It's A Diagnostic - (Germany) Day 92

Not sure who SPC Bacaylan is, but I saw this stool in the oversized package 

portion of the mailroom and thought it was pretty funny. My guess is that it's 

for the short people to get packages off the top shelf...lol

PT this morning was my diagnostic PT test. I'm not sure why I have to bother with a diagnostic PT test, but unfortunately I do. I guess they have a soldier do a diagnostic PT test to get a feel where they are at before giving them the official PT test. I passed each event, not anything spectacular..but I passed. I don't know the official scores, but I did about 52 push-ups, 42 sit-ups, and ran a 17 minute 2-mile. This would give me about a 212 for my PT score. Definitely not anything to brag about, but I don't need a high score for anything else. I'm not looking to get promoted to an NCO. Since leaving Korea I feel that my PT has gone downhill a bit. I felt pretty good working out in the gym everyday there, but here we don't do a lot of muscle work…we do however run a lot and I've heard we will run even more in the spring and summer as the weather gets nicer.

Work as usual lately was in the mailroom, but I went into the office first and logged onto a computer to check my email and such before heading over to the mailroom. Once in the mailroom I went to work putting all the mail I pitched yesterday into people's actual mailboxes. I did this until we opened for customers at 1100 and then worked customer service up front. The place has two soldiers working in it. Me and a staff sergeant who is getting Med-Boarded, so he's just doing this administrative work until he gets out. We also have the high schooler I talked about before. There are a number of civilians that work as well, but I'm not really sure how anything gets done without the soldiers and this volunteer. In fact I'm not even sure where the civilians disappear to half the time. It's no wonder why things take so long to get delivered…I see stuff just sitting around all the time.

I finally got signed up to attend the basic motorcycle riders course. This is a required course if you would like to get a license to ride here in Europe. It sucks that they just can't use my motorcycle endorsement from the states since I have already taken the German driving class to get my regular license over here. The problem is because of an upcoming FTX I have to attend, I can't take the class until June. So my motorcycle will just keep sitting in our parking spot until then.

After work I headed home and relaxed. We had pizza and ice cream to celebrate the passing of my PT test!

Pizza Day - (Korea) Day 200

SPC Kim and I were here cheering on SPC Mick who was leading a pack during
this morning's PT test. Unfortunately they do not close the road, so you do have
to dodge the occasional car (or bus) every now and then.

Work call this morning was 0500 (for all of us except SPC Mick, he had a PT test). We setup for the meeting in the top secret conference room. After that we left to go cheer SPC Mick on while doing his PT test. When we took our PT test it was quite a bit different. It was a special PT test for just the four of us taking it at the time. This was the normal company PT test, so there were a number of folks there to take the test. Everything was normal until the running portion. There were a ton of people with permanent profiles, so they didn't have to run. They had to walk instead…lol. They had to walk a certain amount in a certain time…pretty stupid. These were all the folks I see around post and wonder how they can pass their PT test, now I know how…just get a permanent profile.

On the opposite side of the spectrum I was so impressed with our master sergeant from our admin office. She maxed out her push-ups and sit-ups and got a 97 on her run. She's 50 years old and scored a 297! I couldn't believe it. I think my jaw dropped when I found out she did 50 push-ups! As for SPC Mick, he passed everything. He actually ended up with the same score that I got during my last test…a 224. It's decent, but I guess we both need a little work. Our new NCOIC said she wants everyone to score a 300 by our next PT test…and she was serious…lol. She just needs to solve the issue with scheduling PT and working around a lot of the crazy meetings we always seem to have.

Special K and I headed to Starbucks afterward to pick up some coffee and a bagel. We then headed back to the office and cleaned up from the early morning meeting before sitting down for a few and enjoying our coffee and breakfast. We then setup for a KUB in our conference room. This KUB was a little different than most because it consisted of a bunch of old US Korean war veterans.

Special K and I headed over to the S1 shop to get our ERBs updated. I had them add the total number of credit hours that were figured out from my transcript yesterday at the education center. I also had them add the Korean Defense Service Medal to mine. Now that I've served in Korea I can have that added, when I wear my dress uniform I'll have three ribbons to put on there. I guess I should go purchase the ribbon so I'll have it now.

We then took the office car and ran a couple errands before going to Pizza School off post to order 8 pizzas for our Friday pizza and movie ritual we have started. Our office, admin and supply all came to our conference room and Special K put in a movie called "The Tournament". The movie was OK, it's about a deadly tournament that takes place in a city between a number of assassins where the winner is the last one left alive. They are being watched at all times and people bet on the winner. There is a lot of blood and guts…just mindless entertainment. Surprisingly we weren't interrupted and we were able to watch the entire movie.

After the movie I went to our admin office to keep learning how to get someone setup in all the systems. I'm trying to get our new NCOIC all setup on our secret network. I figured I would learn better if I actually do it instead of watching someone do it. It's quite a process to get anything done. Lots of paperwork that needs to be signed by many individuals, when it's all finished we can submit it all to have the account actually setup.

We then cleaned up from a conference that was setup earlier in the secret conference room. I accidentally mistook CPT Hooah!'s almost empty can of Monster as trash and threw it away. He was looking all over for it and then finally asked us if we saw it…LOL. We then cleaned up the office and our NCOIC gave us the safety brief for the weekend. She also tells us she wants to have a "sit down" with each of us at some point next week. I wonder what that will involve???

I headed to my room and ate dinner (a microwaved pot pie) and then did my schoolwork before settling in for the night watching a few TV shows. I decided not to go out or do anything tonight since it's been a long day, I just want to get a good night's rest. I'm looking forward to the weekend!!!!

PT Test - (Korea) Day 164

One of the photographers took this photo during our colonel's ceremony the
other day. Our colonel is in the middle next to some of the ROK soldier's in our
sister office. I'm in the back row with SPC Roy to the left and CPT Hooah! to the right.
Our supply sergeant is on the bottom right.

This morning we had a PT test scheduled at 0700. Our KATUSA and I were picked up by Special K and we met our sergeant at one of the areas they conduct the test here on Yongsan Garrison. The place is located in Camp Coiner which is actually a portion of the post here. A couple of sergeants met us there to do the grading. There is a little grassy area that we settled down in and each of us performed the push-up portion and sit-up portion of the test one at a time. We then ran on the road in Camp Coiner. They do not block the road off at all, which I soon found can present some challenges. Each lap is 1/2 mile, so we did 4 laps to finish our 2 mile run. During my run I had to be mindful of traffic as I was inhaling the exhaust fumes with each deep breath. At one point a bus heading to the DFAC turned right in front of me forcing me to stop and go around it. I hit the side of it with my fist out of frustration, I couldn't believe I'm trying to take a test and have a freakin' bus cut me off. I ended up doing OK. My unofficial results are 55 push-ups, 42 Sit-ups, and a 16:20 2-mile run. In my old age group this gave me a score of 221. Not the 240 I was hoping for, but not too bad for all the pizza and ice cream I've been eating. I also have hardly done any exercise since being in Korea. Our KATUSA failed his sit-ups, so I'm sure we'll be doing a number of sit-ups here in the near future.
We then headed to the gym to get our height and weight measured. After that we headed back to our rooms to shower and get ready. I video chatted with my wife for a bit and then headed into work about 0945. All day I was sore and tired and so was Special K. We may be getting too old for this! We had no meetings in the morning so I watched some NBA playoffs for a while before setting up a meeting in the secret conference room. We then all headed out to lunch at the food court. We had to make sure to get back before the meeting started, so I could be a door stop (hold the door open for the general) and someone else could call stand-by when he walks in.

Today was the last day of our colonel. I helped him back up all his documents and email to a DVD before he left. He had a ton of email. O6s and above are not given a mailbox restriction on the email server.

One of the SACOs in our office found that the Wikipedia article pertaining to CP Tango was changed. Someone with a sense of humor changed the second paragraph to:

"It is also rumored to be holding an alien spacecraft from AREA 51, and the lone surviving Bigfoot which was taken there for his safety from extinction.

It is composed of highly trained Army Special Forces, Army Rangers, and a few select members of the Black ops group CAG. These service members were hand picked by the President of the United States and are authorized to shoot on site. Command Post Tango is patrolled by 6 trained "Counter Affronted Tigers". These CAT's are rumored to be fed black gun powder to make them more aggressive. These soldiers are rumored to be working on a top secret "Laser Weapons" to defend the world from the alien invasion expected in December 2012."

Around 1600 our sergeant said we could leave early if we clean up the office, but when we were done he gathered us all around and was talking to us for about a half hour. We ended up only leaving about 15 minutes early…lol. When I got to my room I had to lay down for a bit and rest. I then ate a snack and watched another episode of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena".

I started schoolwork after that. This class I'm currently taking is a bit tougher than previous ones. I'm finding it hard to get motivated to to work. I block out time each night, but I have to force myself to start studying. I can't wait until I have my degree, I'm already tired of going to school. It would be different if I was in an actual class, I've always excelled when in a classroom environment. When I'm taking classes online though it's much tougher for me....uggg!

Overheard Quote: "I'd rather have a chick with an arm missing, a foot missing, and be retarded than be with her anymore" (Our sergeant isn’t too happy with his wife right now)

Seeing Red Again (Basic Training) Day 53

These entries are from the letters that Brandon has mailed to me. His writing at times can be a bit difficult to determine his words... bare with me, I do my best, especially with army terms.

This morning we had our PT test for the record.  I believe I improved at least a little in each event. I lost count near the end of both push-ups and sit-ups. I’ll find out for sure when they post the scores.

At the end of our run, one of our guys (I call him PVT Big Black because he’s the biggest black dude in our platoon) got into a little altercation with DS A-Hole. PVT Big Black left it all out there on the run. He was totally out of breath and exhausted. DS A-Hole was asking everyone for their time, so he could record them all. When he go to Big Black, I guess he didn’t hear him or he spoke too soft. DS A-Hole got pissed and started yelling at him. I guess Big Black gave him a look or rolled his eyes, which pissed off DS A-Hole even more. Then Big Black stood up. DS A-Hole later said that Big Black was getting ready to fight (total BS).  You see, Big Black was the guy who almost fought the DSs on the first day. He also got an article 15 for not wearing the correct underwear… multiple times after being warned. Now he got his rank stripped from E2 to E1. He also has extra duty now. DS A-Hole was so pissed he smoked us all once we got back to bay. Everyone was already tired from PT test, so it really sucked. He did a bunch of yelling and screaming and said our platoon is now back in red phase… timed showers, no personal time, DSs in our ass every minute. FML!!! All for one guy! I was so pissed. I’ve been looking forward to a phone call tomorrow. Our cool DS will be here and I was holding our hope that he give us extra time because of what happened last Sunday. (the five minute phone call).

We then marched to Cashetown for some more room clearing drills. We did it without ammo the first time and then used blacks the second time. After that the DSs started moving around the targets and even acted as occupants when we entered. It was cool; except I hate shooting those blanks, they jam all the time. 

We marched back for lunch and did a quick heat dump before we ate. We were in a rush to get down to formation and PVT Wal-Mart left his rifle in the bay… a big no-no. He realized it and ran back up to grab it, but it was gone. When we got back his rifle was in the middle of the bay. It was covered in foot powder and sun screen. It looked like it had snowed on it. The chamber was open and everything! Lots of cleaning for PVT Wal-Mart.

After a brief talk about the importance of keeping your rifle with you at all times, DS A-Hole said, “I’m going to do something I never do.” He said our platoon did so awesome in the PT test that he’s not going to take us back to red, we’ll stay in blue. We had a 90% pass rate and took over 1^st place again by a long shot. Everyone improved their scores, including yours truly. I scored a 57 in push-ups (+5), 45 in sit-ups (+3), and a 14:44 2-mile (25 seconds faster). What’s crazy is everyone did so much better I dropped from 8^th in the platoon to 13^th place with a total score of 232. (13 higher than my previous.) 

So I am happy again! No red phase!!! Our senior DS was then complaining about not having AA batteries and asked if we had seen any. I raised my hand and pointed out that were two next to his butt. (He was sitting on the desk.) Everyone laughed (he was actually looking for 4 boxes of AA batteries). He smiled at me and said, “start pushing”. D’oh, my arms were still dead from the PT test and the smoking we got. When I asked how many, he said, “one for each battery I’m missing… 96!” After about 15 other people started asking if they could do some of them for me. The DS then said “OK, everyone do 20 and get up”. It was funny, but you may have had to been there. 

The next few hours was packing for our FTX-3. We got a packing list of all the required items to stick in our ruck. We also got to go to the PX and purchase anything we need for the FTX. I only purchased bug repellent. I was eaten alive at FTX-2, so I’ll be prepared this time. We were also allowed to get milkshakes while we were there. Now that was awesome! This day may have had some ups and downs, but it sure ended on a positive note!

Random DS Quote: “Oh… it’s in your mouth?” (our senior DS was keeping count of PVT Cock’s sit-ups and he farted. He then asked PVT Cock if he could smell it yet. PVT Cock said “I’m breathing through my mouth drill sergeant.)

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Pop Ups (Basic Training) Day 32

A photo of our platoon at the range. The shooter is in the prone position, while
the "coach" is watching the shooter to make sure proper technique is used. Finally
the guy sitting in front of the computer screen can see where the bullet hit and call out
any adjustments that need to be made.

These entries are from the letters that Brandon has mailed to me. His writing at times can be a bit difficult to determine his words... bare with me, I do my best, especially with army terms.

The day started off with a PT test first thing in the morning. This was an unscheduled PT test, just to see if there was enough improvements in the company to phase. (The other half of the equation for phasing in their minds was marksmanship, which we all did well yesterday.) I don’t know my exact numbers, but I think I improved in everything. They should post the results tomorrow I think.

After the PT test we changed really quick (used another field shower kit) and ate breakfast. After that we took off to a new range.  We used real ammo, but there is a computer at each firing station, which will tell where on the target you hit, or where you missed. Instant feedback. I sucked big time when I first went out there. I was sweating and hot,  this made my glasses fog up big time.  I couldn’t see anything. To top it off my rifle was jamming like crazy. I cleaned it well, but evidently I didn’t use any of the oil. (Some DSs tell you use it, others tell you to use very little.) So the DS lubed my rifle quick, it didn’t help with that round, but it seemed to help later on in the day. It was either that or maybe just a bad loaded magazine?? After lunch we shot again. This time at targets that popped up behind little hills. They were 30 meters,  175 meters, and 300 meters away. This time I had a lot more fun. My core was cooled down from the PT test earlier, plus it seemed to cool down outside a little. I had no issues with my glasses, so I could actually see my targets.

After we were done the First Sergeant gathered the company around. He said this last week the company has shown a lot of improvement. We then had a little ceremony where the DSs changed the flags of each platoon from red to white. Yahoo!!! We are now officially in white phase. The DSs will start to give us a bit more privileges. Hopefully that will include phone calls. 

When we got back to the bay, the DSs called a meeting. They told us that our platoon has “duty squad” next week. The DSs picked out 8 or 9 individuals from our platoon to be the duty squad from our platoon.  The DS tried to tell us all that it was a privilege to be in duty squad. I asked a guy in another platoon, who is in duty squad, what kind of privileges he got. He said, “It sucks. I am just a maid. I have to get up early and stay late. There are no special privileges, just more responsibilities.” The duty squad always does the set-up for whatever the company is doing and they also serve the food when we are away from the DFAC (Dining Facility).

The DSs also said that with white phase comes platoon leadership. They assign a PG (Platoon Guide a.k.a. the platoon leader), an assistant PG and 4 squad leaders. They also told each of the squad leaders to pick an assistant. When they were picking squad leaders they actually chose me for the third squad. They asked if I would be able to sound off (I’m normally a quite guy). I said “Yes, Drill Sergeant”. I guess I didn’t say it loud enough. They said, “You’re fired” – LOL! Shortest time being a squad leader ever I’m sure. No worries, my plan was to lay low during basic training. All these positions come with a lot more responsibilities, but nothing else. In my mind it would just e a big pain in the butt!

Another great thing happened today! My battle buddy’s rifle finally got turned back in at the end of the day. Even though my battle buddy is back, he’s not allowed to have his rifle. (Since he’ll be going home soon anyway.) So lucky me had to carry it every moment since he left to go AWOL. I’m so glad to get rid of that thing. It was a real pain in ass at times.

It finally happened, I figured from day one it would, that I would get some sort of old guy nickname. The DSs now call me either “old man” or “grandpa”.

Random DS Quote: “Stop squeezing your ass men…I don’t want to see that shit!”

PT Test (Basic Training) Day 24

These entries are from the letters that Brandon has mailed to me. His writing at times can be a bit difficult to determine his words... bare with me, I do my best, especially with army terms.

Stayed up late last night reading all my letters. It was so nice to hear from home. I received letters from my wife, my kids, and even a friend of mine. So nice to hear of what's going on in normal life. Luckily, I didn't have any guard duty so after reading I was able to sleep the whole night.

We were informed last night that one of our guys got an article 15. Not anything you want on your army record. He was wearing some special boxers or briefs on under his shorts and was warned  once. He was  caught again and then received the Article 15. Dumb!

We finally had our first complete PT test this morning at a little after 5am. It was pretty cold out. I scored a 207 (you need 150 to pass basic) 47 push-ups, 41 sit-ups and 15:45 2 mile run. I had my watch and I was pacing myself for a 16:00 run. So I'm happy with my results. What is surprising is that if I want to improve my PT score, I will need to start doing PT on my own. Our morning PT is a joke, so the only time we actually seem to get exercise is when we get smoked. We only go for runs about once a week. On the score sheet that gets posted the DS highlighted all the people that didn't pass and wrote "Doo Doo". It was almost exactly half of our platoon. I hear rumors that if 70% of the people don't pass, then we can't transition to white phase. That would be a bummer!

We went to the virtual range today. Our goal today was to group and zero. Grouping is when you aim for the center and shoot three shots. The three shots just have to be grouped together within 4 centimeters. They don't have to hit the center. Once you group the computer automatically adjusts your sites for the center. Then you have to hit the center of the target 3 times (within 4 cm).

We did some more army modern combatant training (MMA style). We then got a chance to go to the PX (the store). I bought some body wipes (to take "showers" when we go out on our FTX an overnight stay in the woods), some soap and laundry detergent. Our laundry guards are pretty liberal when it comes to using detergent. We all got another buzz cut as well. I imagine it is to make sure we get a good seal on our gas mask tomorrow. We then got together as a platoon and went through all the items required for out camping trip (FTX). Then packed our rucksacks with all the required items. 

There was a bit of a blow out today over the nightly guard duties. The guy who is in charge of making the schedule has been going in order except when it comes to him. He always gives himself the first shift. That way he can always sleep through the night. People started noticing and there were a lot of loud voices and arguing going on. The roster guy got the hint finally and changed it accordingly.

We had mail call again tonight and I got 12 letters! Only problem is that I have to do 5 push-ups for each letter. I started doing them and 3 people volunteered to take 10 each which was cool. I was still a little sore from the PT test in the morning and a few minor smoking sessions we got throughout the day.

Gas chamber tomorrow and perhaps a phase change to white phase. The DSs said if we do phase to white then "their foot will only be ankle deep in our ass instead of knee deep like it is now in red phase. I'm hoping we can use the phone as well. We've only been allowed one call so far.

Spec. Payne
 

Hard to believe that morning PT is a joke already.  But I am relieved to hear you say that however.  I am 37 and heading down to Benning 28June.  Your wife told me about the blog after I asked for help on Facebook.  Keep it up, you seem to be doing fine.
 

Friday, May 7, 2010 - 06:08 PM

 
 

Brandon
 

Yeah....I really expected the morning PT to be really tough from the start, but I guess because of all the injuries they changed everything. The new recruits are used to only playing video games all the time :) So the PT starts off very mild and eventually works its way up to some decent workouts. If you are in any kind of shape it will be easy for you. The best advice I can give is to add your own workouts each night to better yourself.
 

Sunday, June 20, 2010 - 06:30 AM