Friday, December 23, 2011
Victory Block Leave
I remember, sort of, what happened the Thursday before leave started. We did PT in the morning, and then we did "Bay Maintenance". They had been threatening us since Wednesday night with an inspection by the Battalion commander, and said that if the sleeping bays weren't clean then NO ONE was going to get their block leave. At this point, no one believed them, because they keep saying things and threatening us with things, and never following through. And, I'm pretty sure they didn't want anyone staying there over Christmas who didn't absolutely HAVE to. In between cleaning and chow, our DS briefed us on the expectations for us over these 2 weeks, and we signed a contract basically stating that we would continue with PT, so that we could all pass a PT test upon our return. Bedtime as at 2045, as usual. We woke up at 0330 on Friday so that we could conduct more bay maintenance. The commander was coming to inspect, after all! At about 0550, we met on the CTA, saluted the flag and had chow. MREs for breakfast is really not what you're hoping for, but my Spaghetti and meat sauce meal came with Cheez-its and Skittles, which I saved for later. I might have eaten them, if the DS hadn't come down to inform the females that the latrine smelled like urine and we had 10 minutes to be upstairs to fix the situation. The commander, was after all, coming to inspect. So, 33 females run upstairs to do the job of 3 or 4 people, so most of us just stood around. POVs (people leaving by private vehicle) were to form up at 0730, and it was about 0715 when DS told us to get out. Goodbyes started, and people wanted to give hugs and have emotional goodbye scenes, but I just wanted to get the hell out! I flashed a peace sign and ran my ass to the CTA. Of course, there was more waiting involved. We lined up alphabetically, got our DA31 (leave form) then we marched to the Battalion classroom where we had to wait in a line for outprocessing. There was already a long line of families waiting to pick people up and it as only 0800. The captain had said we might get released at 0900, but the way things work around Ft. Jackson, we all knew it would be closer to 1000. So, we enter the classroom, they check names off a list and give us ANOTHER copy of our leave form and scan our ID. Then they search our bags. Why? Not even the DS doing the searches knew, since in the words of one of them "POV can take whatever the fuck they want home" Stupid. Accordingly, the search consisted of people dumping out their bag then putting it all back in. Stupid. Then we got to sit there and wait. And wait. And wait some more. At one point, they told us to hand in our ID again so that it could be re-scanned. THEN they told us that they were missing one ID card and that NO ONE was going to be able to leave until that ONE person handed in his/her card. Stupid. Everyone sat there because everyone knew that they had handed in their ID. So we waited some more while the sergeants threatened. I had a great idea that they could have everyone stand up, then call all the names off the cards they had, and when you heard your name you would sit down. That seemed like a very easy way to figure out whose card was missing. But no one in any position to make decisions thought of that, so we waited. It was about 0945 when they started lining people up according to whose family was first in line. They would line 10-12 people up, then send them out the door, then do that whole process over again. I had been texting MB, and knew that she was very far back in line, so I was patient once people actually started leaving. Oh, and the whole ID card finasco? They had counted wrong. No one was surprised by this. So now, after pussy-footing around for an hour and a half or so, NOW they decided to rush us and make us hurry. This is how things usually work...the people in charge fuck around for awhile, and when they decide it's time to act, YOU get yelled at for being slow. It's truly messed up and forever frustrating. Oh, well. So, they kept calling names, and I kept sitting there, and then MB texted me and said someone had just come to take her name, so I knew I would be getting out soon! And sure enough, I was in the very next list of names. There are probably not words enough in the English language to express how excited I was to just be in her car, see her and know that I was leaving Ft. Jackson. We lined up dutifully and filed outside where there were a couple of officers assigning people to the right line. They had instructed us NOT to have prolonged hugging or hellos, but simply to drive away. THANK GOD MB ended up being the first car in the line. I said a quick goodbye to my platoon-mate behind me, jumped in the car and told her to drive fast and drive far! She did, thank goodness, and we made a beeline for IHOP, because she really wanted Gingerbread Hot Chocolate and I was dying for real food and COFFEE. I think I was a little bit hysterical to see her, I had been pretty homesick for a couple of weeks. We got to IHOP where I promptly changed out of the ACUs into JEANS and sandals that my mom had so thoughtfully sent for me. It was an amazing feeling to be wearing my jeans and a real bra...after 9 weeks of sports bras, it's a whole new world when you put on a real bra. It's the little things, people, don't take them for granted! I think I had 4 or 5 cups of coffee and pumpkin praline pancakes which were amazing. On the way home I had some Reeses Pieces, diet soda and we stopped at WalMart where I bought some fleecy pajama pants and slippers, 2 things I had been dreaming about for weeks. Since I have been here, I have spent 85% of my time wearing them. It is everything I had hoped it would be. :) I posted this on facebook, but the cliches are true...family and friends are the most important things in life, and I am blessed to have an amazing family and truly awesome friends. You also really don't know what you have til it's gone, so appreciate everything. As I type that, I realize that I was not imprisoned, or hospitalized or in any way being held captive. I did, in fact, sign up. There is something about being cut off from the world as you know it and being totally isolated in this creepy world that is sort of created out of nothing in 9 weeks and that world becomes your reality, there is something about it that makes you feel like you're not a part of anyone's world anymore, that people must have forgotten about you, and that you are never going to be part of the real outside world again. It was a relief to rejoin the world and to be reminded that people didn't forget, and that I will be a part of the real world again. Thank you to everyone for your support and love and letters and prayers. I really couldn't have done it without you. Special thanks to my amazing sister, Marybeth and my mom. You are truly the best. I love you. Watch this space for tales of Monterey! I'm gonna kick some Korean ass!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The final days...and EXODUS...and my ass!
So, as I was typing the letters into this blog, I was struck by 3 things. 1. My letters to my sister were incredibly boring, and I should apologize to her for that. 2. I was so, incredibly ready to come home at the week 5 1/2 mark, it's a miracle I didn't harm myself. 3. I really enjoy using the word HEH.
Anyway, what was left of Basic Combat training was a 10 mile foot march and a 4 day Field Training Exercise, oh and we had another PT test. It was really starting to wind down by the end of November/beginning of December. Here are some highlights.
December 6th: PT test My best showing yet, as it should be. I did 18 push ups, 47 sit ups and ran 2 miles in 16:13! I was very excited about that. I've almost quadrupled the number of pushups I can do, and have taken 4 minutes off my 2 mile. We have 1 more PT test scheduled, for right after Christmas exodus, so hopefully I can balance enjoying the holidays with working out so I improve some more.
Our 10 mile march was supposed to be attached to our FTX, so like, we would put all our gear in our assault pack, march 10 miles to the training site...so as to give us a feeling of accomplishment and purpose. But, being Ft. Jackson, we did our 10 mile march on Thursday, 2 days before our FTX was scheduled to begin. So, we all got out of bed at 0230 on Thursday morning, went down to formation at 0330, and the march began at 0408. I remember exactly because I looked at my watch because I wanted to know how long it was going to take us to march 10 miles.
1SGT had said that we could put our gloves on when we started moving, which didn't make sense to me then, and it still doesn't really, but all I know is, it was effin' COLD, and holding on to that rifle made my hands even colder. So, yeah, I put the gloves on. Another thought I remember having the whole time we were marching in the pitch dark, through the woods is that it seems awfully stupid to have people march in the PITCH DARK, ON DIRT ROADS this close to graduation, because God forbid, someone falls and injures themselves and then they can't complete the FTX, and they don't freakin' graduate. The system is flawed. As you can imagine, we walked for a good long time...I was OK with this, because there is no talking allowed during a foot march, so I got 10 miles of relative solitude. Foot/road marching is not a problem for me, because literally all you have to do is walk. I've been doing that for 30 something years. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable with the 30 pound pack, and the rifle, but seriously, it's walking... Anyway, my friend, Higgins had asked me to stick close to her. She had rolled her ankle at some point, and thought she might need motivation. Very early on, I could see she was struggling. I was right behind her, and all rules of the road dictated that I should have passed her, but I had promised her I would stick with her. Neither of us was in danger of falling out, so I just plodded along, ever so slowly behind her. After we had been walking for almost an hour, Higgins just goes down, letting out this horrible scream on the way. Another rule of road marching is, at least in BCT, that no matter what happens, you KEEP WALKING. This goes against everything else the Army instills in you about never leaving a fallen comrade, etc, etc, but so it goes. I dutifully keep marching, and about 5 minutes later we arrive at our first "long halt". While we have some water and pull security, I ask the drill sergeant if she's ok. He assures me she's fine, and is just a drama queen, and has been placed at the extreme front of the formation. Good, now I don't have any pressure to stick with her...my road march can continue unhindered. We keep on walking, on roads, through the woods, uphill, downhill, taking another shorter break. Then we arrive at a parking lot, where we are told to change our socks, eat an apple and pee in the woods if we have to. This is the half way point. After about 10 minutes, we head back the way we came. Truly bizarre. It is on the way back that I end up having a conversation with one of the DS. It happens to be one of the only DS I respect. He's like 25, but I sincerely think that he is trying to make each of us a better soldier. He was walking with our platoon that day, since, (not at all) shockingly, none of our DS were there. He comes up next to me and says "You gonna make it Haas?" I was kind of surprised, because I wasn't struggling at all, so I just replied "Yes, DS!" Then he asked me why I joined the Army. I giggled a little and said it was kind of a long story. He went off to check on some other people. About 10 minutes later, he came up next to me again and just said "Well, I've got some time...what's your story?" So, I told him a very short version, and we ended up talking about Germany, where he had been stationed. The whole thing struck me odd mainly because they have spent almost 8 weeks telling us that they don't have conversations with privates. Maybe it's just because the end is so near. At any rate...we got back "home" right around 0900. We had breakfast and everyone was congratulating each other, which I didn't really get, because really? Walking. We walked. Yay. Oh, well, another graduation requirement checked off. Later that day we walked to the PX and I bought some cough drops. Higgins was fine, but the DS told her she had to go to sick call on Friday to get her ankle checked out. She asked if I would come with her. She asked me because you need a battle buddy to go anywhere, and she knew I had the thing on my ass.
In the previous post, I mentioned the "ant bite" on my arm. Well, my friend Drummond was amazing, and kept squeezing it, getting all the pus out. So, that problem was solved. Round about 4 December or so, I had noticed a red bump on my ass. I thought it was a pimple. It kept getting redder and harder and more painful, so I began to think it was the same thing I had had on my arm. The only problem was I couldn't squeeze it, and Drummond was not so willing to squeeze my ass. By the day of the road march, it hurt to sit down, to do situps and to sleep on my left side. Not good. So, when Higgins asked me to battle her to sick call, I took the opportunity. The DS had already told us we weren't doing anything on Friday. So, I got to the TMC (Troop Medical Center) where a lovely older woman wearing reindeer ears took my vitals. Then the doctor came in to speak with me. First of all, he only had 3 fingers on his left hand, ew. ANYWAY...I told him what the deal was, he took a look and tells me it's an abscess. A bacteria filled abscess, ON MY ASS. THEN he proceeds to tell me that they're going to have to slice it, drain it, and pack it. AND that I will have to come back to the TMC DAILY to have the dressing redone. Knowing that we're leaving for the field the next day, I try to reason with the man, that maybe I can just wait until we're back to take care of it...it doesn't hurt that bad...this earns me a lecture delivered in a raised voice about how I'm absolutely NOT waiting, this is happening TODAY, blood infection, MRSA, flesh-eating bacteria. OK, so I guess we're doing this today, lol. Brian, a really nice guy with lots of tatoos, numbs my up and slices it open, then packs it with whatever. I'm good to go, back to the bay by 10am where everyone is packing for Victory Forge!! Woo-hoo!
I talk to my DS about the situation, about having to go to TMC every day, because I'm afraid it'll cause me to miss training or something horrible, but she is really nice about it and says she will also see to it that I get a shower every day and how I have to take care of me. So, that was nice. Packing is fine, we bring all the same shit we always do. We leave on a bus for our 4 day FTX. We get there, set up the tents, eat chow, unload everyone's duffel bags and do a pretend mission where my team fails miserably to achieve the objective and so we have to listen to DS Watson talk for a LONG TIME..then I get go to the TMC, something that has been "in the works" for no fewer than 5 hours. So, I bring Higgins with me, the wound gets redressed, we go back to the barracks for a shower, then wait 3 hours until the freaking COMPANY COMMANDER drives us back to the site...awkward. We get there, it's like 2030, we eat hurriedly in the CQ tent, then go to bed. I don't even remember what the hell we did on Sunday...oh, I think it was the round robin training. Land Navigation - total win, US weapons - epic fail, Radio Communication - sort of OK. The plus side was that 3rd squad bonded, and worked together for all the tasks, so we felt good about that. Ask me what the "monkey fucker" is. It was about half way through when we realized that none of the activities we were doing actually counted, and no one was keeping track, so that's when it started to be fun. I had made the decision NOT to go back to the TMC on Sunday, but instead to wait and go on Monday. So, Monday we did STX (Situational Training Exercise) Basically we practiced Battle Drill 1A like 3 times in various different locations. That we had to navigate to. Except for whenever the navigator would point us in the wrong direction, the DS would tell us which way to go. Yay for learning!! Anyway, Battle Drill 1A is basically movement to contact, then engaging the enemy. 3 times. Wandering around the woods! It took like 4 hours. Then we ate again. I never made it to the TMC, so now I'm paranoid about a blood infection and this dressing in my ass. So, Higgins takes off the Band-Aid and this other girl, Plummer, assures me the dressing has come out too, so I have nothing to worry about and they apply another BandAid to my abscess. Such good friends. Tuesday, I am instructed to go to sick call, which entails a lengthy van ride to the TMC, waiting around, but the PA fixes up my ass and tells me I do not need to come back, the antibiotics must have done their job. So, I go back to the Battalion and sit there. MY DS walks in and tells me to go to the bay and take a shower...I do, then return and sit there some more until some other company shows up to take us all back. Promptly upon my return, the 1 DS who hates me more than any of the others sees me, tells me to turn around and is all like "Let me guess, you went back to the bay and took a shower" HEH. All I say is, DS Crandall told me to take a shower, DS. and she left me alone. Seriously, she hates me. Not sure why. So, it's Tuesday afternoon, and we have been informed that we're spending another night out in the field. Literally nothing exciting happens between Tuesday afternoon and the time we leave...nothing.
We depart Victory Forge Wednesday afternoon and get back just in time for dinner. I don't remember what we did on Thursday beyond PT, because my mind was so focused on FRIDAY! The day I left. I will have a whole separate post about that, because it was the most amazing day ever. I will write that tomorrow.
Anyway, what was left of Basic Combat training was a 10 mile foot march and a 4 day Field Training Exercise, oh and we had another PT test. It was really starting to wind down by the end of November/beginning of December. Here are some highlights.
December 6th: PT test My best showing yet, as it should be. I did 18 push ups, 47 sit ups and ran 2 miles in 16:13! I was very excited about that. I've almost quadrupled the number of pushups I can do, and have taken 4 minutes off my 2 mile. We have 1 more PT test scheduled, for right after Christmas exodus, so hopefully I can balance enjoying the holidays with working out so I improve some more.
Our 10 mile march was supposed to be attached to our FTX, so like, we would put all our gear in our assault pack, march 10 miles to the training site...so as to give us a feeling of accomplishment and purpose. But, being Ft. Jackson, we did our 10 mile march on Thursday, 2 days before our FTX was scheduled to begin. So, we all got out of bed at 0230 on Thursday morning, went down to formation at 0330, and the march began at 0408. I remember exactly because I looked at my watch because I wanted to know how long it was going to take us to march 10 miles.
1SGT had said that we could put our gloves on when we started moving, which didn't make sense to me then, and it still doesn't really, but all I know is, it was effin' COLD, and holding on to that rifle made my hands even colder. So, yeah, I put the gloves on. Another thought I remember having the whole time we were marching in the pitch dark, through the woods is that it seems awfully stupid to have people march in the PITCH DARK, ON DIRT ROADS this close to graduation, because God forbid, someone falls and injures themselves and then they can't complete the FTX, and they don't freakin' graduate. The system is flawed. As you can imagine, we walked for a good long time...I was OK with this, because there is no talking allowed during a foot march, so I got 10 miles of relative solitude. Foot/road marching is not a problem for me, because literally all you have to do is walk. I've been doing that for 30 something years. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable with the 30 pound pack, and the rifle, but seriously, it's walking... Anyway, my friend, Higgins had asked me to stick close to her. She had rolled her ankle at some point, and thought she might need motivation. Very early on, I could see she was struggling. I was right behind her, and all rules of the road dictated that I should have passed her, but I had promised her I would stick with her. Neither of us was in danger of falling out, so I just plodded along, ever so slowly behind her. After we had been walking for almost an hour, Higgins just goes down, letting out this horrible scream on the way. Another rule of road marching is, at least in BCT, that no matter what happens, you KEEP WALKING. This goes against everything else the Army instills in you about never leaving a fallen comrade, etc, etc, but so it goes. I dutifully keep marching, and about 5 minutes later we arrive at our first "long halt". While we have some water and pull security, I ask the drill sergeant if she's ok. He assures me she's fine, and is just a drama queen, and has been placed at the extreme front of the formation. Good, now I don't have any pressure to stick with her...my road march can continue unhindered. We keep on walking, on roads, through the woods, uphill, downhill, taking another shorter break. Then we arrive at a parking lot, where we are told to change our socks, eat an apple and pee in the woods if we have to. This is the half way point. After about 10 minutes, we head back the way we came. Truly bizarre. It is on the way back that I end up having a conversation with one of the DS. It happens to be one of the only DS I respect. He's like 25, but I sincerely think that he is trying to make each of us a better soldier. He was walking with our platoon that day, since, (not at all) shockingly, none of our DS were there. He comes up next to me and says "You gonna make it Haas?" I was kind of surprised, because I wasn't struggling at all, so I just replied "Yes, DS!" Then he asked me why I joined the Army. I giggled a little and said it was kind of a long story. He went off to check on some other people. About 10 minutes later, he came up next to me again and just said "Well, I've got some time...what's your story?" So, I told him a very short version, and we ended up talking about Germany, where he had been stationed. The whole thing struck me odd mainly because they have spent almost 8 weeks telling us that they don't have conversations with privates. Maybe it's just because the end is so near. At any rate...we got back "home" right around 0900. We had breakfast and everyone was congratulating each other, which I didn't really get, because really? Walking. We walked. Yay. Oh, well, another graduation requirement checked off. Later that day we walked to the PX and I bought some cough drops. Higgins was fine, but the DS told her she had to go to sick call on Friday to get her ankle checked out. She asked if I would come with her. She asked me because you need a battle buddy to go anywhere, and she knew I had the thing on my ass.
In the previous post, I mentioned the "ant bite" on my arm. Well, my friend Drummond was amazing, and kept squeezing it, getting all the pus out. So, that problem was solved. Round about 4 December or so, I had noticed a red bump on my ass. I thought it was a pimple. It kept getting redder and harder and more painful, so I began to think it was the same thing I had had on my arm. The only problem was I couldn't squeeze it, and Drummond was not so willing to squeeze my ass. By the day of the road march, it hurt to sit down, to do situps and to sleep on my left side. Not good. So, when Higgins asked me to battle her to sick call, I took the opportunity. The DS had already told us we weren't doing anything on Friday. So, I got to the TMC (Troop Medical Center) where a lovely older woman wearing reindeer ears took my vitals. Then the doctor came in to speak with me. First of all, he only had 3 fingers on his left hand, ew. ANYWAY...I told him what the deal was, he took a look and tells me it's an abscess. A bacteria filled abscess, ON MY ASS. THEN he proceeds to tell me that they're going to have to slice it, drain it, and pack it. AND that I will have to come back to the TMC DAILY to have the dressing redone. Knowing that we're leaving for the field the next day, I try to reason with the man, that maybe I can just wait until we're back to take care of it...it doesn't hurt that bad...this earns me a lecture delivered in a raised voice about how I'm absolutely NOT waiting, this is happening TODAY, blood infection, MRSA, flesh-eating bacteria. OK, so I guess we're doing this today, lol. Brian, a really nice guy with lots of tatoos, numbs my up and slices it open, then packs it with whatever. I'm good to go, back to the bay by 10am where everyone is packing for Victory Forge!! Woo-hoo!
I talk to my DS about the situation, about having to go to TMC every day, because I'm afraid it'll cause me to miss training or something horrible, but she is really nice about it and says she will also see to it that I get a shower every day and how I have to take care of me. So, that was nice. Packing is fine, we bring all the same shit we always do. We leave on a bus for our 4 day FTX. We get there, set up the tents, eat chow, unload everyone's duffel bags and do a pretend mission where my team fails miserably to achieve the objective and so we have to listen to DS Watson talk for a LONG TIME..then I get go to the TMC, something that has been "in the works" for no fewer than 5 hours. So, I bring Higgins with me, the wound gets redressed, we go back to the barracks for a shower, then wait 3 hours until the freaking COMPANY COMMANDER drives us back to the site...awkward. We get there, it's like 2030, we eat hurriedly in the CQ tent, then go to bed. I don't even remember what the hell we did on Sunday...oh, I think it was the round robin training. Land Navigation - total win, US weapons - epic fail, Radio Communication - sort of OK. The plus side was that 3rd squad bonded, and worked together for all the tasks, so we felt good about that. Ask me what the "monkey fucker" is. It was about half way through when we realized that none of the activities we were doing actually counted, and no one was keeping track, so that's when it started to be fun. I had made the decision NOT to go back to the TMC on Sunday, but instead to wait and go on Monday. So, Monday we did STX (Situational Training Exercise) Basically we practiced Battle Drill 1A like 3 times in various different locations. That we had to navigate to. Except for whenever the navigator would point us in the wrong direction, the DS would tell us which way to go. Yay for learning!! Anyway, Battle Drill 1A is basically movement to contact, then engaging the enemy. 3 times. Wandering around the woods! It took like 4 hours. Then we ate again. I never made it to the TMC, so now I'm paranoid about a blood infection and this dressing in my ass. So, Higgins takes off the Band-Aid and this other girl, Plummer, assures me the dressing has come out too, so I have nothing to worry about and they apply another BandAid to my abscess. Such good friends. Tuesday, I am instructed to go to sick call, which entails a lengthy van ride to the TMC, waiting around, but the PA fixes up my ass and tells me I do not need to come back, the antibiotics must have done their job. So, I go back to the Battalion and sit there. MY DS walks in and tells me to go to the bay and take a shower...I do, then return and sit there some more until some other company shows up to take us all back. Promptly upon my return, the 1 DS who hates me more than any of the others sees me, tells me to turn around and is all like "Let me guess, you went back to the bay and took a shower" HEH. All I say is, DS Crandall told me to take a shower, DS. and she left me alone. Seriously, she hates me. Not sure why. So, it's Tuesday afternoon, and we have been informed that we're spending another night out in the field. Literally nothing exciting happens between Tuesday afternoon and the time we leave...nothing.
We depart Victory Forge Wednesday afternoon and get back just in time for dinner. I don't remember what we did on Thursday beyond PT, because my mind was so focused on FRIDAY! The day I left. I will have a whole separate post about that, because it was the most amazing day ever. I will write that tomorrow.
A recap in letters
What follows is a transcription of the last 4 letters I wrote to MB. I will add notes where they are needed. For the record, I am thoroughly enjoying being on vacation (EXODUS). My goal is to NOT gain 47 pounds! I will add more at the end of this post!
15.Nov -Last night was a total bummer, but it's a LONG STORY that I will tell you later (explanation: the whole platoon was reamed for like 2 hours for having no discipline, and I was personally called out for not having told them all to "shut the fuck up" and the DS was all like, "I've been waiting for you to say something for 5 weeks and I don't think you're EVER going to" I was bummed about it for awhile, but have since come to terms with it, because I know what kind of person and leader I am, and he is not a person I respect anyway.) The long and short of it is that I am now a squad leader. It appears they weren't lying about the PT test. Oh, Lord, let it be over soon. We're doing a confidence course today, rope climbing, wall scaling - could be fun, but it's really hot out and we're in ACUs, which I'm sure you've heard do not keep you warm OR cool when you need it. Stupid. It's almost 10am and I'm still waiting - made up a platoon list with the PG who happens to be sitting next to me - funny - there's this kid in my platoon from Phenix City, AL I did NOT offer him a ride home.
We just finished the confidence course -which was stupid because there are like 25 obstacles but because of ticket sales this morning, we only did 3 of them. I'm starting to believe that this whole cycle of Basic Training is being a little half-assed by the people in charge. (Edited to add: one of the obstacles we did was called FIVE WALLS, which is a series of 5 walls, each getting taller, the goal is for a team of 4 to get over all 5...when I tell you that EVERY female ended up with GIANT black and blue marks on their upper arms from trying to pull herself up a wall, or from someone grabbing her by the upper arm to get her over, I am NOT exaggerating, there was a nightly comparison in the latrine of color and size...they were grotesque. I only wish I had my camera!) So, we were on the bus and a Trace Adkins song came on and I got so excited because it's the first REAL son I've had in my head for like a month. Usually it's cadences, which gets SUPER annoying.
16.Nov Happy Wednesday! Got 2 letters from you yesterday! YAY! 2 things - WTF Michelle Duggar, holy crap they are disturbed AND holy crap Joe Paterno! They would protest him getting fired, losers. WOW. And my friend Muller told me that Andy Rooney died. Sad. The bad day from Monday continues. Remember when I sad low crawling in the dirt sounded like fun? It is not. Our DS flipped shit about us not being motivated, us not wanting to train. As a teacher, I know where he's coming from - a few bad ones spoil it for everyone.
17.Nov Everytime I see Darren I'm going to say "Chief" or "Sir". For a day, anyway, lol. You're whole family is going to say "Scouts Out" soon. So today is Thursday, and we're going to the range AGAIN for reflexive fire. Walking and shooting. I passed the computer simulation, but am always nervous about the real thing. So, because our PT test is after vacation, they're giving us a PT plan, that should be fun for US! LOL But Sonic chili dogs sound amazing and I will be
indulging very soon. CAN'T WAIT. French fries, buffalo wings, you name it, I want to eat it. By the way, S. Carolina sucks. I have an ANT BITE on my arm. GROSS! It's all hard and full of pus. Disgusting. You realize, of course, that this diagnosis is based solely on this girl saying it looks like an ant bite she had. (Edited to add - SO NOT AN ANT BITE, more on this topic later!!) I put a BandAid and Neosporin on it. We'll see what happens. The range was good. It took forever, we only shot 30 rounds each, but it took like 3 hours. Then we had chow. Then they apparently hadn't arranged for a Motor Move back home, so we practiced shooting from behind barriers for 2.5 hours. I did really well at reflexive firing, the CCO or COC or whatever acronym it is for the laser scope thing makes it so much easier and faster. It's literally point and shoot! OOH, DS just said it's CCO - Close Combat something, I wrote it down a few days ago - clearly it meant a lot to me, lol.
It was bothering me, so I looked it up - Close Quarter Combat Optic. Sorry this letter is so random. It's like 1630 and we've been sitting in the classroom for almost an hour doing nothing while people get "counseled". That means they were naughty. 2 of the males changed settings on weapons the night before qualification. They are in MAJOR trouble.
PT TEST RESULTS: push ups 9 (80% increase)
situps 41 (78% increase)
2 mile run 17:33 (2:40 faster)
22.Nov By the time you get this it will probably be December, which means I'm that much closer to being sprung from here! WOO-HOO! Things have gone from 0-60 in like 3 days. I'm PG now, this since yesterday after breakfast. It's a long story about why, but I have a theory about that, but today at lunch I screwed up (nothing major, don't worry) so I'm hoping I get fired. Seriously, it's a lot of stress that I didn't want. THEN we had a shakedown yesterday morning - they were looking for contraband. Damn. The males had food and candy and stuff, this one kid has his Ipod AND there were females in MY platoon with homemade dice. They are currently being either chaptered out or restarted because gambling is bad. It has been quite the topic of conversation for the last 24 hours. Oh, and did I mention that one of them is my battle buddy? Heh. Is it wrong of me to be happy she'll be gone? I can't believe I just wrote that! Got my dress blues today - very tedious process, back to Reception *shudder* Flashbacks of hell. All 37 females have been finished for like an hour, and we are waiting for 104 males to finish. It is already 1500. I don't know what this evening will bring, but I'm pretty sure all the DS are still mad about yesterday because each platoon apparently brought shame upon the company. WHATEVER. Seriously, most of the stress of BCT is the mental anguish and living in constant dread of what might happen next. It's not good for a person. Tomorrow is NIC at night, which, from what I gather involves barbed wire, low crawling and live rounds being shot above my head. Word on the street is, it's the toughest training we have left. Unless you count the 10 mile footmarch on 10. Dec. That will be tons of fun. Apparently it's mandatory to take a break every 5o minutes...hopefully it won't be too cold. Sitting here thinking of you in Disneyworld, and am truly jealous, for some reason today I am feeling really homesick. I'm really tired and trying to take it one day at a time. For laughs, let me describe the trip to Deferred Issue for you.
We took the bus to 120th (Reception Battalion) at about 0700 and had breakfast at the DFAC here, which SUCKS!! Plus we came in right after the FAT CAMP was eating (sorry, Fitness Training Company) and so we got reduced portions of a very limited selection of food. Boo. Then we made it to CIIP which is an acronym I'm still trying to decipher. Clothing Issue something? Not sure. (edited to add -Clothing Initial Issue Point) Shoes come first - they actually gave us like 6 pairs of socks, then we went to try on shiny black shoes. After that, you wear your shiny black shoes with your PT shorts and T shirt to the SHIRT station, where you strip to bra and undies and wait for the ladies there. Just imagine 7 females standing there in bra and undies with shiny black shoes on, holding clipboards. Definitely a sight. The shirt lady also gives you a beret. I have a fat head, lol. Next is fancy jacket - mine feels really tight, but the DS approved it. So now I'm running around in a short sleeve shirt and shiny black shoes. Next you get measured for a skirt, which was uneventful, but the pants were an ordeal because as the ladies were fond of saying to me "We're trying to make your booty look good, but there isn't much there" HEH. So, after all of that, you have to wait for all the alterations, then go parade around ON AN ACTUAL STAGE for all the DS to inspect the fit. Truly bizarre to hear my GIANT muscle man DS ask if the pants were hitting me at the belly button. Strange. As expected, the Army has a system for everything, and it worked pretty well. It just takes forever. Hurry up and wait is not a myth, it's a fact. We were finished around 1600, then waited around til like 1700 for chow. now it's almost 1900 and we well be here til at least 1930. *sigh*
25.Nov It was great talking to you yesterday, now I am feeling encouraged and ready to kick ass for another 3 weeks!
Got fired from being PG today, thank goodness. It was stressing me out. I didn't do anything wrong, the average time on the job is like 3 days. Anyway, it's good just to fall into formation again!
Today is full of first aid. Last week we talked mainly about hemorrhaging and tourniquets. I think today will be about chest wounds. Exciting. Well, I was wrong. We're talking about managing airways. ONE HOUR LATER: we finally got around to open (sucking) chest wounds and got to watch some pretty graphic videos. Yuck. So, it's noon and there is nothing else on the schedule for today. We are done with the first aid program for the day. DS is texting 1SGT to see if we can watch a movie after chow. Heh. "So, what did you do in Basic Training?" Oh, well, I spoke too soon. People are stupid and can't follow simple instructions, so we just spent 1/2 an hour doing various exercises. This is the kind of thing that de-motivates me. What is wrong with personal accountability? It just gets old having to pay for other people's immaturity. *sigh* End of rant. The T-shirt guy just came by and sadly, all of the designs are really ugly. Even our platoon shirt. I really wanted to like something. Oh, well, no souveniers for me. Next on the schedule is a movie. The Shooter I think it's called. Looks pretty good. Turns out there was coffee I could have had yesterday at dinner. LTC authorized us drinking some. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday. I did have pumpkin pie, a BitoHoney a MaryJane and a caramel. Indulgent, right? They took us to the DFAC at like 1600 yesterday. No one was hungry, but we knew we had to eat, b/c breakfast isn't til 0700.
15.Nov -Last night was a total bummer, but it's a LONG STORY that I will tell you later (explanation: the whole platoon was reamed for like 2 hours for having no discipline, and I was personally called out for not having told them all to "shut the fuck up" and the DS was all like, "I've been waiting for you to say something for 5 weeks and I don't think you're EVER going to" I was bummed about it for awhile, but have since come to terms with it, because I know what kind of person and leader I am, and he is not a person I respect anyway.) The long and short of it is that I am now a squad leader. It appears they weren't lying about the PT test. Oh, Lord, let it be over soon. We're doing a confidence course today, rope climbing, wall scaling - could be fun, but it's really hot out and we're in ACUs, which I'm sure you've heard do not keep you warm OR cool when you need it. Stupid. It's almost 10am and I'm still waiting - made up a platoon list with the PG who happens to be sitting next to me - funny - there's this kid in my platoon from Phenix City, AL I did NOT offer him a ride home.
We just finished the confidence course -which was stupid because there are like 25 obstacles but because of ticket sales this morning, we only did 3 of them. I'm starting to believe that this whole cycle of Basic Training is being a little half-assed by the people in charge. (Edited to add: one of the obstacles we did was called FIVE WALLS, which is a series of 5 walls, each getting taller, the goal is for a team of 4 to get over all 5...when I tell you that EVERY female ended up with GIANT black and blue marks on their upper arms from trying to pull herself up a wall, or from someone grabbing her by the upper arm to get her over, I am NOT exaggerating, there was a nightly comparison in the latrine of color and size...they were grotesque. I only wish I had my camera!) So, we were on the bus and a Trace Adkins song came on and I got so excited because it's the first REAL son I've had in my head for like a month. Usually it's cadences, which gets SUPER annoying.
16.Nov Happy Wednesday! Got 2 letters from you yesterday! YAY! 2 things - WTF Michelle Duggar, holy crap they are disturbed AND holy crap Joe Paterno! They would protest him getting fired, losers. WOW. And my friend Muller told me that Andy Rooney died. Sad. The bad day from Monday continues. Remember when I sad low crawling in the dirt sounded like fun? It is not. Our DS flipped shit about us not being motivated, us not wanting to train. As a teacher, I know where he's coming from - a few bad ones spoil it for everyone.
17.Nov Everytime I see Darren I'm going to say "Chief" or "Sir". For a day, anyway, lol. You're whole family is going to say "Scouts Out" soon. So today is Thursday, and we're going to the range AGAIN for reflexive fire. Walking and shooting. I passed the computer simulation, but am always nervous about the real thing. So, because our PT test is after vacation, they're giving us a PT plan, that should be fun for US! LOL But Sonic chili dogs sound amazing and I will be
indulging very soon. CAN'T WAIT. French fries, buffalo wings, you name it, I want to eat it. By the way, S. Carolina sucks. I have an ANT BITE on my arm. GROSS! It's all hard and full of pus. Disgusting. You realize, of course, that this diagnosis is based solely on this girl saying it looks like an ant bite she had. (Edited to add - SO NOT AN ANT BITE, more on this topic later!!) I put a BandAid and Neosporin on it. We'll see what happens. The range was good. It took forever, we only shot 30 rounds each, but it took like 3 hours. Then we had chow. Then they apparently hadn't arranged for a Motor Move back home, so we practiced shooting from behind barriers for 2.5 hours. I did really well at reflexive firing, the CCO or COC or whatever acronym it is for the laser scope thing makes it so much easier and faster. It's literally point and shoot! OOH, DS just said it's CCO - Close Combat something, I wrote it down a few days ago - clearly it meant a lot to me, lol.
It was bothering me, so I looked it up - Close Quarter Combat Optic. Sorry this letter is so random. It's like 1630 and we've been sitting in the classroom for almost an hour doing nothing while people get "counseled". That means they were naughty. 2 of the males changed settings on weapons the night before qualification. They are in MAJOR trouble.
PT TEST RESULTS: push ups 9 (80% increase)
situps 41 (78% increase)
2 mile run 17:33 (2:40 faster)
22.Nov By the time you get this it will probably be December, which means I'm that much closer to being sprung from here! WOO-HOO! Things have gone from 0-60 in like 3 days. I'm PG now, this since yesterday after breakfast. It's a long story about why, but I have a theory about that, but today at lunch I screwed up (nothing major, don't worry) so I'm hoping I get fired. Seriously, it's a lot of stress that I didn't want. THEN we had a shakedown yesterday morning - they were looking for contraband. Damn. The males had food and candy and stuff, this one kid has his Ipod AND there were females in MY platoon with homemade dice. They are currently being either chaptered out or restarted because gambling is bad. It has been quite the topic of conversation for the last 24 hours. Oh, and did I mention that one of them is my battle buddy? Heh. Is it wrong of me to be happy she'll be gone? I can't believe I just wrote that! Got my dress blues today - very tedious process, back to Reception *shudder* Flashbacks of hell. All 37 females have been finished for like an hour, and we are waiting for 104 males to finish. It is already 1500. I don't know what this evening will bring, but I'm pretty sure all the DS are still mad about yesterday because each platoon apparently brought shame upon the company. WHATEVER. Seriously, most of the stress of BCT is the mental anguish and living in constant dread of what might happen next. It's not good for a person. Tomorrow is NIC at night, which, from what I gather involves barbed wire, low crawling and live rounds being shot above my head. Word on the street is, it's the toughest training we have left. Unless you count the 10 mile footmarch on 10. Dec. That will be tons of fun. Apparently it's mandatory to take a break every 5o minutes...hopefully it won't be too cold. Sitting here thinking of you in Disneyworld, and am truly jealous, for some reason today I am feeling really homesick. I'm really tired and trying to take it one day at a time. For laughs, let me describe the trip to Deferred Issue for you.
We took the bus to 120th (Reception Battalion) at about 0700 and had breakfast at the DFAC here, which SUCKS!! Plus we came in right after the FAT CAMP was eating (sorry, Fitness Training Company) and so we got reduced portions of a very limited selection of food. Boo. Then we made it to CIIP which is an acronym I'm still trying to decipher. Clothing Issue something? Not sure. (edited to add -Clothing Initial Issue Point) Shoes come first - they actually gave us like 6 pairs of socks, then we went to try on shiny black shoes. After that, you wear your shiny black shoes with your PT shorts and T shirt to the SHIRT station, where you strip to bra and undies and wait for the ladies there. Just imagine 7 females standing there in bra and undies with shiny black shoes on, holding clipboards. Definitely a sight. The shirt lady also gives you a beret. I have a fat head, lol. Next is fancy jacket - mine feels really tight, but the DS approved it. So now I'm running around in a short sleeve shirt and shiny black shoes. Next you get measured for a skirt, which was uneventful, but the pants were an ordeal because as the ladies were fond of saying to me "We're trying to make your booty look good, but there isn't much there" HEH. So, after all of that, you have to wait for all the alterations, then go parade around ON AN ACTUAL STAGE for all the DS to inspect the fit. Truly bizarre to hear my GIANT muscle man DS ask if the pants were hitting me at the belly button. Strange. As expected, the Army has a system for everything, and it worked pretty well. It just takes forever. Hurry up and wait is not a myth, it's a fact. We were finished around 1600, then waited around til like 1700 for chow. now it's almost 1900 and we well be here til at least 1930. *sigh*
25.Nov It was great talking to you yesterday, now I am feeling encouraged and ready to kick ass for another 3 weeks!
Got fired from being PG today, thank goodness. It was stressing me out. I didn't do anything wrong, the average time on the job is like 3 days. Anyway, it's good just to fall into formation again!
Today is full of first aid. Last week we talked mainly about hemorrhaging and tourniquets. I think today will be about chest wounds. Exciting. Well, I was wrong. We're talking about managing airways. ONE HOUR LATER: we finally got around to open (sucking) chest wounds and got to watch some pretty graphic videos. Yuck. So, it's noon and there is nothing else on the schedule for today. We are done with the first aid program for the day. DS is texting 1SGT to see if we can watch a movie after chow. Heh. "So, what did you do in Basic Training?" Oh, well, I spoke too soon. People are stupid and can't follow simple instructions, so we just spent 1/2 an hour doing various exercises. This is the kind of thing that de-motivates me. What is wrong with personal accountability? It just gets old having to pay for other people's immaturity. *sigh* End of rant. The T-shirt guy just came by and sadly, all of the designs are really ugly. Even our platoon shirt. I really wanted to like something. Oh, well, no souveniers for me. Next on the schedule is a movie. The Shooter I think it's called. Looks pretty good. Turns out there was coffee I could have had yesterday at dinner. LTC authorized us drinking some. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday. I did have pumpkin pie, a BitoHoney a MaryJane and a caramel. Indulgent, right? They took us to the DFAC at like 1600 yesterday. No one was hungry, but we knew we had to eat, b/c breakfast isn't til 0700.
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