A Day of Reflection (AIT - Fort Gordon) Day 64

Wow...today is day 64 of AIT. Day 64 of basic training was graduation day. It’s kind of hard to believe that I’ve now been in AIT as long as basic training. Time at AIT definitely seems to be moving faster than basic. There are definitely benefits of AIT over basic. It’s nice to be able to enjoy my food at a decent pace and talk to people at the table we’re eating at. It’s also very nice to be able to talk to people on the phone and have internet access. I don’t feel so cut off from the world like I did in basic. We don’t have the drill sergeants yelling at everyone all the time. 

AIT is still no picnic. AIT is still a training environment and as SGT Kent stated appropriately enough today “training is supposed to suck, that way when you get to your unit you’ll appreciate the liberties you get”. We have sergeants who like to yell at times, but more often just make up stupid rules. It seems that most of the sergeants here don’t give a damn about the soldiers. Don’t get me wrong there are a few who care for the soldiers, but most seem to just look for things to pick on the soldiers about. It can get pretty annoying at times. I still can’t believe I have to be escorted to the bathroom when in school. We also have to have an NCO anytime we have a formation crossing a road because they don’t trust us to cross by ourselves (I’ve made it 36 years so far without getting hit by a car). We can’t go anywhere without a battle buddy and we need a little permission slip anytime we go away from the barracks. It also sucks living in barracks because you are at the mercy of the sergeant’s whims. If they are having a bad day, they can make you come out for formations at anytime for any reason. Another reason I can’t wait to live with my wife in a house far away from barracks once I get a normal post.

Speaking of stupid formations...today everyone had to come out at 19:30 from the barracks for a formation. We had to listen to how 4 people got caught away from the company area without a pass. When an NCO starts talking it just goes on and on stating the same thing over and over. 

At times this place can get me down. I wouldn’t go so far as saying I get depressed, but without having anytime to go home and “recharge” with my wife and family can be draining. There is a lot of negativity here and it can wear on you. 

Today also happens to be my birthday. Usually a day of fun and happiness for me. I always look forward to hanging out with family and friends and at least going out for a drink or having a special dinner. Here it was just me and I felt pretty alone. I am 37 now and I’m usually the oldest in all the classes, sometimes older than the instructors. I can feel the aches and pains in my body from all the intense workouts that we have been doing. This is the first time in my life that I’ve felt old. Strange.

We tested out of Exchange Server 2007 today. I got a 95 on the test. It showed that I missed one part of the exam which I know I did. I had to show the instructor on the virtual machine that it was indeed done correctly, then he changed my score to a 100%. Next up is Sun Solaris CLI (Command Line Interface).

mom

Sorry you had to be so far away on your birthday. We will have to celebrate even harder on you next one to make up for it. Happy Birthday, miss you, mom

Thursday, August 26, 2010 - 06:38 PM