It has been about a month since I last wrote... a whole lot has happened in what feels like a short time.
Not sure if anyone is really reading this anymore but I needed to do a little release writing. I am currently studying Gynecology Emergencies.. gross. haha. This far into it we have taken 8 MOD tests in class totaling 33 chapters and 800 pages of material. High Speed. I currently am the Team Leader in my class and have the highest average with a 89.2 I am not ok with being anything less than an A so that will come up. Overall out of 240 or so soldiers it is probably top 20.. again.. not good enough. We also took our first Fitness Test this past Monday. I totaled 81 push ups in 2 minutes.. 74 sit-ups in 2 minutes.. and a 12:32 2 mile run. Good enough for 291 of a total 300 points. My best score so far but once I can get those final 8 situps I will hit perfect score as well as get extra points for doing extra in the pushups and 2 mile run. I have exactly 3 weeks until the next Fitness test so that will be accomplished.
This past week was the hardest test in my life this far. My grandma DD had a small accident and was not able to recover from it and passed away. She was being stubborn trying to walk around instead of running everything over in her scooter. She was by far my main woman in my life. My mom is great but whats better than her mom right?? She taught me the importance of family.. accepting everyone.. being generous.. loving life.. and so many more lessons that I can wait to live and pass on. I can only hope that as she looks down on me from Heaven that I continue to make her happy with how I live. After going through the Red Cross I was able to go home for the weekend to attend her funeral. It was crushing but pleasing at the same time. Getting to see the whole family and enjoying her life made up for it. Makes me want to work even harder here as well as finish up to get back home to life.
AIT transition... life here at Fort Sam continues to get a little better. Falling into a good pattern.. getting to know these younger kids and new group of brothers/sisters/soldiers. We have about 1 more week of class left for the "civilian medic" training. We have 2 more tests.. Skills testing for real medical and trauma scenarios as well as taking our National EMT cert test. Busy busy week ahead for us. Time management is not an easy task here.. its bed or sacrifice sleep to study and maybe luck out 4-5 hours of sleep if that. I just have to remember its a temporary step in the long run.
Once again.. short but hopefully after this week I can start adding more details once we start doing the Whisky "combat medic" training because I am sure that will be more interested to read about.
Hope everyone is doing great--- SMILE
Friday, February 13, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
1/17/2015 Fort Sam Houston.. AIT- 68W Combat Medic
Wow.. it has been a change for sure so it has taken me some time to get back to this. AIT is a total flip from basic. We are called "Soldier Medic" instead of countless trash names and almost treated with a sort of respect. The atmosphere is a lot more relaxed while at the same time stressing how important it is for us to dedicate. Medics are life changers... team member.. an essential part of any group in the Army. High Speed is the only way to describe how this next 16 weeks is going to be.
-Original thoughts.. Fort Benning basic training is still strict and on point. No horsing around or anything close to the sort. All males and so on. Different kind of attitude. Here at Ft Sam we of course have a mixed company. Fox company is about 240 strong.. males.. females..and came from about 4 different basic training locations. All of the Benning guys are thrown off to say the least. In formation there is a lot of messing around... cadence calling has songs and clapping and the sort that we would have never even thought about pulling off in Benning or it would have been a 2 hour smoke session.
- We have to certify as an EMT Basic and pass the National EMT exam to become certified. The catch is that we are doing this in 6 weeks. Accelerated classes in civilian life may do it in 10 weeks but normal classes go for 4-6 months. The normal day starts at 4:50 formation for PT. Then chow.. quick time back to the barracks to shower and form up and start classes at 8:30. Lunch chow is at 11:20 then back in classes until 17:20. Dinner chow then finally back "home" to the barracks again. Usually we get about an hour of free time before final formation. Typical day to a T.
-PT will be a notch up. We split into groups of course based on speed. Alpha group is led by the Senior Sarge. He is on the 10 miler team for Ft Sam so the guy can run. He wants us to average no more than a 7 minute mile pace while running and nothing under 3 miles. Working up to 6 miles at under 7 min miles.... GEEZE... talk about tough but will be an awesome challenge. On weekends we are allowed to use the gym so I can actually get a good weight workout in. Huge bonus. The barracks have a real track going all the way around which is just a hair over half a mile. PX store is right across the street so its nice also.
-Chow- No set real times like it use to be in Basic. We also get 15-30 minutes from the time we sit down to eat.. just weird. They have a main line which is your cafeteria choices and healthier.. or the fast food which is burgers, fries, hotdogs and such. I weight in at the most I've ever weighed just at about 170 lbs so I am opting to hit the main line and get a spinach salad as much as I can.. unless I'm hungry and want to catch the short fast line. We also are mixed with navy and air force so we see everyone. Pretty sweet I think.... and not too shabby seeing some of the Air Force and Navy girls. Good change of scenery.
-Barracks are 2 guys per room.. share a bathroom but get 2 sinks, 2 closest, 2 desks and so on so its nice. We have day room we can use during free time to watch TV or meet up so we were able to catch last weekends football playoff games.
It is a 3 day weekend but we still have formation every 2 hours for now. The plan is a ton of studying. we did 170 pages and 7 chapters in 2.5 days of class.. and first MOD test on Tuesday so school will be the main focus. Gym and a little free time of course worked in.
I will try and get back to this with more details and life but wanted to drop a quick fill in
HI everyone... happy weekend
-Original thoughts.. Fort Benning basic training is still strict and on point. No horsing around or anything close to the sort. All males and so on. Different kind of attitude. Here at Ft Sam we of course have a mixed company. Fox company is about 240 strong.. males.. females..and came from about 4 different basic training locations. All of the Benning guys are thrown off to say the least. In formation there is a lot of messing around... cadence calling has songs and clapping and the sort that we would have never even thought about pulling off in Benning or it would have been a 2 hour smoke session.
- We have to certify as an EMT Basic and pass the National EMT exam to become certified. The catch is that we are doing this in 6 weeks. Accelerated classes in civilian life may do it in 10 weeks but normal classes go for 4-6 months. The normal day starts at 4:50 formation for PT. Then chow.. quick time back to the barracks to shower and form up and start classes at 8:30. Lunch chow is at 11:20 then back in classes until 17:20. Dinner chow then finally back "home" to the barracks again. Usually we get about an hour of free time before final formation. Typical day to a T.
-PT will be a notch up. We split into groups of course based on speed. Alpha group is led by the Senior Sarge. He is on the 10 miler team for Ft Sam so the guy can run. He wants us to average no more than a 7 minute mile pace while running and nothing under 3 miles. Working up to 6 miles at under 7 min miles.... GEEZE... talk about tough but will be an awesome challenge. On weekends we are allowed to use the gym so I can actually get a good weight workout in. Huge bonus. The barracks have a real track going all the way around which is just a hair over half a mile. PX store is right across the street so its nice also.
-Chow- No set real times like it use to be in Basic. We also get 15-30 minutes from the time we sit down to eat.. just weird. They have a main line which is your cafeteria choices and healthier.. or the fast food which is burgers, fries, hotdogs and such. I weight in at the most I've ever weighed just at about 170 lbs so I am opting to hit the main line and get a spinach salad as much as I can.. unless I'm hungry and want to catch the short fast line. We also are mixed with navy and air force so we see everyone. Pretty sweet I think.... and not too shabby seeing some of the Air Force and Navy girls. Good change of scenery.
-Barracks are 2 guys per room.. share a bathroom but get 2 sinks, 2 closest, 2 desks and so on so its nice. We have day room we can use during free time to watch TV or meet up so we were able to catch last weekends football playoff games.
It is a 3 day weekend but we still have formation every 2 hours for now. The plan is a ton of studying. we did 170 pages and 7 chapters in 2.5 days of class.. and first MOD test on Tuesday so school will be the main focus. Gym and a little free time of course worked in.
I will try and get back to this with more details and life but wanted to drop a quick fill in
HI everyone... happy weekend
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Final Thoughts on Basic
After sitting here and being home for about 11 days or so it gave me some time to reflect. I of course stuck with my normal routine and returned back to my Civilian Career the very next morning after getting back. 3:03 wake up.. gym.. on to work for a 10 hour day and back home.
Notes on being home: To me time crawled while I was at Basic. Here.. everyone says that the time went fast and it was like I wasn't gone very long. Thats total BS because those days didn't even move some times. I felt like I was missing everything that was going on and the lack of communication made that seem even worse. After being home a few days I realized.. absolutely nothing did change. I didn't not miss any big events.. work did not change one bit and I was able to get back in the swing like I never left. Weirdest feeling ever.
The demands of Basic: Physically I feel like it was too easy. I actually agree with some of the Drill Sergeants and believe the physical limits should be increased. They did admit to us that Basic was not at a level to be physically demanding if you were already someone that was in decent shape.
Mentally: this is where the struggle was. I only had about 3 bad days where I was dragging and fed up with all the demands, screaming, orders, and so on knowing that I didn't need that mess... that I had a great job and life back home. That only set it temporarily before I had to remind myself that I didn't not join for myself.. that it was for a bigger purpose and reason. Many of the guys had a rough first couple of weeks and several issues throughout the whole process. Basic had a way of breaking the weaker guys down and made them do some real soul searching to pull out of it. They all came out ten fold stronger in the end but it really tried them.
Upon the beliefs of some.. Basic is exactly like you see in the movies. They Drill Sergeants can not put their hands on you but as far as the yelling non-stop.. putting the guys down.. the jokes and making fun of every little thing.. the cleaning to a T... and so on is exactly how it seems. It sucks major but thats how it is. It builds men from kids.
My next phase is on to San Antonio for the Combat Medic training. They say we get more freedoms.. keep our phone.. can go to the gym... I am actually looking forward to this new part for the next 4 months.
Keep in touch with the blog as I will try and update during big/fun events or once a week as a summary for the entire 16-17 weeks.
Thank you Everyone
Notes on being home: To me time crawled while I was at Basic. Here.. everyone says that the time went fast and it was like I wasn't gone very long. Thats total BS because those days didn't even move some times. I felt like I was missing everything that was going on and the lack of communication made that seem even worse. After being home a few days I realized.. absolutely nothing did change. I didn't not miss any big events.. work did not change one bit and I was able to get back in the swing like I never left. Weirdest feeling ever.
The demands of Basic: Physically I feel like it was too easy. I actually agree with some of the Drill Sergeants and believe the physical limits should be increased. They did admit to us that Basic was not at a level to be physically demanding if you were already someone that was in decent shape.
Mentally: this is where the struggle was. I only had about 3 bad days where I was dragging and fed up with all the demands, screaming, orders, and so on knowing that I didn't need that mess... that I had a great job and life back home. That only set it temporarily before I had to remind myself that I didn't not join for myself.. that it was for a bigger purpose and reason. Many of the guys had a rough first couple of weeks and several issues throughout the whole process. Basic had a way of breaking the weaker guys down and made them do some real soul searching to pull out of it. They all came out ten fold stronger in the end but it really tried them.
Upon the beliefs of some.. Basic is exactly like you see in the movies. They Drill Sergeants can not put their hands on you but as far as the yelling non-stop.. putting the guys down.. the jokes and making fun of every little thing.. the cleaning to a T... and so on is exactly how it seems. It sucks major but thats how it is. It builds men from kids.
My next phase is on to San Antonio for the Combat Medic training. They say we get more freedoms.. keep our phone.. can go to the gym... I am actually looking forward to this new part for the next 4 months.
Keep in touch with the blog as I will try and update during big/fun events or once a week as a summary for the entire 16-17 weeks.
Thank you Everyone
Final Week
My last post was the last letter I really wrote due to the fact it would be pointless to send anymore home. I would make it back before the mail actually reached their.
Everything was pretty much the same so Ill give a summary.
We ended up doing alright in the final inspection but left feeling like we were the lowest of low and didn't clean or do anything right. Apparently they left that feeling with everyone and we actually did decent. No win for us but by this point whats new.
We did end up winning the final banner flag for combatives. It was one of the few that didn't involve the whole platoon to participate. The guys did awesome and won fairly easily. Once again.. we by far had the strongest platoon but had just enough weak bodies to hurt us in most events.
Last week involved more and more cleaning.. graduation practice. Everyone was pretty excited and we even got our phones back for good for the last few days. This mean nonstop music playing which is what everyone really missed.
Family day was a neat little ceremony where we first earned the right to wear our berets. Ive never been a fan of proper uniform and wear so it of course feels weird to me. If you have time look up what it takes to form a beret. Long process that involves shaving it, wetting it, and shaping it for hours in order for it to form the right way.
Graduation went off without any issue. My mom was annoyed and trying to take as many pics as possible while all I wanted was to get the heck off the base and into civilian clothes. Some good photos came out luckily but boy did it feel good to finally leave that place. I even changed into my civi clothes and we found a neat little lunch spot. I got to enjoy my first micro brew beer in 2.5 months so that was a big deal and it was amazing.
Recover week brought a new meaning to most of the guys. Unlike how it might seem.. it is not a recovery for us.. it is for the Army to recover all of their equipment. Total pain in the ass process and it took the entire week with not much sleep. It was bitter sweet when it all ended.
Everything was pretty much the same so Ill give a summary.
We ended up doing alright in the final inspection but left feeling like we were the lowest of low and didn't clean or do anything right. Apparently they left that feeling with everyone and we actually did decent. No win for us but by this point whats new.
We did end up winning the final banner flag for combatives. It was one of the few that didn't involve the whole platoon to participate. The guys did awesome and won fairly easily. Once again.. we by far had the strongest platoon but had just enough weak bodies to hurt us in most events.
Last week involved more and more cleaning.. graduation practice. Everyone was pretty excited and we even got our phones back for good for the last few days. This mean nonstop music playing which is what everyone really missed.
Family day was a neat little ceremony where we first earned the right to wear our berets. Ive never been a fan of proper uniform and wear so it of course feels weird to me. If you have time look up what it takes to form a beret. Long process that involves shaving it, wetting it, and shaping it for hours in order for it to form the right way.
Graduation went off without any issue. My mom was annoyed and trying to take as many pics as possible while all I wanted was to get the heck off the base and into civilian clothes. Some good photos came out luckily but boy did it feel good to finally leave that place. I even changed into my civi clothes and we found a neat little lunch spot. I got to enjoy my first micro brew beer in 2.5 months so that was a big deal and it was amazing.
Recover week brought a new meaning to most of the guys. Unlike how it might seem.. it is not a recovery for us.. it is for the Army to recover all of their equipment. Total pain in the ass process and it took the entire week with not much sleep. It was bitter sweet when it all ended.
12/9 WWE Tribute to the Troops/ Florida Georgia Line
Hi everyone..
I have 4 more days back home on leave before heading off to AIT in San Antonio so figured I would finish up the last few posts from Basic Training.
Another awesome day!!! Started off at freezing temps this morning so we were let off of PT and just cleaned the bay. Was suppose to have a class over sex signs and symbols but instead, starting with my group we were taken to trans to book our flights back home for the holidays. Sweet. Mine worked out perfectly. My AIT is in San Antonio and my flight had a stop in Houston before continuing on to SA. All I had to do was change the dates for the flight and my trip is 100% paid for by the Army. Couldn't have gotten any better than that.
The normal cleaning and organizing took place the rest of the day getting ready for our big night.
This evening we got a special treat. WWE (fake wrestling) did their 12th annual Tribute to the Troops show and it was here in Fort Benning this year. We were given free tickets to attend the event and a cool shirt. I've never been into WWE but it sounded fun to go to. The tribute was pretty awesome to say the least. Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Big Show, and others were there along with doing a military theme. They also filmed their Smackdown segment the same night. In between we knew there was going to be a concert but we did not know who was playing yet. It turned out to be Florida-Georgia Line. I saw them at the Houston rodeo last year and really like their up beat country music. They rocked it out and put on a great show. Any of the music fans and esp. country music fans agree that they made the night well worth it The rest of the WWE show was entertaining as well. Best part was we could eat/drink whatever they had besides alcohol. Most everyone loaded up on Monster Energy drinks, candy bars, pizza, and hot dogs. Yummy and yes yes. The whole show was about 4 hours and we left about 2330.. home at midnight. It is 233 and I am on another fireguard shift. 25% or about 12 of us are up at a time for 1.5 hours which means a combined 4 hours of sleep at best but well worth it. When we woke up it will be out last day to clean before our big test/inspection on Thursday. Pretty big deal so no sleep and 24 hours awake is coming up for us. Oh jolly. Suck but all gravy and graduation practice is only left for the rest of the time here after Thurs
SMILE!!
I have 4 more days back home on leave before heading off to AIT in San Antonio so figured I would finish up the last few posts from Basic Training.
Another awesome day!!! Started off at freezing temps this morning so we were let off of PT and just cleaned the bay. Was suppose to have a class over sex signs and symbols but instead, starting with my group we were taken to trans to book our flights back home for the holidays. Sweet. Mine worked out perfectly. My AIT is in San Antonio and my flight had a stop in Houston before continuing on to SA. All I had to do was change the dates for the flight and my trip is 100% paid for by the Army. Couldn't have gotten any better than that.
The normal cleaning and organizing took place the rest of the day getting ready for our big night.
This evening we got a special treat. WWE (fake wrestling) did their 12th annual Tribute to the Troops show and it was here in Fort Benning this year. We were given free tickets to attend the event and a cool shirt. I've never been into WWE but it sounded fun to go to. The tribute was pretty awesome to say the least. Hulk Hogan, John Cena, Big Show, and others were there along with doing a military theme. They also filmed their Smackdown segment the same night. In between we knew there was going to be a concert but we did not know who was playing yet. It turned out to be Florida-Georgia Line. I saw them at the Houston rodeo last year and really like their up beat country music. They rocked it out and put on a great show. Any of the music fans and esp. country music fans agree that they made the night well worth it The rest of the WWE show was entertaining as well. Best part was we could eat/drink whatever they had besides alcohol. Most everyone loaded up on Monster Energy drinks, candy bars, pizza, and hot dogs. Yummy and yes yes. The whole show was about 4 hours and we left about 2330.. home at midnight. It is 233 and I am on another fireguard shift. 25% or about 12 of us are up at a time for 1.5 hours which means a combined 4 hours of sleep at best but well worth it. When we woke up it will be out last day to clean before our big test/inspection on Thursday. Pretty big deal so no sleep and 24 hours awake is coming up for us. Oh jolly. Suck but all gravy and graduation practice is only left for the rest of the time here after Thurs
SMILE!!
Sunday, December 21, 2014
12/7/2014 "A Perfect Sunday"
This is the last letter I received from James in Basic
Training. He is now home, catching up with his responsibilities and getting
ready for AIT.
Today was a great day. Started the morning off having to
work the last fireguard shift which was my third night for the night at 0500. Since
I was up I got a quick workout and shower before chow. A big Sunday breakfast
was on my menu and it was delish. Afterwards we cleaned some before leaving for
church service. It was a beautiful day and we were awarded a “Sandhill” pass
today. That means we can go anywhere on Sandhill and do whatever within limits.
YESSSS mam!!!!!! Service was packed and was the second to the last one for our
group and for the cycle as well before exodus. The Chaplin was in a holiday
mood so threw in Jingle Bells in at the end for fun. Afterwards my group went
to the Rec center. We ate Subway for lunch. I’m not a big fan of Subway but
after 9 weeks of MRE’s and defac food the chicken, bacon ranch, sour cream and
onion chips and coke tasted like Heaven. We then needed to waste time before the
PX opened so we went to the computer room and browed everyone’s Facebook. Next was
the PX trip. On this trip was the ice cream shop. BAM- 2 scoops of chocolate in
a waffle cone. Again, not an ice cream fan but this rocked. Then back to the
rec center. It was 1300 and NFL football time. We got to sit down and watch the
first half of the Cincinnati vs Pittsburg. I think that’s who it was but either way it
was football. Freedom was nice. About 1400 we headed back to our normal
cleaning duties but by then the day was already made. Its 213 and about to be
lights out. We have 0300 and 0400 fireguard with 0430 wakeup so its bed time.
Hope everybody had a blessed Sunday and only 9 days left.
J
12/6/2014 "Soldier of the Cycle/ Recovery"
Every cycle each platoon has one soldier compete as soldier
of the cycle against each other. Winners look good for the platoon but also win
some gifts and recognition. This soldier may not be the best at all the events (I.E
fitness, shooting, testing and so on) just needs good military presentation and
knowledge. The “older” guys like myself and a few other good candidates decided
to leave this to the young guns. A young guy that will be active duty will get
the most honors. Anyways we chose our Platoon Guide, young kid; he has been a
good motivator. Not the top in all of the categories but he is higher than
average. Works hard and presents well so a good choice. This morning all four
went to the Board for the test and he ended up winning. Awesome achievement and
great for my platoon.
I was told my last writings made me seem a little down. Through
this process I have been pretty good and steady. Had one week of impatience but
that was the bad sick/ allegery week recently. We are on a coast now. Recovery for
11 days which is not physical recovery for us like it sounds…it’s Army
recovering all of its gear from us. Long days of cleaning every piece of
equipment, long nights waking up twice a night to do fire guard, to clean
weapons over and over. Not going to be fun, but it is almost over. We continue
to process today.
At lunch we marched up to the PX as a company. Everyone got
a final haircut. We were allowed to get high fades/ high and tight instead of
bald. Due to the 4 haircutters having to do 218 guys, some were not that
efficient at this haircut. I picked the good guy and it turned out looking like
my normal cut I get back home. Some guys were not that lucky, bald looks better.
We got soaking wet marching the 2 miles back.
Anyways- good day. Got a brief phone privilege- life is
good.
“Strength is the product of struggle, You must do what
others don’t to achieve what others wont.”
“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”
“You can do whatever you are willing to struggle for.”
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