The Freezing Range - (Germany) Day 45

A photo I snapped on the way back to our office from the armory. 

This is a picture looking at the front of the post and is also the field 

where we form up for PT each morning.

This morning I had to be ready by 0645 to be picked up by our platoon sergeant. Our battalion had the range today with me, our platoon sergeant, and a co-worker I'm going to call SPC JayZ from our office heading out. We went to SPC JayZ's barracks and picked up our weapons from the armory. We joined up with some others from our battalion and hopped in the TMP Van to head out to the range. The drive was about a half hour or so.

I tried to prepare myself for the worst because I knew it was going to be extremely cold. We were required to wear our body armor and our helmet as well as a water source. Additionally I wore my poly pro (army long johns), my normal uniform, my polar fleece, and my cold weather jacket. I also wore my gator neck and my PT cap under my helmet along with my normal gloves. My core did OK throughout the day, but it was my toes and my fingers that went numb from being so cold. I probably could have worn two pairs of socks and even two pairs of gloves to help with this…I'll keep that in mind next time.

My experience at the range is a long boring day with very little of me actually doing any shooting. There is usually a ton of people trying to qualify and only a limited number of lanes available. When we arrived to this range I noticed that the place was quite a bit smaller than all my previous ranges. I also noticed that we will be using paper targets instead of the pop-up targets I've used every other time. With a paper target there are bigger and smaller images representing the targets at closer and further distances. They are all one one sheet of paper and you can only hit each one of them a certain number of times. For example the biggest target you can only use 5 of your 40 shots on.

There were only 8 lanes available, but we had far less total people than I've previously been with at ranges. I would say there was about 40 people all together. The process went pretty smooth, with the first step of zeroing our rifles. Since I hadn't used this rifle before it took me 4 tries before I made all the adjustments and had it zeroed. Each round consists of firing 3 shots to your practice target and then going up and seeing where you hit when aiming at the dead center. You then make adjustments to your sites left, right, up or down depending on those shots. You then start the process over until you finally hit a group of shots in the center area.

I headed to go pee…this is one of the few times in my life I really wanted to stay longer in the bathroom. These were heated bathrooms and after being outside in the freezing weather, the bathroom was a welcome paradise of warmth.

I then waited in line to do the actual qualifying. We shoot 20 rounds in the supported prone position. This is the best position for firing, as you lay down you can support the rifle on the sandbags and get a very steady shot. I used this position to shoot into the smallest targets on the paper and then moved to the slightly larger targets as well. Each of the 4 small targets could take 3 shots and then the 2 slightly larger ones could take 4 each. I could have easily hit all the medium to large targets in this position, but since this is the best position I decided to go for the hardest targets.

We then shot 10 rounds in the unsupported prone position. This position is still laying down, but there is no use of sandbags. You have to use your elbows to support yourself. This position is not as stable, so I chose to shoot 5 shots into each of the medium size targets. The last position is the kneeling unsupported position. This position has one knee down and the other is used to rest your elbow on to support your rifle. This is the toughest position because it's the hardest to keep everything still. I used this position to shoot 5 shots into the last medium and then the large target. We then walked up and grabbed our targets. We had to write our rank, name and unit on them, and then turn them in. I ended up shooting a 33 out of 40. One less than I previously qualified with, but considering how miserable and cold I was I'll take it.

Once everyone was finished we loaded up the TMP van and headed back to the office. We were about half way there when our NCO driver got a call from the first sergeant. He found out the SPC JayZ shot a 24. 23 is the minimum qualifying standard, but the first sergeant wanted everyone to shoot a 30 or above (sharpshooter). We had to turn around and head back to the range. Nobody was very happy…especially SPC JayZ. He was upset that even though he met the army standards, he still had to go back out in the cold and shoot again. After all was said and done he went out and shot twice scoring a 25 each time. We ended up leaving and he was told he'll have to come back tomorrow and try some more. He was not a happy camper.

When we arrived back I spent a couple hours cleaning my rifle before turning it back into the armory. I don't think the NCO there ever takes a rifle the first time someone brings it back to him. It reminded me a little of basic training when we would sit for hours at a time cleaning our rifles. I was able to make it back to the office at about 1600. My NCOIC asked how the unpacking was going and I told her we're doing our best to try and get settled in. She told me to take the day off tomorrow and work on our house. That is pretty awesome!

We then were briefed from our retention NCO about changes in reenlistment. Now the local commanders will have final say in a soldier's reenlistment. They are making it a little harder to reenlist with a number of rules that will flat out bar you from being able to reenlist. The thing that bothered me a little was the fact that now the local commanders can flat out deny a soldier from reenlisting if they want. This means that if for some reason a soldier and a commander didn't get along or if there were bad rumors going around about a certain person, the commander can deny a person the ability to reenlist. It just seems to me that it gives the local commander a little too much power of the entire future of a person's life. Just some more interesting changes that are coming out because of the reduction in force and the reduction in budgets. I'm sure there will be more to come.

I headed home unloaded a van full of furniture that my wife bought from Ikea. She rented a van with SPC Whirlwind's wife and was able to get some needed furniture for our place. I'm going to be a busy guy tomorrow!

Day on the Range - (Korea) Day 157

A view of the range from the bleachers. You can see the zeroing targets up. In the
distance behind each of the mounds are where the qualification silhouettes pop up.

Work call this morning for me was 0530. Uggg, it sucks having to show up so early. We had to walk over to the armory and check out our rifles. Me, our sergeant, and Special K are heading to the range today to qualify. While we were at the armory our sergeant was talking to another sergeant that I think he likes and asked if she wanted to ride with us. We took our office car, but those that didn't have any alternative had to ride the bus to the range.

We ended up leaving and stopping at the McDonalds in Itaewon where our sergeant bought us all breakfast. Today is a holiday in Korea…"Children's Day". All the ROK soldiers and KATUSAs have the day off today. I guess a lot of people went out and partied because there was still quite a few folks walking around drunk in Itaewon at 0600 in the morning! I guess I'm just old, I can't imagine staying up all night drinking like that.

Special K was driving and the rest of us fell asleep during the drive to the range. The range is located up north towards the border with North Korea. We arrived around 0730 and were the second car load to arrive. We headed to the bleachers after stretching our legs and using the facilities. Once everyone arrived including the busload of folks, the master sergeant in charge gave us all a safety briefing. We then started heading out to the lanes around 0945 to zero our rifles. In order to zero on this range we had to hit 6 shots in the center mass of a paper target that is located 25 meters out on the range. This is a little different than basic, where we just had to group a certain amount in a given area. It took me 12 shots to get my rifle zeroed. We shot 3 at a time and then checked our targets, when we saw where our shots were landing we would adjust our rifles and then shoot 3 more times. This is also a little different from basic as the drill sergeants did all the adjusting. By the time I finished zeroing my rifle is was a little after noon.

I was getting a little hungry, so I grabbed an MRE and ate the snacks out of it, then about 15 minutes later my sergeant and the girl sergeant took me and Special K to the snack bar located on the range. The girl sergeant bought us all lunch, I had chicken ramen which was pretty tasty. We then headed back to the bleachers and waited for everyone to finish zeroing. I took a nap.

We finally ended up getting to try and qualify around 1745, they still had a couple lanes reserved for people that were having trouble zeroing…the rest were open for qualifying. The paper targets were removed and we were going to shoot at pop-up targets similar to what I shot at in basic. A pop up silhouette comes up from behind a mound at distances of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 & 300 meters. The silhouettes stay up longer the farther they are away from you. We shoot 20 rounds from the "prone supported position" which is laying down with the rifle supported by sand bags. We then shoot 10 rounds from the "prone unsupported position" which is laying down with no sand bags, just your elbows as support. Last we shoot 10 rounds in the kneeling position which is as it sounds, one one knee with your elbow on the other to support the rifle. During this last position only the closer targets come up, you don't see any 300 or 250 meter targets. If I'm not mistaken, you don't see any 200 either…but I'm not sure about that one.

For some reason when I started shooting I was aiming a bit high and missing my targets. It took me about five or six shots to adjust, so I didn't score as high as I was hoping. I still managed to get 32 which is still "sharpshooter", so I'm not complaining. Our sergeant scored a 31 and Special K shot a 38 which is expert! Our sergeant said he would buy us lunch since we both beat him…lol. I heard that some people out there were shooting 17 or 18 which is pretty bad! It's tough to do great without having any practice, but that is just horrible. (You need at least 23 to qualify)

When we finished we all were able to leave early. We also picked up another sergeant who used to work in our office. She got lucky getting a ride with us, because I think we were probably able to leave at least an hour before everyone else on the bus. We hit the road around 1830 and after a very long drive where parts of my body went numb and my bladder seemed about to burst we arrived back to the post around 2030. We went to the armory and returned our rifles, then I went to the office and went pee. It was one of those pees that just felt incredible because I had been holding it for so long.

I got back to my room and took a shower. By 2100 I was finally able to start my schoolwork. I have to mention now that I always put in the same music when I do my schoolwork. It mellows me out and helps me concentrate. I first heard this guy while on my honeymoon in Hawaii. He's a hawaiian artist that I've just grown to love. He always gets my head in the right mood and it's just good music. The guy's name is Kepa Kruse and we first heard the song "Coconut Wireless" over and over while staying on the island of Kauai. We heard the song so much I had to look him up when I got back home. So check him out if you're interested....

I'm hoping tomorrow is back to normal. I am hoping it is slower than normal, I need to relax now. Today was a long and tiring day. Days on the range are always long and slow going.

the wife

"I heard about you, through the coconut wireless"... :) I'm glad that you got this out of the way, now it's time to focus on PT. Love you!

Friday, May 6, 2011 - 10:35 AM

Double Tap (AIT - Fort Gordon) Day 140

A photo of me...watch out!!

4:00 AM wake-up this morning with formation at 4:45, then breakfast. Today we left to the range to zero our rifles. It kind of sucks because it has been raining on and off all night with a sprinkle every now and then during the day. We took the bus to the range and at each station there was a big puddle of water for us to lay in. Grrrrr. When it was my turn I fired each of my three shots then went up to the target to see how I did. Unlike when we were in basic, we didn't do any adjustments to the sites. I think the cadre here just wanted to push us through…and maybe get us used to actually shooting the weapon again.

We then bussed to another range where we divided into two groups. One group would perform combat first aid on a dummy, while the other group would actual fire at pop up targets. When firing at the pop up targets we would do it from four different positions and each position we would also change which side we would shoot from, so we would shoot right and left handed. We also had a sergeant next to us screaming shoot 'em shoot 'em shoot 'em!!!! I guess all this made it seem a little more real. I did OK with my right hand, but I need some work shooting left handed. We shot kneeling, standing and sitting. 

After the range we were bussed back to the FOB where we cleaned our rifles under the clamshell. We spent a long time cleaning them too. I can guarantee that mine is much cleaner than when I received it. Anyone who took their rifle to the sergeant to check it was told it needed just a little more cleaning. I never even took mine up there because I knew no matter how clean it was…it would still need a little more cleaning. I just kept cleaning until it was time to eat dinner. 

After dinner we did some rehearsal for our induction ceremony that we will be doing tomorrow. The induction ceremony is done at the end of Capstone to induct the soldiers into the Signal Corps. We basically stand at either attention or parade rest and recite the soldier's creed, sing the signal corps march, and sing the army song. After that we get our signal insignia pinned on us.

We turned in all of our equipment except for our sleeping bags. After that we broke into groups and cleaned up different areas of FOB Dunham.

21:15 Lights Out

22:00 to 23:00 I had guard duty with PFC Metal. This time we were assigned to one of the ECP (Entry Control Points) a gate where cars can access the FOB. It has two little guard huts that we stood in and hung out for an hour until our relief came. This time I was able to go to sleep because I didn't try and go to sleep before the shift.

The young Hawaiian in full battle rattle.

Cover me while I move (Basic Training) Day 52

A small clip from the DVD I purchased at basic. This one shows the

first covered position we lined up at during the buddy team movements at

this range. Unfortunately it doesn't show the entire range and all of us bounding

to the end and releasing the rest of our rounds, but it does give you a picture of what

the range is like.

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.

PT this morning was very light, only stretches and some very minor exercises. We found out that our PT test for the record is tomorrow. This is the real deal, the one that your score actually counts. I’ve passed all mine so far, but there are 11 or 12 in our platoon that still haven’t. Hopefully they can step it up. If you don’t pass, you will not graduate.  They will recycle you. I’m not sure if there will be a chance to do to the PT test again for the people that don’t pass, but they will be pressed for time to get in shape.  Our platoon has a guy that quit (PVT Jacket), the guy who went AWOL  (my bunk mate who did come back, but then got discharged), and we also have a few guys who are sick.  PVT Diesel has been in the infirmary for the last 5 days. He hasn’t passed a PT test yet, so I doubt he’ll be able to before we graduate. I wonder how many in our platoon will make it and how many will not. We started off with 35 and had one addition and two are officially gone leaving us at 34.

After breakfast we were transported to a new range for our buddy team movements… this time with live ammo. Each lane has 4 barriers that you get behind for cover. We ran through once pretending to shoot saying “bang bang”, then once using blank rounds (these really suck they cause everyone’s rifle to jam) and then we did it with live ammo.

Me and a buddy each start and run up to two different old beat up cars for cover. We shot at pop up targets down range. (We have to be safe because this is a “hands on” range. This means if we do something unsafe the DS can hit us, tackle us, or do whatever to us if needed).  After we are both set I yell “cover me while I move” (have to scream it because we have ear plugs in and we are shooting). My buddy yells, “got you covered” and I ran up to my next covered position about 20 meters away. Once I’m there and have my rifle set back to semi  (off of safe, always on safe when moving) I yell, “set” and start shooting at targets. The process starts over with my buddy moving and so on.

When we reach our last target we were allowed for the first time to switch our rifles to burst (automatic fire). That was cool! When finished, the DS gave everyone an AAR (after action review). The only thing he criticized me on was that I could have run a bit faster between covers. (I was concentrating on safety and form).

The whole event was pretty cool. Your adrenaline gets pumping when you have live fire all around and you’re running down the range. 

It was hot as usual and with our full battle rattle everyone was heating up. We got done early; so our senior DS decided to transport us back via the supply truck.  Our platoon was packed like sardines. Lots of moaning and groaning…I think each of us probably lost 5 lbs. in sweat alone.  Good thing it’s laundry night tonight.

When we got back, our DS had us all clean our weapons. This was fine, but we had to do it for over 4 hours. DS A-Hole came out and even gave us a mini smoke (because of our PT test tomorrow) because he saw some people not cleaning. You can only do so much.

Our bathroom has become the favorite hang out spot in our bay. It’s not uncommon to walk in there and see 4 or 5 people sitting on the sink. (We’re not allowed to sit or lay on the beds in bay… only the floor). The bathroom is also out of sight when a DS comes out of his office into the bay. It’s never a good thing to be doing nothing when a DS comes out. 

Random DS Quote: “Listen up men…lump on my butt crack and hole” (DS A-Hole reading PVT GG’s sick call description to everyone.

Night Fire - Day 49

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.

We were able to sleep til 6:00am today! After we got ready to go, transport took us to a range where we had duty food breakfast. We then had a briefing from the 1^st Sergeant on the importance of drinking water and watching out for one another. (Because of the incident last night with the guy from 3^rd platoon…we heard he’s going to OK). We also heard that one of the DSs from another platoon got into a motorcycle accident.  He got a little road rash, but is doing OK, which is good, I think he’s a pretty cool DS.

We also found out that Private Home School actually did not qualify on the rifle. He was given another chance today, but missed it by two. If he is unable to qualify he will be recycled. He said if he gets recycled, he would quit.  I don’t blame him; I would not want to do all this again.

We did a bunch more shooting with our scopes. I used PFC Metal’s scope (& rifle) because mine suck’s butt.

The “gut truck” came and out of the blue and our senior DS said we could purchase a candy bar! That was big; I got skittles…mmmm a rainbow of flavors in my mouth. LOL. I’ve said before that our senior DS is like Jekyll and Hyde. He was being real cool…candy bars and all, smiling… then when 3^rd platoon didn’t move fast enough he flipped out. Started yelling at everyone. Had the whole company form up and yelled at us all…we suck, if he had his way we would all be in red phase…we are all weak. Then he made the whole company do some push-ups, a modified version of sit-ups called “the rower” and then V-ups.

The weather here is a little crazy. When it decides to rain it really comes down. Today it was sunny and warm, then all of a sudden it got dark and it just started pouring. Everyone got under cover for about an hour while it just poured and poured. Then as quickly as it started, it was done. It was sunny again. 

Everyone is just kind of hanging out waiting for it to get dark. PVT Home School is still trying to qualify. He has been shooting for an eternity and shortly before it got dark (20:00) PVT Home School finally qualified! The whole company let out a cheer.

Once it was dark enough we lined up for night firing. We wore the night vision lens and the rifle had a laser on it that would show up on the target (only visible with the night vision). It was basically all for fun. All the targets were up ad the DS told us to shoot controlled pairs bang bang – don’t call it a double tap though. Every fifth round was a tracer. It was cool, but our laser wasn’t zeroed, so it didn’t matter if it was on target or not. It was still fun to shoot off so many rounds so fast. I emptied my magazine in seconds. 

We also found out that the story they told us about the DS dying at NIC at Night was told just o heighten everyone’s anxiety about the event. A DS said it did happen but it was a long time ago. Finally made it back to the bay at 23:20 – shower, clean up a bit and lights out at 24:00. I took a “nap”, I had fireguard from 1-2am. Fun.

Random 1^st Sergeant Quote: “If you fall down and start doing the fucking kickin’ chicken and die, you will not graduate.” (The  1^st Sergeant trying to motivate everyone to hydrate and keep an eye on each other.)

NIC at Night (Basic Training) Day 48

Sorry Folks,

While migrating my journal to blogger, I realized this post was an exact duplicate of a future post. Somehow my wife put up the wrong post from the letters I sent her, but she did get the right title. Not sure how that was done, but such is life. Unfortunately we were doing some spring cleaning within the last month and actually threw away all the letters I sent her from basic training, so I cannot even put up the original content.

I remember from the title that this was the night we went out to a special range during the night. This was a while back, so I don't remember all the details of the entire day, but the range was quite a bit different. It had a few mini guard towers at the front and the NCOs in these towers would be firing live rounds. We were all at the back of the range in a deep trench. When we were told to go, we had to climb up and low crawl all the way to the front. During this process there were obstacles we had to navigate, while staying as low as possible. There were logs, barbed wire, and sandbags. Explosions were going off (or at least the sounds of explosions) and the live fire was above.

The low crawl made the process take a very long time. Everyone stayed as low as possible during the event, even though in hindsight I'm sure the live fire was about 15 feet high so I'm sure there was no chance of anyone actually getting hit. It was pretty funny because not everyone made it...at least one guy ended up making a slow turn as he was low crawling and didn't realize it...he ended up off the side of the course.

So move on to the next day and you'll pick up where I last left off...

I’m a pretty princess (Basic Training) Day 45

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.

I had staff duty last night with PFC Metal. It was the 2:00-3:00am shift.  We had one phone call that we took a message and then used the walkie-talkie to send it to the DS on duty (DS AHOLE). I had a headache and my knees are a bit sore. I guess I didn’t drink enough water yesterday. We also had to kneel a lot yesterday during every block of instructions. We were only allowed to use one knee at a time (because if we were on both knees that means we’re "sucking dick". We had to repeat this). Even with my knee pads it still was a painful experience. All this lack of and interrupted sleep is starting to catch up with me.  

I asked our assistant PG about our PT scores, why they were never posted. He said the last one wasn’t official PT test and they would not be posted. I don’t care if it’s official or not, I want to see my progress. We were all required to weigh ourselves. I am at 182. Eight pounds lighter then when I started. I feel like I’m eating a ton of food though. I guess I’m burning a lot of calories. 

This morning we had a surprise group ability run. I was still so sore and tired I decided to run in the “C” group. I would have ran in the “D” group if they had one. Hell, I would of went to sick call if I would have known in advance. Running is the last thing I wanted to do. I did it...and made it, but it was tough. 

After breakfast we headed off to yet another range. Ft. Benning has so many ranges it’s mind boggling. Everyday it seems we go to a new range. Anyway – today we got to shoot some big machine guns. The M249 and the M240B. It was pretty cool. About every 5^th shot was a tracer round, so we could tell where we were shooting. To be honest, I suck at hitting targets with these big guns. I was able to hit the closet two, but after that I was no good. We are suppose to fire in bursts. They would have us yell “Die Terrorist Die!” and hold the trigger the entire time. It was a fun time. No qualifications, no pressure, just shooting. The guy who shot after me (we did it in pairs so one person could feed the ammo) kept shooting really short bursts. The Cadre said there is no way you can be saying “Die Terrorist Die”. From now on you have to say, “I’m a pretty princess” and do not let go of that trigger until you are finished. Pretty funny…a black dude, firing a big ass machine gun, saying "I’m a pretty princess" over and over again. 

For lunch today we had MREs. We had almost no time to eat them, the DS made us stop halfway though and then we went off to fire again. When we were done we saw we had duty food for lunch. So we ended up having two lunches…odd.

During one of our formations at the range a guy in our platoon gave the PG a little attitude. I’m not even sure what he did, but it pissed off the PG enough to tell the DS. When the DS was addressing it with the guy, he rolled his eyes. (This is something you should never do in front of a DS). This pissed the DS off pretty bad. He did some yelling and promised this guy a negative counseling statement. He also mentioned even more punishment if he didn’t straighten his attitude out. By this time in the game you need to really know when to swallow your pride and just do what you’re told with a smile on your face. 

We did peer evaluation today. We evaluated 5 people (the next five bunks from us) on a form. Rating them in all the army values and answering if we want to go to combat with them and why or why not. We also did a self-evaluation. These will all be tallied and will be used in our white phase counseling tomorrow. At least that is what’s on the calendar; our Senior DS is on vacation right now for a couple of days.

Got mail today! The DSs are a bit inconsistent on when they deliver it, but when they do its a happy day. I got letters from my wife, my sister, and my sister-in-law. Very cool. 

Some new nicknames – Walmart (a guy who used to work at Walmart), Ballsack (the guys last name rhymes with scrotum) 

Overheard quote: “What’s the ?” (PVT Cock was utilizing the wood-line and he looked down and saw a big mosquito on the tip of his little unit sucking his blood.)

mahaffey

Hey DS Ahole aint that bad haha jk and thats funny about Pvt. Cock.

Thursday, May 27, 2010 - 05:12 PM


Pvt. Cock

No comment...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 08:06 AM

Qualifying Day (Basic Training) Day 38

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.

Woke up this morning and did our morning PT as usual. After PT we had about a 45 minute break before we needed to board the bus. It was nice not having to rush, rush, rush.

We got to the range and it seemed a little better than all the other ranges, everything except the latrine. The place had the absolute worst latrine I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. Absolutely disgusting!!

Everyone got their lane and firing assignments. I had position 2 on lane 11. Everyone has to place their rifle on the left side of the firing position. The bolt has to be locked back and the chamber is open. After I placed mine there some knucklehead kicked some sand in rifle. There was actually a big pile of sand in my chamber. I was freakin’ pissed. I have to qualify in a matter of minutes and my rifle, which I cleaned the night before, was all messed up. I took my rifle and walked as quickly as I could back to my gear (no running on the range). I did the best I could clean it and rushed back just in time to shoot. It was already hot and humid out and now I was as well. I started shooting and after only a few targets my glasses fogged up and I couldn’t see anything. I quickly threw off my hat and glasses and tried to shoot without the aid of my glasses. (I could see the closer target fine, the 250m & 300m targets were pretty blurry so I just aimed at the center of the blur. I shot at 20 targets in the prone supported, 10 in the prone unsupported, and 10 in the kneeling position. During the kneeling position, my rifle finally jammed. I was able to fix it, but about 3 targets came and went. I ended up qualifying with a 27, which is marksman. So I even get a little pin. I know I could have done better, but I am very happy I qualified on the first try. There were a number of people who had to try multiple times, but eventually the entire company qualified. I think the DSs were stressing a little. 

Lunch at the range was duty food. One good thing about duty food is that you have to take whatever they give you…even if it’s cake. LOL. (Normally we can’t eat cake at the DFAC). I had mine and two other people gave me theirs as well. Ha! 

The day was hot and I was sweating like crazy. I was looking forward to our shower afterwards. When we got back, DS A-Hole had a wild hair up his butt and decided to only give us 1-minute showers. WTF?? When we were done, we had to all line up in our towels and then all together we had 90 seconds to get dress in our PTs. After that he was like “now clean your weapons”. He’s such an ass.

We found out since everyone qualified we could all order pizza and Gatorade. Pizza was $10 each and they could not comment on the quality. I said “count me in…Pizza is like sex…even bad pizza is still pretty good.” It came an hour and half late, but it was good. Nice to have some junk food. LOL.

I ended up having staff duty with PVT Cock from 20:00 – 22:00. We did a lot of cleaning, moving tables, taking out the trash, running errands, and I even fixed my first “technical problem” since leaving my last job. I un-jammed our DS’s printer. LOL.

Random DS Quote: “I’m like your uncle, the other two are like your dad & step dad. Always competing to see who has the bigger dick. I already won, now I just hang out.” (Our cool DS talking about our other DSs)

Hot day on the range (Basic Training) Day 37

B Company, 3rd BN, 47th IN, 1st Platoon (The Gladiators)

I'm on the top row, second to the left

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.

We woke up at our normal time today (about 4am) and got ready. We did our normal PT and then added a 60/120 around the track. We sprint for 60 seconds then walk 120 seconds and repeat over and over. I was still pretty sore from the 8k road march, so I couldn't really give it 100%. I still got a good sweat going though. After PT we had no time for showers (field shower time again). We got dressed, ate chow, and boarded the buses for a new range. For whatever reason I didn’t shoot as well on this range as the previous day. I shot 20, 29, 23, 23 & 25. So I still qualified on all but one of my tries but not much room for error. The range was nice, bit it was hot as hell. That made for some uncomfortable shooting.

One guy in the late afternoon complained to the DS that he was cramping up. The DS made him fill his camel back and start drinking from it. The DS wouldn't let him stop. Finally he threw up. It was actually pretty funny looking. (I'm going to call him PVT Guy because since reception that is all he calls everyone.) So PVT Guy opens his mouth and with no sound at all (except the sound of rushing water) he starts throwing up the water. It looked like something you would see in a movie. Mouth wide open and a full stream of water just poured out. It lasted so long it seemed fake. He ended up throwing up water twice. Moral of the story, on hot days drink a lot of water over time...and don't complain to the DS.

We also ended up taking our platoon pictures today at the range. Luckily I was able to get in the group without my dorky BCGs on. PFC Metal wasn’t so lucky, the DS told him to get them on.

When the “gut truck” came we were not allowed to get power bars, only Powerade. Evidently, 8 people in our platoon left their weapons on semi instead of safe at the range when they weren’t using it. A big no-no. When we got back to the bay we also got a little smoking for it as well (plus a long speech about safety on the range). As an added bonus we all had to do “changing drills” because some people were taking to too long to get dressed. DS A-Hole would start his stopwatch and give us all 2 minutes 30 seconds to get in our ACUs. We then would have 2 minutes to get into our PTs. I’m starting to wonder if he just wanted to watch everyone change.

Another surprise...our guy who was added to our platoon late, only takes a dump with the stall door open. I guess he doesn’t want to miss out on anything. LOL. 

Random DS Quote: “Control your hard-on!” (the response from a DS after a private tried to compliment him)

Pre-Qualifying (Basic Training) Day 36

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.

We woke up this morning, and had no morning PT, we just got dressed in our ACUs. We did some stretches as a company and then started on our 8k road march. We had on our A-Pack (Assault Pack - back pack filled with some odds & ends) and our Flick (a vest that can carry a number of items - canteen, first aid pack, cartridges) with of course our rifle that we had to carry. The march was much better then the 3k with our rucksack. We ended up going almost two miles farther than the 8k because they took a wrong turn. PVT Home School was having issues so the company commander made him march in front with him about half way through. By the end of the march we made it to a new range that we would be pre-qualifying on. My shoulders were starting to burn and my legs were beat. It ended just in time.

We ate breakfast at the range - duty food. (This is where the DFAC delivers the food and the duty squad dishes it out to the company.) This new range is the one we will qualify on. It has 6 different targets at various distances from 50m to 300m. We get 40 shots all together - 20 from prone supported (laying using a sandbag) - 10 from prone unsupported (laying with no sandbag) - 10 from the kneeling position (previously I called the sitting position, you basically put your right knee on the ground and sit on your right foot).  You have to at least score 23 total to qualify. If you don't qualify, you cannot graduate basic. You will get recycled. I shot 25, 26, 24 & 30. Good enough to qualify. We have more practices tomorrow and then we qualify on Friday. 

It's been getting quite hot during the day. We've been allowed to wear our "eye pro" sunglasses during our range time, which is cool. I also have quite the tan. I've been putting sunscreen on my neck and face, but forget my hands and wrist. I have dark hands and about 4 inches up past my wrist then it goes to white.

One of the benefits of being at an all male basic training is that most of them time we are allowed to relieve ourselves at the wood-line. This is good news because the latrines at the ranges are very disgusting. The pee troughs are clogged and just sit there with standing pee and all the toilets are basically in the open in the middle of the room. They are basically just holes in a bench so you can see and smell all that everyone has deposited. It's gross! We were allowed to purchase Powerade and power bars today...and I partook. They hit the spot. 

We had the buses take us back to the bay and then took a nice long shower. You get pretty dirty lying on the dirt all day while getting sweaty in the hot sun.

On another note, it's kind of funny that our platoon leader and his assistants both have the worst gas in the platoon. With 35 guys all together farts are always a pretty funny deal. There are planned farts, attacked farts, crop dusting, and the loud farts in quiet formations. Sometimes the DSs even get mad because it's just too much. I have to admit that they still make me laugh when someone lets out a loud one when it's absolutely quiet. My 12 year old humor starts coming out.

Random DS Quote: "Slap it like you would your wife's face". (DS explaining how to un-jam our rifles using the "SPORTS" technique).

A typical day at the range is seen in this video clip. It is a mix of platoons from
our company consisting of the Outlaws, Terminators & Gladiators. You can see a variety 
of the positions we shoot from, the pop up targets, and how each soldier "coaches" position
themselves to help out the shooter with their breathing, trigger squeeze, and head position

A whole lot of shooting going on (Basic Training) Day 34

On the range...I'm on the right with PVT Pink Eye on the left

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 started off with a group ability run. I decided to stick with the “C” group one more time. To tell you the truth, I just had no desire to run this morning. So I didn’t feel like making the jump to the next group. I need to though; I barely broke a sweat with the run this morning. I do want to improve my 2-mile  run and the only way is to push myself more during the group runs we do.

Today we went back to the same range as yesterday, the one with the computers that show where or if you hit the pop-up targets. I must’ve shot close to 200 rounds. We added the sitting position where you kind of get on your right knee and sit on your foot. We also shot laying down with sand bags supporting he rifle (prone supported) as well as lying down with just you supporting the rifle (prone unsupported). The targets also could come two at a time. (One in the front, middle or back at the same time.) We would have to shoot the closer one first (because it stays up less time) and then the one in the back. This changed the way I had to aim. Both eyes open to see what targets popped up then close one eye…aim…fire…aim…fire. 

I did OK. I failed on a couple and passed on a couple. I think the different lane conditions played a big role in how I did. I also did better in the sitting position once I found a comfortable way to shoot. Shooting is a big part of basic, if you don’t qualify, then you don’t graduate! Not sure yet when we will actually qualify, but I believe it is sometime later this week. 

After each day at the range we have to line up for a shakedown. No shells or live ammo is allowed to leave with us. We line up and empty everything from our pockets (these uniforms have many). The DSs then came around and pat everyone down. When they come up to you, you have to sound off with “no bass, no ammo drill sergeant.”

We got back took a shower and ate dinner. Then we cleaned up the formation area (CTA) and the company laundry rooms. After that we cleaned our rifles. Now that we have platoon leaderships (this is actually 1/3 of our entire platoon if you count all the assistants) they have started taking charge. They do a lot of delegating, but I don’t see them actually doing much. LOL. Unfortunately, I think the power has gone to some of their heads. We’ll see how this all plays out. 

Random DS Quote: “Why are you calling me by my name? Are you my goddamn buddy? Are you my fucking wife?” (After a private used a DSs last name – this is forbidden, we can only call them drill sergeant.)

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!”