Basic Training week 1

August 21, 2011

Tuesday Morning came fast and that was the day we headed down from reception down to basic training.  Tuesday was truly a wake-up call.  We packed our gear and got in the buses.  The moment we were on the bus we were yelled at to get our faces in the bags we carried on with us.  We were not allowed to see where we were headed.  When we got to the destination we had to run off of the bus with our 40 lb. back pack on our back and our assault pack on the front of us.  The minute you get off of the bus they grab your bag, rip it off of you and throw it on the ground.  If you do not get it back up there are three drill sergeants in your face yelling at you.  This is called “Getting Smoked”.  Once you finally get your bags together you have to sprint up a hill to your barracks.  When we all finally got up the hill (all 250 of us) had to stand in formation.  The drill sergeants all started picking people out of the line and completely tore them apart.  I kept calm and did not get smoked; it was a crazy experience to be a part of.  From here we found out that we were all part of Alpha Company and we would be broken into 4 platoons.  I was placed in the 4^th platoon “The Gladiators”.  Two guys got placed in my platoon that I got pretty close with the week prior.  The one guy is Sgt. V.  He is actually a prior service soldier, Air Force where he did explosive breaches and tactical weapons.  He worked a lot with the Special Forces and Navy Seals.  I feel bad that he has to go through all of this again but he really pushes me and helps me in all the areas that I am not experienced in.  The other guy is Sully; is from Southern California and is also going to be in OCS with me.  Sully is really laid back which is a breath of fresh air.

Wednesday as a company (all 250) went to the team confidence course.  It was a race through the military obstacle course by Platoon and our Platoon destroyed the other three platoons.  We beat every other platoon.  The closest platoon was 5 minutes slower than us.  It was a good day but also made us realize where we are.  Three guys had heat issues one was rushed to the hospital and around 10 others were injured, so our 250 is already starting to fall.

Thursday we took our PT (Physical Training) assessment all I can say is the recruiters are full of shit.  I personally did well.  I did around 50 pushups and 50 sit-ups in one minute.  The average count was about 18.  They are very critical on how you do them, not like with the recruiters.  We also had to do the 1 mile run.  Sgt. V and I got a 6:40.  The humidity sucks!  Sully was on the track team in college he got a 5:50.  After that we got yelled, worked on marching and got yelled at some more.  We also had our first MRE (meal ready to eat).  The MRE comes with a bag and heating mechanism but we have not earned the right to use the heat so I ate cold ravioli and fried rice.  You are so hungry at that point it really does not matter how hot it is. 

We are up every day at 0400 and light out is at 2100 or 9:00 p.m.  We are working that entire time.  We get no personal time yet as we have not earned it.  So, I am actually writing this in bed with a flashlight.  The other thing we have to earn is shower time.  The first night we had 10 seconds to shower, the next night someone tried to beat the system by rubbing the soap on before the shower so we got a 3 second shower.  After that time we have been receiving 5 second showers.  This really sucks because with being in full ACU’s (Army Combat Uniforms) with full packs in 90+ heat.  I have gotten a heat rash all over my back.  This sucks but it is really just annoying.

We get yelled at a lot but it is because we have some young and immature people here.  They thing this is camp and do not listen.  They talk, do not speak to the drill sergeants properly and we all pay the price for it with pushups, sit ups squats, and leg rises.  I will be honest; I am more soar now than I have ever been in my life this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done.  We have been told that we have the hardest drill sergeants and that this is the toughest basic in the Army.  Our senior drill sergeant, Sergeant Cameron is an Iron Man Contender and does super marathons that are 50 to 75 miles.  He is an absolute beast.

Friday we receive our M16A4 assault rifles and we learned how to break them down and lean them.  Everyone was all excited until Sgt. V and I reminded them that know we get to run, do push-ups, and sit-ups with the rifle.  Our punishment trainings have gotten worse now.  Saturday was a team building day.  We all broke into squads around 10 guys and had obstacle to complete.  We also had three missions, our team failed 2 the only one that we completed was the one that Sully and I were the Squad Leaders.  The mission was to get all 10 men and one wounded casualty across a gorge with one suspended line.  In actuality it was a platform and we were only 10 feet off the round but we had 20 minutes to execute.  We finished in 7.  It is things like this that really help to motivate and build confidence. 

Sunday is suppose to be relax day but not for us.  We had to move all of the bunks and wall lockers, we had to strip, buff and wax the barracks floor and lastly cut the grass.  It took all day and to be honest only 15 of us really did the work.  There are a lot of guys that hide in the corner and depend on a few of us to get the work done.

I have a feeling things are about to get worse, they keep referring to “Monday Fun day” I think they are going to absolutely destroy us tomorrow.  But that is my recap for this week and I hope you are all doing well.  I miss you all very much.