that showing up at 0600 the Monday morning of the week your class starts is optional. It's not. I recommend arriving Sunday by noon to get moved in and finish up any shopping you may need to do before class starts. Arriving any sooner than that is unnecessary unless you have a lot to get done.
The very first building you'll go to is BLDG 470, STE 1201 (140 Replacement, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 enter on Replacement Rd side). Check in with them to get your room assignment and keys. Make sure to join the rewards program to start earning free nights at hotels in the Holiday Inn, Staybridge, and Candlewood chains.
It wouldn't hurt to call a couple of months ahead once you have orders to request a room in Morelli Heights. It's a convenient location that puts classes and a DFAC within walking distance of your room. Call 573-596-8331.
Find the main PX. You'll need to know where the parking lot is prior to the start of Day 2 and for all your Wal-Mart type needs.
It's advisable to get a PO box while you're here. If not, expect all mail to be delayed by at least a week as it gets an added steps of going to your company and building for sorting. A six month rental costs $33. The post office is across the street from the main PX.
Accommodations
As mentioned above, I'm staying in Morelli Heights. Recently, the Army privatized lodging and from everything I can tell it was a good move. Daily room service includes fresh towels, they make your bed, vacuum, and mop. It doesn't feel like the Army. It's just like a normal hotel. (Don't take the housekeeping for granted. If your room looks like a college dorm when they come in to clean they'll text pictures to the Battalion Commander and you'll end up on the powerpoint slides of how to get dismissed from the course.)
I got lucky and scored a room that has a detached bedroom so it feels more like a one bedroom apartment. Most of the rooms here have a kitchen area, bathroom, and a combined living room and bedroom.
The kitchen has a microwave, toaster, stove top, coffee pot, refrigerator and sink (no oven). It's good for making meals on the weekend when the DFAC is closed or for having a quick breakfast. Silverware, plates, cups and bowls are also provided but bring your own cooking utensils/pots/pans, those are not provided.
There is free wifi and wired internet in the hotel, but both are very slow. I typically clock an unimpressive 0.25 mbps. You might be able to stream Netflix if no one else is online and the picture quality settings are as low as they'll go. I think the internet is faster in Afghanistan. Same goes for cell signal. Verizon seems to work slightly better, but my phone never lasts the whole day on one charge because it's always looking for signal.
The room does come with a 30" flat screen TV with basic cable and HDMI hookups so you can plug your computer in. I use a desktop in my room and take a tablet to class. It works well. You'll be issued a government netbook you can use in class for taking notes and storing Army manuals as well.
In-Processing
If you thought BCT reception was bad, this is a whole new level. Your average day will start with you waking up around 0400 to make it to a 0500 accountability formation. You'll get a break for breakfast and then start that day's tasks around 0700 or 0800. During these two and a half weeks you'll get several SHARP (Anti-sexual harassment/abuse) presentations, introductions from all the bigwigs on post, medical inprocessing, finance briefings, and you'll sign hundreds of documents. Your day will end and you'll be on your own after 1700-1800 typically.
Why it robs two and a half weeks of your life is a question I still don't know the answer to.
To speed things along make sure you have all the documents and certificates on the packing list prior to arrival.
Weekends
Weekend Passes are largely up to cadre. Don't expect any in Alpha Module unless there is a federal holiday. That means you're limited to within 30 miles of FLW (which doesn't get you much). But there is plenty to do around here- especially if you like the outdoors. The "Fort Lost in the Woods" nickname is accurate to some degree, but I find it's a really nice post with plenty of things to do to keep you out of trouble. If you're a city boy it's a perfect time to learn some new hobbies.
Pay
As you'd expect with the Army, the pay comes slowly at first. I got into a bit of a bind because of how long it took for BAH to kick in. Don't worry, they'll back pay all the late payments but just expect kinks in the system. I recommend coming to BOLC with $1000 saved up to cover all the stuff you end up needing to buy plus one month's living expenses for your financial obligations back home. If that's not feasible, just do the best you can to have savings before you get to school (and check out the USAA career starter loan if you haven't already).
APFT
Pretty straight forward, you'll have a diagnostic APFT the second Monday of the course. Failure in any event (or scoring less than a 70 if your cadre choose) means you'll be entered into a remedial PT program and you'll be restricted from taking any passes off post until you pass. Retests for failures will be done with each new incoming class until the test is passed (every 2-3 weeks).
PT
PT in Alpha Module is extremely light. You may do three sessions in the three weeks. And those sessions will be taught by NCO cadre as an introduction to Army PRT.
I highly recommend getting used to running hills prior to arrival. This area of Missouri is not flat and you'll be better of if you're prepared for that.
Right outside Morelli Heights there is a 2.5 mile wooded running trail called the Engineer Trail. It's very nice for running, rucking, and working out (there are different exercise stations around the trail). If you're not conditioned for hills this trail will help.
Class Composition
Each class has a different demographic but will be composed of roughly 60 2LT's.
Here's our class breakdown:
Active Duty: 50%
National Guard: 25%
Reserve: 25%
OCS: 25%
ROTC: 75%*
West Point: 0% (Most West Point grads will attend courses in the summer starting in late June.)
Male: 90%
Female: 10%
Also expect 2-3 foreign national students in each class. These students will come from "friendly" nations and are essentially auditing the course. They won't learn any of our secret squirrel stuff and they're not expected to do much.
*Coming from an OCS background I was highly disappointed by the caliber of the ROTC students. The program I graduated from washed out over 70% of the candidates. If the cadet gets a degree, well then slap a butter bar on him. There are a few quality officers in the bunch but most are fresh out of college with zero relevant life experiences, a penchant for getting wasted on cheap beer, and many completely lack command presence. [End rant.]
When to Go
If you have any choice in the matter, picking the time to go can have a big impact on how miserable your time is at Fort Leonard Wood. I highly recommend getting a slot in the classes starting in May-June. By this time the weather has warmed up so the mornings aren't freezing cold, and by the time you're done with the "outdoors" learning you're in classrooms during the heat of the summer and the weather cools off for the last FTX and Sapper Stakes (more on those later). Best of all you're out of there before snow comes.
FTX 1
The last few days of the module are devoted to a three day field training exercise. Leadership should request a packing list early and do a gear layout to ensure everyone has everything. My class did that. Others before us failed to do that and had some smoke sessions to correct deficiencies.
We rucked out to the training area, which was about 6 miles away. Be ready to carry 60-70 lbs at a 15 minute/mile pace. Boots should be broken in well before the FTX. Once we were in the field we zeroed our M-4's with iron sights and CCO's. Qualification was done the last day on a pop up range. After range ops were completed we would ruck about 2 miles back to the FOB. The first afternoon we did land nav with DAGR's (Army GPS units). After dark we went back out with NVG's and the DAGR's.
The second afternoon we did the first two "Warrior 2020" tasks. These tasks are meant to provide a uniform standard for male and female soldiers as the Army moves to integrate females into the combat roles. Right now the program is still in a trial phase so our class is part of the data collection process. The first two tasks included throwing a grenade 25m so that it lands within a 5m radius of the intended target (if you can throw a baseball from home plate to 1st base you're good to go). The second task was filling 26 sand bags in 52 minutes and then building a fighting position in 20 minutes or something like that. Nobody in the class took more than 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Both of those tasks are done in "full battle rattle" meaning your helmet, body armor, load carrying equipment and gloves. It's definitely tiring, but not difficult. My squad had the fastest average time so we won freshly grilled brats.
We caught trans back to the company area, cleaned weapons, and like that Alpha Module was done. Three weeks down, 17 to go.
-I am here to learn a very specific set of skills that contain "trade secrets" vital to the success of the US Army on the battlefield. I will not discuss those things.
-The atmosphere for each class is very different and driven by the cadre mentors assigned to each class. The cadre for my class have been more relaxed and allowed this to be more of a "gentlemen's course." Friends of mine in adjacent classes have not had that experience.
Packing List
My welcome packet had two different packing lists that were similar but not identical. When in doubt, pack to the more rigorous requirement. There is a military clothing store on post (closed Mondays) that should help you close any gaps you have. If you arrive at FLW early I recommend knocking this out. There is no formal equipment layout- it's on you as an officer to ensure you have the equipment that's required of you when you arrive. I can't stress attention to detail enough here, bring what's on the list.
You'll need your federal oath of office (not state if you're Reserve or National Guard) almost as frequently as your orders. Have at least 10 on hand.
Only bring original documents (birth certificates, marriage license, etc...) if the data hasn't been entered into DEERS already. If your DEERS is up to date just bring copies.
You can bring your own TA-50 but you'll get issued everything you need here. For some reason they still rock the woodland LBE from before Desert Storm here at FLW, so none of your high speed MOLLE equipment will work here.
Make sure your boots are in compliance with the new AR 670-1. Since the new revision rolled out recently for our class, a lot of people had to go buy new boots that were in compliance.
The list also says to limit your civilian clothes. That's bad advice. You'll want a good supply of clothes to wear after duty hours every day and on the weekends. PT is light in this module so you'll be working out a lot on your own, bring several sets of civilian workout clothes. You'll have a large wardrobe for all your clothes, so storage shouldn't be an issue. Don't go overboard, but a weeks worth of civies and workout clothes should be sufficient.
Throughout the course you'll have plenty of time on the weekends/evenings for movies and video games so if you have a console I'd recommend bringing it; life as a BOLC student can get pretty boring some weeks.
Arrival
The welcome letter says that showing up at 0600 the Monday morning of the week your class starts is optional. It's not. I recommend arriving Sunday by noon to get moved in and finish up any shopping you may need to do before class starts. Arriving any sooner than that is unnecessary unless you have a lot to get done.
The very first building you'll go to is BLDG 470, STE 1201 (140 Replacement, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 enter on Replacement Rd side). Check in with them to get your room assignment and keys. Make sure to join the rewards program to start earning free nights at hotels in the Holiday Inn, Staybridge, and Candlewood chains.
It wouldn't hurt to call a couple of months ahead once you have orders to request a room in Morelli Heights. It's a convenient location that puts classes and a DFAC within walking distance of your room. Call 573-596-8331.
Find the main PX. You'll need to know where the parking lot is prior to the start of Day 2 and for all your Wal-Mart type needs.
It's advisable to get a PO box while you're here. If not, expect all mail to be delayed by at least a week as it gets an added steps of going to your company and building for sorting. A six month rental costs $33. The post office is across the street from the main PX.
Accommodations
As mentioned above, I'm staying in Morelli Heights. Recently, the Army privatized lodging and from everything I can tell it was a good move. Daily room service includes fresh towels, they make your bed, vacuum, and mop. It doesn't feel like the Army. It's just like a normal hotel. (Don't take the housekeeping for granted. If your room looks like a college dorm when they come in to clean they'll text pictures to the Battalion Commander and you'll end up on the powerpoint slides of how to get dismissed from the course.)
I got lucky and scored a room that has a detached bedroom so it feels more like a one bedroom apartment. Most of the rooms here have a kitchen area, bathroom, and a combined living room and bedroom.
The kitchen has a microwave, toaster, stove top, coffee pot, refrigerator and sink (no oven). It's good for making meals on the weekend when the DFAC is closed or for having a quick breakfast. Silverware, plates, cups and bowls are also provided but bring your own cooking utensils/pots/pans, those are not provided.
There is free wifi and wired internet in the hotel, but both are very slow. I typically clock an unimpressive 0.25 mbps. You might be able to stream Netflix if no one else is online and the picture quality settings are as low as they'll go. I think the internet is faster in Afghanistan. Same goes for cell signal. Verizon seems to work slightly better, but my phone never lasts the whole day on one charge because it's always looking for signal.
The room does come with a 30" flat screen TV with basic cable and HDMI hookups so you can plug your computer in. I use a desktop in my room and take a tablet to class. It works well. You'll be issued a government netbook you can use in class for taking notes and storing Army manuals as well.
In-Processing
If you thought BCT reception was bad, this is a whole new level. Your average day will start with you waking up around 0400 to make it to a 0500 accountability formation. You'll get a break for breakfast and then start that day's tasks around 0700 or 0800. During these two and a half weeks you'll get several SHARP (Anti-sexual harassment/abuse) presentations, introductions from all the bigwigs on post, medical inprocessing, finance briefings, and you'll sign hundreds of documents. Your day will end and you'll be on your own after 1700-1800 typically.
Why it robs two and a half weeks of your life is a question I still don't know the answer to.
To speed things along make sure you have all the documents and certificates on the packing list prior to arrival.
Weekends
Weekend Passes are largely up to cadre. Don't expect any in Alpha Module unless there is a federal holiday. That means you're limited to within 30 miles of FLW (which doesn't get you much). But there is plenty to do around here- especially if you like the outdoors. The "Fort Lost in the Woods" nickname is accurate to some degree, but I find it's a really nice post with plenty of things to do to keep you out of trouble. If you're a city boy it's a perfect time to learn some new hobbies.
Pay
As you'd expect with the Army, the pay comes slowly at first. I got into a bit of a bind because of how long it took for BAH to kick in. Don't worry, they'll back pay all the late payments but just expect kinks in the system. I recommend coming to BOLC with $1000 saved up to cover all the stuff you end up needing to buy plus one month's living expenses for your financial obligations back home. If that's not feasible, just do the best you can to have savings before you get to school (and check out the USAA career starter loan if you haven't already).
APFT
Pretty straight forward, you'll have a diagnostic APFT the second Monday of the course. Failure in any event (or scoring less than a 70 if your cadre choose) means you'll be entered into a remedial PT program and you'll be restricted from taking any passes off post until you pass. Retests for failures will be done with each new incoming class until the test is passed (every 2-3 weeks).
PT
PT in Alpha Module is extremely light. You may do three sessions in the three weeks. And those sessions will be taught by NCO cadre as an introduction to Army PRT.
I highly recommend getting used to running hills prior to arrival. This area of Missouri is not flat and you'll be better of if you're prepared for that.
Right outside Morelli Heights there is a 2.5 mile wooded running trail called the Engineer Trail. It's very nice for running, rucking, and working out (there are different exercise stations around the trail). If you're not conditioned for hills this trail will help.
Class Composition
Each class has a different demographic but will be composed of roughly 60 2LT's.
Here's our class breakdown:
Active Duty: 50%
National Guard: 25%
Reserve: 25%
OCS: 25%
ROTC: 75%*
West Point: 0% (Most West Point grads will attend courses in the summer starting in late June.)
Male: 90%
Female: 10%
Also expect 2-3 foreign national students in each class. These students will come from "friendly" nations and are essentially auditing the course. They won't learn any of our secret squirrel stuff and they're not expected to do much.
*Coming from an OCS background I was highly disappointed by the caliber of the ROTC students. The program I graduated from washed out over 70% of the candidates. If the cadet gets a degree, well then slap a butter bar on him. There are a few quality officers in the bunch but most are fresh out of college with zero relevant life experiences, a penchant for getting wasted on cheap beer, and many completely lack command presence. [End rant.]
When to Go
If you have any choice in the matter, picking the time to go can have a big impact on how miserable your time is at Fort Leonard Wood. I highly recommend getting a slot in the classes starting in May-June. By this time the weather has warmed up so the mornings aren't freezing cold, and by the time you're done with the "outdoors" learning you're in classrooms during the heat of the summer and the weather cools off for the last FTX and Sapper Stakes (more on those later). Best of all you're out of there before snow comes.
FTX 1
The last few days of the module are devoted to a three day field training exercise. Leadership should request a packing list early and do a gear layout to ensure everyone has everything. My class did that. Others before us failed to do that and had some smoke sessions to correct deficiencies.
We rucked out to the training area, which was about 6 miles away. Be ready to carry 60-70 lbs at a 15 minute/mile pace. Boots should be broken in well before the FTX. Once we were in the field we zeroed our M-4's with iron sights and CCO's. Qualification was done the last day on a pop up range. After range ops were completed we would ruck about 2 miles back to the FOB. The first afternoon we did land nav with DAGR's (Army GPS units). After dark we went back out with NVG's and the DAGR's.
The second afternoon we did the first two "Warrior 2020" tasks. These tasks are meant to provide a uniform standard for male and female soldiers as the Army moves to integrate females into the combat roles. Right now the program is still in a trial phase so our class is part of the data collection process. The first two tasks included throwing a grenade 25m so that it lands within a 5m radius of the intended target (if you can throw a baseball from home plate to 1st base you're good to go). The second task was filling 26 sand bags in 52 minutes and then building a fighting position in 20 minutes or something like that. Nobody in the class took more than 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Both of those tasks are done in "full battle rattle" meaning your helmet, body armor, load carrying equipment and gloves. It's definitely tiring, but not difficult. My squad had the fastest average time so we won freshly grilled brats.
We caught trans back to the company area, cleaned weapons, and like that Alpha Module was done. Three weeks down, 17 to go.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Pre-OCS Phase 0 (Weekend 2 of 3)
This weekend was definitely different than the last drill. I hesitate to say it was easier or harder than last month, it was just different. As a class we were more prepared and the leadership seemed more put together. Also all of our TAC Sergeants were out, so we just had the regular cadre sergeants who don't feel the need to yell and scream as much. Out of the original 83 candidates we had 58 return for another round. About six of those were new- they didn't attend the first Phase 0, which is technically allowed but highly frowned upon. My squad leader from last drill didn't come back, so since I was Alpha team leader I got bumped to the squad leader position. Friday night was spent continuing to take care of paperwork deficiencies. Getting all the documents together for Phase I is a small miracle thanks to the efficiency of government employees. We got smoked once or twice Friday night but it wasn't bad. We were in bed by 2230.
Saturday we had a 5 mile ruck march with our kevlar helmet, LCE, and a 35-40 lb. ruck, plus water. All in all I probably had about 60 lbs. of gear. The standard to pass is 1 hour 45 minutes. It was still cool when we stepped off at 0600 in the dark. I settled into a 16 minute mile pace, which is the pace I had done a few training marches at- reasoning that coming in 25 minutes before the standard time is a pretty good time. The instructors, however, wanted to see times closer to 1:10:00, so I was a little too slow for their liking, but now that I know the times they're really looking for I'll adjust fire.We were told we couldn't bring commercial combat boots to Phase I in Kansas [later that was taken back, commercial boots may be worn as long as they meet the regs], so I used my standard issue boots, and they tore my feet up. Thank you lowest bidder for your excellent work. Looks like I'll need to be wearing them more often to keep from blistering up in Kansas.
The rest of Saturday was spent in the classroom doing a land nav test that they let us take with a battle buddy and reviewing the basics of how to apply the classroom portion to the practical course. Around 2000 we were in a mass formation and the cadre passed the word on to the student 1st sergeant to release us to our barracks for the night- most of us were in shock, the sun wasn't even totally down yet. So naturally we were excited to get a little free time. Right as they were giving us the orders the cadre stopped us and said we needed to stretch out first. No problem. I needed some good stretching time after the march that morning anyway. Well from there it took a nose dive- after the first two stretches, two of the officer cadre just started smoking us for the fun of it. Talking to a sergeant about this later, NCO's go through training on when to tell how much is too much. No doubt smoke sessions are meant to toughen up soldiers, but contrary to popular belief they aren't designed to injure or break people. Officers go through no such training. So for an hour and a half we got smoked. Some of the females were crying and one candidate stood up and quit the program. A minute after he did that we stopped and continued stretching. I about puked from how hard they worked us, but thankfully I didn't- that's not the kind of attention you want.
Sunday was the land nav course. The course is designed to be extremely difficult so that candidates excel on the actual course in Kansas for Phase I, which our cadre told us is a joke compared to our course. Driving up to the course I could tell the woods were so dense you could barely see the sun coming up through the trees. Dense underbrush would be an understatement. We needed to find 3 out of the 5 markers that we had grid coordinates for- which the cadre promised would not be an easy task. There were no beaten paths and this course regularly fails seasoned infantry sergeants. We had three hours to complete the course and somehow my team of three hobbled around on our hamburgered feet and got all 5. We were one of the only (if not the only) groups to do so.
Candidates interested in going to the accelerated OCS course had to write a letter explaining why they needed to go. As of leaving Sunday evening, I didn't hear of anyone getting approval to go. Most people were told no, and a few hadn't received an answer yet.
Sunday afternoon we spent cleaning the barracks and standing on the concrete in the hot sun until we had been there long enough to satisfy the training requirement. We got released at 1600 which is about an hour earlier than when the scheduled time was- no one complained. Another month down and only one month left in 0 Phase.
Saturday we had a 5 mile ruck march with our kevlar helmet, LCE, and a 35-40 lb. ruck, plus water. All in all I probably had about 60 lbs. of gear. The standard to pass is 1 hour 45 minutes. It was still cool when we stepped off at 0600 in the dark. I settled into a 16 minute mile pace, which is the pace I had done a few training marches at- reasoning that coming in 25 minutes before the standard time is a pretty good time. The instructors, however, wanted to see times closer to 1:10:00, so I was a little too slow for their liking, but now that I know the times they're really looking for I'll adjust fire.
The rest of Saturday was spent in the classroom doing a land nav test that they let us take with a battle buddy and reviewing the basics of how to apply the classroom portion to the practical course. Around 2000 we were in a mass formation and the cadre passed the word on to the student 1st sergeant to release us to our barracks for the night- most of us were in shock, the sun wasn't even totally down yet. So naturally we were excited to get a little free time. Right as they were giving us the orders the cadre stopped us and said we needed to stretch out first. No problem. I needed some good stretching time after the march that morning anyway. Well from there it took a nose dive- after the first two stretches, two of the officer cadre just started smoking us for the fun of it. Talking to a sergeant about this later, NCO's go through training on when to tell how much is too much. No doubt smoke sessions are meant to toughen up soldiers, but contrary to popular belief they aren't designed to injure or break people. Officers go through no such training. So for an hour and a half we got smoked. Some of the females were crying and one candidate stood up and quit the program. A minute after he did that we stopped and continued stretching. I about puked from how hard they worked us, but thankfully I didn't- that's not the kind of attention you want.
Sunday was the land nav course. The course is designed to be extremely difficult so that candidates excel on the actual course in Kansas for Phase I, which our cadre told us is a joke compared to our course. Driving up to the course I could tell the woods were so dense you could barely see the sun coming up through the trees. Dense underbrush would be an understatement. We needed to find 3 out of the 5 markers that we had grid coordinates for- which the cadre promised would not be an easy task. There were no beaten paths and this course regularly fails seasoned infantry sergeants. We had three hours to complete the course and somehow my team of three hobbled around on our hamburgered feet and got all 5. We were one of the only (if not the only) groups to do so.
Candidates interested in going to the accelerated OCS course had to write a letter explaining why they needed to go. As of leaving Sunday evening, I didn't hear of anyone getting approval to go. Most people were told no, and a few hadn't received an answer yet.
Sunday afternoon we spent cleaning the barracks and standing on the concrete in the hot sun until we had been there long enough to satisfy the training requirement. We got released at 1600 which is about an hour earlier than when the scheduled time was- no one complained. Another month down and only one month left in 0 Phase.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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.
Friday, November 4, 2011
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.
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).
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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, 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.
 |
| Plotting a Course- Land Nav |
 |
| 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.
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