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.