Letter Dated March 31st

"It is now day 5 of RAP week and we are pretty much done. I have passed all of the events first time thru with no problems. It has really built my confidence. I am not the fastest or the strongest but I really can hold my own. It is not as hard as I expected. We don't get much sleep and the days are long and physical. It honestly feels like basic training.
We leave Sunday night for Camp Darby, which is the field portion of training. The only event left as a requirement for RAP week is a 14 mile road march.
So far this has been easier than I thought but it has some moments that are gay.
Well, I am doing well physically and the lack of sleep I am still handling well. It is supposed to get more difficult tomorrow when we begin eating only two meals a day.
So, here is a run down of major events from RAP week. Keep in mind that in between we may have been getting smoked or just being made to stay awake without doing anything but standing around.
Monday, first was the PT test then the swim test. Later that night we did a layout of the packing list and got smoked for 5 hours and then slept about 3 hrs. Tuesday, 5 mile run & land nav refresher class. Early Wed morning after 2 hrs of sleep we did a 5 hr land nav course. Thursday morning was the 2.5 mile buddy run followed by the Malvesti obstacle course and later the water confidence test. That by far was the most physically and most fun. Friday we did pugil stick and bayonet training followed by a bayonet obstacle course.
All of this training is real physical but there is more down time than I expected. Most of time is filled with classes and time to study. we also did combatives for 3 nights for about 3 hrs a night. We also had little chores and personal work that had to be done late at night.
Overall my motivation is still good.

-Dale

Posted by Shalene