It's been a while...

Like the title says, it's been a while since I've posted. I bet you thought I had abandoned this place. I'd like to tell you that there's been so many exciting things going on since the last time you heard from me. Unfortunately, that's not the case. At least it's not exciting to me.

I guess a good place to start would be my preparation for OCS, which in case you're counting, is less than 6 weeks away. I've been to 3 Phase 0 drills since my last post. I've learned a lot during these drills. We've review the OC guide more, we've studied land nav, and best of all we even made a trip to Ft. McClellan for April's drill. That was an interesting experience.

The weekend of the April drill just happened to be the same weekend that the government shutdown was looming over our heads. There was much confusion on whether drill would happen or not, but in the end it worked out. Getting a sneak peek at where I'd be spending the majority of my summer was very helpful. I know where I'm going, where I'll be living, how the DFAC procedures go, etc. This takes some of the mystery out of OCS, which eases my nerves at least a little bit. We also did a day and a night land nav course while we were there. I'll definitely have a small advantage when land nav comes up at OCS. I've already got a feel for the terrain and how AMA runs there land nav courses.

Physically, I'm much better off than I was in January. I've stuck with my workout plan almost religiously for the past 3 months. I'm still doing Crossfit at my local affiliate, Caustic Crossfit. I can tell a huge difference in my conditioning from January to now. I've been able to complete workouts that I thought would be impossible 3-4 months ago. I can honestly say that I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. I would have crushed BCT if I went there in this condition. I really feel like I'm well prepared for the physical demands of OCS.

I still have a lot to do in the next 6 weeks though. I have to make sure I have all the necessary gear and equipment for OCS, I have my last Phase 0 drill in a couple of weeks, I have to choose a branch, and that's just a few things I need to do on the Guard side. I won't even go into what I've got to do to make sure my family and work situations are squared away before I head off on my quest for that little gold bar.

I'm not trying to scare you or anything...

I had my first OCS orientation or Phase 0 drill. The drill itself was pretty relaxed. We spent most of our time listening to presentations. We had one that was a basic overview of the National Guard OCS process - requirements to enroll, dates, etc. One was briefing on the education benefits in the National Guard. Not to sound like an advertisement, but there is so much money available to pay for college through the Guard that you could possibly go to college and actually get paid to do it. It's not bad for someone like myself that already has a bachelor's degree either. If you happen to have student loans, the Guard will pay them back or they will help pay for a Master's degree. Our most interesting brief was a review of the AMA OCS Officer Candidate guide, though.

A recent OCS graduate gave us the brief, so he was able to give us some helpful advice based on his experience mixed in with the review. Several of his stories began with "I'm not trying to scare you or anything, but ...". This was kind of the theme for the weekend though. Everyone from the officers and sergeants running Phase 0 to one of the TAC officers (TAC officers are instructors for OCS, it stands for Teach, Assess, and Counsel) that stopped by seemed to use this phrase when talking about OCS. Of course when someone has to qualify their stories with by saying something like that, you can probably be safe by assuming that they are trying to scare you. Well maybe not really scare, but just get you to mentally prepared for what's ahead.

There is so much in the OC guide to learn. Not only do you have to learn it, it has to be learned EXACTLY like it is in the guide. There's a process, an exact process, for everything, from addressing the TAC officers and NCO's, to entering a room, to going to the dining facility. The DFAC procedure is a doozie. The menu has to be read, the food has to be blessed, push ups, situps, and pull ups must be done, just to name a few of the steps. It's definitely a good thing that I have about 5 months to study the guide. For any of you who plan on going to OCS at Ft. McClellan or if you just want to look over the OC guide for fun, you can read it here.

We also had a diagnostic PT test. Luckily they let us take it Saturday afternoon, when it wasn't so cold outside. This one didn't really count for anything. It was just so everyone knows where they stand as far as PT is concerned. By the May drill, they want everybody to score a minimum of 70 points in each event. I'm already at this level, but I didn't do as well as I would have liked too. I only scored a 226, which if you followed my BCT posts you know that substantially lower than my final PT test in BCT. This is directly the result of my laziness during the holidays. I imagine it would have been much worse if I hadn't been doing CrossFit for a few weeks. I expect to score higher each month between now and June. My goal is a 275 before I begin OCS. I'm going to add some runs a few days a week in addition to my CrossFit workouts to help meet my goal. It's going to take some work, but it will be worth it. We will run everywhere we go during OCS, so I have to be prepared.

The last thing we did this weekend was begin our OCS packets. I'm in good shape here. The only things I need to complete my packet are college transcripts and an autobiography. The transcripts are easy. It's the autobiography that I'm not looking forward to. The sooner I get my packet completed and officially get enrolled in OCS the sooner I get promoted though. I found out that I'll get promoted to E-6 while I'm in OCS. This was a nice surprise. I thought I'd get paid as an E-5.

This concludes another exciting glimpse into my life and my military career. I hope you enjoy it and come back for the next update, which hopefully I'll have something for you between now and next month's drill.

First Post of 2011!

Welcome back to another exciting entry in my blog. Well, maybe not exciting, but at least it's a new post, right? Some of you probably thought I had forgotten about this place. I was just taking a break, a longer than intended break.

First off I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, especially all my battle buddies that were able to go home for the holiday's. I know I did. There's nothing like spending the holiday season with family and friends.

Since the my last post, there hasn't been a whole lot of action. I spend the first couple of weeks getting used to my civilian job again. It was strange being back in the office at first. The hardest part was having to sit behind a desk all day. Going from being outdoors and active most of the day to being inactive was hard. This also had an unintended side effect. It made me lazy.

I had a hard time getting up in the morning to do PT. I was only doing PT sporadically. I ran a few morning, but nothing like I should have been doing. It's hard to say motivated when you're on your own and there's no DS around to doing all the "motivating". I guess this is one of the disadvantages of being a reserve component of the Army or any service branch for that matter. You have to have the internal drive to stay in shape and do PT on your own between drills and other training.

It wasn't until this week that I've had a regular workout routine. I started doing CrossFit again. Most of this is due to discovering a CrossFit affiliate in my town (shout out to Caustic CrossFit). I used to do CrossFit on my own, but it's nothing like doing it in a group. I recommend finding an affiliate in your area if you can or at the very least following the WOD's on the CrossFit homepage. You can find a list of CrossFit affiliates here. I really like the workouts, but I'll be honest, they have kicked my butt this week. I've been sore since my first workout on Monday. No big deal though, at least I know I got a good workout in when I'm sore. Here's a couple of pics of me in action.





I've also been handed off to a unit, Bravo Company, 155th Brigade Special Troops Battalion. This will be my unit at least until after OCS, when I get an officer slot. The officer slot I end up with will determine what my permanent unit will be. At least this is how I understand the process.

My first OCS orientation (Phase 0) drill is coming up in a couple of weeks too. I was told that it will be mostly filing out paperwork and other administrative work. We will have a PT test too. I'm a little nervous about that since I didn't do PT like I should up until this week. I've still got 2 weeks to get back up to at least the level of fitness that I was at during BCT though. I can do it, but it'll take some work.

That's it for now I guess. Time to put my daughter to bed, wish me luck.

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.