This is the first time I am actually updating the blog. The past few days have been crazy busy getting ready for the big inspection and cleaning our weapons. For the inspection, we cleaned the bays from top to bottom, including the fire sprinklers and lights on the ceilings. We wore our dress blues for the inspection. The CSM and Company Commander went around asking us questions pertaining to the different subject matters that we learned at BCT. The inspection went well. However, the weapons were not up to their standards. So, we had to spend the rest of the day (5 hours) cleaning the weapons making sure that they were all carbon and rust free. We did pass the inspection the next day.
On Tuesday, after the final weapon inspection, we turned in all of our equipment that we were issued. The past couple of days, the DS have been extra hard on us. We have been getting smoked for everything! The DS woke us up every hour because some females were not in proper uniform.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Days 60-61
Day 60: Woke up to another rainy day which did not dictate our moods! After policing the area, packing, and waiting around, which seemd like forever, the white buses pulled up to take us to the bays. It was a welcome site. I took the best shower and did laundry. I was exhausted.
Day 61: Today we cleaned our lockers and bay to prepare for the final inspection on Monday. My locker is finally organized. Right now, I am wearing the beret to form it to my head. I can't wait until we actually get to wear it. We finally were given a radio in our bay. It figures that we are stuck listening to rap the entire time.
Day 61: Today we cleaned our lockers and bay to prepare for the final inspection on Monday. My locker is finally organized. Right now, I am wearing the beret to form it to my head. I can't wait until we actually get to wear it. We finally were given a radio in our bay. It figures that we are stuck listening to rap the entire time.
Days 58-59
Day 58: I actually slept decently last night. The march wore me out and I woke up extremely sore! We had PT, which consisted of sit ups/push ups until muscle failure. We did squad attacks again. My squad works well together. We continued to get smoked for everything and were attacked constantly while pulling security. It was so hard not to fall asleep while in prone position for hours!
Day 59: Slept decently again last night and had to run around the campsite for PT. We learned how to pull security at a highly dangerous location. The DS driving in & out of the camp was good practice. The whole company got seriously smoked for the first time since someone in my platoon lost his weapon. We had to low crawl for 200 feet in a ditch while the DS was pouring water over us. I have never been so dirty. When I finished low crawling, a DS told me that I finally looked like a real soldier. The student leadership was all fired and the DS chose me to take over. Everybody was all mad when we got back & to make matters worse, we were under a tornado warning. The company sat under a lightening protection area and the DS decided to cheer us up. We did a tradition called Apollo where we impersonated the DS, in front of the DS. It was hilarious and lightened the mood. It continued to pour all night.
Day 59: Slept decently again last night and had to run around the campsite for PT. We learned how to pull security at a highly dangerous location. The DS driving in & out of the camp was good practice. The whole company got seriously smoked for the first time since someone in my platoon lost his weapon. We had to low crawl for 200 feet in a ditch while the DS was pouring water over us. I have never been so dirty. When I finished low crawling, a DS told me that I finally looked like a real soldier. The student leadership was all fired and the DS chose me to take over. Everybody was all mad when we got back & to make matters worse, we were under a tornado warning. The company sat under a lightening protection area and the DS decided to cheer us up. We did a tradition called Apollo where we impersonated the DS, in front of the DS. It was hilarious and lightened the mood. It continued to pour all night.
Days 55 - 57
Day 55: The only things we did today was PT, eat and watch movies The DS want us to rest up before Victory Forge. They did not care if we were sleeping, as long as we weren't in our beds. We watched movies like Black Hawk Down and Tears of the Sun.
Day 56: I was able to go to Mass again today. All we did was eat and watch movies, for the second day. I guess we have nothing else to do.
Day 57: Today started off bright & early. We were up at 0200 and were marching by 0330. It took 4 hours to walk 10.5 miles. It was not an easy walk, especially up and down the hills in the woods, walking in the thick sand. We had 2 - 15 minute breaks where we had our feet checked and changed socks. I am so glad my parents mailed me good socks and panty hose because it prevented me from getting blisters. The last 1/2 mile was the hardest because we had to walk up a steep hill in thick sand. I was so glad to make it because I was hurting. After a much deserved breakfast, we settled into tents and walked another mile to where we practiced squad attacks. Each squad had to react to different types of attacks. When we were waiting our turn, which was the majority of the time, we had to pull security. Every so often we would have to react to attackers. The DS enjoyed throwing smoke bombs and land morters. Oh, Victory Forge is apparently an excuse for the DS to smoke us. Every little thing we do wrong, we were smoked! After we got back to the camp, we area and cleaned weapons.
Day 56: I was able to go to Mass again today. All we did was eat and watch movies, for the second day. I guess we have nothing else to do.
Day 57: Today started off bright & early. We were up at 0200 and were marching by 0330. It took 4 hours to walk 10.5 miles. It was not an easy walk, especially up and down the hills in the woods, walking in the thick sand. We had 2 - 15 minute breaks where we had our feet checked and changed socks. I am so glad my parents mailed me good socks and panty hose because it prevented me from getting blisters. The last 1/2 mile was the hardest because we had to walk up a steep hill in thick sand. I was so glad to make it because I was hurting. After a much deserved breakfast, we settled into tents and walked another mile to where we practiced squad attacks. Each squad had to react to different types of attacks. When we were waiting our turn, which was the majority of the time, we had to pull security. Every so often we would have to react to attackers. The DS enjoyed throwing smoke bombs and land morters. Oh, Victory Forge is apparently an excuse for the DS to smoke us. Every little thing we do wrong, we were smoked! After we got back to the camp, we area and cleaned weapons.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Day 54
Day 54: After PT, chow, and some personal time, the company had a Drill & Ceremony competition between the 4 platoons. My platoon only practiced a couple of times, unlike the other platoons. We ended up tying in first but lost the competition by a small amount. As a reward, the females in the top 2 platoons were given permission to finally shave after 8 weeks. We also had a trip to the PX to get supplies for Victory Forge. Everybody is ready for the ftx. Our duffles were packed and turned in this morning. Most commonly bough supplies: baby wipes, camel backs, blister/feet treatment and more baby wipes since we won't be able to shower for 4 days.
The day we spent practically all day outside, a cool front moves through. Although it was a welcome relief after such a hot summer, the cold took everyone aside!
The day we spent practically all day outside, a cool front moves through. Although it was a welcome relief after such a hot summer, the cold took everyone aside!
Days 51 - 53
Day 51: Today we had our last day at the range. We were able to shoot machine guns and grenade launchers. The weapons we shot were: M249, M240 Bravo, Dummy AT4 and M203. It was a lot of fun and probably the only time I will get to shoot the weapons since my MOS will not be combat related.
Day 52: Had 0330 wakeup for the final PT test. I am officially finished with all the requirements for BCT. It feels so good to get the PT test over with. We didn't do too much the rest of the day except clean and hang out in our sleep bays.
Day 53: Once again, we did not do too much except hang out in our bays. I guess we are finished with everything except for Victory Forge and they want us to rest up.
Day 52: Had 0330 wakeup for the final PT test. I am officially finished with all the requirements for BCT. It feels so good to get the PT test over with. We didn't do too much the rest of the day except clean and hang out in our sleep bays.
Day 53: Once again, we did not do too much except hang out in our bays. I guess we are finished with everything except for Victory Forge and they want us to rest up.
Day 50
Day 50: After PT (running), we headed to a range called wanat. It was probably one of my favorite things so far at BCT. The information we learned is some of the most important things we will learn here.
We were broken into squads and each squad had 4 humvees. Yes, we finally got to ride in a humvee. We went on a mission where we had to contact & kill the enemy when we approached a village. We practiced the proper way of team/squad maneuvering.
We also attended a class on IED and detecting them which was very informative. We took what we learned and went on a mission in the woods to see if we could detect any IEDs. The instructor would make the IEDs "go off" if we missed them. It really opened my eyes on the importance of really looking for IEDs or things out of the ordinary.
We were broken into squads and each squad had 4 humvees. Yes, we finally got to ride in a humvee. We went on a mission where we had to contact & kill the enemy when we approached a village. We practiced the proper way of team/squad maneuvering.
We also attended a class on IED and detecting them which was very informative. We took what we learned and went on a mission in the woods to see if we could detect any IEDs. The instructor would make the IEDs "go off" if we missed them. It really opened my eyes on the importance of really looking for IEDs or things out of the ordinary.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)