Ruckin' It - (Germany) Day 24

Going on the Ruck and ready for the cold morning

This morning's PT was a ruck march. My boss picked me up at 0550 and we headed to the bowling alley on PHV. I hear ruck marches are the only thing we do on PHV as far as PT goes, everything else is done on Campbell Barracks where the office is. I was never told what to stick in my ruck, so I filled it up with the lightest stuff I could find. I personally think ruck marches are stupid and my time would be better spent in the gym, but that is beside the point. I stuck my sleeping bag, my sleeping mat and a blanket in there. It was full but still pretty light. I was also able to better prepare for this ruck vs. the rucks I had to do in basic. I was able to wear my converse boots which were 100 times better than the issued boots I had in basic. I also wore two pairs of socks.

We formed up in the bowling alley parking lot and grounded our rucks while we did warm up exercises and stretches. We then put on the rucks and marched around the entire post, pretty much the exact same walk my wife and I do together. Once finished we grounded our gear and did our cool down exercises and stretches. This was a much better ruck experience than I've previously had!

I went home and got ready, then I was picked up by SPC Matrix for work. We had Sergeant's time training today. In the normal army this is a regular occurrence on Thursdays…I just haven't been in the normal army yet. We started at 0900 and the sergeant leading the class went over different reports that had to be done after various situations such as getting attacked when on patrol. Stuff that I should never ever have to do being a 25B, but they have to train us on something during this time. We finished up about 1030 and headed to the office.

This is where I did my usual thing…sat in a chair and stared at the wall. For lunch I headed to the small food court and had Subway…my usual. I then made an appointment for 1420 at the soldier's wellness clinic. I figured since I am not doing anything in the office, I should have a rash that has been bugging me on my chest looked at. Not only may they fix it, but my wife will quit telling me I need to have it checked out. I sat in the chair and stared at the wall until it was time to leave for the appointment. My boss drove me over to the clinic and I was quickly checked out and given a topical ointment to apply daily. If it doesn't get better in a week I have to go back and get steroids. First time I've used the army medical for anything other than a checkup. It's nice that everything was free!

Back at the office I sat in the chair and was able to read The Army Times instead of stare at the wall which was nice. We then cleaned up and were released about 1630. My boss gave me a ride home and I spent the evening with my wife hanging out and watching our shows.