Dear All:
Our company is up for Battalion duty again today. Because 2 of the 5 companies here are graduation we’re getting slotted with it more often than usual (it’s like having fire guard, but at a different location). Our platoon also has CQ duty all day today (same deal – just for our company), and that’s where I am now. Machado (one of our team leaders, a future medic and future father) is down here with me – we’re waiting for Mommearts. He’s one of the more “undesirable” members of our Platoon (right now he’s boycotting his shift because he “always” gets stuck with them). I don’t mind the guys who have a hard time here (either physically or mentally), but I can’t stand the ones who have the attitude that this team doesn’t count. Just my two cents.
Anyway, today was a makeup day for a snow day we had on Monday of last week that closed the Post. We went to another range for our last qualification shoot. This time we had combat qualification, which consisted of firing on a 300m range at pop-up targets, while behind a wall from 3 different positions (standing, kneeling, and prone), and tested our ability to quickly change magazines and transition from one position to the next. It’s new to Basic Training, but I think it’s more practical test than regular qualification. Of course, being a makeup meant that almost nothing ran smoothly because it wasn’t scheduled. They didn’t have any MRE’s ordered so we had a UPU (You Pick Up) for lunch in the field. It basically meant they brought the DFAL (Dining Facility) to us…except that they forgot silverware (which would have been fine if they weren’t serving chili and potato salad – we had to use the removable lens from our sunglasses as a spoon). Transportation was also jacked when we got word that while we had buses out there, we had no means of getting home. So, 20 at a time, the DS loaded us up into the deuce (an open trailer on a 2-ton army truck) to make the 20 minute drive back to our company. And it was raining – just another day at basic.
But it was made lighter because I was asked to keep retelling the story of why I got dropped by DS Morrisette (quickly becoming my favorite) last night. All the companies in 2/47 had to line up to greet Alpha as they came back from their 7-mile ruck march (the last exercise of Basic – ours is a week from next Saturday), and the row is lined with Tiki Torches along the field the walk through. I just so happened to be standing in front of one when the DS asked me to “make a wish”. I closed my eyes and opened them, but that wasn’t good enough. HE said, “go on, make a real wish – anything you want” and gestured to the flame. So, like any dumb private, I took a step forward and blew the candle out. He smiled, shook his head and said, “oh no…you did not just do that…just do push-ups”. And he walked away. He came back around #47 and gave me permission to recover. Then he asked me what I wished for. I responded (honestly, but stupidly) that I wished to become a soldier like him one day. His response? “Yeah…do more push-ups”. No one around me could keep a straight face. That will probably end up being the funniest thing that happens to me here.
Anyway, I hope things are going well back home. Thanks to everyone who has written. I’ll try to respond, as always, as soon as I can. Oh, and don’t use this address after 01 April 09. I don’t know when the last day I’ll receive mail at this address, but I’ll send out my new one as soon as I get it.
Talk to you guys soon,
Nick
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Blue Phase Day
March 14, 2009
Dear All:
0405: Yes, I’m picking this letter up again, but I’m sure I’ll have time to finally finish it – we just “phased” into Blue Phase the final 3 weeks of Basic, and cheered Alpha Company home last night as they returned from FTX3 – again, another story.
But, since this is taking a week to write, a lot has happened. That’s the thing I’ve noticed the most. Nothing has been so stressful or physically demanding to break anyone yet – I actually feel like I’ve been able to thrive in the pace and pressure – but we sure do know how to cram a lot of shit into our 17-hour work days.
Monday was another PT test. Unfortunately, no one felt as if they were prepared (physical training took a back seat to marksmanship and it felt like we hadn’t really done anything in 3 weeks). But I still improved with a 67 push-ups, 62 sit-ups, and a 2-mile in 13:58. That puts the perfect score of 75, 80, & 13:00 (respectively) well within my sights and gave me the highest point total of my platoon. The rest of the day was spent prepping for FTX 2. While most of the guys were complaining about how much they had to carry (especially Ehlers, a construction worker from NY who is unusually put out by pretty much everything and uses the “F” word to prove it). There are actually a few guys from NYC including Alfonzo, a great guy and one of our squad leaders – every day begins with his Brooklyn accent yelling “Let’s go first squad!” – he actually saw the 2nd plane hit the WTC from his apartment. Mungo and I were busy in the “War Room” scheming. We had to draw up, plot out, and plan the operations for setting up and manning our patrol base for our 2nd field training exercise (FTX). It was to be our first overnight event, and I was just glad it was starting to get warm. Plus, playing Platoon was cool too, as I drew up charts and maps and diagrams.
We woke up Tuesday morning, brought our rucks down (a good 70+ pounds with our body armor inside) and sat on the ground to eat MRE’s for breakfast. Then we took the hour bus ride out to the middle of nowhere (in the dark) and started marching out to our scouted area. The patrol base is essentially a triangle made out of soldiers who pull security while a squad or platoon rests, performs maintenance and continues to move towards its objective. The PG, APG, Radio man and Medic all remain in the middle. In reality, it was an exercise in keeping people awake, quiet, and down.
There were risks involved. We sat up in some dense bush with downed trees for cover. But that set us up for the wonders of Georgian wildlife – including wolf spiders as big as my hand, fire ants, and a black widow that was well over a half-dollar in size. Luckily we go to sleep on the ground (note the sarcasm.) The few hours I did sleep were spend fully clothed with layers on the ground and encased in my sleeping bag. We had to set up 2-man hoodies earlier that day, so we had some cover – but it was still nice to get home.
Of course, to be allowed home we had to complete ambush drills, receive and break contact, and squad attack movements (we’re definitely in a tactile mode now). But, after eating MRE’s and rucking up the “highway to hell” back to our buses, we were allowed to leave. Another major checkpoint complete. And we all had to show for it was exhaustion (from the late night land navigation and the 50% overnight security detail), soreness from our rucks, and the random case of poison ivy and a flu bug that put 4 in the infirmary this week. All in all, pretty successful. I will say this: marching through the woods with an M-16 beats the hell out of sitting in class.
0805: I just got back from the best breakfast chow I’ve had yet. Lil’ Rod (our guide-on who carries our platoon’s flag and consequently eats first) and myself (who eats second so that a PG is always with a portion of the troops) were treated to omelets. That’s right an omelet. With ham, cheese, onions, green peppers, tomatoes – the works. I’ve literally eaton scrambled eggs every day for the past 7 weeks, so it was a big deal. But I digress.
Thursday was spent with our first day of Urban Operations training. Mungo, Eissler (aka, Caption America – who ran the 2-mile in 11:30), Ayer (who was the only Titan to shoot Expert), and myself formed a super-team and spent the day busting down doors, clearing rooms, and learning the proper movements for approaching doors, walking down hallways, and other real-world scenarios. A lot of the footwork was awkward at first, but it reminded me of football practice – working together in a seamless flow – and I picked it up pretty quickly.
SIDENOTE: The first person to enter a room is either the youngest, or the lowest rank because they are the most expendable – there are little things like that that make all of our training a little more real and a little more serious.
Yesterday we phased. I’ve observed a pattern with Basic that every time we approach a new phase, our Drill Sergeants switch back from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde (or the other way around, whichever’s worse). Thursday night we had our “hydration formation” at 1900 and we got smoked until 1930. And I mean smoked. It was epic. 300 straight jumping jacks in our boots, followed by 20 minutes of “Up, Back, Go’s” The first whistle drops us into push-ups, the second flips us on our backs to do flutter kicks and the 3rd, running in place. Drill Sergeant Shepard (the most stereotypical DS in our company) ran it and loved every minute of it. At the end, you were left with 240 soldiers in sweat and a DS with a huge smile on his face.
That brought us into Blue Phase Day. And, as usual, we had something badass on the schedule: prepare yourself for this one…..yesterday I shot a grenade launcher and a rocket launcher!
We started with a block of instruction on the AT4, a single-use, anti-war, rocket launcher (feel free to Wikipedia it). Ours were rigged with a 9mm adapter that fed tracer rounds so that we could get used to the flight path. Then, the top 2 shooters in the company, both 40/40 Experts, were able to shoot live rockets. I’m not even going to try to describe what it was like to witness that.
Dear All:
0405: Yes, I’m picking this letter up again, but I’m sure I’ll have time to finally finish it – we just “phased” into Blue Phase the final 3 weeks of Basic, and cheered Alpha Company home last night as they returned from FTX3 – again, another story.
But, since this is taking a week to write, a lot has happened. That’s the thing I’ve noticed the most. Nothing has been so stressful or physically demanding to break anyone yet – I actually feel like I’ve been able to thrive in the pace and pressure – but we sure do know how to cram a lot of shit into our 17-hour work days.
Monday was another PT test. Unfortunately, no one felt as if they were prepared (physical training took a back seat to marksmanship and it felt like we hadn’t really done anything in 3 weeks). But I still improved with a 67 push-ups, 62 sit-ups, and a 2-mile in 13:58. That puts the perfect score of 75, 80, & 13:00 (respectively) well within my sights and gave me the highest point total of my platoon. The rest of the day was spent prepping for FTX 2. While most of the guys were complaining about how much they had to carry (especially Ehlers, a construction worker from NY who is unusually put out by pretty much everything and uses the “F” word to prove it). There are actually a few guys from NYC including Alfonzo, a great guy and one of our squad leaders – every day begins with his Brooklyn accent yelling “Let’s go first squad!” – he actually saw the 2nd plane hit the WTC from his apartment. Mungo and I were busy in the “War Room” scheming. We had to draw up, plot out, and plan the operations for setting up and manning our patrol base for our 2nd field training exercise (FTX). It was to be our first overnight event, and I was just glad it was starting to get warm. Plus, playing Platoon was cool too, as I drew up charts and maps and diagrams.
We woke up Tuesday morning, brought our rucks down (a good 70+ pounds with our body armor inside) and sat on the ground to eat MRE’s for breakfast. Then we took the hour bus ride out to the middle of nowhere (in the dark) and started marching out to our scouted area. The patrol base is essentially a triangle made out of soldiers who pull security while a squad or platoon rests, performs maintenance and continues to move towards its objective. The PG, APG, Radio man and Medic all remain in the middle. In reality, it was an exercise in keeping people awake, quiet, and down.
There were risks involved. We sat up in some dense bush with downed trees for cover. But that set us up for the wonders of Georgian wildlife – including wolf spiders as big as my hand, fire ants, and a black widow that was well over a half-dollar in size. Luckily we go to sleep on the ground (note the sarcasm.) The few hours I did sleep were spend fully clothed with layers on the ground and encased in my sleeping bag. We had to set up 2-man hoodies earlier that day, so we had some cover – but it was still nice to get home.
Of course, to be allowed home we had to complete ambush drills, receive and break contact, and squad attack movements (we’re definitely in a tactile mode now). But, after eating MRE’s and rucking up the “highway to hell” back to our buses, we were allowed to leave. Another major checkpoint complete. And we all had to show for it was exhaustion (from the late night land navigation and the 50% overnight security detail), soreness from our rucks, and the random case of poison ivy and a flu bug that put 4 in the infirmary this week. All in all, pretty successful. I will say this: marching through the woods with an M-16 beats the hell out of sitting in class.
0805: I just got back from the best breakfast chow I’ve had yet. Lil’ Rod (our guide-on who carries our platoon’s flag and consequently eats first) and myself (who eats second so that a PG is always with a portion of the troops) were treated to omelets. That’s right an omelet. With ham, cheese, onions, green peppers, tomatoes – the works. I’ve literally eaton scrambled eggs every day for the past 7 weeks, so it was a big deal. But I digress.
Thursday was spent with our first day of Urban Operations training. Mungo, Eissler (aka, Caption America – who ran the 2-mile in 11:30), Ayer (who was the only Titan to shoot Expert), and myself formed a super-team and spent the day busting down doors, clearing rooms, and learning the proper movements for approaching doors, walking down hallways, and other real-world scenarios. A lot of the footwork was awkward at first, but it reminded me of football practice – working together in a seamless flow – and I picked it up pretty quickly.
SIDENOTE: The first person to enter a room is either the youngest, or the lowest rank because they are the most expendable – there are little things like that that make all of our training a little more real and a little more serious.
Yesterday we phased. I’ve observed a pattern with Basic that every time we approach a new phase, our Drill Sergeants switch back from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde (or the other way around, whichever’s worse). Thursday night we had our “hydration formation” at 1900 and we got smoked until 1930. And I mean smoked. It was epic. 300 straight jumping jacks in our boots, followed by 20 minutes of “Up, Back, Go’s” The first whistle drops us into push-ups, the second flips us on our backs to do flutter kicks and the 3rd, running in place. Drill Sergeant Shepard (the most stereotypical DS in our company) ran it and loved every minute of it. At the end, you were left with 240 soldiers in sweat and a DS with a huge smile on his face.
That brought us into Blue Phase Day. And, as usual, we had something badass on the schedule: prepare yourself for this one…..yesterday I shot a grenade launcher and a rocket launcher!
We started with a block of instruction on the AT4, a single-use, anti-war, rocket launcher (feel free to Wikipedia it). Ours were rigged with a 9mm adapter that fed tracer rounds so that we could get used to the flight path. Then, the top 2 shooters in the company, both 40/40 Experts, were able to shoot live rockets. I’m not even going to try to describe what it was like to witness that.
Qualification
March 11, 2009
Dear All:
(This is a continuation of the previous post…I haven’t had much time to write – actually we just got back from 2 days out in the field, but that’s another story).
Wednesday last week was qualification day. Along with PT, it is the single most important factor determining graduation, and they definitely built it up that way. We were bused to the nicest range, given brand new magazines, and told we’d never make it out of Basic if we didn’t cut it here.
The First Sergeant and Company Commander both came out to spectate and give out the awards. I was in the first firing order because my Drill Sergeant wanted me to come up to the Tower after I finished to fill in spreadsheets and keep the day organized (and to lighten their own workload). It was still cold, and the sun was just starting to come up over the berm downrange, so the conditions weren’t perfect but I was glad to get it over with so my nerves didn’t have a chance to get to me.
I’ve done really well with the academic and physical side of the military, but I’m really just an average shot on the 300m range. It could be my weapon – going through its 180th (and last) cycle, or my second-hand gear, or the fact that I’ve only been shooting for 3 weeks – or it could just be me, plus a bunch of excuses.
March 12, 2009
Dear All:
I’m going to be really happy when I finish this letter. I thought about going to bed early tonight because I’m beat (literally – we had an epic 25 minute smoke session because some guys still can’t remain disciplined in formation – but that’s also another story).
Anyway, back to qualification – long story short, I was a first-time “GO” and earned my Marksman badge. I hit 28 of 40 targets (including 1 of 3 300m targets) and while that’s not great, it still put me in pretty exclusive company. I didn’t make sharpshooter or Expert, but I got through the course on the first try, and I’ve been told I’ll be on the range at my first duty station until I shoot a perfect score, so I’m satisfied. If nothing else, I got to put my camouflage over on my helmet (there are about a dozen in the company who couldn’t qualify – even after 15 rounds that day – so they stand out with their solid green kelvars). Now I’ve completed the look and am officially a soldier.
Dear All:
(This is a continuation of the previous post…I haven’t had much time to write – actually we just got back from 2 days out in the field, but that’s another story).
Wednesday last week was qualification day. Along with PT, it is the single most important factor determining graduation, and they definitely built it up that way. We were bused to the nicest range, given brand new magazines, and told we’d never make it out of Basic if we didn’t cut it here.
The First Sergeant and Company Commander both came out to spectate and give out the awards. I was in the first firing order because my Drill Sergeant wanted me to come up to the Tower after I finished to fill in spreadsheets and keep the day organized (and to lighten their own workload). It was still cold, and the sun was just starting to come up over the berm downrange, so the conditions weren’t perfect but I was glad to get it over with so my nerves didn’t have a chance to get to me.
I’ve done really well with the academic and physical side of the military, but I’m really just an average shot on the 300m range. It could be my weapon – going through its 180th (and last) cycle, or my second-hand gear, or the fact that I’ve only been shooting for 3 weeks – or it could just be me, plus a bunch of excuses.
March 12, 2009
Dear All:
I’m going to be really happy when I finish this letter. I thought about going to bed early tonight because I’m beat (literally – we had an epic 25 minute smoke session because some guys still can’t remain disciplined in formation – but that’s also another story).
Anyway, back to qualification – long story short, I was a first-time “GO” and earned my Marksman badge. I hit 28 of 40 targets (including 1 of 3 300m targets) and while that’s not great, it still put me in pretty exclusive company. I didn’t make sharpshooter or Expert, but I got through the course on the first try, and I’ve been told I’ll be on the range at my first duty station until I shoot a perfect score, so I’m satisfied. If nothing else, I got to put my camouflage over on my helmet (there are about a dozen in the company who couldn’t qualify – even after 15 rounds that day – so they stand out with their solid green kelvars). Now I’ve completed the look and am officially a soldier.
My Routine
Dear All:
I hope everything is going well at home. I’ve been getting a lot of mail, thank you! I hope everyone is enjoying following me along through Basic. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone by (definitely faster than a semester of law school). We’re already in Week 6 and we move into Blue Phase this coming Friday – which means that graduation is right around the corner. It also means, in retrospect, that we’re already passed a lot of training milestones.
Last week was “range week” and I squeezed off a good 1,000 rounds. Casey performed really well (YES, we all named our M-16’s as we should, we spend all day with them), even though she needed a thorough cleaning each night. We started the week at Malone 9 (there are 18 ranges on Post) at the first pop-up range. All the ranges we shoot at have targets at staggered ranges out to 300 meters. Tuesday was more of the same:
Wake up at 0500
PT until 0630
Bussed out to the range by 0645
Chow in the field until 0730
Shoot all morning
MRE at noon
Shoot all afternoon
Bussed back at 1630
Chow at 1700
Hydration formation at 2000
Lights out at 2100
And repeat.
Of course it’s not as easy as it sounds. In order to go to a range we must be in full gear (Kevlar helmet, IBA vest, LCE suspenders, elbow and knee pads) and our ruck sack (that we have to front load so that we can get on a bus with it). All in all we’re wearing about 40 lbs and rucking between 30-80 depending on the day’s training.
I hope everything is going well at home. I’ve been getting a lot of mail, thank you! I hope everyone is enjoying following me along through Basic. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone by (definitely faster than a semester of law school). We’re already in Week 6 and we move into Blue Phase this coming Friday – which means that graduation is right around the corner. It also means, in retrospect, that we’re already passed a lot of training milestones.
Last week was “range week” and I squeezed off a good 1,000 rounds. Casey performed really well (YES, we all named our M-16’s as we should, we spend all day with them), even though she needed a thorough cleaning each night. We started the week at Malone 9 (there are 18 ranges on Post) at the first pop-up range. All the ranges we shoot at have targets at staggered ranges out to 300 meters. Tuesday was more of the same:
Wake up at 0500
PT until 0630
Bussed out to the range by 0645
Chow in the field until 0730
Shoot all morning
MRE at noon
Shoot all afternoon
Bussed back at 1630
Chow at 1700
Hydration formation at 2000
Lights out at 2100
And repeat.
Of course it’s not as easy as it sounds. In order to go to a range we must be in full gear (Kevlar helmet, IBA vest, LCE suspenders, elbow and knee pads) and our ruck sack (that we have to front load so that we can get on a bus with it). All in all we’re wearing about 40 lbs and rucking between 30-80 depending on the day’s training.
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