Basic Training week 4

9/11/11

Hey All,

Monday was a good day.  We woke up at 0300 because we had a PT Test.  When I woke up I felt pretty good and confident.  We did 2 minute pushups, 2 minute sit-ups and a 2 mile run.  I placed 3^rd overall in our platoon of 53.  The two guys that beat me are pretty crazy.  Scott is an avid triathlon participant and Sully was a track and field guy at U.C. Fullerton.  So I will have my work cut out to keep up/surpass them.  After we finished the PT test about 10 of us had to go back to the firing range to zero our rifles.  I have been working on it a lot with shadow boxes and the mac machine so when I got out there it only took 10 rounds to zero, I I was pretty excited about that.  It took some people from 1^st and 2^nd platoon 70 rounds to get zeroed.  When we got back it started to pour outside and actually cooled off so that was nice.  Other than that my night consisted of cleaning my rifle. 

Tuesday… all I can say is WOW.  We woke up did our daily pt in the morning.  After that we changed and had breakfast.  We went down to the field and practiced battle drills.  We worked on reacting to indirect fire, react to near ambush, break contact (you do this when you are out gunned/manned), and squad attack.  I really enjoyed learning how to do all of these squad movements, these classes were a blast.  Then it was time for lunch so we head to our CQ area where we eat our MRE’s and our First Sergeant was there.  We all formed up and he gave us a Christmas gift in September, we shifted out of red phase and we are now in the white phase. This was completely unexpected seeing as we have quite a few issues in our company.  Being in white phase means you have more responsibility but with that comes privileges like today we can eat all the goodies in the MRE’s but you need to be cautious not to ruin what we have built these past 5 or so weeks.  After that we had to go get a new haircut (my hair was finally starting to grow back).  Then as a treat from the drill sergeants everyone who did well on the pt test was allowed to go to the PX (our store) and stock up on things we needed and after that we were allowed to go over to the snack/ice cream area and buy a MILKSHAKE!!!!!!  I am not going to lie it was amazing and in case you were wondering I got the Oreo Milkshake.  After we got back we had dinner and then the rest of the night was personal time (perk of white phase).  I studied, cleaned my boots, did my laundry, and cleaned my rifle with my new cleaning kit that I bought.

Wednesday was a pretty good day.  We woke up and did PT today we did our basic warm-up and then did 60/120’s.  This is where we sprint around the track for 60 seconds and then walk for 120 seconds.  We do this between 8-10 times and it is a great way to cut time on the 2 mile.  After PT we ate and got changed into ACU’s so we could head over to the range to check our zero on a 175 meter pop-up target.  My rifle is zeroes pretty well and I shot 10 out of 10 and 8 were within a 4 centimeter circle. We then got back to the Bay and changed into PT clothes they are way more comfy.  Then the drill sergeants came in and because we are in white phase we start to get leaders in our platoon.  Sully got PG which is the head guy and Scott got Assistant PG then there are 4 squad leaders.  I expected to get one of those spots but I did not I got one of the team leader positions.  The drill sgt. Pulled me aside after and told me that he made a mistake but was going to give the other guy an opportunity to keep the position but if he cannot keep up with the work I will replace him.  This really did not bother me I am just going to work harder and make my squad the shit so I stand out more cause you always have to be working harder and smarter here to get ahead.

Thursday, I did not last long as a team leader after breakfast a total of 10 hours have the job I was promoted to Squad Leader and I have barely had a free moment since.  Later that day we went to a range and fired off around 25 rounds at a 200 meter target to try and get our grouping down.  I am getting better and more comfortable with my rifle every day.  After that we went back to the bay and were told to start hydrating because we had a 5 mile ruck march the next morning.  I also got kind of screwed because we had 3 guard duties that night; fire, CQ, and Staff and because I am in a leadership position I got double duty so did not get as much rest as everyone else but it’s all good it is only making me stronger.

Friday morning we were up at 3:30 we are dressed in full ACU’s, FLK (this is a vest that holds our magazine clips for our rifles), 50-60 lbs ruck and of course our rifle.  We all actually did really well on the march and finished 20 minutes ahead of time, I really did not think it was 5 miles but we were assured that it was.  We only have one ruck left and it is 10 miles I cannot wait.  We marched 5 miles to another firing range this one was to get us ready for the BRM (basic rifle marksmanship) qualification.  We fired 40 rounds – 20 prone supports, 10 from free kneeling position and then 10 prone unsupported.  Prone is lying down and supported means you have the use of sandbags.  I shot well but still need to improve.  We got back to the bay and cleaned our weapons and then I met with my squad and let them know that we were going to be the example and that all this  goofing off is now over.  I have been a police officer/parent to them ever since.  I truly have no free time anymore.

Saturday we found out that we are doing N.I.C. at night today.  This is where each platoon low & high crawl around 120 meters almost 1 ½ football fields, while the drill sergeants shoot live tracer rounds over our heads with a .50 cal they also set off grenades within 15 feet of you.  They decided to make this a streamer event so we all have platoon flags and there are events during the cycle were they will turn into a competition so platoon go against one another. We have only had one, the team building confident course in which we dominated so since then all of the platoons and their drill sergeants have been talking shit.  But in the end the 4^th Platoon Gladiators take home another streamer so now we are 2 for 2.  As far as my experience through the course to be honest I kept my head down and crawled my ass off.  But it was not because of the grenades or bullets it was more of the fact that I hate to lose.  I mean I definitely heard the rounds flying over my head and the grenades exploding and it was a pain in the ass getting under the barb wire with E.C.W. (bullet proof vest that weighs about 30 lbs) then the F.L.K. over that and we had to wear our A.C.H.’s Army Combat Helmets.  So, needless to say it was exhausting but it was a great experience.  Tomorrow is September 11^th I am not sure if we are doing anything but this day has a new meaning to me, especially after being around all these Drill Sergeants who all have done multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  You really see things from another point of view.  We were also given an interesting fact the other day that less than 1% of Americans join or are willing to join the military in the time of war and of that maybe only a quarter go active.  So it makes me proud to think that I am doing something that less than .25% of the American population is willing to do.

Some things I forgot to mention because we won the streamer at N.I.C. night we got our wall lockers back.  The weather here shifted over night, one day it was 105 and no joke the next day it was 75 and has not gone above 85 since which is really great.  I miss you all a lot and I hope you are all doing well.

Love Patrick.