Saturday, August 27, 2011

Days 27 - 28

Day 27: Had staff duty from 0500 to 0800; I just had to set up cones on the road for PT. I did get to speak with my parents for the first time in a month which was nice.

We did combatives this afternoon and learned some new fighting moves. We also were taught some exercises to help with combatives. By the end of training, I could barely walk. We had personal time at 1800.

Day 28: I was actually able to enjoy breakfast this morning since we had 10 more extra minutes to east. Since I have not had any icecream for dinner, I decided to splurge on coffee. It was the first caffeine I have had in 5 weeks and now I am all wired after I got back from Mass. Right now I am doing laundry, writing letters, updating the blog, and studying combat lifesaving. It is always nice to be able to catch up on everything on Sundays.

We did have some classroom time but all we did was get our ACH's (helmets) checked for this week and clean our weapons.

We had MRE's for chow. The DS gave us 15 minutes to pass them out, cook, eat, and clean up. If we were able to accomplish it within that time period, then we would have personal time beginning at 1730. We did accomplish it which gave us plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming week.

Days 25 - 26

Day 25: We were supposed to be up at 0400 for muscle failure PT; apparently the DS do care about us since we got to wake up at 0500 and skip PT. They wanted us to rest up for BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship) Qualifications. To qualify, we had to shoot 23 out of 40 moveable and time targets at a distance between 50 and 300 meters. We had to shoot in the unsupported and supported proned, and kneeling positions. If we did not quality within 10 tries, then we would be restarted to the first week of BCT. I did qualify in my second try; I shot 26 out of 40. I was expecting to try about 5 times but was relieved that I qualified during my second try.

Those who qualified sat around in the heat doing absolutely nothing. Next time, I will bring paper to write letters. I am definitely motivated, especially when we road by graduation field on the way back to the barracks.

It is so nice to be showered and relaxed at 7:30. I can actually catch up on the blog and letters! Tomorrow will be another boring day since the whole company has to go to the range tomorrow while 20 people attempt to qualify.

Day 26: After PT (running) this morning, we went to the range again. We sat around doing nothing. We did learn new shooting positions (standing) for ARM (Advanced Rifle Marksmanship) that we have to qualify for next week. Three people did not pass and are restarting to red phase. Buses showed up a few hours early today. I thought we had the rest of the afternoon to relax; I was wrong! Female bay had a surprise locker inspection. The DS threw everything in our lockers across the floor and emptied our canteens everywhere. Although we had a big mess to clean up, I was relieved to not have any contraband. About 1/4th of the females got Article 15's for razors, tweezers and food. The DS explained to us why we can't shave: staph infection is common when we are out in the field sweating with open sores. We sweat constantly here.

Days 22 - 24

Day 22: I went to the range today to work on shooting at different distance targets. My magazine got stuck 7 times which messed me up. I now realize the importance of having a clean rifle (although it was mostly the magazine's fault). We went back to the classroom and I spent almost two hours cleaning my weapon.

Day 23: Had en early wake up (0330) and headed for our road march by 0430 in full gear, including: ACH (helmet), flick (vest), knee/elbow pads and an assault pack, weighing about 60 pounds. The marches are getting easier, especially when you have boots that actually fit. After much enjoyed chow, we did the rifle simulation course and worked on shooting drills. Basically, once again, we sat around doing pretty much nothing.

Day 24: After PT (ran 60/120s), we went to the range and shot single & multiple targets between 50 and 300 meters. We had to shoot in the unsupported and supported prone and kneeling positions. I did pretty well. It was extremely hot at the range. Another male tried to commit suicide. The DS and officers lectured us about suicide preventions.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Days 20 - 21

Day 20: Had our first Pt test today. I was nervous about my run since I have only ran twice at Pt. I did better than I thought; I dropped 4 minutes off my run time and was able to control breathing. It gave me a big boost of confidence! We headed to a field and did pugil stick fighting for the rest of the morning and afternoon. We learned combat fighting with our weapons and then had competitions with each platoon. We had a company-wide tournament at the end. It was actually a fun day and everyone was able to get aggressions out. It kind of reminded me of a high school pep rally since we were all cheering & cutting up. It was decent weather until it down-poured, but that just created more fun for us as we got all muddy. We got more personal time today. It's still strange how my life has changed. I am spending my Saturday evening washing clothes, writing letters, catching up on the blog and going to sleep at 2100.

Day 21: First time in 4 weeks that I was able to get 8 hours of sleep. I was able to go to mass which is the only thing that reminds me of home. It is a 3 hour event just to go to the service since we have to wait for the bus for one hour each way.
We had a formation before lunch chow where we phased into the white phase officially. BCT is already much better since, instead of 45 minutes of personal time, we have almost 3 hours. The formations are all soldier led also.
I can't believe that I have been here for 4 weeks now. Time has been moving more quickly. We had a company-wide meeting to discuss a suicide attempt that many soldiers witnessed. I did not see it or know the person. Many people are having issues but I have my head on straight. You cannot bring personal issues to BCT or it will effect you negatively since it is such a stressful environment. They also keep telling us to remind family/friends back home not to tell us things what will worry us.

Day 18 - 19

Day 18: After Pt & chow, we had to attend a change of command ceremony. After standing completely still at a position of attention for over an hour, my legs were so stiff & sore. The cadre are handing out article 15's right & left for anyone who moves in formation. I am not taking any chances. After the ceremony, one of the other DS's sat us down & gave us advice. It was very informational until we got smoked pretty good. We went back to our classrooms and basically did nothing for the rest of the day. I was able to catch up on the blog, letters, and study up for the combat lifesaver course. The cadets did update us on the news; apparently we are limited on the types of news. They also updated the officer candidates on OCS. We are all freaked out about OCS but must get through BCT first. Looks like I will be doing extra Pt at night!

Day 19: We went to the range again today but got to ride the bus instead of march. Today we worked on shooting at the 175 and 300 meter target. I was okay with the 175 but the 300 was more difficult. We sat around at the range for 4 hours straight, waiting for the buses.


Days 15 - 17

Day 15: I thought we were going to the range today but, instead, practiced our breathing & positions. Once again, we sat around for hours, doing nothing.

Day 16: We finally went to the range today. We left for the walk at 0600 and got there at 0700. The road marches with all of our equipment are getting easier. It was about a 3 mile march. We had MREs for breakfast. I am getting used to eating pasta for breakfast since you need the fuel to survive in this heat. We shot from 0800 to 1600. It was a long day. Only at BCT can you fall asleep at the range, listening to the live rounds. I did pretty well. The rifle is actually easy to shoot. You just have to remember the 4 fundamentals (breathing, steady position, trigger squeeze, and aiming). We were able to ride back since it was so hot outside.

Day 17: Went to the range again today to finish zeroing in within the center mass. It was another long, hot day. I probably shot for 5 hours straight today. Time passes more quickly on the days we are actually doing stuff. Our minds are not thinking about home.

Friday, August 12, 2011

BCT: Days 12 - 14

Day 12: After scrambling to pack everything in the pitch black, we headed back to our company. I had an interesting walk back and let's just say that I'm lucky I didn't break my hand. After a quick but much needed shower, we headed to weapon simulation course where we practiced shooting rifles. It was fun but shooting our rifles next week will be different! We sat outside for 6 hours but only participated in the simulation for 20 minutes. Once again, too much time was wasted. We also were able to make our first trip to the Px. Most common items purchased were: cough drops (like candy), mole skin & febreeze.

Day 13: We got to sleep in to 0500 today. Had a good run at Pt today but my legs are killing me from the road marches & running up and down hills. We started combatives today which was fun. It was a relief to be actually sitting down in AC instead of being outside. We also had a lot of inspections since a new commander is coming next week. Once again, 7 hours was wasted doing useless stuff.

Day 14: We got to sleep in again until 0545. After chow, I was able to go to Mass. It actually reminded me of home, except for the fact that everyone had ACU's and rifles. After we waited 2 hours for the bus, I was able to organize my locker & prepare for another inspection of all our the gear that we have accumulated. It's nice to have personal time & to study because the weeks are getting busier and busier. We are heading to the range next week.

Thanks everybody for all of the letters. It is really helping me stay positive! I may not be able to write back right away since things are getting busier but will try to as soon as I can!

BCT: Day 11

We were up at 0330 and left for the road march at 0430. We did the fit to win obstacle course in the morning. We had to run through the woods doing different obstacles, such as low crawl, high crawl, rope climbing and jumping. It was very challenging and I was covered from head to toe in mud since it had rained the night before. We sat around for about 3 hours before we headed to the campsite. One thing that I am surprised about BCT is how much time is wasted just sitting around. BCT could be condensed to at least 6 weeks if the Army was efficient.

We marched to the campsite which was 1 mile away and learned the low & high crawl. I was so dirty by the end of the day & of course there was no shower facilities.

All the females stayed in individual tents in the woods. I had to pull fire guard duty & every 10 minutes I heard a scream because of ants crawling on them. They need to get used to roughing it since it is the Army. It was extremely hot and humid so I decided to take the rain cover off. Of course it would downpour at 0100. Trying to figure out how to put the rain cover on while you are half asleep and drenched was no fun!

Monday, August 8, 2011

BCT: Days 9 - 10

Day 9: We had our first road march this morning. We started off at 0500 and marched 2.5 miles with about 50 bs of equipment. I have never sweated so much; it was extremely hot. I got an extra workout this morning since I was stuck being a road guard. After a hot breakfast, we began land navigation exercise where we had to find plotted points in the woods by using a compass, map and protractor. It took my group an hour to find all 4 plots. We waited 3 hours for the other groups to finish the exercise. I took a good nap in the woods. I have gotten used to sleeping wherever I can because 0400 comes way too early. After being out in the heat for 8 hours, the white buses were a sign of relief since we didn't have to march back.

We hung out in the classroom in the afternoon. I finally got the hang of taking the weapon apart and putting it back together. Thank goodness most of the guys are very familiar with rifles or I would be totally lost!

Day 10: After PT & chow this morning, we marched to the CS gas chamber. (We got extra time at chow and other platoons received ice cream. I didn't eat much breakfast because I didn't want to get sick!) I realized last minute that I did not have a seal on the gas mask. The gas caused our skin to burn and it basically collapsed our lungs. We were told to keep our eyes closed the entire time but a female behind started freaking out so I was trying to calm her down. We only stayed in the chamber for about 2 minutes. When we were released outside, everybody was coughing, gasping for air with snot running down our faces. We were told to flap our arms and not touch our faces. After 10 minutes, the effects subsided. Looking back, the gas chamber was not that bad but when you are actually inside, it was miserable.

We are heading to the field tomorrow to camp out. First, we have to march to a fit-to-win obstacle course where we compete against other platoons in our company.

BCT: Days 6 - 8

Day 6: We have PT every morning at 0600. It's not a bad workout. It feels good to be able to exercise again. We had to sit through more classes today about warfare.

Day 7: I can't believe that I have been at BCT for a week. I didn't get much sleep last night since I had fire guard duty at the CQ desk from 1200 to 0200 but ended up staying an extra hour since the next shift overslept. After chow, we had the option to attend a neutral church orientation service. I ended up leaving after 10 minutes because I felt so uncomfortable. I am glad I ended up leaving because I was able to finish up organizing my locker and sneak an hour nap in the laundry room. Today was an easy day. We learned how to take our weapon apart and put it back together. We also had a course on land navigation. It was nice to be able to get back to the barracks at 1500 but apparently a crazy girl who just got out of anger management was placed in our barracks because she was bullying females in her platoon. I had to move all my stuff in my locker so she can be carefully monitored.

Day 8: I was actually able to get 7 hours of sleep last night. Instead of Pt, we headed to the team development course. It was a lot of fun. It consisted of 5 different activities where we had to use teamwork to accomplish the missions. On the last obstacle, we had to maneuver on a wire upside down via our hands while wrapping our legs around the wire. My legs are all bruised up now. After spending 7 hours at the obstacle course, we went back to the platoon classrooms to study.

I have noticed a change in my platoon. We are becoming a team. However, today it seemed like I heard "front leaning rest position, MOVE!" quite a bit. I have noticed that my arms are leaner from all the pushups we have done. We also had to be in the squat position for 30 minutes.

Our DS's aren't that bad compared to other platoons. As my DS said "don't mistake kindness for weakness." We are getting smoked for stuff like not calling "at ease" when a DS walks in.

BCT: Day 5

Day 5: I woke up feeling much better today & was able to go back to my platoon. Although yesterday was nice & relaxing since I was able to sleep and catch up on my letters, I missed BCT. We practiced D&C with the weapons. We have to be with our weapons at all times, except in the latrine. They are starting to get heavy carrying them around all the time.

We had to sit through more briefings today and started to discuss warfare & the laws associated with it. These long, boring briefings are the worst part of BCT so far.

We had to do some squats for an hour because people do not know how to keep their mouths shut. If we do as we are told and show up in 15 minutes in the right uniform, then BCT isn't so bad. Most of the people here are fresh out of high school. Apparently they do not get the concept of discipline. At least I will be in better shape by the end of BCT.

One thing I have noticed is that all the DS's and the ISG's know my name by now. The ISG asked my mos today to I know they will expect more out of me. They don't necessarily yell at me or call me out.

An incident happened at Defax before dinner tonight and my female DS will be leaving our platoon. I was just starting to respect her. I hope my platoon isn't stuck with a bad DS!

We had 2 females in my platoon on suicide watch. We have only been at BCT for 5 days and they have already quit. One girl got an article 15. BCT is not that bad. Yes, at times, it does suck but when things are bad you turn to your battle buddy or release your thoughts in letters. It's easier and quicker to graduate BCT than to get out of the Army at this point. We are now down to 10 females and 49 males.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

BCT Day 4

Today I was able to catch up on my sleep at the med quarters. I just got my temp taken & it was normal. Looks like I will be able to go back to the barracks in the morning.

BCT Day 3

We had our first PT test this morning. I did okay on my running but realized something was off with my running. We had classroom with my platoon so it was nice to have a somewhat relaxed day. We had a 3 hour meeting in the afternoon.

Living with so many people results in a lot of germ exposure. Apparently I caught something in a few days. A female in the same barracks caught the same symptoms and jumped to the conclusion that it was strep throat. Since we can't miss any training, which is when sick call is, she dragged me to the hospital. Come to find out, I have a fever and have to be monitored with a 6 hour waiting room wait while she was given medicine and sent home. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep but instead, I am spending the night at the ER.

Update: After waiting 7 hours to see the doctor, I found out that I have a bad summer cold. I was given antibiotics and sent to medical quarters for 24 hours so that I can sleep.

BCT Day 2

Today started early at 0330. We went to the victory tower, which is an obstacle course. We had to propel down a 40 foot wall. It was a lot of fun. You can check out the victory tower on BCT website. The heat caused 4 heat casualties from my platoon. Heat has really been an issue here. We had to sit through briefings in the afternoon. Everybody in the company is always struggling to stay awake during these lectures - that's the hardest part of BCT so far.

I got smoked 8 times. I was smoked twice before 0500. I am not a big fan of our female DS who makes it know that she hates females by pointing out everything that is wrong with us. We had to do pushups until muscle failure this morning. I am sure that I will feel it tomorrow.

One thing about BCT is that they give you just enough time to get everything done. You have to choose your priorities. 45 minutes of personal time at night is when we take showers, organize closets, prepare for the next day, write letters, and do laundry. It seems like I can only fit in a quick shower before I have to prepare for formation at 2045.

BCT Day 1

Today started early with wakeup at 0300 and formation at 0330. After waiting outside for 2 hours, the buses and DS's finally showed up. We got on the bus & were asked to lay our heads down on our bags. We were greeted with the DS's yelling, telling us we have 10 seconds to get off the bus. Of course, it took a lot longer & the DS's were yelling at us, telling us how slow we were as we were running with our heavy bags. After an introduction, we were divided into our platoons. We sat in a classroom & were handed out equipment (helmet, bullet proof vest & tent). We also got to learn some drill and circumstance. Chow is interesting ... we have to move side swipe as we get our food & only have 5 minutes to scarf it down.

I did not want to let my DS know that I am going to OCS & my educational background. If course, that was one of the first questions she asked. Although my DS yelled and we got smoked pretty good, they have been great instructors. They will turn on you if you address them incorrectly or say the wrong thing. It's hard to get used to. After a long day, I was looking forward to a good shower & early bedtime. Of course I would have fire duty from 2100 to 2300 when I was stuck scrubbing the bathroom. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I get to propel down the 40 foot victory tower.