January 31

Well, today was a fun day so I wanted to tell you about it whiel the day is fresh on my mind.
We had the PT test early in the morning. I did well on the test. I scored a 255 out of 300. Passing score for OCS is a 180. My totals were 55 push-ups, 77 sit-ups & 2 miles in 14:53. I still don't think it was my best, but it was pretty good.
Afterwords, we started our normal day. Classroom lectures on battle maneuvers and calling in fire support. After tat we had a class about IED and unexploded ordnance (bombs)...
The final thing we did was the most realistic battle simulation we have had. Night fire infiltration course. We had to traverse 110 meters of obstacles like logs, water and barbed wire while keeping a low silhouette to stay protected from enemy fire. the course required us to crawl the length while the drills and range cadre (?) fired live rounds from 4 machine guns over our heads. It was amazing. The bullets were cracking directly over head ( not whizzing like in the movies). It was loud and fast. I honestly felt like I was a soldier in WWII attacking enemy bunker positions. It was actually a little scary waiting to go but once the lights were shut off and we were told to move out, the adrenaline took over. I was completely caught up in my objective, without fear I crawled for the bunkers. They fired off flares that lit the sky like mid day. When that happened, we had to lie perfectly still and wait for the flares to burn out in order to avoid giving away our position. The first time I stopped lying in a puddle underneath barbed wire, the next time I was directly in front of the bunker position. I still laid still but realistically I would have had to run or charge the bunker.
It was a real neat experience. I also think it is encouraging to know that I can perform well in a stressful situation that the drill simulated. I actually found myself checking around for my battly buddies nearby to see how they were doing. I really enjoyed it. I finished the course soaked from head to toe and covered in mud and sand, but I did not mind one bit.
I love being a soldier. It actually seems to come natural. I am always looking to help out other guys in the field and I seem to accomplish the tasks easily.
Of course it is real physical and I wish I were in better shape. As for the mental stressos, I think they improve my performance....
It is hard being away but I love the actual training.

-Dale

posted by Shalene

January 30th

Well, everything is going well here. We did not have our PT test yet because of freezing rain the other morning. It is scheduled for tomorrow... I am real excited that we only have 18 days left. Our actual trainning will be done in 10 days. We leave for our final field training exercise on Friday. We will be gone for 6 days and our 9 mile ruckmarch will be the last day. That is the end of training, after that we have recovery and cleaning/inventory our gear.
I can't wait. I have really enjoyed all of the training but basic is starting to get to me. well, mostly the people here and the way the drills run the show. The guys are just acting plain stupid in the bay and it is annoying.
Only 3 weeks to go. I am looking forward to having everyone her for graduation.
I think with the little amount of time left, you should let people know not to write me after the 10th, in order to make sure I get all of the mail.
We transfer over to OCS on the 19th and any mail sent to basic after will get returned.
I am getting excited for OCS. It will be a lot more physicl field training but with better gear and people with experience. I'm sure I will enjoy it.

-Dale

posted by Shalene

January 28th

Training is going well. We just finished hand grenade qualification. It was awesome fun. We learned all about smoke grenades, fragment grenades & gas. Then we practiced throwing positions from cover and concealed points...
We had a seven part qualification cousre. I scored 7/7 on the course for expert grenadier. It was lots of fun. We threw a lot of grenades with just fuses. They sound like firecrackers but do no damage.
Time is still flying. We had some changes to our training so the last few days went by slowly. A couple of rifle courses fell through so the DS's filled the time by smoking us for hours.
We did just finish a buddy fire course. You dash from one position of cover to another, while you and your buddy fire live rounds at targets in the distance, to cover while the other person runs. I really enjoy the soldiering... I still enjoy the camraderie even though people are getting on my nerves. We have also picked up the level of training intensity for the ruckmarches to prepare for the final march...
See you in 20 days.
-Dale

Posted by Shalene

January 22

We have free time today. Tomorrow we are leaving for another three day campout so we have personal time that we usually get on Sunday. Of course, we have chores to do but we don't have training.
We also have been given a few rewards for doing well in rifle qualification. We got to watch another movie, we could take naps and we are going to play basketball this evening.
It gives us somewhat of a normal life, just wint DS's watching.
Training has been fun lately. Since I talked to you we did another confidence course and hand to hand combat training. The confidence course was great. First, we did an inverted rope slide that was about 30ft long. Then we climbed a platform tower in 4 man teams. Each platform was about 6-8 feet apart. The final big obstacle was called the tough one. Tou climb a 10 ft rope then stand up and walk across beams about 2 ft apart then climb a ladder 20 ft higher, cross over the top and climb down a cargo net. The other obstacles we did were easy - wall climb and that kind of stuff. I don't have a problem with any of the obstacles. I think it is reall fun not scary at all. Some of the guys are real scared of heights so it is a challenge for them.
Then hand to hand combat was real fun. It was focused on self defense grappling - how to maintain a dominant position when you are wrestling. We learned counters and how to move to the best dominant position. We learned four choke holds....
I had a great time. I have never really learned to wrestle so it was all new. The choke holds were real neat...
Our upcoming training should be fun... The training is focused on combat even more than it used to be.....

-Dale

posted by Shalene

January 20th

WE just finished weapons qualification and we have to wait for the guys who can't shoot to qualify.
I qualified the first time with 28 out of 40 targets. A marksman in the army. I honestly am disappointed in my performance. I have been shooting in the mid 30's all week and today I just didn't perform. I was 2 targets away from sharpshooter. The DS's try and say that qualifying is the only important thing and that you can improve your score after training in your unit. Oh well, I am disappointed but it puts me one step closer to graduation from basic. That is definately a plus.
Well, everything has been going well. We had a holiday Monday for MLK day. It was a training holiday, so we watched movies. War movies, of course and we had to analyze them for displayed Army values. We watched Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers and Blackhawk Down. War movies are very different now that I am in the Army. I notice a lot of little details that I never noticed but I also connect with the characters now.
I am still enjoying everything. We just finished another campout. we actually call them BIVuoac (pronounced BIV-whack). I don't really know what it means but to me it is camping out without a tent. It was really cold. I think the low was 25 degrees F. I slept well but it is hard to get out of the bag at 0500. We get extra sleep on the campouts but guard duty is terrible when you have to get out of the bag.
We continue to do Ruckmarches of about 4-5 miles. We have a couple weeks and then we will do a 9-miler. Our rucksack weighs about 40 lbs and our additional gear is another 12 lbs. It is not too difficult but it's not my favorite thing to do. We will all be in good shape for backpacking together.
The last two milestones of basic are the final PT test and 9 mile ruckmarch. I won't have a problem with either one. I am trying to improve my pushups to score higher on the PT test but I only have a week...
I am still curious about what my branch will be.......
-Dale

posted by Shalene