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.
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