BCT Day 50

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.

BCT Day 50
11-1-10

Today was a long day. We started out with a 2 mile run, which was the 4th run in as many days. We've ran almost as much in the last 4 days as we have the last 4 weeks. I guess they want to make sure we are ready for the final PT test, but it still doesn't make much sense to me. Oh well, that's how it goes around here.
Our main focus today was hand grenades. The first range we went to was for live grenades. We threw 2 practice grenades, which just make a little "pop" when they go off. Then we were ready for the real thing. We were all hyped up to get to throw it. While waiting in line for my turn, I could hear and feel the grenades exploding. I was definitely pumped when it was my turn. I was a little nervous too, having a live grenade in your hand for the first time will do that to you. I took the grenade out to the bunker, prepped it, pulled the pin, and threw it, "Frag Out!". I hit the ground and a few seconds later...BOOOMM!! It was over that quick. It was actually a little disappointing. All the hype for just a few seconds of fun, kind of like another "first".
Next range was for grenade qualification. We threw dummy grenades at different targets like a bunker, a trench, a vehicle, ect. There were 7 stations total. We needed 5 out of 7 to qualify and get a badge. I got 6, which means I'll get a grenade badge to match my rifle one. It was fun, but it took us forever to get everyone through the course. I also stayed behind and helped clean up the range. The ones that helped out with the range did get a small bonus though. While we were waiting on the ammo truck to come pick up the unused practice grenades, our DS let us open up a few MRE's and split what was inside. I ended up with half a bag of Reese's pieces and a chocolate banana nut muffin. Not bad for a snack. It took us so long for the ammo truck to get there, that we barely made it back in time to get to the DFAC for dinner.
Needless to say, it was nice to get back to the bay, shower, and rest a little.