PICS!!!

I'm finally going to post some pics. These were all taken on Family Day and at Graduation. Click to view the full size images.

Running out of the wood line for our Family Day ceremony.


Reunited at last!


"Home"


Spartans!






My platoons banner is the one with the BRM streamer.


Graduation ceremony. I'm in the group in the center, behind the flags.


Getting recognized for Soldier Leader of the Cycle. That's me in the front row, next to the DS.


My platoon marching by for review.


All awardees being addressed by the Post Commander.


And then the Post CSM.


Shaking hands with and getting another coin from the Post Commander.


Followed by the Battalion Commander.


The Post Commander and I.


One last pose with the family before we headed home.

Days 61 - 65

11/12 - 11/16

The final 5 days before family day and graduation were spent cleaning up/turning in our weapon and gear and out processing. These were probably the longest days of BCT. It was very boring.

The most exciting thing we did was rehearse for graduation. It was exciting because it made the fact that we were almost finished with BCT real. The day we'd all been waiting on for almost 10 weeks was only a few days away.

Just a quick note, being Student 1SG was actually easier than being PG. The DS's told me what needed to happen and all I had to do was pass those orders down to the PG's and make sure they made it happen. I was also in charge of morning and end of day formations. The only downside to the position was that I had to eat last out of the entire company at every meal. I had to make sure the entire company got in and out of the DFAC.

Day 60

11/11

After a sleepless night, it was time to get started on our first day as soldiers. The first order of the day was a ceremony with the other companies in our battalion. It was a really cool experience. We were addressed by the battalion commander, CSM, and the brigade commander. At the end of the ceremony, we were instructed to put on our berets. Our berets signify that we are officially soldiers. The most significant part of this whole thing was that we became soldiers on Veterans Day, a day to honor those that had served before us. This made a special day in our lives even more special.

We were also rewarded with a special breakfast. The main course was steak and eggs, but the DFAC still had all the usual choices too. This wasn't what made this breakfast different though. We were allowed to eat as much as we wanted, take as much time as we wanted, and talk to each other while we ate. I must have been starved from the march because I ate almost double what I normally would. It felt strange not to be rushed while I ate too, although I caught myself eating fast out of habit.

We finally got a chance to get some rest after breakfast. We were allowed to sleep until lunch. The rest of the day was spent cleaning our weapon and gear. We will be turning everything back in over the next few days.

I've also got a side story to tell you about that I left out of my Vic Forge post. On Tuesday morning, day 2 of Vic Forge, our PG was fired. Guess who was rehired, me of course. So I was back in the saddle just in time to finish out BCT. My 2nd term as PG was short lived. I was relived from my position this morning. Don't worry, I wasn't fired this time. I was promoted to Student First Sergeant. This means I'm now over both platoons in my company and the PG's report to me.

Days 57 - 59 Victory Forge

11/8 - 11/10

I'm combining the 3 days of Victory Forge into one post for a couple of reasons: 1) There's not a lot of exciting day to day details. 2) We just got back from Vic Forge, it's late, I'm tired, and there's not enough time to sleep, so I'm writing.

First, let me tell you about the setup of Vic Forge. The area that it's held at is set up like a forward operating base (FOB) similar to where we'd stay if deployed. We slept on cots in large 20 man tents. There were at least 80 of these tents out there. It's meant for a whole battalion (1400+ soldiers) to stay at one time. Since our battalion only has about 400 soldiers, there were a lot of empty tents.

Unfortunately for us, the tents were not heated and the temps were in the 30's every night. As long as I stayed in my sleeping bag, it wasn't too bad. It sucked to get out of the bag to go to the latrine in the middle of the night or when it was time to wake up in the morning. Once the sun came out, the temps got up into the 70's so the daytime weather was nice.

The training at Vic Forge was just a combination of everything we'd learned at BCT. Most of the time we were given missions to attack or defend against 2nd Platoon. I think everyone had fun during these missions. All of the missions were good tests of our skills and knowledge we picked up over the past 8 weeks.

The final task for Victory Forge and BCT was the 12 mile ruck march back to our barracks. We We started the march at 22:30 on Wednesday night. The march lasted a little over 4 hours. It was a pretty tough march, especially since we were marching at a time when we were used to sleeping. The thing that kept us motivated was knowing that our training was over once we finished the march.

Once it was complete, we had a ceremony to change our banners from blue to red, white, and blue. This symbolized the change from blue phase to graduation phase. After the phase change, we watched a slide show of pictures from different events we completed throughout the cycle. It was cool to see some of the pics from the first couple of weeks of BCT. We've definitely all changed over the course of 9 weeks.

After the slide show, it was time to head upstairs to our bay, take a much needed shower, unpack of gear, and get ready for the next day.

Home Sweet Home

I finally made it back home late Friday night. It feels great to be back with my family. I've still got a few more posts to make that my wife didn't have time to do before she left for my graduation. I'll be posting about Victory Forge, family day, and graduation over the next few days. I've also got pics to post so keep checking in for some new stuff.

Again, thanks for your support.

Day 55 and 56

BCT Day 55 and 56
11/6-11/7


Another weekend down, and only 1 more to go....

Saturday morning I had my Soldier Leader of the Cycle board. I was extremely nervous. I think the last time I was this nervous was when I was interviewing for jobs before I graduated from college. This makes sense though, since the board was almost like an interview. The first thing they asked me to do was tell them about myself, a typical job interview question. Next, the DS's take turns asking questions about things we should know at this point such as weapons, tactics, d&c, military law (UCMJ), ect. Then the First Sergeant asks a few more questions. Luckily, I was able to answer all the questions that asked me. In addition to the questions, I was graded on other things the entire time I was in the room.- appearance, military courtesies, military bearing, standing and sitting properly, ect. The board took about 15 minutes, but it seems much longer.
After the board, I went from nervous to anxious. What did the board think of me? Did I get it? They interviewed ,y competition and then took a few mor minutes to make their decision. We were called back into the board as a group. It was time to find out the results. And the Soldier Leader of the Cycle is....SPC Spradlin. I was actually surprised when they called my name , happy but still surprised. Not only will I get some recognition at graduation, my family will get special treatment too. They will get VIP parking and seating for family day and graduation. The highlight of Sunday was patriotic concert. The concert wasn't really the attraction, it was the food. We were able to buy a pizza, candy and soft drink. Everyone got pizza, candy and a drink at minimum. Some bought extra food. We were all stuffed. We hadn't ate that much food in months. I ate too much. It was still good though. Now time to rest up for Victory Forge.

BCT Day 54

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 54
11-5-10

Today was a big day in my BCT life. First we had our final PT test. This one is the only one that counts towards graduation. Even if you pass all other PT test, but failed this one you can't graduate. Of course, I passed. I scored 266. That's a little short of the 270 I wanted, but it's an improvement over my last one. I did slightly better on push-ups and sit-ups, but knocked over 1 minutes off my run time. Mt platoon also had a 100% pass rate. Getting this PT test out of the way took a lot of weight off everyone's shoulders.
Today's training was on U.S. weapons. We got to fire 2 machine guns- the m249SAW and M2408- the AT-4rocket launcher, and the M203 grenade launcher (or the noob tube for all you COD players) Only the soldiers with the top 4 highest BRM scores shot the real AT-4 and M203, but it was still cool to watch them blow stuff up. Everyone else shot dummy rounds. We did get to shoot live rounds in the M249 and M240B though That was fun. We shot 100 rounds in the 249 and 50 in the 240B. The best part is that this was the last day of training we have except Victory Forge.
Victory Forge is the final FTX we do in BCT. It's when we put everything we've learned in BCT to work. It's normally a 5 day FTX, but due to Veterans Day holiday next Thursday ours will be shorter. We leave on Monday.
I've also been nominated for Soldier leader of the cycle. I have to go in front of a board of DS's and our 1st SGT tomorrow. They will ask me questions about the Army and our training that I should know. I'm a little nervous about it, but I think I'll know the answers to whatever they ask me. Wish me luck.

BCT Day 53

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 53
11/4/10

If it wasn't for the weather today would have been a good day. It rained all day and the temp didn't make it out of the 40's. We had a rain-suit on, but we're not allowed to wear the hood of the jacket so our heads stayed wet and cold. I predict that several soldiers would be heading to sick call in the next couple of days.
The actual training was cool though. We did a simulated convoy with Humvee. The mission was to patrol the area, looking out for IED's or enemy personnel. It was fun riding around in a Humvee, especially since it was muddy. After that we had a class on IED's. We learned about the different types, what to look for, what to do if we find one, ect. The Sargent teaching the class was very knowledgeable. He has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan a total of 6 times, 4 of which were voluntary. So, he had plenty of first hand experience to share. It was one of the most informative and useful classes we've had at BCT.

BCT Day 52

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 52
11-3-10

Today was basically a repeat of yesterday's training, except we used live ammo. I was a little more motivated today, especially when it was my turn to go with live ammo. Shooting stuff always puts me in a better mood. Overall, nothing spectacular happened- just another day closer to the finish line.
However I did get some pictures in the mail today of my daughter in her Halloween costume. She was a witch. She looked so different in costume and with a painted face. It doesn't even look like her. My wife said she had a blast trick or treating. I hate that I missed it, but I guess it's something that I will have to accept. I'm sure it won't be the last time I miss an event in her life. Maybe my wife will be nice and post a pic of Izzy in costume.

BCT Day 51

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 51
11-2-10

Today was a little boring. It probably didn't help that I had absolutely no motivation. I just didn't feel like doing anything. So ready for the next 2 weeks to be over. Today's training was just preparation for tomorrow's training. We worked on buddy firing and movement. It goes something like this:
-Both soldiers start behind some type cover- a wall, an old car, ect.
-Soldier 1 says, "Cover me while I move!:
-Soldier 1: "Weapon on safe moving!" and then he runs to the next cover point and yells "Set!!"
Soldier 2: " Cover me while I move!"
The whole process repeats itself and alternates between Soldier 1 and 2 until they both reach the end of the course. Today we did it 2 times, once sing no ammo and once firing blanks. Tomorrow we will be using live ammo. We will actually be shooting at pop-up targets while our buddy runs for cover. Today was just to make sure we knew what to do and how to do it safely. We don't want any accidents tomorrow while using live ammo. Shooting your battle buddy would not be good thing.

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.

Day 48 & 49

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 48 & 49
10-30 / 10-31

Seven weeks down and only two and a half left! I can't believe we are so close to graduation. It wasn't long ago that November seemed so far away., but now it's here. We only have 18 more days to go.
Saturday we went to the barber shop and troop store. I didn't really need anything from the troop store this time. I spend less that $10. Of course all the males got another hair cut. We'll still have to get one more on the Saturday before graduation They want us to be bald when our families first see us. Saturday afternoon we had some hand grenade training. We have to throw live grenades Monday, so they wanted us to learn the proper procedure before we have a live one in our hands. By the way, it's not like you see in the movies. You don't just pull the pin out with you teeth and lob it in the direction of your enemies.
Sunday was Halloween. I dressed up as a soldier. It must be a popular costume this year. Almost everyone I saw had the same costume. I did get some candy though. Our DS gave everyone one piece and a Kit Kat, mmm chocolate. We worked the extra calories from the candy off later though. We got hit with a surprise PT after lunch. We have our final PT test on Friday, so our DS's are trying to make sure we're ready. Part of the PT session was a 2 mile run on the track that our final PT test will be on. While we were there, another guy was out there running on his own. When we finished running, he wanted to talk to the officer Candidates in our company (there are 2 of us). It turns out he was a LT that hadn't been out of OSC very long. He wanted to give is advice and answer our questions about OCS. It was really cool to hear what he had to say. Basically, the main thing I came away with is that it's going to be much harder physically than BCT. He told us that they would run us to death at OSC. I'm glad that I have a few months to get better prepared for OSC.

BCT Day 47

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 47
10-29-10

We started today off with a little drama. After PT and breakfast we had a surprise locker check. The DS's were searching for any contraband, like food, drugs, electronics, ect. They searched our bay, the male bay, first. They tore our lockers up, but surprisingly didn't find anything major. The drama started when they went over to the female bay.
After a few minutes over there, they came back to our bay and asked who had been writing letters to the females. No one stepped forward, so the DS called a couple of guys out. There ended up being 2 guys writing females. One wasn't much much of a surprise. The other was a shock. He's married and has a kid on the way. No one wanted to believe that he had been writing any females, but the evidence was there. The female had the letters in her locker. It was sad to see that happen, but you can't hide that kind of stuff forever.
The rest of the day was uneventful except for some phone time. It was awesome to hear my wife's voice, especially since I've got less than 3 weeks left until I see her again.

BCT Day 46

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 46
10-28

This was our company's Post detail day. Each company has one post detail day neat the end of BCT. Post Detail is where the company splits up and does clean up or maintenance around the Post. Some groups picked up trash, some raked leaves, some moved office furniture. My group had the best detail though
We got to sit in the a/c all day and watch movies. There was more to it than that, but that's what we did most of the time. Ft Jackson is a training center for the Federal government (FBI, CIA, DEA, ect.) for polygraph (lie detector) testing. So, guess what we got to do- take polygraph tests to help with the polygraph operators training. I was tested by the FBI. They gave me the test that they use when you are applying for a job with them. I though it was pretty cool since that would be my dream job. I was nervous at first b/c I didn't know what to expect. The agent doing my test was very laid back and made the experience as easy for me as he could. Most of the questions had to do with my background- legal issues, drug use, ect. I answer everything honestly and the agent told me I pass with flying colors. Maybe I'll get to take the test again one day, except with a real job on the line.

BCT Day 45

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 45
10/27/10

Last night was another perfect night. I actually left the door of my tent open. It was so nice. I'm diffidently buying a family sized tent when I get home. My daughter would have a blast camping. I'm not sure my wife would though. We went to the Urban Assault Coarse(UAC) today. This was basically just more room/building clearing training. It was more advanced that yesterday though. The buildings had more rooms, some had 2 levels, and one even had trap doors that enemies came out of. The training was fun, but the day was still a little rough.
People made this day harder than it should have been. Everyone was tired. We were dirty and stinky. We had not bathed in 3 days(most mad baby wipe baths, but it's not like a shower). Everyone was cranky. People were going off on each other left and right. Some were dragging their feet making us late. We got smoked a few times.
It was so nice to get "home" today. Yes, we call it home. We sleep here, eat here, shower here, and even get our mail here. This is home, for 3 more weeks anyway.

BCT Day 44

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 44
10/26/10

After the long day yesterday, I slept like a rock. Once I hot my tent I was out. The weather was perfect for camping too. It cleared up before we got in and the temp was perfect. I forgot how much fun camping can be.
Today;s training was setup on an entry point(ECP)and intro to room clearing. An ECP is just a fancy word for roadblock. We had to check ID's for people entering our ECP, check vehicles, ect. Room clearing was fun. There is so much to think about and going on when you kick in the door and rush into a room. We ended up "dead" a few times when we went in. We got MRE's for lunch again. It was good and had candy this time. I got M&M's but traded for Reese's Pieces. It was so good to have candy again.

BCT Day 43

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 43
10/25/10

This was day 1 of the 3 day FTX. It started out with a bang we did a 7 mile march to the site. Our ruck sacks were a little heavier too, since we had our tent in such in there. Even though it was our longest march so far, only a couple of people fell back. It was also warmer than it had been lately. I think it took us 2.5 hours from start to finish.
Once we reached the site we set up our tents and ate breakfast. Breakfast was a welcome sight. It was about 9:00 before we are which is about 2 hours later than normally. We also burnt up so much energy so we needed to refuel. Just as we finished breakfast the rain started. It rained on and off most of the day. It wasn't too bad tough, our rain suits kept us pretty dry, except for our heads. we weren't allowed to wear hoods only caps.
Lunch was kind of an event too. We had our first MRE's. It's a complete meal in a small bag. It has a main course, sides, deserts, coffee, gum, and some other small things. I'll admit I was dreading MRE's, but the one I had today was actually good. It was chicken pesto pasta, bread with cheese spread, pears, vanilla pudding. I wanted some candy. Some have candy but not mine today. They contain about 1500 calories total, almost enough for an entire day.
After lunch we had classes on radio communication and reacting to enemy contact.
The real fun came at night though. Our platoon was sent on a simulated mission. We setup a defensive position and we watched out for a small group of terrorist call in the area. So, the DS's had set it up so the 2nd platoon would come across our position while we were on patrol. When they did, all hell broke loose. Both platoons were firing blanks at each other and the DS were throwing mortar simulators. It got all of out adrenalin pumping. It was one of the most fun things we've done at BCT.

BCT Day 41 & 42

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 41 & 42
10-23/10-24

The big news for Saturday was the change to blue phase. This is the final phase of BCT. With the phase changing will come more freedom. They haven't told us what privileges come with blue phase, but I hope that it's more phone time. This is just one more sign that BCT is winding down.
We only have 3 weeks of training left, and a few more days to get ready for graduation. A lot of the training left will be field training (FXT). This means that we will pack up our gear and camp while training. We have a 3 day FXT coming up Monday. I've heard that it's over a 7 mile march to get to the FXT site.
Other than the phase change, all we did Saturday was combative (hand-to-hand)

So far Sunday has been uneventful. I went to church services this morning and have packed for tomorrow's FXT this afternoon. It's only about 15:00 right now, but I doubt that I'm going to have anymore to add by the end of the day. Plus I need to get this in the mail. I won't have another chance to mail until Wednesday.

BCT Day 40

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 40
10/22/10

We went back to the reception area to get issued our ASU's, which are the new dress uniforms that are replacing the Army greens. It was kind of a surreal experience.
First, it made us all realize how close to graduation we are getting. We have been told we may wear them for graduation. Normally you graduate in ACU's (camo). Either way, we are the first graduating class from Ft. Jackson to get the ASU's. I'm still undecided on if I like them or the greens better. Both are very nice looking though. It felt strange being so dressed up. It was like me being back at my civilian job (banking) dress shirt, slacks, tie, jacket...
The other thing that made our trip so weird was seeing all the new soldiers that were there waiting to go to BCT. It's hard to believe that I was there, only 6 weeks ago. The difference that these past 6 weeks have made on me and my battle buddies are apparent when you see the soldiers in reception. I guess since I'm around the same people everyday, I don't see the day to day changes and progress we've all made, but today proved that we've made a lot of progress in the last 6 weeks.

BCT Day 39

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 39 10/21/10

Well, it finally happened. I got fired from being PG tonight. Actual, all of the peer leadership got fired 7 of us total. It always sucks to get fired from anything, but there is a silver lining to the situation. I can finish out these next few weeks with a lot less stress. I just show up for formation, training, ect. and do what I am supposed to do and not worry about anyone else.
Now I will explain what happened. First, someone was supposed to be watching their battle buddies weapon, left it in the bay when we went to chow. The DS found it, of course. The guy got into some pretty serious trouble too. Then, we left the bay in a mess when we left for chow. We had been cleaning our weapons and some people left a mess. We got smoked when we got back for chow. The DS later explained that it was our (leaders) job to make sure things like this didn't happen. The final straw was during mail time though.
One soldier received a box full of Halloween candy ($40-$50) worth. Of course the DS said we couldn't have any but then changed his mind. He said if the whole platoon got in a line and did 3 group push-ups we would get a tootsie pop. We did it and he threw out some candy for us to pass around. We were all supposed to get one and pass the extras up. After we ate them he asked if anyone had extras. No one said anything, so we had to empty our pockets to prove it. Yep, you guessed it, some people had candy in their pockets. He was upset. After getting smoked we got a lecture about responsibility, integrity, ect. And then everyone got fired.

Better Late than Never

I just wanted to let everyone know that Jason is doing great. I have the last 2 weeks of letters to post but cannot find enough time in a day to sit and type them out. Anyone wanna babysit? I am sorry!! With my 2 year old daughter, so much like her daddy(poor thing) and home renovations finishing up hopefully before Jason gets home(keeping my fingers crossed) the last 2 weeks have been very long and crazy. Hopefully I can get something up for everyone to read. Again, I am so sorry!!

Emily

BCT Day 38

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 38
10-20-10

We finished up ARM today. We had to shoot at the timed targets, similar to BRM qualifications, except we were in full battle rattle and had to hit the targets more than once to get a "kill". It was actually fun. Now, we have to turn in our "new weapons and red dot sight and go back to our old ones. This is the last range we will go for a week or more. We need a break from the range. It's getting a little old.
Since there's not much to write about, I'll give you an update on our platoon. For the most part we get alone much better and don't get in trouble as much as we were. We only have a couple of people that can't keep their mouth shut when they should. Even Pvt Hardcore has changed. Actually I'm going to rename him Pvt Marti, since that's that we call him. We get along fine now. He still occasionally talks trash to others but tries to do the right thing most of the time. He even told me that I'll make a good officer. I guess you can say we are doing much better, which I'm sure is expected now that we are in week 6 an about to go to blue phase.

BCT Day 37

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 37
10-19-10

Today did not start off well. First we were supposed to have our morning formation at 5:50, which means we need to be down and ready for formation at 5:40. At 5:25 a DS comes into the bay and starts yelling at us for not being downstairs yet. This led to push-ups. We didn't do many but it was too early to be beating our face.
Next, we were scheduled for breakfast from 6:40 to 7:00 with a bus to the range at 7:15. So, we didn't have a lot of time for chow to begin with. When we got to the DFAC there's another company in front of us for chow. They decided to go to chow early instead of their schedule time. This means we literally had 2 minutes to eat before we had to rush back to catch the bus. Everyone was pissed, even the DS's. There was also a last minute change to the rage schedule. We had to share the range with another company, the same one that cheated us out of breakfast. We have sort of a rivalry with this company already. Even our DS's don;t like their DS's. Their DS's treat their soldiers like crap, always yelling and cussing at them and such. Anyway that company won the D&C competition earlier in the cycle. So they thought they were the stuff. Well, until they came in second place in BRM, which we smoked them in. They tried to brag about winning D&C at the range today but Pvt Subtitle, my bunkmate, shut them up quickly though. He pointed out that D&C wouldn't help them much when they ended up in Afghanistan. That pretty much ended their bragging.
The icing on this day happened at dinner. I had just marched my platoon over for chow and we were waiting behind 2 platoon to go in. All of a sudden a female DS from another company bust out of nowhere and starts yelling at us not talking(we really weren't) She asked where the PG's were. I say "Here Drill Sergeant!!!" She starts yelling about getting my platoon under control(they were). Now apparently, I thought this was funny. She stops yelling and says "Are you smiling at me? I'll punch you in the face!!" I don't think I was smiling but I probably did have some smart ass grin on my face though. I guess the point of this story is that we've become immune to all the yelling and even getting smoked sometimes. There are time we all fight back laughter when getting smoked. Ahhh, the fun we have at BCT.

BCT Day 36

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.

B-CT Day 36
10-18-10

We started the day off strong, with diagnostic PT test. I improved my score in all 3 events. I increased my overall score by 24 points to a 254. It's still short of my final goal of 270, but it was higher than I set for today, 250. I have about 2.5 weeks until the final PT test, I think I can set up to 270 by then. The biggest problem I had today was with the run. I was not prepared to run in the cool weather. It will only be cooler for the final, so I better get more prepared.
We had to head back to the EST, too. We are starting advanced rifle marksmanship (ARM) this week, so we used EST as an introduction. It allows us to practice shooting without wasting ammo. One component that makes ARM different then BRMs is the gear we wear. We wear full battle rattle when we shoot. We all found out today that this extra gear make it much more difficult to do everything, not just shoot. It's heavy , hot, and uncomfortable. It's hard to imagine what it's like to have to basically live in this stuff like some soldiers have to. We also did simulated night fire. We were in pitch black room and wearing night vision goggles. This was actually neat. I've always wondered what it was like using night vision goggles, now I know.
In non- training news you'll never guess what we had in the DFAL tonight...OREO's!!!! They had little packages with 4 cookies inside. It was awesome. I came so close to getting a glass of milk to go with the,. Then I realized being seen eating milk and cookies by DS probably wouldn't be the type of attention I want. I'd never hear the end of it.

BCT Day 35

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 35
10-17-10

Another Sunday and another week is in the books. We only have 4 more Sundays left.
The Bible teaches us that Sunday should be a day of rest. At BCT, even non-Christians become believers on Sunday. Almost everyone take a nap between breakfast and lunch. Some take short naps and some sleep the entire 4 or so hours. I go to church services so I usually don't nap. I still enjoy going to service on Sundays. Not only does it give me the opportunity to worship the Lord and fellowship with other Christians, it also give me a chance to clear my mind before the next week.
We got another treat tonight. The entire battalion got to go tot the Army's Soldier Show. It was basically a concert where all the singers and musicians are soldiers. They covered all types of music- rock, rap, country, even Broadway. It was really good. The best part was the Michael Jackson tribute and they did some Journey too. Journey always make me smile. I guess it make me think of my younger days.
Before I finish up for the night, I want to give a shot out to all of my readers and followers of this blog. In the past several days I've had several of my battle buddies tell me how much of their families and friends enjoy reading this. I'm happy to know that I'm not just wasting my time with this. Thanks for all of your support.

BCT Day 34

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 34
10-16-10

I'm officially halfway through BCT, 34 days down and 33 to go. I stead of thinking about how many days I've been here I can now think about how many days I have left.
We had our first and only, organized PT of the week this morning. It was a little cool out but it was nice to do PT. We haven't had any time to do PT since we've been going to the ranges every morning. We've got another diagnostic pt test Monday morning too.
After PT and chow, we had to go to a ceremony for the entire battalion. They announced the the best shooting company and platoon. It just made what we already knew official. We have the best shooting company and my platoon was the best in the company. We got a streamer that goes on our phase banner. Our Co. Commander even reward the entire company with ice cream sandwiches. That was a nice treat. Everyone ate slow and savored the taste.
We also went to the barber shop and troop store today. We are all bald again. We didn't do much for the rest of the day. Pretty much clean and zero in our red dot scopes.

BCT Day 33

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 33
10-15-10

Today was kinda of fun since we had completed BRM. We marched out to the confidence course. It was a short march only about 2 miles. The confidence course is just a big obstacle course. It probably had about 25 obstacles. Most of them were too easy, but a few took some effort. It was fun though a nice change from going to the range everyday.
A weird thing happened while we were there. One of out DS's that isn't around to often, kept calling me and my bunk-mate, Private Subtitle, the wrong name. She did it several times. She said that we look alike. Probably b/c were both bald. Anyway, it's just weird to be called someone else name.
Once we marched back, we got some new weapons. We were issued M-4's and M-16A4's. They are similar to our m16A2's that we've been using, but they are newer and nicer. We also for some red dot scopes for them. These are Advanced Rifle Marksmanship (ARM). That's what were doing this coming week. We are the only company in the battalion to get updated weapons, probably b/c we are the best shooters.
The best part of the day came at the end. We got to make phone calls!! They were only 5 minutes, but it was still so awesome to talk to mu wife. My little girl, Izzy, even talked to me for a minute. I miss them so much, but I will see them soon.

BCT Day 32

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 32
10-14-10

Well, I didn't get expert. It's not all that bad though, I shot much better today. I shot a 34 only 2 shy of expert. That's an improvement of 8 from yesterday, but still a little depressing that I came so close and still came up short. That's just how it goes sometimes. Our company is still ahead in qualifying. Our DS also told us that we scored better than 2nd platoon. So not only did my company score the best, my platoon is the best. We are supposed to be rewarded for our shooting too, with phone calls and other treats like pizza. I could care less about pizza, but the call has me excited. Just a side note, at this time, 5 weeks from now, I should be back at home in my own bed. Thank God!!

BCT Day 31

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 31
10-13-10

Today was pre-qualification day. It was a very good day for our company. Everyone in our company qualified. We had 25 to get expert (36 or better) 2 of those were Hawkeye (perfect 40) The next closest company had 7 experts. The company did so well that the battalion Commander and Sergeant Major came and talked to us. They were very impressed. Our company has a history of having the best shooters every cycle.
In an individual level, it wasn't a good day. I did much worse than I expected. I only got a 26 out of 40. I was expecting to get a better score based on the way that I had been shooting at the other ranges. I do have one more chance though. We are qualifying tomorrow. So I have 40 more shots to hit at least 36 targets.

BCT Day 30

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 30
10-12-10

Today was a good day. We started the day off with a ruck march to another range. The march was about 5 miles. I made it through perfectly no blisters or anything. I felt like I could have gone another 5 miles, which is a good thing. The marches should be getting harder soon. We will be carrying more stuff in our ruck sacks and wearing our body armor and helmets.
The range was similar to what we did at EST last week. We shot at single and multiple target of distances of 75m to 300m. I did ok. I shot a 30,29,27 out of 40 in 3 rounds. We need to shoot a 24 minimum. Tomorrow it gets more serious though. We have pre-qualification tomorrow and qualification on Thursday. We have to hit 23 out of 40 targets to qualify. We have 3 chances 2 tomorrow and 1 Thursday. They will take our highest score from the 3 tries.
The day was topped of with a couple of letters from my wife. The first one had a surprise inside for me, a picture of my beautiful little girl and a scarecrow she colored for me. It was awesome. The second had a different kind of surprise. My wife has had some issues at home since our A/C flooded our house one weekend. I can;t stand not being around to help work things out like that. Fortunately, I have some great DS's. They let me make a short phone call to make sure everything was okay. Of course everything was under control other than she will have to replace almost all the flooring in our home. I wish we could have talked about other things, but it was some peace of mind to know everything was okay.

BCT Days 27, 28, 29

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 Days 27-29
10/9-10-11

I'm combining this 3 days b/c there isn't to write about in a single day.
We got a 3 day weekend due to Columbus day on Monday. All we did Saturday was have about a 2 hour question and answer session with the company First Sergeant. He answered questions about his service, things coming up in BCT, and what Army life is like after BCT. He also asked what we like and dislike about BCT so far. After that we went to chow and then it was basically free time until lights out.
Sunday was all free time. I went to church services this morning and ran a couple of miles. Other than that I just hung out in the bay and rested a little. I hoped that we would get a phone call, but I wasn't expecting one. Good thing I didn't have high expectations, b/c we didn't get one.
Monday was Columbus day, so it was another day off. The day started off a little rocky. Saturday night, one of our DS found a big tape ball someone in the bay made. We aren't supposed to have games or anything, even if they are homemade. He told us that if we had anything else that we made, that we could turn it in right then and there would be no consequences. He left the bay with a deck of cards, 2 chess boards, battleship, a basketball goal, and a beanbag toss. All of these made out of mostly duct tape. He laughed at the stuff and we didn't get into trouble, until this morning that is.
Our head DS came in and asked who made all the different games. Everyone involved came forward, but she still wasn't happy that we all wasted so much tape and supplies. So she took out the deck of cards and said we were about to play. The game we played we like this. She would draw a card and call an exercise . We would have to do as many reps as the number on the card. She did about half the deck and it lasted about an hour. In a way, I enjoyed it. We haven't had any real PT in a few days so it was good for us.
The rest of the day was free time. We even got to watch a movie. Since our platoon's name is Spartans, We watched 300. I never expected to be watching movies at BCT.

BCT Day26

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 26
10-08-10

It's hard to believe that it's been a month since I began this journey. Time has flown by. Hopefully, it will continue to go by quickly.
Nothing too exciting happened today. We went back to EST(virtual shooting range) to pratice shooting. I'm not really sure why we do this. To me it doesn't really feel like shooting a real weapon. Some people do great at EST, but can't shoot for crap the real range and vice versa. I guess it just saves the army money. The electricity is less expensive than real ammo. After EST guess what we did. Clean weapons,again, even though we didn't fire a shot today.
I guess I could give an update on being PG. It kind of sucks. I have so much responsibility but no extra benefits. The only benefit that I can think of is that I get to be first in the chow line. It's really not worth it though. Don't get me wrong I'm not going to quit or anything. I'm going to be PG until I get fired (which I get threatened with regularly) It's just that it adds extra stress to being here. I have to make sure my platoon is on time,has the right uniform and equipment, gets alone with each other, stays out of trouble, ect. I also have to march us just about everywhere. This is one of the hardest parts for me. I'm trying to learn the proper commands and rules for marching. I'm starting to lose my voice some too from all the yelling I have to do when we march.

BCT Day 25

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 25
10-7-10

Another day, another range. White phase is all about Basic Rifle Mark-making (BRM) so we shoot everyday. We actually have qualification next week, so the DS's are getting us ready for that. BRM is the most important part of BCT in the eyes of the DS's. Our company has had all of it's soldiers qualify for the past 4 BCT cycles, so we are in good hands.
Today's range was a step up like the qualification range will be. It has timed targets from 50 meters to 300 meters. I did okay, but not as good as I hoped. I've done well enough to qualify though so it's okay.
This was literally all we did today. After we get back to the barracks, we cleaned our weapons until the end of the day.

BCT Day 24

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 24
10-6-10

Today we went to the same range as yesterday to give everyone a chance to zero again. I didn't get to shoot since I zeroed yesterday. So, I was bored most of the morning.
It was very cool this morning though. Definitely, the coolest morning so far. I could see my breathe. We have been told to bring gloves and wear thermal undershirts, and wear winter boots in the morning for tomorrows range. If it is cool at the beginning of October then sleeping in the field for 5 nights in mid November won't be fun. I guess that's what sleeping bags are for though.
There's also a chance that yesterday's talk helped everyone realize that this is not high school. The platoon showed improvement, but there's still a lot of work to do. O do have more hope now that we can straighten up though.

BCT Day 23

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 23
October 5, 2010


I had staff duty again. This time it was from 5:00 to 7:00, so I didn't really miss any sleep. I'm not sure how I ended up with it again so soon though. I'm not complaining though. I got to watch ESPN for almost the whole 2 hours. Our head DS was on duty with us, and she's cool. It was very laid back.
We didn't do to much this morning, just cleaned our weapons again. It was kinda boring until lunch. We hadn't been eating long when our DS told us we needed to be in formation, ready to go to the range with our gear by 12:30. It was about 12:05 when he said this. In order to make this happen we would all have to eat fast and get back to the bay to get our gear. The only problem is that some of the platoon has one speed, sloooowww. Some of the platoon, including myself, was downstairs ready to go on time. I was the last one to get back to the bay (PG duties) and still mad it. It was after 12:45 before everyone was ready to go, not good. The DS was not happy, but we had a bus to catch.
I had a good day at the range today. This range was to allow us to zero (make sure the bullets hit the area we aim at) our weapons at 175 meters and 300 meters. The range used a computer system and radar to give us real time feedback on where we hit or missed the target. I zeroed in at both 175m and 300m pretty easily.
The real fun happened when we got back to the bay. The DS met with me and 4 other squad leaders and asked us what we thought about he platoon. We all thought that we had a handful of trouble makers ruining the whole platoon, DS agreed. He isn't very happy with the platoon as a whole. After our meeting, he let the rest of the platoon know exactly how he felt and what myself and squad leaders had been instructed to do. he even threatened to take us back to red phase. Second platoon must be having the same problems, b/c we all got some extra PT in before lights out. We did at least 300 sit-ups. Some people considered it getting smoked. I call it studying for the final pt test.

BCT Day 22

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 22
Oct. 4,2010

Today was basically a repeat of Friday. We marched to the range, finished zeroing our weapons, and marched back. All we did after we got back was clean our weapons. The DS's are obsessed with us cleaning our weapons. I fully understand the importance of a properly maintained weapon, but they can only get so clean.
I did get a surprise tonight though. I'm now PG for our platoon.o now, not only do I have to worry about myself, I'm responsible for 37 other soldiers. My DS said it's b/c I'm an O95, or Officer Candidate. He told me he wants to see what I've got. He also told me that he's getting tired of some of the crap in our platoon and that it needs to stop. I'm assuming he means things like being late for formations, talking or not paying attention when we should, ect. I'm not sure how I'm going to get it straightened out just yet but I'll think of something.

BCT Day 21

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 21
Oct. 3,2010

This Sunday has really been a day off. The only thing worth writing about is the fact that we finally got a phone call. It was only 10 minutes, but it was great. It'd been almost 3 weeks since I last talked to Em. It was amazing to hear her voice, Izzy told me "hey" too. Surprisingly I managed to fight back the tears. Not everyone did though. Some people we're crying like babies. I'm not putting them down though. It can be emotional to finally get to talk to your family. One guy from 2nd Platoon even found out he was going to be a dad. How's that for an exciting 10 minute call?
Since I have some space to fill today, I'm going to cover one of if not the most important topics at BCT-FOOD or Chow as we call it. For the most part the food in DFAC is just cafeteria food. It's not great, but it's not bad either. Breakfast is easily the best meal of the day. Here's a typical breakfast for me.- scrambles eggs, bacon, hash browns, french toast (or waffles), cereal, and fruit. I usually get Cocoa Crispies or Fruit Loops for my cereal. That's about as close as I get to "junk" food.
Lunch and dinner are usually smaller meals for me. We get a choice of entrees- typically a couple different meats, maybe a pasta, and grilled cheese, bread, sides(rice and veggies) There's also a salad bar too. I fined my self eating baked fish or chicken normally. I try to mix up my sides some. If you know me then you know that I am a very pick eater. However, I've branched out a little and tried a few new things. Nothing special, mostly just peas and beans.I always finish my meal off with dessert, fruit or yogurt.
Most of the food is pretty healthy. Sundays they usually serve less healthy food though. Today for example, the lunch choices were hamburgers, hot dog's (w/ or w/o chili), corn dogs, or pizza. We were even able to get a cookie today. I know to most of you that's not a big deal but when you haven't seen a cookie in nearly a month you better believe I ate a cookie. I would have ate a whole plate full of them if I could.
The weirdest thing concerning food to me is that I haven't had cravings for civilian food like Mexican or McDonald's. Others talk about wanting stuff like that all the time, but I haven't really had cravings. I guess it's like the TV thing I talked about previously. I've just gotten to the point that I'm used to being here. Still though, the first place I'm going when I get home is San Marcos(the BEST Mexican joint in my town).

BCT Day 20

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 20
October 2,2010

Even though today was Saturday, it almost felt like Sunday. It was a very laid back day. We started off the day with a short PT session. We had to wear our long sleeved shirts, and most people were still pretty chilly. I don't think that I've mentioned it, but in the last week the season has changed. Fall is here at Fort Jackson. It was like someone flipped a switch. All of a sudden, the mornings are cool(as low as the upper 40s) and the days are comfortable(70s). I like it though. Everything is easier when it's not blistering hot outside.
Our D and C competition was this morning. My platoon did better than I though we would. We didn't win or anything but we did okay. After they announced the winner, every platoon in the battalion changed their banners to white. This signified our transition from red phase to white phase.
I can already tell a difference in phases. The DS's seem a little more relaxed. We can march on our own to some places, like the DFAC. We also get to call cadence when we march. It gives us rhythm to help keep us in step. There are all kinds of cadences. We'll get more personal time in white phase too. We'll get 1.5 hours instead of 1 hour.
Since we changed phases, we had to do evaluations. We did a self evaluation and a peer evaluation on 3 different soldiers. Luckily, I got to evaluate 3 soldiers that I interact with regularly. That made it easier to do. I'm not sure how the evals are used, but our DS said that she used them.
After evals, two of our DS sat us down and told us about themselves. They talked about how long they've been in, where they've been stationed, deployments their families, ect. Then every soldier in our platoon had to stand up and tell their story. This has been one of my favorite things we've done so far. It was interesting learning more about my battle buddies. And it really help to understand their personalities more when I know their background.
There are only 37 in our platoon, but there is so much diversity. We've got soldiers from all over the world- Turkey, Africa, Brazil, Mexico to name a few countries represented. Ages range from 18-38. Everyone has a unique reason for joining the Army too. Some just want to serve their country, others supporting families, and some just carrying on family history by serving in the military service. All this diversity means everyone brings something different to the team.

BCT Day 19

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 Dat 19
Oct. 1,2010

We are finally into October. The last time I saw my family was September 7th. It's getting close to a month since then. The time has flown by. Hopefully the next 7 weeks will do the same.
We went back to the ranges to continue grouping and zeroing our weapons. Since I got my grouping down yesterday, all I had to focus on was zero. Everyone got to shoot the first round (we get to fire 15 shots each). I zeroed in with my 15 shots, so I was done for the day. The only ones that shot more was the ones that still needed help grouping. We spent about 6 hours at the range and I fired 15 times. We are going back to do the same thing Monday. I hope that I get to shoot more.
After we got back from the range, we practiced our drill and ceremony (marching). There's a D and C competition tomorrow morning. I hate to say it but my platoon is not very good at it. We have several that just can't get it, myself included. My problem is that I have no rhythm and I'm not very coordinated either. I can handle the basics, but some of the fancy stuff kills me.
Were also supposed to be going to white phase tomorrow. BCT has 3 phases(red, white and blue) Red is the first phase(total control) meaning that the DS control everything we do. Red also focuses on team building, a concept that we haven't quiet mastered yet. I'll let you know how white is if we make it.

BCT Day 18

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 18
September 30,2010


We finally started shooting our weapons today. We marched out to the range, which was about 3 miles, had breakfast, and started our day. Today we worked on grouping. We had to get 8 out of 10 shots in a 4cm circle. I got mine on the first try, but still got to shoot a few more times through out the day. We will be going to the ranges and shooting almost everyday for the next 4 weeks. It should be cool. I like to shoot and it makes us feel like soldiers. I've also heard that if you do well, you can get extra phone privileges. You better believe I'll be perfecting my skills if it means I can talk to my wife.
The situation with Pvt Hardcore picked back up this morning as well. The whole company got a short speech about racism and being a team from our company commander. He also questioned Pvt Hardcore, the ex-PG (he got fired last night), myself and the other witnesses. I'm not sure if Pvt Hardcore is actually going to get punished or not. I haven't seen him be punished yet. Maybe whatever they said will straighten him out, if not he may not be in the Army long.
Our new PG was also our bay leader. The bay leader is responsible for our bay (making sure it gets cleaned, supplies for the bay, ect.) and working with 60+ guys in the bay. They didn't think he needed to be PG and bay leader so we got a new bay leader. That would be me. I can't say that I'm very excited about it though. It's a lot of responsibility with no extra benefits. I do get to make out the fireguard roster though. I could leave myself off and get some extra sleep I guess. I'll keep you updated on how that goes and how long it takes to get fired. Everyone gets fired, some sooner than others.

BCT Day 17

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.

*Sorry guys I'm a little behind with our house flooding and a 2 year old life has been CRAZY!!! Hopefully I can get caught up in a few days.

BCT Day 17
September 29,2010


It was raining this morning so we held our morning PT downstairs in our company area. It's still outdoors, but it's covered. Since we didn't have to march out to the PT field, they had more time to work us out. And they took full advantage if it. It was the most intense workout that we've had so far. It was really focused on push-ups and sit-ups for the most part. I guess it's because we had a lot of people that failed or struggled on yesterdays PT test. My arms felt like jello before we were finished.
This afternoon we had a 4 hour MOPP exercise. This is where we put on all our CBRN gear (gas mask, chem jacket, pants, rubber boots and gloves)and sit in a classroom and learn about what to do in a chemical, biological, or nuclear attack. We had all the gear on over our uniforms, so it was very hot and uncomfortable. The first hour was the worst. After that, I guess my body had gotten used to it.
We did have something interesting happen in our platoon this evening. We were getting ready for formation after dinner and our Platoon Guide (PG) told everyone to stop talking in formation. Before I go any further let me explain what the PG does. The PG (and outside PG) are soldiers that are in our platoon that are in"in charge" of the platoon. They are in charge when the DS's aren't around. So anyways, the PG asked everyone to be quiet. One guy, we'll call him Private Hardcore b/c he always acts like he's so hard but can't pass the PT test, said he didn't have to stop talking. This wasn't the first time he's mouthed off, so the PG told him that he could just take it up with the DS when they got back to the bay.
When we got back to the bay, PVT Hardcore came up the the PG and told him if he get's in trouble that he would kill him (and he was serious). The PG's bunk is next to mine so I heard him and so did many others. So the PG told the DS and the DS talked with several people who witnessed what had happen. When the DS talked to Pvt. Hardcore and his battle buddy they lied and said nothing happened. Apparently, they told the DS something else too.
When the DS called me and the others back into her office, she asked us about racism in the bay. Pvt Hardcore(Hispanic) and his battle buddy (African American) told the DS that we all were racist. We were shocked by this b/c there were many people of different races in the room that witnessed what had happen. Of course we all denied it. I just couldn't believe that these other 2 guys were playing the race card to get out of trouble. Anyways, the DS ended up taking Pvt Hardcore's weapon as a precaution and that was the end of it for the night.

BCT Day 16

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 16
September 28,2010

We had our first full PT test this morning. I did ok, but not as well as I wanted to. I scored 230 points out of 300. My lowest scoring event was the 2 mile run. My best event was the push-ups. 230 is a decent score, and more than a lot of people in my platoon. My goal is to get at least 275 on my final test. I'm case you were wondering you only need 150 to graduate.
We also shot our weapons for the first time today, sort of. We went to an electronic firing range, called EST. We used a replica of our M-16's hooked up to a computer to shoot at a large screen. It was almost like a video game, but realistic. The weapons even "kicked" like the real thing. I've shot plenty of guns, but not they way the Army wants us to shoot. It took me a few tries to do it their way, I eventually caught on and did well. W are supposed to be going to the real ranges on Thursday.
I've been so busy telling you about what I do everyday that I haven't been able to tell you much about the people in my platoon. As you can imagine there are about 60 guys living together in one room things get interesting sometimes. I'm going to try to incorporate some of these stories in my writing. I may have to edit them a little to get it rated PG though.

BCT Day 15

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 15
September 27,2010

Today was a pretty cool day. We started out with a march to the Fit to Win (FTW) course. FTW is an obstacle course that you run as a team, but you complete the obstacles as individuals. I think the course is about 1/2 mile long. To make it even more fun, it rained all night so the course was wet and muddy. Most of the obstacles were either jumping over something like a wall or crawling under or through something. Four teams ran the course at a time, so it was an unofficial race. My team won, luckily. It was some of the most fun we've had so far. Everyone was filthy and so pumped up after FTW. We ate some breakfast (hot a's) and headed to our next stop, the gas chamber.
We marched from FTW to the chamber, in some light rain. We were already wet from FTW though. Plus, we had more to worry about than rain. Everyone was nervous about the gas chamber. We've all heard the horror stories about it.
They took us in by platoon, so there were about 35 of us in at one time. our mask were on when we walked in so everything seemed fine. Within a few seconds our shin was burning. We still were able to breath fine since we still had our mask on. Then, the fun started. The DS's went up to us one by one, made us break the seal on our mask, say our rank, name and SS#, and put our mask back on and clear the gas out of it so we could breath again. This did cause a little discomfort, but as long as we didn't open our eyes or breath in while our mask was off. Most people were fine, but a few panicked. One guy, everyone calls him Turkey since that's were he's from freaked out. He wanted to get out and almost started fighting the DS's. He didn't get out, though. After our masks were back on they split us up in groups of 10. Each group had to take our mask completely off our heads and say the Soldiers Creed.Once you breath in, it's over. It has to be the worst experience of my life. Your eyes, lungs, and skin are on fire. You can't breath. There's snot pouring out of your nose. You're going and want to puke. They may have made us stay in for 10 seconds or so like that, but it felt like forever. Once your outside, it still takes several minutes to catch your breath and get back to normal.
Even though it sucked while we were in there, I'm glad we did it. I'll definitely never forget it. It's something most people can't say they've done. Plus, it's just another graduation requirement checked off the list. Oh, by the way, this was all before lunch.
The rest of the day was more relaxed. I think they were letting us recover from our intense morning. That and we are ahead of the normal BCT schedule, so we don't have to rush. Our company only has about 75 people in it. The company would normally have almost 4 times that many soldiers in it. So, it doesn't take us as long to complete most things. Tonight really capped off the day as well. I got 5 pieces of mail some letters and pictures from Em and Izzy, one from my mom , and a card and picture from my civilian co-workers. It's hard to imagine letters making that much of a difference considering that they are rarely used anymore. But when it's the only thing that keeps you connected to the outside world, it's amazing to get a simple letter. To make it even better we didn't have to pay for our mail. We have a PT test in the morning, so they didn't want to wear us out. With that said I've got some reading to do...

BCT Day 14

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 14
September 26,2010

Two weeks down!! This one flew by. This was an off day since it was Sunday. Worship Services were canceled today because there was a Christian concert this morning. It was open to all BCT and AIT soldiers. Only about 10 people from our company went. Maybe everyone else knew something we didn't, but probably not since there were about 1500 soldiers there. Everyone seemed excited to be there. That is until the music started. It was all in Spanish. That's right it was Hispanic Christian concert. Someone dropped the ball on communicating that important fact. Not only that it lasted until lunch. So we didn't get any personal time this morning.
It turned out not to be a big deal though. The only thing we did after lunch was spend a couple hours cleaning our bay. We had the rest of the day off basically. Most of us used some of the time to write our essays.
Tonight was a huge disappointment. We were expecting to get some phone time tonight. Our DS's never directly told us that, but all signs pointed that way. 2nd Platoon was told we were getting calls., but they got in trouble and lost their privileges. They next sign was that our DS let those that needed to get numbers from their cell phones. You'd thing that they meant for us to use the numbers for something. Unfortunately the day ended with no call. I'm very disappointed. I've looked forward to hearing my wife's voice all day.

BCT Dat 13

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 13
September 25,2010

We had our CLS test today. It was pretty easy though. However only one person made a 100 on it, ME. We had 10 people fail, and that means now I have to tutor them tomorrow so they can retake it. It should be easy since they already know the questions.
Our first combative (hand to hand combat) class was today. The Army uses a modifies form of jui jistu, so it's mostly a ground based system. We just covered some basic positions today. We did get to spar some at the end of class. That was fun, but we got a lecture about safety b/c some people got hurt trying stuff that they had seen in the UFC or something. It really doesn't matter what we are doing there's always someone getting into trouble for being stupid, more on that later.
We were issued our gas mask this evening, which can only mean one thing. The dreaded gas chamber is coming up soon. It will probably be early next week. I'm not looking forward to it either. They say it pretty rough, burning skin and eyes, snot pouring out of your nose, vomiting, ect. I'll let you know if all that's true or not.
Remember when I said that there are people always getting in trouble. Well we have some people in our platoon that haven't realized where they are yet. They constantly talk when they aren't supposed to, don't listen to the DS, show up for formation late, and the list goes on. So, thanks ti them, we have to write a 500 word essay on why we want to be in the Army by Monday morning. Honestly, I'd rather get smoked. I bet we have at least 2 people that don't do the essay either. I'll let you know if I'm right or not.
We also got to go to the troop store. It's like a mini PX. I bought an extra PT uniform and a few other small things I needed. All the males had to get haircuts. So, I'm bald again.

BCT Day 12

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 12
September 24,2010

I had a long day today. Not a bad day, just too long. I had staff duty from 3:00 til 5:00, so I was up at 2:30 to get ready. Staff duty is where we go to our battalion offices and clean up, answer the phone, ect. It's not bad they even have a TV in there. It felt strange to have a TV on. I haven't seen a TV in a couple of weeks. I really don't think about it much at this point. I used to watch it everyday, and now it's like it's normal not to have a TV. I may just drop cable when I get back. I'm pretty sure Em (my wife) won't go for that though.
I had a pretty cool experience during staff duty. The shift before mine said they got a call that said the Post Commander (a 2 star general that is in charge of the entire base) and the post Command Sergent Major (highest enlisted soldier on base) were going around the base checking in on people. I kind of hoped that he wouldn't come by while we were on duty though. I was nervous about what to say and do when he came by. Well they did come by and the only ones there when he came in were me and my battle buddy. Our DS had to go check on another soldier. So I called "attention" when they came in, since that's what your supposed to do when an officer walks in. Apparently it was the right thing. He talked to us for a few minutes and was pretty laid back. Our DS came in while he was talking to us and he told her what I did. He said that I was the only person that had done that all night. He even gave us his coin. Senior officers and NCO's have special coins that they give out when someone does something really good. It's an honor to get one especially from the Post Commander. I'd guess most soldiers go through BCT never even getting to see him, much less talk to and get his coin. I was pretty excited about how it all went down. Our DS told us good job when the General left, which is something that NEVER comes out of DS's mouth. When we got to formation our Battalion Commander (Leutinent Colonel) and Battalion Sergent Major came by and wanted to know what happened and also told us good job. They told our DS that it reflected on the job that they were doing too. So maybe I got some brownie points with the DS.
The rest of the day was boring. We had about 8 more hours of (first aid) classes. We've got a test on it tomorrow morning. It should be pretty easy though. Most of what you learn is common sense. I'm off the bed now I've been up since 2:30 and haven't had a full nights sleep in a few days. I've had some sort of duty at night for the past few nights. And in non-BCT related news, I started dating my wife EM (Emily) 10 years ago today. Happy Anniversary Em!!! (and no I did not add that it really said that in the letter, Emily)

BCT Day 11

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 11
Sept. 23,2010

Today was kind of opposite of yesterday. Not much fun was had today. We woke up at 04:30, and packed up our gear and tents. They brought us breakfast then we headed back out to march back to the barracks. It was harder marching on a full stomach and less sleep than the march yesterday.
Once we got back to the barracks, we were supposed to have about and hour to shower, change clothes, and unpack. Halfway through the hour though one of our "jerk" DS's came in and started smoking us for not being ready. So after we just got clean, we were sweaty again. I guess that's just how it is sometimes.
We had some first aid classes today, about 8 hours worth. It was boring and we were all tired. Needless to say people's heads were bobbing. Everyone was getting smoked, including me. I got caught nodding off once. I only had to do a few push-ups and v-ups (kind of like a sit-up). Some people got much worse.
The day ended great though. I finally got some mail!!! I got a letter from Em and one from my parents. They only cost me 20 push-ups each, but it was so worth it. It's nice to hear from my family. It's hard not to know how they are doing everyday. The downside is that Em's letter said she sent one before the one I got, but I haven't received it (we number our letters so we know the order to read them in). She left off part of my address. My mom actually left off the same part but I got her letter. I'll have to investigate.

BCT Day 10

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 10
September 22,2010

This was a long day. We woke up and marched to our land nav. course (4k). They brought breakfast out to us. They call it "hot a's" when they bring food from the DFAC out to the field. All our meals today were hot a's. I'm kinda glad though, I was afraid we'd have MRE's. My group did really well with land nav. We had 3 hours to find 3 out of 5 points. My group found all 5 in 1 hour and 9 minutes. We were only a couple of minutes behind the 1st group to finish. It was a pretty easy course.
During that afternoon, we set up our camp. It was cool to see all the tents set up together. One of our DS's also showed our platoon some combat formations and movements during some down time. He 's an infantryman and has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan several times. So, he has plenty of experience to share with us and has some cool stories. He's probably my favorite DS. He's laid back as long as your doing what your supposed to be, just don't get on his bad side.
Once the sun went down, we started our night land nav. course. It was the same course, we just had to find 3 different points. It was fun wondering through the forest in the dark. We found our points easily, but didn't rush back to finish this time. We just hung out in the woods since we knew the DS's would find something else to keep us busy if we finished quickly.
The actual "camping" part wasn't as fun as I had hoped. It wasn't bad, I just didn't sleep good. Plus we only had about 5 hours of sleep. Overall though this has been the most fun I've had so far.

BCt Day9

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 Day9
September 21,2010

We had our first "real" PT session today. It was actually a pretty tough workout. Part of the workout was called climbing drills. Climbing drills are a variety of exercises using a pull-up bar. Most of my workouts before I shipped to BCT centered on Push-ups and sit-ups, which are two of the three components of the APFT (PT Test). So, the pull-up exercises were tough. If you are reading this and preparing for BCT, work on pull-ups!!!
After PT and breakfast, we marched out to the team development course(TDC). We had the same load in our ruck packs as the march last week, but this one was shorter. The TDC was cool. We were split up into teams of 8-10 and had to complete obstacles using limited supplies and teamwork. For example, we had to get our team and a 55 gallon drum of "fuel" across a "destroyed bridge" using only a couple of 6-8ft boards. It was really more of a mental puzzle than a physical. The hardest part was trying to come up with a plan to complete the obstacle using only the supplies we had. Our team completed 2 out of 4 obstacles, which was in line with all the other teams. We had problems with everyone wanting to be the boss at first, but eventually worked better together. This was actually the goal of the TDC, to get us to use teamwork.
Once we marched back from TDC, we got a refresher on land navigation and got packed and got packed for tomorrow's march and course. I think the DS told us the march would be about 4k which is only about 2.5 miles. Our rack sack will be little heavier to since we are staying in the field over night. I'm not looking forward to the march, but I think the course will be fun.

BCT Day 8

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 8
September 20,2010

WE had our first AGR this morning. AGR's are group runs where everyone is put into groups based on our 1 mile run times from last week. I was in b group which is the 2nd fastest group. I missed A group by 9 seconds on my 1 mile time. I think I may move up to A group next time though. This run wasn't very hard, and I'd rather be challenged which will help me a better time on our pt test. We only ran about 1.75 miles, but it felt good to run again. I hadn't ran in almost 3 weeks and I kind of missed it. I enjoyed running in a group though. It's motivating to know that you have your battle buddies right there beside you.
Most of the day was slow. More classroom. We got a briefing from our company commander on BCT (mostly things that we have already heard several times), a briefing on proper nutrition, and one from our athletic trainer on common injuries at BCT.
Things should pick up soon, or so our DS's say. We're about to start doing more "soldier" stuff instead of sitting in classrooms. We've got a team obstacle course tomorrow and land navigation Wed. We're supposed to start learning how to shoot our weapons in the next week or so too. We got an answer to our mail mystery tonight too. A couple of people in our platoon got letters. It was a little depressing to see someone else get mail and not get any. It's okay though, I should get something in the next couple of days, hopefully.

BCT Day 7

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 7
September 19,2010

Week 1 is officially in the books. This week has actually gone by pretty fast. I hope the rest of my time here does the same.
Sunday's are our "off" days here. We have free time until 12:00 and first formation isn't until 6:00 so we get to sleep a little later too. You can do whatever you need to during free time. I spent some of mine in church services. The services are non-denominational and contemporary. Our Chaplin is younger ( I think he said he's 31) and is very personable. One of the best things about going to church is there are no DS's there. It's also much quieter and relaxed than just hanging out in the bay. I really enjoyed the service, but it did make me a little homesick. I guess it just reminded me of going to church back home.- sitting next to Em, seeing all my friends from Sunday school, and stuff like that. Other than that it really allowed me to clear my mind for the coming week.
Even though free time ended at 12:00, we didn't do too much the rest of the day. We learned how to disassemble and clean our weapon, learned to set up our tent for Wednesday night, and organized our lockers. We did squeeze a smoke session in there too. We had a few people that wouldn't stop goofing off while we were supposed to be cleaning our weapons. We've heard that they are about t start punishing individuals instead of everyone. Hopefully it's not just a rumor.
Everyone's starting to get anxious about getting letters too. Some people think we should have already started getting mail, and that the DS's are just holding it. Personally, I just think it's too soon. We just mailed our families our addresses last Wednesday. It would take a few days for them to get our address write and then return to us. Wither way, I hope we get mail soon. I'd really like yo have some contact from the outside world. It'd really be great to know how Em and Izzy are doing.

BCT Day 6

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 6
September 18,2010

Today we had 8 more hours of land navigation class. They showed us how to plot points on the map, figure out the distance between points, and how to use a compass. We'll have to put what we learned to the test next Wednesday. We'll be broken in groups of 2 and will have to complete 2 land navigation courses, one during the day and one at night. They give us a map, a compass, and a few points to find. We'll plot the points on the map and use the compass to fins and walk to all points in a set amount of time. It should be pretty fun. We'll be camping in the field that night too.
I mentioned in yesterdays letter that I had fireguard shift. Fireguard shift is basically a way to make sure someone is awake and watching the bay all night long. They are 1 hour shifts from lights out(21:00) to wake up (5:00). Two people are on each shift and each shift has specific cleaning duties. Last night ours was taking out the trash and cleaning the sinks in the latrine(bathroom). Since we had the last shift we also had to wake everyone up. We have to start getting up about (04:30 or we won't be ready on time. DS's aren't happy when your late.
I also had fireguard on the second night here at BCT. It was at 1:00, so it wasn't fun. We slept a couple of hours , wake up for an hour shift, and then slept a couple more hours. Needless to say it wasn't a restful night's sleep.
Something pretty crazy happened during our shift that night. We were mopping (yes we were mopping in the dark at 1:00) and I shined my light across the bay only to see a guy standing at attention, with weapon in hand, by his bunk. I looked at the next bunk and he was out of the bed doing the same thing. I walked over to investigate, but the first guy wouldn't say anything, he was asleep on his feet. The second guy said someone came in and told them to get up because DS was coming. There ended up being 6 guys standing by their bunks. They all had the same explanation, someone woke them up b/c DS was in the room. This imaginary DS was never found.