Reception Day 1

These post are from letters that Jason has mailed to me. Sometimes his writing is hard for me to read so bare with me if some of the terms aren't right. I hope that you enjoy as much as I do.

Reception day 1
September 9, 2010

Day started as soon as we sot to Ft Jackson a little after midnight. We went to a large classroom to do some paperwork and get a briefing on the things we'd do in reception. We were also taken through the amnesty room. This is where everyone gets a chance to get rid of any contraband without getting in trouble, things like weapons, drugs, tobacco, candy, ect. After that we got an initial issue of gear. PT uniforms (which we also sleep in), a towel, some sheets, canton, and a couple of other things. By the time we finished up it was about 4:00am. Day 1 didn't officially start until 4:30am though. So we had 30 minutes to put our stuff in the barracks, change clothes and shave. We fell into formation at 4:30, and headed for chow. The food actually hasn't been that bad. Breakfast is the best though. The rest of the day consist of TB test, (I almost passed out from this. I was standing in line a few minutes after wards a guy behind me actually did pass out about the some time I got light-headed), a haircut($6), getting our pay and benefits set up, medical checkup (eyesight, hearing, dental x-rays, and blood work), and a trip to the PX (store for you civilians) where you were "required" to buy between $150-$200 worth of supplies including running shoes. The best part of the day was getting boots. It only took 5 hours. Yep, again "hurry up and wait." I finally got to bed around 11:30pm, only 43 hours since I began this adventure in Jackson, MS.