11/24/2014 "Rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher"

Today was another range day. Morning was more cleaning after chow, then throwing on full battle rattle for the range.

Range setting, upon arrival this range was like none of the previous ones. It was newer and had sort of rolling hills. We were at the top overlooking a good portion of Fort Benning. In the background, it seemed about every 20-30 minutes another plane would make a trip and anywhere from 10-30 (couldn’t tell) paratroopers or Airborne in training soldiers would parachute out of the plane and make a line of black dots in the horizon. The range had about 9-12 old army vehicles set up as targets. Today we were going over the AT4 anti-tank rocket launcher and the 203? Attachment grenade launcher on to the M16. The AT4 shoots an 84 mm shell but we were only shooting 9 mm tracer rounds. Essentially it was like shooting a homemade potato gun that we used to build back home. Fun to shoot but pretty weak in the practice form. Couple of small fires started due to the tracer rounds but went out quickly. The grenade launcher is a pretty cool and super useful piece of equipment. Not only can it shoot grenade rounds but smoke, pyro and other rounds as well. We shot a full size dummy round so when it hit a target, bright orange powder would go everywhere. A little more fun and a live round would have been awesome but no such luck for us.

After we got back it was chilled since our big test is tomorrow. I’m a little nervous. Sit-ups are still a problem. As a personal trainer I always taught to do a sit-up in a fashion that made you utilize the core while going up but also when going down. This tires the hip flexors as well. When going for max reps this is a bad thing. You need to relax the abs and throw your body to the ground. If I can break the mental barrier and inner trainer for the test, a perfect score is feasible. A hot wake up shower and warrior stance to pump myself up may be the trick. Whichever slackers don’t pass the test tomorrow, they are automatically packing up their gear and moving bags since they will not graduate or pass with us. So far that number is four.

We also have our night live fire race. MUDF is a platoon vs. platoon crawl through the mud, under barbed wire, over walls, more climbing, while smoke, live fire, grenades and so forth are going off. The winning platoon win that banner so we need to kill it.

It is 2224, I wake up the next fireguard shift in 10 minutes and the hopefully 5 hours of sleep for me.

Oh yeah…got a brief phone time, talked to my mom and buddy Cory; my two sisters- Tara and Lisa ignored my calls but I spent the rest listening to music. Oh how I miss music. J

Good Night.

11/21/2014 “Expert Grenadier”

Today was grenade qualification. It was weird, strange, fun, new, punishing kind of day. We woke up early to the First DS not liking the way the command suite was done last night. We had to put it in high gear to get it to his standard. His standard was so much bleach that it burns your eyes and hair. Done…but put us in a time crunch to load transit. We got to the grenade range and we were supposed to eat chow. BUT…4^th platoon has chow duty and forgot plates. This pushed chow back which made my stomach angry.

To start off grenade training, after the instructor course. We went through the line once to do a step by step demo, and then grabbed 2 more grenades to do a qualification drill. During all of this we used real grenades but they were just blasting caps. They still had the 3-5 second timer and popped loud but no explosion. We were monitored to ensure we followed safety protocol, had the right technique, and could throw far enough. After we threw we were to duck and cover so you don’t get to see your throw. I impressed the instructor with a good throw. (I really don’t know what good is but I’ll take it).

Next we went to the live range. This of course was pretty awesome. Again, what guy wouldn’t want to throw grenades? We rotated 4 at a time and throw two live grenades. The rest stood behind a blast wall and were able to watch. Some threw like girls and some could chunk it, but they all exploded the same. Amazeballs. Never got old watching this. During my time I was calm but giddy. After my throw the Sergeant said, “Damn boy…are you related to Peyton Manning? You chunked the sh_t out of that grenade.” That was just awesome. We had to clean the live and practice range. In all this was like 500 live and 600 dummy grenades. All that was left of live was the spoons, but the practice range had spoons, blasting caps and shells. What a bummer.

Then we had the grenade course. We competed for a level similar to rifle range… marksman (level 2)… (Level 1)…and (expert). We threw at targets like trenches and vehicles with an inner arcade of sandbags we had to land in. throwing from a standing and kneeling position; to compete for the platoon banner. Everyone that made it past one level, and then competed for their platoon on the next level as a team vs. team (platoon) set up. Out of 218 soldiers, about 80 made it this far. Next level was kneeling on one knee and landing a grenade in a circle about 25 meters away. I made it and one other from my team, as my DS says, we had a lot of “Weak Bodies”. We lost but only 15 out of 218 completed this successfully. We earned the expert badge for this. Another accomplishment in the books.

After making it back and eating chow, it got bad. The Drills were upset about something. Still not sure what it was but sometimes there isn’t a reason. My drill got us for about 20 minutes, doing all the exercises while holding our weapons, major pain. Then the night Drill decided to play “Dress up Barbie” and give us a weird time crunch punishment. We would have 4 minutes (impossible time for everyone to make) to change into mixed up uniforms of his choice. Part PT, one shoe, one boot, jacket, shorts and other weird combos. One hour of this dress up changing game. Soooooooooo annoying but just had to go with it.

Out free time was taken by cleaning duties so I’m writing from bed. Tomorrow is our combative competition.

This week has flown by and I’m thankful for all of it. Glad to see family, friends, my truck, dogs and my bed really soon. As close as it seems….we have a tough next couple of weeks.

Happy weekend everyone.

11/20/2014 "White Phase Testing"

“Drive on 1^st platoon, drive on first platoon.”

“One day you’ll be alone, way out there in the combat zone”

“Bullets flying all around, keep your head down to the ground”

“Don’t worry, you’re not alone, 3^rd platoon’s gonna bring you home.”

This morning was relaxed, like the cram before a big exam. We still got up early, but PT was switched to the afternoon, so we cleaned our bay spotless, because a new Commander was walking through. Then we did last minute studying for our exam. After chow we all took our exam. It was pretty easy. Rank structure, General orders, Alphabet military style, military time, and about 30 questions about customs, M16’s and so on. We then went to the PT rock pit and practiced our form and safety over grenades. Tomorrow we qualify on grenades. PT was at 1500 and for once it was light outside and warm. I loved it. Normal preparatory exercises, then 60-120’s on the track. We did longer than normal for 9 rotations which added up to about 2.5 miles, then the 300 yard shuttle sprint (kind of sucked). We then graded exams and hit chow again. I missed four so I aced it.  

Chow, decided today to start cutting back the bread now. 2 pieces of toast or 2 rolls and a muffin every meal, now I’ll allow one slice or a roll. Sub more fruit in the morning.

We got mail call again. Our Senior DS kind of likes this time because he likes the excitement, smiles and overall mood when everyone receives mail from loved ones. One of my best friend’s (Cory) mom sent me mail. Thank you Ms. Toni. I tried calling Cory with no luck last Sunday, so this was great timing.

Was able to knock out 100 pushups and sit-ups before shower and getting ready for bed. I have fireguard at midnight for an hour and again at 0400. They tossed me on that shift so I can grab my morning workout and shower. Due to range time tomorrow we take transportation before 0700 so we are skipping PT and eating breakfast at the range.

Almost Weekend.

Yippee!!!!

11/19/2014 "Frozen Range Day/Night"

1547 we are sitting around in formation back to back near the gun range waiting for dark. A smoke session will happen soon. We got hit hard upon arrival. In full battle rattle it was pretty tough.

This morning was GC- cold….20’s or less. Below 60 in our sleeping bags. So much that after my 0300 fireguard I got fully dressed in winter PT’s and went back to bed instead of my normal wake up and shower. Once we formed up outside at 0500 the senior DS said “F--- this I’m old…it’s cold…go clean the bay- no PT!” Best moment ever. It’s gorgeous now.

We shot a round earlier, 50 rounds to use our red dot scope, 20 kneeling near a wall and 10 prone unsupported. Shooting at our pop up targets, so it was fun. I scored a pork rib in my MRE which is exactly the same as the McDonald’s McRib. About 1800 we start night shooting, utilizing our night monocular and laser. We will be on the range until 2300 so I bought an extra Clif bar from the “Gut Truck” as a late night snack. Time to group study for White Phase testing tomorrow. I’ll fill in on the night shooting later. J

2213 we just got back to the bay early because it was freezing outside. The shooting was fun. The lasers weren’t zeroed so aiming was pointless, but we got to test at night vision scenarios so that was the point. With all the shooting it was neat watching the tracers shoot off. We are still waiting for our cleaning duties and orders so bed is still a little ways off.

Our DS decided we could get our “Punishers” name back. As a group we had to do about 1000 pushups or about 20 a piece. We were motivated, so 1^st squad alone (I’m in first) out of 4 hammered out 490 of them alone. The team has started acting better so it was good to get our name back.

J I have my wool blanket and socks in the dryer getting warm for bedtime. Boy when that time comes I’m going for full wrap up mode.

Late night but still Happy Humpday!

11/18/2014 "Red Dot Scope Rifle Day"

FYI- another mail day…no mail for me…like a birthday boy and no one showed up to my party. L Haha.

Anyways, it is always cold here. Early freaking morning fitness was good but oh so brrrrrrr. This week my platoon is first in to chow, which means longer time frame for us. Which is sweet and it must show. I’ve gained 2.1 lbs. since coming here. Poor, single man life over Christmas break will fix that.

Today was range day for advance rifle skills. 15 of the top shooters in each platoon were fitted with CCO (red dot scopes) on our rifles. We then zeroed them in with 30 round clip and let everyone else take target practice after that. It was pretty fun. Due to the weather and Army training standards of safety…a heat tent with a couple of small heaters was set up for the guys to rotate through to thaw out. I’m sure the “older” generation would have loved that back in the day. Before and after chow for the evening we had meetings. Tomorrow we go back to the range for day/night shooting. Going to be a long freaking day. All the expert and sharp shooters were fitted with lasers and NOD (night vision) for tomorrow. Our DS ordered us to use night vision for all of our fireguard duties over night instead of flashlights. This has everyone excited because what gut wouldn’t want to walk around for an hour using only “night vision”. Ummmmm….lame ones, so this will be cool. I for see some sock wars and what not. Today was a good day, be thankful for them all …appreciate. Keep your heart and eyes open to it all. Going to be awake for 24 hours straight tomorrow, so time to pack my gear and go to bed.

Night

11/17/2014- "Tornado Warning"

This morning started with a new twist. Like really. We woke up at 0345, weather warmed up about 20º from yesterday and rain in the forecast. As we are about to form up we were told PT and morning was pushed back about an hour to 0545, so everyone opened their lockers and laid down with their heads on our blankets, that we fold up in there right before it is time to go. The DS call us out; tell us we are under hurricane watch that started at 0400. This is why they pushed out time back. We were told the storm was heading our way and was about 70 miles way. We did out tornado drill and crammed at 220 guys into the hallway, freaking hot and stuffed like a can of sardines. No lie…within half an hour of the drill they called a real drill and the base sirens were going off. A lot of the guys without tornado experience were freaking out. Kind of amusing. We were in the hallway for about 45 minutes, but the DS kept opening the door for us. Rain was sideways and wind howling, it paused, and then came again. Finally it passed with no issues and the temperature had dropped back down to cold again. Grrrrrrr.

We had an extremely fast morning chow then went to electronic shooting range again. This time we were shooting in full battle rattle, (Kevlar helmet, FCC, pack, IPTO Kevlar vest…) little different but we got a red dot scope this time. Now we are talking. Tomorrow we hit the real range and get to do the shooting course, utilizing the new scope. Should be fun.

I got phone privileges last night and got to talk to a handful of people. Mainly I got to speak with my DeeDee, so that made my week. I miss her the most.

Big ranks are coming tomorrow, so a ton of cleaning tonight. Quick workout, shower. More cleaning starting at 0300.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Monday.

11/16/2014- "Peace"

“The greatest battle is not physical, but psychological. The demons telling us to give up when we push ourselves to the limit can never be silenced for good. They must always be answered by quite, steady dignity that simply refuses to give in. courage. We all suffer. Keep going.”

The mental battle is the toughest. I am picking myself back up. Although the guys didn’t notice. I felt myself losing patience, becoming irritated and annoyed a lot this week. I think the DS had the same feelings but they are allowed to express them. I need to keep composure. This for along the little things should be precise; the guys should clean up after themselves. Beginner moves should be executed with perfection, yet as a whole we still struggle.

Today I will recharge. Workout throughout the day to relieve stress. Isolate some. Study and prepare for White Phase test on Thursday. We move to the next phase if we all pass; which means more freedom and longer phone time.

Tomorrow I will start fresh. Keep patience. Be a better, sharper person in order to help others. Strength and leadership by example not by ordering.

I was just approached while I was bleaching the showers and the statement was; “Manning, you are always doing the right thing. Everyone else is lying around while you clean. We notice bro.” Feels good. Be a silent professional and it will show.

Happy Sunday y’all

11/15/2014 "2nd march- Urban Operations"

Today really was/is a long day. We licked the morning off at 0400 and started our company 12K march at 0500. ђђђ I was starving. They don’t feed us until after the march. Worst ever. It was also freezing….in the 20’s which should be illegal. I marched on the inside of the guys so I could motivate and make sure everyone didn’t fall behind. It really is beautiful outside marching as the sun rises. It turned out to be a good march…pretty…no big issues. We have one more in a couple of weeks that is about 20K.

Next we marched to our training location. Today was MOUT training. Military Operations Urban Terrain. More modern warfare cleaning building and such. It was really fun and interesting. Breaching buildings with a 4 man team working through each room cleaning or eliminating the enemy. There were six different building layouts to go through and soldiers would hide within as enemy combatants. It really showed how important team work was. One slip up, stall, hesitation and lives are lost. Shows how dangerous the situations are that these guys go through every day. Amazing.

On a bad note- the first Sarge jumped in and started beating up down today, not physically but verbally. Something set him off and he ran with it for almost 25 minutes. He filmed some to post on Facebook. He really tore into us on 8 count pushups and up down. SUCKED.

Other highlights. Tomorrow is another Sunday. Much needed relaxation. This week has just been physically and mentally tiring for reason. We got our individual pictures at first I didn’t really purchase much then figured my mom would be highly upset so I got a package. Video of our events, 700-1000 pictures of events, individual photo, platoon group photo and yearbook. I can finally change my photo on my grandma’s (DeeDee’s) wall  mine is still for my senior year in high school, 10 years ago. I am totally beat so lights out for this guy.

11/14/2014 "Machine gun day"

Yesterday was a long day even though it was fairly slow. We slept an extra 30 minutes, went to chow, and then loaded up for another day at the range. Today we are going to learn about and shoot the 240 Bravo and 249 Saw machine guns. Our sergeant that was the instructor started us off rolling in laughter. Mostly dirty jokes and stories how he grew up in the same “hood” as the rapper 50’s Cent. He spent 10 years in and out of juvie and five years in jail before the Army changed his life. We got to shoot 50 rounds through the 240 and 100 rounds through the 249. The 240 is a larger caliber and sweet to shoot. Targets started at 300 meters and went out several 100 meters. The 249 was also fun, with every trigger pull about 10 rounds shot. TRACERS EVERY 5 ROUNDS ALLOW US TO REALLY SEE WHERE EVERYONE WAS SHOOTING. But- BAD SIDE- tracers start fires. About halfway through shooting the 249 I saw I got a cease fire. They are used to fires and always call for them to get put out once several start or a fire is near the woods. That happened on my turn so the range day was over.

We got lucky and the bus driving us back was playing country music. Oh how is miss music.

After evening chow, we had more cleaning. The night DS was not happy, like always, so he kept us out in the cold, smoking us. Once we thought we were done, the Chaplain had a last minute meeting with us. It was 2100, which is usually lights out. He wanted to go over a 40 minute presentation over suicide. Apparently the holidays are a peak time. By the time we get out it was 2230 and new lights out was 2300. Blaaaahhhh….wake up was 0330 to get ready for our morning march. I’ll move on to a new today. J

Oh yeah. My platoon…or a certain few, keep messing up a lot of stupid stuff so our DS took our guidon flag away and changed our name from the “Punishers” to “Dead Guys” since he said we move so slow. That sucks.

11/13/2014 "Rifle Qualification #2- Cold Punishment Day"

2358 I didn’t have a chance to write about my day, but I am fireguard from 2400- 0100, so I have a few minutes. By the way my fingers hurt from being cold all day.

Started today off like every other morning. Personal 10 minute workout followed by group formation at 0500. today was leg- running day, so warm-ups, hip stability, drills, (vertical, laterals, shuttle sprint), followed by 7 rotations of 60/120’s on the track, 60 second sprint/ 120 second walk. The weather was in the 50’s but a front was moving in every minute.

Today was day two of rifle qualification. It was cold by this point, 42º on location but the wind was eating right through me. By the time I was up to shoot, I was shivering….Great… male it tougher. Remember every time I shot I was slowly figuring out how to over correct for my rifle not being zeroed correctly and them not giving us another chance to do this. My last practice scores were 10, 18, 26 and now the ones that count. Mt strategy was not to waste bullets on the 300 meter targets. There are 2 during the first 20 rounds while using sandbags in prone support and 1 in the next 10 rounds in prone unsupported. Expert level shooting is 36/40 hits. I was nailing them. Through the first 30 targets, I hit 27, only missed the 300 meter ones. The last 10 rounds were in the kneeling position. If I could hit 9 of 10 I would get expert….awesome. the third target was “Fast Freddie” at 50 meters. I rushed and missed hitting the dirt in front. At this point I was shivering from the cold and unsupported kneeling, bad combo. I still had expert hits with that one miss, but between letting that get to me and whatever else; I missed the next two targets as well. Noooooo. I recovered to hit the rest but there goes expert. Finished with a 34/40 and sharpshooter status. That is 30-35/40 hits (good enough to tie for second in my platoon) but that didn’t make me happy. No chance to shoot again so I had to settle. Some guys started yesterday and kept going back up until they qualified so they could graduate. This meant some shot upwards of 8 different times compared to one each day. I’m glad they had the chance to keep attempting. Most are in the support role, so handling a weapon will be unlikely.  We received our daily range smoke session. We were given a certain time to eat our MRE’s by and as a company, some guys were too slow…23 minutes of more exercises, squats, while holding a weapon out securing charging handle back, push to the freaking ups…ouch.

After chow, more corrective exercises. The first Sarge smoked all the platoon leaders because some guys out of 218 didn’t have their fleece cap. For the record my squad and platoon was good. Then the DS tonight had us back outside in PT shorts and a thin long sleeved shirt for over an hour. In this time we got a lecture about infirmity, being a man, earning the right to wear Army, and so on. We also did multiple sets of pushups as well as hit the track. To the track is about 250 meters round trip. First time we did 2 laps and next time 3. it is the low 40’s at this point, shiver control. 8 man fireguard tonight because every guy will pull one shift. Patoowee.

On a lighter note: our drill Sarge has been picking one music genre that my platoon has to sing a song to him. Yesterday was AC/DC and we did TNT…not bad, while marching in cadence. Today he wanted Toby Keith, Red, White and Blue. Due to the lack of country fans we botched it, but it was funny. Saturday is Spanish, should be interesting. We also got mail. Mom sent me ESPN magazine. Awesome but not allowed. My senior DS said I could pick them up to read on Sunday, so the guys are excited to catch up on sports.

Next couple of days are predicting sub-freezing temperatures. I am already whining and you may read the hurt in my next couple of letters. Stupid cold. I need to finish cleaning duties before back to bed.

Goodnight everyone.

11/12/2014 "Basic Rifle Qualification Day 1"

Last night I didn’t have fireguard, so I was able to catch some sleep. However, my platoon leader decided showers were not allowed in the morning, so this threw my morning routine groove off. I’ll get that rule flipped once I talk to the DS but until then I’ll take whatever punishment if the PG feels he wants to become because I’m going back to my morning habits tomorrow. At 0500 our PT was warm-ups, CP1 $2 for 10 more exercises, 1 minute then 2 minute max at reps on pushups and sit-ups, pull-up drills and then 8 minute run on the track so one mile.

A lot of nerves were flying this morning due to qualification on our M-16’s/ a group of about 9 guys from my platoon had a prayer circle and pep talk to ease their minds. I am slowly learning to over correct on my way out of sight/off zero weapon. I shout 26/40…not good but it qualifies for graduation. One of the young kids, Matthews, has a dead on rifle and he shot 38/40so expert. I joke with him because his prior job was at Chuckee Cheese, so he probably played video games the whole time. Tomorrow we go back to the range so I might shoot a round with his.

We got our butt’s handed to us again. At the range everyone that wasn’t shooting was in or near the bleachers. One of the platoons had guys goofing off. 4^th platoon always has the loudest guys and causing trouble, not listening, moving constantly while at attention. Well it was them. Senior DS got the whole company. Hold the action back on our rifles and hold them straight while in a squat position. This went on and off steady for the first 10 minutes. Then we did 8 count push-ups going in and out of the different counts, which is like doing a lot of burpees for 10 minutes. Then a lot of V-ups, supine bicycle, rower, prone row, pushups and high jumps thrown in for 10 minutes. Then we had to sprint up and down the street a few times. Line back up, go pick up al spent shell casings, clean the range, and prepare for the DS favorite time…SHAKEDOWN. Of course we get smoked one more time for another 10 minutes for various reasons and all the DS (7 total today) wanted to call an exercise.

 We receive our PT tests from Monday. I’m still #4 out of 56 in my platoon. We made a list of everyone that did not pass and we are going to start hosting short workout sessions in evening free time for these guys. Hopefully we can motivate them.

“Be strong when you are weak.

Be brave when you are scared.

Be humble when you are victorious.

Be a badass everyday!”

FYI- there is a Facebook page that the DS posts pictures on. Looked up a few not sure which page.

Fort Benning

1-46 Infantry Charlie Company Basic.

Those keywords should find the Facebook page.

Love Y’all

11/11/2014 "Veteran's Day"

Today was Veteran’s Day. Because of this, we get to sleep in some and have a partially easy day. Most of the DS had the day off, but so did the chow workers, so fast eating and leftovers are on the menu today. Our first half of the day wore on; bay clean up, reorganize lockers, and get assault packs ready for tomorrow. Right before chow we get our butts handed to us for a half hour smoke/workout session, just because. We also took our platoon group photo again because our Senior DS “I do what I want”, wanted to be in the pictures. After chow we did more combat drills. Then evening chow and clean up the entire CTA for 1.5 hours. Fun stuff.

We start our basic rifle qualifying tomorrow. The rest of our free time was spent cleaning weapons, practicing on the shadow box for sight picture and different setups. I’m pissed I have to attempt with a busted off sight rifle, but I’ll compensate for it.

Veteran’s Day. Although I’m technically not a vet, today is the first time I felt a connection to this day. It used to be that day honored in church or school that all the vets stood up. As I got older I felt guilty I was so healthy and had/ have the ability to contribute but didn’t. that guilt was also a sense of self pride in myself that I knew I could do more. I am by no means a comparison to the kids, boys, men and women that have deployed and served but I do feel more connected. First hand stories, similar training revolving around modern warfare, the history and passion evolved in the military. Maybe one day what I’m doing now will give me a chance to contribute, but until then I applaud and pray for all those that serve and have served.

***Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless

Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage***

11/10/2014 "M-16 Zero confirmed off"

What a long day. Started at 0245. APFT2 this morning. Big disappointment for me. Improved on pushups to 69. Lost a few to form but max out of 77 will be achieved in 2 weeks. Sit-ups ticked me off. First, the Ds didn’t want to count quite a few of mine. Lower shoulders need to touch by rule but he wanted the entire back to touch so I lost about 11. AND the doofus that was suppose to hold my ankles down slid all the way to my toes…anyone who has done a sit-up test knows how much harder sit-ups are when you have a bad anchor. On the other side I PR’d the 2 mile with a 12:32. Total score 269-300. pushups and run should be in the bag. New workouts stating in the morning to strengthen my hip flexors to help with the sit-ups.

We took off to the rifle range after chow, in full gear, and did a mock qualifying. Today’s deal was to learn how much I had to compensate in order to pass. First round of forty only hit 11. sighting off more than I thought. I’ll credit some to user error but Texas boys don’t miss like that. I changed on adjustment and got another chance. My pride was already hurt but I know equipment error and limited shots to fix were stacked against me. Figured out how to half way compensate and shot 23-40, the minimum to qualify. I’m upset but it will have to do. As for our PT test, our platoon did much better. 32 didn’t pass last time and this time only 12 didn’t. I’m proud of some of the guys and their improvement. A handful of guys are now wanting me to wake them up early when I get up to do extra exercise and shower.

SMOKING- besides doing 2-2-2 (2 min max pushups, sit-ups, 2 mile run) all before 0600 we got our butts handed to us, getting smoked. Before our 2 mile run the first Sarge smoked us for about 40 pushups, just because. Immediately after our testing, we put on our ACU’s. in full gear we got smoked as a platoon because we barely lost first in overall fitness test. 20 minute session this time. As soon as we arrived at the rifle range we got in front lean rest position just because. Midway through, the DS and Senior DS hit us with another 20 minutes of exercising. One more time after dinner chow we were also hit. Mondays at basic are the longest and hardest days by far. Back home work Mondays don’t compare.

Veterans’ Day is tomorrow, so we get to sleep until 0600 then combatics again. Should be a good day.

2300- fireguard shift, clean and mop showers, then back to bed a little before midnight for 5 hours. Nice!!!

What’s your next life goal? Are you constantly working to better yourself?

Do you still have dreams you want to achieve?

11/9/2014 "Day of Reflection"

“Everybody has a dream. It is all of us to want more for ourselves. It’s not a natural desire. But, what’s not in all of us is the commitment and discipline to bring that dream to life. Few people are willing to put the work in and that’s what separates those who just kind of want something and those who actually deserve greatness. I believe it is in all of us to do extraordinary things, even if we’re just ordinary people. Nothing can stop the desires of the determined.”

Today is Sunday. With out second APFT (fitness test) tomorrow it is definitely a relax day. I’m surprisingly sore and tight so stretching is in the agenda. A couple of battle buddies and I opted to take a morning 2 mile stroll to church this morning instead of waiting on the buses. Weather is amazing today. Sermon was good but the song worship won today. Bad note: the Drill Sergeants don’t go to service. It's suppose to be our get away but they do occasionally drop off and pick up soldiers. I’m not sure what the trainee soldier did but it led to the DS getting out of the vehicle and proceed to use every cuss word along with a few F bombs to let the soldier know he screwed up. This is an everyday occurrence but this happened in the church parking lot. That left a sour note on a few of us that witnessed this.

Afterwards I cleaned some of the bay and broke my weapon apart and cleaned it. Now I’ll take some advantage of some free time to write and stretch before studying some more. We have made it to the half way point for basic.

Notes so far:

·        Basic may be the same as the old days but modern depictions are pretty close. Drill Sergeants can’t put their hands on you (besides the range shakedown) but unlimited yelling, smoking, physical punishment, free time and sleep time cut down next to nothing, helping you realize how worthless you are, and so on still occurs.

v     Last night the company next to us messed up so bad that they got “evicted”. They packed up all their belongings, took apart the bunk beds, and hauled every piece downstairs to the common area and had to stack it all up. (mattresses together, bed frame pieces, baggage and so on. All neatly stacked. It looked horrible.

·        White phase is nice as far as the DS give us more space but when there is a screw up, we get twice the verbal beat down and smoking punishment. Bad with the good I guess.

·        Learning the true make up of the Army and majority of the kids that give their lives for our country is eye opening. So young, inexperienced, yet one way or another, they end up here.

1759 Got back from chow. Worst combo ever. I will be hungry again in 2 hours. How can you validate 2 grilled chesses as a main course? I’m sure as a kid I would have been excited but now I want meat, protein. What a mess and they were out of peanut butter. So carb load it was. 2 grilled cheeses, salad, mixed veggies and some form of fake French fries. I added a blueberry muffin and red apple. 2 glasses of milk. Big disappointment. Shower time then CQ meeting at 1900. CQ is our central quarters where we are assigned cleaning duties for the night before we are allowed free time is we have any left before 2100 lights out.

1014 got lucky for CQ. I am squad leader for Squad 1 and DS chose all the Squad 2’s to do the cleaning tonight. With the PT APFT two tomorrow starting at 0400 wake up at 0300…little stretching and reading, then hit the bed right at 2100.

Everyone have a great Monday.

11/8/2014 "Electronic Shooting Range"

Today was a good day. Electronic Shooting range. Playing with toy soldiers and phone day.

This morning was cold again. So much pain. Put me through as much physical fitness punishment as you want but I can’t handle the cold. Gross. We had warm up drills, CD1 and CD2 (five different exercises each), four for core, climbing drills again on the pull-up bars, 90 second max on pushups and then sit-ups. Another great chow morning. The other 3 platoons are now prohibited from eating muffins but our DS lets us if we pass our fitness test. For some reason that made my blueberry muffin that much better, along with two waffles, banana, grapes, strawberries, two biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bowl of Lucky Charms, 1 piece of cinnamon raisin bread and 2 peanut butter packs and 3 honey packs. Delish.

Once again we loaded our Kevlar vest, full uniform and did the electronic range. It simulated our qualifying test on the shooting range that we take next Friday. Pretty cool stuff.

I did pretty good…sharpshooter status. Instead of getting the transit back, they decided to have us march a little over a mile back. Not far but the extra 50 lbs of gear is a pain. On top of that someone of course screwed up so we had to do multiple sets of squats and pushups in our gear. Then the DS let us take the gear off and do 20 more minutes of straight exercises since we were not load enough during morning workout.

Next we played with plastic toy soldiers. DS set up different battle formations and played like we were six years old again. Good visual learning but fun as well.

Oh! Oh! Our Sarge wanted us to sing a song with “soul”. most 18 year old white boys don’t do “soul” but in the middle of our DS lecturing us we broke out singing “A’int no mountain high enough…” Horrible sound but got a smile out of him.

We also took platoon pictures, so can’t wait to see them.

Phone privileges were today. About 20 of us got limited time due to the guys abusing the phone time last week. Because I am squad leader I had to be an ass and take everyone’s phones up 10minutes prior to cut off to ensure we were in the time frame. My service sucked but I did get to text a few friends. Everyone’s spirit here is pretty high now so that is a good thing.

By the way…AGGIES WON!!!! Saw the update on my phone. Upset #3 Auburn. Good news for me.

Love everyone back home. Happy weekend.

11/7/2014 "What happened to my shot?"

This morning my watch didn’t wake me up early…usually I have the last fireguard shift wake me up but they forgot. I still happened to get up 11 minutes early so I can get in a set of pushups and shower. I picked my two team leaders as well. I let the team submit names and let them choose one and I choose one. Hopefully we can line this squad out. PT this morning was warm-up drills, high knees, lateral walks, shuttle sprints…then split into 2 groups for a group run. 15 minute 2 mile and below in the first group. In formation we ran the 2 mile right about 15 minutes. Breakfast was for champions. French toast, biscuits and gravy on top of scrambled eggs, grapes, strawberries, Special K berries cereal, banana and a lot of syrup, honey and peanut butter. J

We spent the rest of the day at the rifle range. Today we were shooting 40 rounds. 20 prone support, 10 prone, 10 kneeling. Targets were silhouettes at 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 meters. I was uneasy about the sights on my rifle since I only shot 15 times. Out to 150 was spot on, 200 was about 5-% and 300 was off. User error is a good probability but if the zero was off then the further at the target the more accuracy varies. Hopefully I can line it out tomorrow.

The last two days have been more gear. ICTV- Kevlar vest (30ish lbs), assault pack, FLK pack and usual ALU, helmet and weapon. We wear it to the range, strip it, then back on after the shake down. Worst part of the day is running the same hill that we ran day one for the shark attack. ¼ mile hill in full gear still sucks. The DS still find a reason to put us in resting position to do pushups. Pretty tough I won’t lie.

Today’s targets would fall down for about a second before returning to the upright position. That was pretty neat.

Big thank you to my Mom. She gave me a James Avery religious necklace shield with a cross and it says on the back “fear not for I am with you.”  I left it at home because I didn’t know I could wear it. When I found out I could I asked her to mail it. Somehow the necklace went missing from the priority box she sent it in. without telling me she ordered me a new one and mailed it directly from the store/ website and I received it today. Keeps a little part of home on me.

Easy day tomorrow. Electronic Shooting Range working on pop up targets. Another week almost gone. Will be home before I know it.

Yay

11/6/2014 "Country Boy Shooting"

\

Today I finally get to fire my weapon. Well kind of. I woke up 30 minutes early again at 0345. went to wake up my workout buddies but this morning, everyone was too out of it to wake up so I got in 7 pushups, showered, then kicked the lights on to start everyone else’s day. Morning workout was CD1 and CD2- different exercises, then on the track. We did 2 minutes of max pushups for climbing drills. Had a great breakfast then on to the range.

The range was a cool setup. We were shooting at 175 yards. Each shooting block had a sensor at the end. This senses when the round is fired. The target has a sensor at it with 4 microphones. This allows the target to show where it was hit. Each shooting bay had an iPad linked to it. The iPad showed the target and where each shot hit. Each shooter had a clip with 5 rounds. To qualify and get 4 out of 5 in the center mass. 2 clips consecutive to qualify and get a go. The target told us how to adjust our sight based on the shot group. I didn’t get to shoot or zero my rifle yesterday, so I went first. First clip hit the target but was off as expected since it hadn’t been sighted in yet. I corrected the sight; next clip- 4 of 5 center mass with one barely off. Next clip- 5 of 5. sweet, the weapon shoots well and I was getting the hang of it. Then the DS “There you go country boy, didn’t even fire yesterday and you qualify in 15 shot- damn natural.” I was pretty proud until he said that was all I got to shoot. On to the next guy. Two whole freaking days and I only shot 15 rounds. GRRRRRR! About 70% of the guys didn’t get a go. That amazed me.

Also a truck from the PX came again. We were allowed 2 Powerades and a clifbar. Huge treat. I got a white cherry powerade and pumpkin spice clifbar. Yummy, yummy delish.

I’m out on CQ desk duty at the moment, but my shift is about to end, so bed soon.

Oh I got promoted from team leader (over about 8 guys) to squad leader (over about 16 guys) so that’s good and bad. Harsher punishment if my squad screws up and more responsibility. We shall see how it goes.

This week is flying. Saweet!!!!

11/5/2014 "Non Shooting- Rifle Range"

Today was our first trip to the rifle range to zero in our M-16’s. I woke up at 0400 early again. 75 decline pushups and a shower. Then out to do the track for PT. warm-up drills, hip stability drills, multiple sets of pushups and bent leg raises. Then a 40 meter high knee, lateral squat step. Shuttle run, extended 300 meter shuttle sprint. Then 60-120’s (sprint 60 seconds walk 120 seconds). Pretty busy morning. After chow we took off to the range. Right away I found my rear sight was broken so I had to wait for the Weapon repair truck to come around lunch time. Finally 2 hours after lunch he shows up and switches out the piece. I stand in line for another two hours and …NOTHING. Time is up. I didn’t even get to shoot. DANNNNGIT!!!! Luckily being sorta a country boy that grew up shooting I won’t need the added range time. Some of these guys; actually quite a few; have never handled a weapon before.

Range highlights J J J Scored purple skittles and pumpkin spice bread in MRE. Also we have to do shakedowns before leaving the range. Shakedowns = DS fun and revenge time. We cleared all pockets, shotgun our rifle (break it over and hold bolt in the other hand)’ turn head to the left and yell “no brass, no ammo, weapon on safe Drill Sergeant.” when we start yelling this the DS do a power football lineman shove into your chest then do a rough pat down. The soldiers that are usually bad, soft on volume when speaking or just plain look weird; the DS give an extra punch or three to. Guys loosing air, falling down, the one next to me got a rib check and let “Oh Shit” slip. Caught the DS off guard and he laughed but hit him again anyways.

Evening chow when we got back then just started normal cleaning and personal work out time.

We got the peer scores back. We have our PG (Platoon Guide) which is the kid that completed the same basic training last cycle but missed 2 weeks on injury so he has to do it all over again with us. He of course got the most 5 stars because he knows all the drills, tips, helpful hints and so on; but I’ll admit he is a good leader for only being 19. of everyone else; I received the most 5 star ratings. I’m thankful but like previously mentioned, I’ll use this to push harder.

More mail today! Thank you to the Hickey’s for taking time to support and write me- this means a lot.

Another note- today’s dinner creation. Roll with peanut butter4 and honey in it…dipped in banana pudding- It is delish! Yummy, yummy to my tummy!!!

Miss and thinking of everyone…time is starting to fly.

11/3/2014 "March and Bald Again"

I want to start off by giving thanks. I’m not sure if anyone is really reading these, but they help me decompress. We got mail for only the second time since we started and I was really happy receiving some of my own.

Because it is hard to get free time to write everyone individually I just want everyone to know that I really do appreciate the letters. They keep me grounded and help me focus on why I am here.

• Thank you Jessica for the inspirational notes.
• Thank you Amanda for the inspirational notes and drawings from the kids.
• Mrs. Demboske for a flash from the past
• Faith and other family friends…family is everything and notes from family really hit home.
• I also received 3 books; I believe my mom said they were from my Aunt Kathy. I love spending a small part of my free time reading just to get away from everything.

Thank y’all

Now on to today’s events. We started this morning out with a five minute formation. Today was the first of three Ruck Marches. 8ish km or around 5.5 miles by the time we stopped. Today’s ruck was lighter and only about 35-40 lbs maybe. What is funny is that we marched all that way to end up at our training facility for that day that is really only one mile away. The march was not that bad. Saw the sunrise while marching uphill. BUT… we would not get breakfast until after the march and initial training. I was starving. Mostly everyone survived the march. One of our soldiers fell out but he is also one of the ones that may be pressed soon. We got a small taste this morning because our final Ruck March in full gear will be closer to 20 km. breakfast didn’t come until after 0900; but had a bonus. There were leftovers so I was chosen to get in line for this….WINNING. Extra cereal and an egg and bacon sandwich. Thank you.

After chow we had a simulator shooting training. Today starts the first day of Basic Rifle Marksmanship of about a 3.5 week process. Live fire starts tomorrow. Today we had to qualify on grouping. A huge simulated video gun range with real M-16’s that had lasers attached. It was neat. We had to group 8 of 10 shots twice to qualify. I got it in the first try but surprisingly quite a few struggled. For being the video game generation, I thought they would excel.

We get to go to the PX today. The PX is our Wal-Mart but a huge tease for trainee soldiers. We can’t have any candy, food, drinks, milkshakes…etc. pretty sure I cried when I left. We did load back up on laundry soap, envelopes, some extra PT clothes and other items. During this time was another forced haircut day. Once again…forced but we have to pay for it. What a dumb idea that we didn’t support. J

Everyone is back to bald again. That goes perfect with helping to fight the cold weather. Just when everyone was starting to get physical characteristics again to define them, we are knocked back to equals looking dumb and bald.

We arrive back late so went straight to chow. After that we were allotted time to clean our weapons. Everyone bought cleaning kits but the majority did not know how to use them. Being a Texas boy…of course I know about guns and cleaning. I ended up giving a “how to” lesson in a circle of about 7 guys. Next teaching class is tomorrow.

I have started getting a reputation as the morning guy and it is motivating others. I opted to start doing 300 pushups on my own outside of PT and getting smoked so I wake up early. During that time I do 100 pushups and sit-ups, shave, brush my teeth and clean the bay some while waking everyone else up. Nothing new…always have been a morning person back home as well.

Time is limited tonight so it is off to bed time.

Happy Monday!!!!

11/2/2014 "White Phase Sunday"

I will not fear the arrow

“You will not be afraid of..the arrow that flies by day.” Psalms 91:5

Today’s Sunday service was about being a warrior and defining yourself. It reminded me of a passage from Psalms 91 the book I am reading.

You are in a spiritual and life battle zone. Every assignment is directed to your life to defeat you. They are seldom aimed at an area where you built up but at points where you struggle. Believe by faith, overcome, and keep pushing on.

Today is recovery day. With Daylight Savings time change and Sunday wake-up not until 0545; plenty of sleep was had. I woke up for 0200 fireguard; mopped the bay; went back to sleep and woke up at 0500. Decided to get up and do 100 push-ups and sit-ups. Took a shower, then turned the lights on and woke everyone up. Now we form up as a platoon, but we can march to chow without a DS so it’s more relaxing. Chow is a little longer as well. Until evening chow is free time so we are squaring away our lockers, cleaning weapons, and writing the “Soldier’s Creed” 50 times because someone screwed up. Because I am a team leader I will walk around to make sure my team is on point and everyone’s ruck sacks are packed tonight for tomorrow’s 8K march. The weather is still chilly but feels much better.

Even though I am settling into the schedule and life here... I am ready for the next month to blow by. Looking forward to home and checking in with my civilian job. I hate not keeping up with what’s going on there and the thought that I may be falling behind.

Anyways- Sunday’s are great here and back home so hoping everyone is taking advantage of the day. Another day in paradise. J

11/1/2014 "Gas Chamber"

Today was CS Gas Chamber day, definitely an experience. It was somewhere around freezing temperatures when we had morning PT at 0500. Did I mention I hate the cold? Our transit to the field was scheduled for the same time as chow. So we had 4 minutes to eat, meaning no muffin for me today. We then took off to the field. We started off doing “Gas” raid drills for 2 hours and making sure the masks were sealed. We then filed into a cinderblock building about 35 at a time. Mine instantly let me know I had a small leak. It was bearable, like cutting up multiple onions at a time. About 5 DS were in the room with us making sure no one ran out. Then we had to break the seal or about 30 seconds, put it back on and clear the inside. I was still calm but the burning sensation started in my throat. My spot in line was right by the door so I thought I was golden…WRONG! The “Right face” command was given which means I was last now. They had us take our masks off, put them in the case, put on our helmets and buckle them, and wait it out for about two minutes. One guy tried making a run for it and one of the DS pinned him against the wall. Guys were spitting up, choking, coughing and dropping down all over. 60 seconds the stinging was strong, breathing was tough, nose and eyes running, but I was still calm and OK. Then it built up and I couldn’t clear my throat…it stacked up and I could barely gasp air, freshly shaved face burned like crazy. Then they opened the door and we filed out one by one…the fresh air was amazing. We had to flap like a bird walking in circles. Anyone who dumped equipment, overly freaked out, didn’t seal their gas mask bags; had to do it again. We had one go 3 times in a row for dropping his mask the first time and his weapon the second. Overall it taught us to trust our equipment and how to react in a chemical situation.

The rest of the day was rifle skill lessons. We phased to White phase so we get an hour call. That was nice. Our Senior DS chose a Platoon leader and Squad leaders. The Squad leaders chose team leaders and I was chosen as one. There was a mix up in our phone time so half the guys did not have their phones put up in time. Because of that, those guys get phone time cut in half next week, BUT all the leaders got our time cut to 15 minutes. We were just given the roles 10 minutes before phone time and already got the blame for “our” guys abusing phone privileges. That mistake won’t happen again.

Tomorrow is Sunday service. White phase means we can walk ourselves instead of a DS marching us. Chow should get a little longer (to 12-15 minutes) and no restricted shower time. It’s the little things that matter now days.

Long sleep tonight if no one screws up fireguard. Daylight savings time and Sunday sleep in until 0515 is the way to go.

Love y'all.

10/29/2014 "Uniform Day"

I forgot to mention the awesome sleep schedule/guard watch we had to do two nights ago. One of the soldiers fell asleep during his watch. Sad this was; it was the first shift 2100. A little before 2200 the DS got the whole company up and in formation. We got a taste of 30-30. In other words; everyone files out into platoon formation and stands for 30 minutes; then we get off for 30 minutes; but the catch is, we have to be in formation 15 minutes early. This means 45 minutes in formation 15 minutes off. So basically this equals to no sleep. We did two cycles of this and was warned it would go the rest of the night with one more mess up.

Today we got up early and headed back to the reception. We get to stand in assembly lines and get fitted for ACU- formal blues, piece by piece. We ate breakfast behind the building, because of extras; everyone under 176 lbs. got a second helping. Sweet deal. Just fitted for dress shoes. Got tie, belt and two undershirts so far. Beret and dress shirt next. Check in later.

I hate dress formal. They expect you to wear your pants at the “waist”, above the belly button. Uncomfortable and we aren’t 50 years old. (Note from James’ blog updater- he is not one of these guys that wears his pants low slung, his are always on his hips). Like always it took awhile to fit me in pants and coat. Small neck, wider shoulders, small waist; gave those ladies issues. Scored on my lunch MRE. Chili and macaroni, always has pudding and candy. Got Skittles and vanilla pudding.

We have one kid on the verge of quitting and/or getting chaptered out. He has told them he wants to and has even signed the papers, but they are holding on to them now. He always asks me to be his Battle Buddy, when he forgets something and I say yes to help him out. Problem is, because he is on the bubble, the DS always makes him do something punishment wise; meaning I have to do it too. I had to help right dress right an entire classroom’s desks today; about 300 desks. He has the worst fitness scores as well; so it’s only a matter of time. I feel sorry, but some just lack motivation and the “want” to try and be here.

It started raining while we were outside waiting on the rest of the company to get fitted. After a brief smoke session, we came into the classroom. Should be heading back soon to finally get our physical fitness workout in. everyone is on edge. We have our first FTX- Field Training tomorrow. 6 mile ruck march, field training exercises and staying the night; probably means little sleep. If we do well, we will earn the right to transition into White phase. Sunday phone privileges, shower in our free time without being timed, picking our own food at chow, and not needing DS escort to places like church and such. So you can say it is a big deal.

We rushed to the street to get the transit buses and did the army style and waited an hour and a half. This made us miss chow. They bring it to us when this happens. Same food just smaller portions and I don’t get my blueberry muffin with honey. L Pack for our FTX march tomorrow. Going to be a long day.

Night

10/30-31/2014 "FTX & Brotherhood"



1518 after leaving yesterday morning we finally made it back to the Company CTA. All the guys agree that it is good to be “home.” After 3 weeks it is as close to home as it gets.

Let me start with 10/30- our day started out at 0330. Out for PT and climbing drills. Climbing in on the pull-up bars. 5 hanging shrugs, 5 kick-ups (lift and hook ankles over bar), 5 pull-ups, 5 knee lift pull-ups and 5 alternating grip pull-ups. Then we had a big breakfast chow, packed our rucksack (2 sleeping bags, toiletry items, poncho, biffie (waterproof blanket the bags tuck into), mat, Flik (canteen, magazine holder, med bag), and a few other assorted items. We marched out and transported into the woods. There was a big field at the campsite. We are now at the stage we are learning the skills we will need to be a solider. The last couple of weeks were basic life and discipline. All day we learned field combat formations. Column, fire squad wedge, line and movements. The basics at the moment with 2-4 man squads moving together; 2 team leaders and a squad leader. The majority of the time I was chosen as a leader; which I appreciate, but also I am glad I’m coming into my own.

As dusk approached we got into security formation for sleeping time. All 200 warriors spread across the entire perimeter in 2 man groups, 5-10 meters apart. We would pull 50/50 watch; one team sleeps an hour and switch. If anyone approached they would have to know the correct phrase. If any of our gear got stolen then we would be punished. It was freezing outside. Doubled up on socks, long underwear, beanie, 2 sleeping bags and still cold. Since most of the men didn’t get out of the warmth, they fell back to sleep. The sky was gorgeous and we hear coyotes all night long. I made the perimeter sweep at 0100 and realized I was the only one in my platoon left awake. I gave in, tucked my weapon in my sleeping bag, secured all my gear and called it a night.

The DS left us alone this time. The next two, they bring guns out to test us all night so we will need to tighten up and stay awake.

10/31- HAPPY HALLOWEEN. They brought us a hot breakfast. Every platoon rotates weekly on serving food. Platoon 1 has been shorting us to give them larger servings and it is not sitting well with everyone. Those guys will be shorted the next 3 weeks.

Today we ran indirect fire drills and took the wedge through a wooded walk to practice taking better cover. We had MRE lunches and took off back home. I now help hand out the MRE’s and am able to pick mine. The chili and mac is a winner for candy and pudding. The rest of the evening after chow will be cleaning and prepping for tomorrow. The Gas Chamber is going to be interesting. Excitement, anxious, and scared emotions are running through the guys. This should be fun.

Brotherhood after three weeks. You are seeing bonds starting to form. MRE meal time is now a big sharing session, where before no one would even consider that. Everyone is lending a hand, helping when someone needs it, being supportive and opening up. Roles are starting to establish. Leaders, mentors, kids, followers, support roles, etc. this strengthens the team. A few are still going to be chaptered out for one reason or another over the next couple of weeks, but it is for the best.

We get a phone call SUNDAY!!!! Excited to talk to the outside world.

Good night.

10/28/2014 "A Good Day- Talk with the Sarge"

I’ll start with a funny story which proves I am doing good. Everyone tells you when you go into Basic Training that you want to blend in. Work hard, don’t screw up, keep your head down, and don’t volunteer. Although my physical fitness tests puts me at the top, that doesn’t make me stand out. I make mistakes and get smoked for it, but not bad enough for the Drill Sergeants to remember me by. Out cool DS has staff duty tonight which means he answers the main company phone in the office. Also 4 of us rotate every hour to help him. I was walking in to do the shift change when the sergeant started laughing and pointed at me and said “That’s him.” I thought I screwed up. He was telling the guys before us that there were about two of us that he still didn’t know. Never sees us do anything wrong or cause a reason to stick out. Even to the point that he forgets we are part of the platoon. I laughed and told him I was the point. For my staff shift I started sweeping and he stopped me, told me the next crew could handle it and just wanted to talk, but now I can’t slide by anymore.

Now back to today. This morning Senior DS walked in at 0400 with yesterday’s fitness test scores. As a platoon we did horrible. Only 22 of the 57 soldiers in my platoon passed the test. I ended up as #2 with the scores I wrote about yesterday. Sarge doesn’t think I should have an issue hitting a perfect score. We talked about how to help the others improve but our training schedule is so packed that it is tough to put more time aside for fitness improvement.

Today we took the transit to a different part of Fort Benning. This is a pretty big training base. Today was all about IED’s. Improvised Explosive Devices cause the most damage to the troops. It was an eye opener. There are so many different forms, kinds, uses and ways to hide them. The damage they can cause is devastating and because they have been in constant war, the enemy is only evolving. Pretty scary stuff. We had a training village with different IED’s set up that we had to patrol and try to spot the different setups. Self awareness and almost being to the point of paranoid is a huge defense for us. Sure we have signal jammers and radar equipment to aid the soldiers but with the evolving devices…human awareness is the key to keeping everyone alive and safe.

Tomorrow we are getting fitted for our ASU or dress uniforms, so should be a long boring day.

Thinking about everyone at home. J

My updated picture. at least my hair grew some.

10/27/2014 "PT #1"

“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you

Implement that effort into your life; every single day,

That’s where transformation happens. That’s how

Change occurs. Keep going. Remember why you started.”

0300 wake up- clean and mop showers, get ready for first full PT test, 2-2-2. I know I can’t reach my perfect score goal yet, but it’s a good starting point. I am going to pace my battle buddy McPherson at a 14:00 2 mile. Chilly outside but not too bad.

Ended with 58 push-ups and 62 sit-ups. 80% of goal. I lost about 5 for each due to form, not mad about those. I have 6 weeks to build up endurance for 20 more reps for each. My battle buddy ran the 2 mile with me. His personal record so far is 15:00 minutes. We rounded the first mile at 6:30, good pace but slightly fast for a 14:00 minute goal. At ½ mile to go he was holding strong so we sped up. At ¼ mile left and exactly 12:00 in I told him to gut up and I took off. We could see the big clock timer as a goal. We ran on a road one mile down one mile back. I finished at 13:16 which was enough for max points. My buddy got a 13:31 which beat his PR by a minute and a half.

Next we ate chow in our CTA (central training area) and dressed. Loaded up our flick pack, assault pack, hydration pack, and weapon and took off. Today was the team building course. 6 different obstacles, 18 person teams. Mostly giant puzzles, walking across poles, crossing cables using boards and various equipment. Always too little equipment but the team had to come together. It was hot but a lot of fun.

Another semi-fail: my MRE chicken Penne pasta, my sweet was chocolate pudding. BUT…I can tell I’m starting to get in good with the guys because they are sharing dessert with me. I got about 12 skittles, a tootsie roll, seven peanut M&M’s and a chocolate piece. WINNING!!!!!! I was pulled to the side and told they wanted me to start becoming a voice and more of a leader. To this point I help out the guys, do my stuff, clean when everyone isn’t and take control when but not as the point. (Good news as well but I’ll work on that in the near future)

We had to do a heat dump when we got back. This means, we are dirty so we have to take a quick shower before getting back to work.

***Note- I scored 258-300and the top guy in my group scored 274. Maxed 2 mile and push-up but struggled with the sit-ups. In the top so planning on getting better. PT #2 is in a couple of weeks. Goal of 275 the 300 on the last one.

It’s now cleaning time and 30 minutes of free time. We just finished Basic Rifle intro in the classroom. I am all around beat. Tired physically and mentality worn out.

Happy Monday. Start of week 3 of Basic.