A Few Pictures of the girls on recent adventures

Back in the Blogosphere.

I am back online and blogging again. There have been many changes recently in my life and the dust has settled.
I left the Army and moved my family to Asheville NC.
I am planning on going to graduate school for a Master's Accountacy.
After school I plan to work as a CPA and eventually open my own consulting business providing accounting services, management and marketing ideas to small business owners in Western North Carolina.
Leaving the Army presented a unique opportunity to start over and decide where to live and what to do. A fair amount of day-dreaming, soul searching and late night discussions with my wife led to a decision to settle in an area that fits our hobbies, our ideals and beliefs.
Its great to be surrounded by such a beautiful area, so many community and environmentally minded people, and a stones throw from an outdoor hobby imagined.

So far, we love the area, our little house, our neighbors and our friends.

Come back for posts of things we are doing, things I am reading about and new gems of places we are exploring.

Gaining Culture While Deployed: The story of Orpheus and Eurydice

I was talking with Shalene the other day and random conversation led to the story of Orpheus. The internet is a powerful tool. 10 seconds later, one google inquiry and I am learning about a tragic love story.

Orpheus passionately loved a nymph named Eurydice. After their marriage, Eurydice was mortally bitten by a snake concealed in the grass. Orpheus was inconsolable and resolved to descend into the Underworld to reclaim his deceased wife. With his musical charms he convinced Hades and Persephone to take back his wife to the world of the living. Their sole proviso was that upon taking Eurydice back to Earth Orpheus should not look back upon her. Tragically, upon reaching the uppermost gates, Orpheus turned back. At once she was whisked back to the infernal regions, this time forever.
Orpheus did not live long after this tragedy. Some accounts say that he took his life by suicide while others claim that he was murdered by Thracian women who were infuriated at his never ending love for a single woman.

• PS. Someone help me realize this post leaves too much to the imagination. My intent was to share a story that often makes its way into modern culture without the details. I wanted to share a little culture. Shalene actually reminded me that she sang an aria of Orpheus' lament in Senior recital. Enjoy.

• Also, Dont worry. Shalene has not been bitten by a snake and taken to hell. Although, I would travel to hell and back for her, this is not a tragedy we have to deal with.

Flashback to Hawijah before 1-87 IN

Hawijah: A small city with big problems- Oct 06

War Stories: Staring down a truckload of death- OCT 06

U.S. night patrols in Iraq require balancing act- MARCH 07

This is what we inherited in September 07. Now 11 months later this region is dramatically different.

1-87 IN Battalion showcased in the news.

As many of you know, we have acheived great success on our deployment. The result is attention from the US Army commanders, Iraqi government officials and national media.



I have not done a great job sharing what is happening here, so in an attempt to unveil the work I do, I will link several articles that have been written recently as a reporter traveled through our area.

1. "A tweaked approach, a little money and a reconciliation program have helped one unit tame the violent Hawijah area"
2. "Hawijah progress continues after walls come down"
3. "Pilot program helps 'Sons of Iraq' learn literary skills to land jobs"
4. "Soccer game showcases unity, progress in Iraq"
5. "Hawijah drivers will no longer have to move aside for U.S. convoys"

There are usually complaints that the national media only focuses on the negative and likes to sensationalize the current events. I suppose we have proven that if you give them a positive picture, they have no choice but to write positive articles.

Our success continues to be considered ground-breaking across Iraq. I hope that the sacrifices we have made brings the Iraqi people closer to a safe and democratically free country. Eventually bringing a group of Americans that work hard for others benefits back to safe place they call home.

Our Battalion changing the way things are done.

Due to many successes and hardwork, the Summitt Battalion has delved into a new realm of relations in the Iraqi community.
We are participating in a regional soccer tournament against Iraqi District League teams.
The story gained recognition and is told by ABC news. The following link is to the article and the second is to the video clip.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=5214020&page=1

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5214291&affil=wjla

Enjoy the read. Its really ground breaking. The security improvements allowed us to move towards a more humanitarian mission focus. We have taken along with that challenge a mission to normalize life for the Iraqis (the best we can for current times) and humanize or soften the soldierly image we portray. We often remind key leaders in the area to not confuse our new image with weakness. We continue to ruthlessly capture anyone committing criminal, terrorist acts or aiding those who do.

Ancient Warfare influencing Modern Times.

The use of horses in battle can be traced back to as early as 800 BC. The increased speed, maneuverability and ability to overpower your enemy led to the development of the cavalry. Later, a new class of cavalry developed called Dragoons. They moved to battle on horses but dismounted to fight.

Eventually, the horse was replaced by horse power. The bow by the rifle. Many more significant improvements and we arrive at the modern Infantry.

The basic necessity for speed and power remain. We use vehicles to give us the advantage of speed, maneuverability through difficult terrain and improved armor for protection.

Meet the horse that delivers me to battle.

The CAIMAN.

My modern chariot weighs 19 tons and is powered by a very large deisel engine. It carries 9 warriors to battle protected by state of the art armor.

Okay, so when you ride in it feels closer to a Winnebago in size. Although its not nearly as comfortable. Well maybe that has something to do with the 60 lbs of equipment and body armor I wear.

Oh well, that is the plight of the modern warrior.

The Big Fives

5 Things on my list to do

1. Plan operations for next week (death by Powerpoint we call it)
2. Inventory equipment from my Platoon
3. Chat with my wife
4. Watch movies
5. Sleep (we are on Patrol Base security... I have a lot of free time)

5 snacks I enjoy

1. Doritos
2. Tostitos and salsa
3. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
4. Icecream sandwiches
5. Sunflower seeds

5 things i would do if I suddenly became a billionaire

1. Invest in the market and Real Estate and make the money work for me
2. Travel (1,000 places to see before you die)
3. Donate to charities focused on children
4. Large house, middle of nowhere with a long driveway and an airfield
5. Eliminate my family's debt (no more monkeys)

5 Places I've lived

1. Army: Northern Iraq (undisclosed for Security); FT Drum, NY; FT Benning, GA and three lousy Ranger training camps
2. Sterling, VA; Fredericksburg, VA (I loved the location but traffic is unbearable)
3. Boone, NC (my favorite)
4. Raleigh, NC
5. 2yrs in Kobe, Japan

* There are still more locations but only asked for 5. I stretched it a bit.

5 Jobs I've held

1. Current- Infantry Rifle Platoon Leader
2. Velux Skylight Account Representative
3. Ski Instructor (Greatest job ever, if you can call it a job)
4. Closetmaid shelving Installer
5. Circuit City Salesman

* Lots of other small part time jobs.

5 things people don't know about me ( but not for long)

1. I have minor anxiety moments when I can't get in touch with my wife
2. Despite all I have accomplished, my largest demon is Laziness
3. Losing my hair this early actually does bother me
4. I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up
5. I read emails and facebook responses yet rarely leave a reply (a strange habit that has nothing to do with being busy)

5 people I tag
......
No one specific. I like to read people's responses but I will not pressure anyone.

Back From A Long Hiatus!

Ironically, I am also back to my current job after more than a month off. The Army graciously allowed me to take 18 days of Rest and Recuperation leave (with travel time amounted to 32 days total) as a small benefit for 15 months of servitude in the desert.

My lovely wife encouraged me to begin posting again and at her prompting you will now enjoy more frequent updates of my life from the third world country I call home.

I guess 2 1/2 years without a post is more than just writer's block; it is blog neglect. Alot has happened in since I graduated Ranger School.

The short version:
-moved to Fort Drum, NY (30 miles from Canada and one of the coldest places in America)
-prepared a rifle platoon for deployment to Iraq
-deployed September '07 to Northern Iraq

Current situation:
We live in a patrol base (think remote, defensive base built to allow our Infantry company to operate and live closer to the people we provide security for) that is our home away from home.
We are located to the southwest of Kirkuk, near the Tigris river. The area is significantly less populated and more safe than the large cities that occupy headlines in the news.
The demographics of our area and isolation from many of the organized insurgent groups allows us to perform and operate more humanitarian missions.
I am the Platoon Leader and therefore the face of the war effort on a day to day basis. Although I am trained in tactics and weaponry, I apply my knowledge and training to help provide security, improve the infrastructure and establish the local government.
My actual role is to coordinate with many local leaders in villages, local security forces and villagers to assess their needs and find a solution through the Iraqi government to fix their problems. So, I guess I am more similar to a politician than a fighter.

We have about 8 months left in our deployment. I will try to send more updates and post a few pictures from my small portion of the war front.

Finished Ranger School

Well, I have been out of Ranger School for almost two months now and I have moved to Fort Drum and started at my new unit. BUT, I feel like I should close out that part of my blog with a little description of the last phase and graduation.

I am really glad to be done with Ranger School. My last update was on the way to Florida Phase at Eglin Airforce Base. You would never now it was an Airforce Base where they put us. We were about a 20 minute drive from anything other than ranger training.

Florida was the most difficult phase for me. We had 10 consecutive days in the field. That is 9 mostly sleepless nights. 10 days of patrolling. 9 nights digging foxholes. 2 miserable nights in the swamp. 3 days paddling zodiac boats. 10 days of a general suckfest.

The nights in the swamp were the most miserable times I had in Ranger School.
The waterborne days start with a boat movement navigating down a river to a landing point right at dusk. Then you begin moving through the swamp for a few torturous hours in the dark until you reach a river that needs to be crossed. After crossing the river, you are soaked up to your neck and finish walking through the swamp. I say it is torture because you are tired, wet and hungry while you try to walk through a cypress swamp that has stumps and fallen trees under the water making just walking difficult, all the while it is almost pitch black because we are under a dense canopy of trees in the middle of the night.

I dont have any good pictures of Ranger School because you are not allowed to have a camera. So the best I can do is reference you to the ranger school brief.

Overall the school was probably the most difficult thing I have done in the Army. https://www.benning.army.mil/rtb/Ranger%20School%20Brief_files/frame.htm

I completed the cource in 60 days without any hiccups.

Letter Dated May 6th

"I am on the bus to Camp Rudder right now. ...
Well, the last 3 weeks of Mountain phase have been difficult. I can think of hard things we did but overall, it was again easier than I expected. I am beginning to think I just have the right attitude and that is why things are going well. ...
Well, Mountain Phase started out with one week of mountaineering training. We learned rappelling, mountaineering knots, mountain mobility (fixed rope climbs, moving casualties, hauling with ropes) and basic climbing. The week culminated with a 2 day exercise on Mt Yonah, which included a 2.5 mile march up the mountain. It really was a lot of fun. I learned enough climbing that I would like to buy some equiptment and do more. We only did 3 individual climbs but it really was great fun. We also did a couple of long rapells. After that training we began technique training (normal military tactics). We trained on platoon tactics we were to use in field training. The next part was a 4 day field exercise. Things really did not go very well but it was also uneventful. Most of our training was reviewed and we were told that we were doing poorly. At the end of the week only 8 people had passed patrols. We did get rained on a couple times but it hardly bothers me now. After 4 days we came back and retrained on some weaknesses for a day. We discussed our mistakes and how to fix them. Apparently that went well because we only had 2 people fail patrols the second week.
We returned to the field for a 5 day exercise that was much more physical. 3 of the 5 days required extensive casualty evacuation that was very difficult. We had to move multiple people through mountainous terrain to points where they could be extracted (helicopter landing zones, intersections, etc.) The longest was about 2 miles. It was very tiring. It was probably one of the most difficult things we have done and it required a lot of teamwork. A couple of other things that happened of significance were, a thunderstorm in the middle of the night, we had to drop all our gear and move to low ground while the storm passed for an hour and a half. We were just sitting in the woods at 2 in the morning waiting for it to stop.
The last difficult march we did was a three mile march that included a 1/4 mile steep section. It was very difficult. I actually had thoughts of just sitting down and quitting. It was the last night in the field and we had very little sleep while in the field - about 2 hrs a night is the max sleep possible, but we usually only got an hour of sleep at night. The lack of food and sleep constantly nag at me. It doesn't stop me from functioning, but you always notice. I have an insatiable appetite right now. I can eat a ton of food and still be hungry shortly after. Now I just try to ignore the feeling. As for sleep, sometimes you drone an zone out, other times you nod off for a couple of minutes and swear you were awake.
Well, that's it for my paper and tells you a little of what's going on. Florida will be worse. We have a 9 day field exercise with lots of swamps. I hope to do well and see you soon. ..."
-Dale

Posted by Shalene

Letter Dated April 30th

..."We just finished a 4 day field training exercise. It was much more difficult than Benning. The mountains did not bother me so much, but we ate less and slept less than ever before. In 4 days, I think I slept a total of 5hrs. The last night we rotated thru short gaurd shifts, every time someone would wake me up, I would argue that I had just gone to sleep. I was so tired, I wouldn't even realize that I had been sleeping. The field problem didn't go very well for our platoon. Normally, about 40 % of the people already have passed patrols. Our platoon less than 20% have passed. We leave on another field problem today. It should be more stressful because so few of us have passed. Well, I have to run. We have a tight schedule. "
-Dale

Posted by Shalene

Letter Dated April 23rd

..."So far Mountains has been great. The first 5 days is mountaineering training. Mostly rock climbing and rappelling. It was a blast. They say it is the most fun you can have in Ranger School. Now, we are in classes and practical exercises before we start patrolling. It seems like the patrols will be difficult. Our platoon is having trouble coming together. Hopefully all turns out well. I am in good spirits. The first week of Mountains was time to heal and recuperate. We are eating 3 meals a day and sleeping 4-6 hours a night. The breakfasts are great. It's a ton of food. Almost like having a buffet meal on one tray. So, right now I am fat & happy, well at least for Ranger School. .....
We head to the field tomorrow. We are being inserted by helicopter to a mountain landing zone to start our mission. It should be fun. That will be my second helo ride in Ranger School. ...."
-Dale

posted by Shalene

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

OFF TO RANGER SCHOOL

I leave to report for Ranger School this evening. Hopefully, I will graduate 62 days later Memorial day weekend. Each phase is 3 weeks long and must be passed to move on to the next phase. I will keep Shalene informed as much as I can so contact her if you are interested. If you would like to write me here are the addresses. (Shalene will fill in the blanks)

FORT BENNING ADDRESS:
2LT Dale Wyrick
4th Ranger Training Battalion
ATTN: Class 501-06, C Co.
RN 173
10850 Schneider Road
Fort Benning, GA 31905

MOUNTAIN ADDRESS:
2lt Dale Wyrick
5th Ranger Training Battalion
Sqd __, Plt __, Company
ATTN: Class
1 Camp Merrill
Dahlonega, GA 30533-1802

FLORIDA ADDRESS:
2LT Dale Wyrick
6th Ranger Training Battalion ___Sqd___ Plt
ATTN: Class____ , Company____
6069 Walkers Lane
Camp James E. Rudder
Eglin AFB, FL 32542


If you are just curious to know what Ranger school is all about. Here is the website.
Ranger School

Or just ask a Ranger, their stories will be much more entertaining.

Wish me luck.

Leah Suzanne Wyrick

Born March 20, 2006
1018 hrs
7lbs 2 oz
20in long

There is a crazy story to be told but I will let mom tell it
As for me, I will let my camera talk.



These are my girls.




Our first family photo.




This is Rebekah asleep on the phone with her mom singing to her. Poor thing was heartbroken to leave Mom and baby Leah at the hospital.

I have the Power!

The Internet is a Marketeer's dream. The connection you can make to an individual consumer allows them to customize a product to meet their needs and wants, all but eliminates the difficult analysis and prediction of trends. Of course, one must still be 'in touch' enough to provide the consumer with a finite number of choices that will meet those needs and still be economical for the business.
I have found a couple of companies that are doing this "customized marketing" very well.
I really enjoy their websites- the user inerface, selections and marketing of the idea and pricing.
Let me show you some examples. (follow the links to explore for yourselves)


NIKEID

My customized Katana running shoes from Nike. Not only can I choose from a variety of colors but you can fit your shoe size to each foot (novel idea considering your feet are usually two different sizes.) All of this for the same price as the 'made for the masses' shoe. Ingenious, a combination of customization and economies of scale.

CONVERSE

Converse does a great job of catering to their target. The color choices are limited but you can really go wild with the ol' Chuck Taylors.

HONDA

I decided to use Honda as an example but most vehicle manufacturers do the same thing. Choose the color, add a few features that you like and avoid the ones you dont want to pay for. I dig the Metropolitan scooter. Great gas mileage and brand new for just over $1000. (really though, I dont want one... just using it as an example)

Back to My Observations and Hope for a Fiery Discussion.

I have been reading all of the articles about "Muslim outrage" over cartoons picturing Muhammad and wondering what this is really all about. I was really curious to see for my self how outrageous these cartoons were. I was thinking they would be blasphemous and terrible to cause such a violent reaction.
After a little research, I found the cartoons and explanations of why they were drawn and what each cartoonist was saying.

So here it is:

the drawings

On September 30, 2005, the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten ("The Jutland Post") published an article titled "Muhammeds ansigt"[4] ("The face of Muhammad"). The article consisted of 12 satirical caricatures (of which only some depicted Muhammad) and an explanatory text, in which Flemming Rose, Jyllands-Posten's culture editor, commented:

The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special
position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. It
is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you
must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule. It is certainly not
always equally attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that
religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is less
important in this context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where
no-one can tell how the self-censorship will end. That is why Morgenavisen
Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to
draw Muhammad as they see him. [...] After an invitation from
Jyllands-Posten to around forty different artists to give their interpretation
on how Muhammad may have looked, twelve different caricaturists chose to respond
with a drawing each. Some of these twelve drawings portray Muhammad in different fashions; many also comment on the surrounding self-censorship debate.

In the clockwise direction of their position in the page layout:

1. The face of Muhammad as a part of the Islamic star and crescent symbol. His right eye the star, the crescent surrounds his beard and face.
2. Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, with a lit fuse and the Islamic creed written on the bomb. This drawing is considered the most controversial of the twelve.
3. Muhammad standing in a gentle pose with a halo in the shape of a crescent moon. The middle part of the crescent is obscured, revealing only the edges.
4. An abstract drawing of crescent moons and Stars of David, and a poem on oppression of women "Profet! Med kuk og knald i låget som holder kvinder under åget!". In English the poem could be read as: "Prophet you crazy bloke! Keeping women under yoke"
5. Muhammad as a simple wanderer, in the desert, at sunset. There is a donkey in the background.
6. A nervous caricaturist, shakingly drawing Muhammad while looking over his shoulder.
7. Two angry Muslims charge forward with sabres and bombs, while Muhammad addresses them with: "Rolig, venner, når alt kommer til alt er det jo bare en tegning lavet af en vantro sønderjyde" (loosely, "Relax guys, it's just a drawing made by some infidel South Jutlander". The reference is to a common Danish expression for a person from the middle of nowhere.)
8. An Arab-looking boy in front of a blackboard, pointing to the Farsi chalkings, which translate into "The editorial team of Jyllands-Posten is a bunch of reactionary provocateurs". The boy is labelled "Mohammed, Valby school, 7.A", implying that this Muhammed is a second-generation immigrant to Denmark rather than the founder of Islam. On his shirt is written "Fremtiden" (the future).
9. Another drawing shows an angry Muhammad with a short sabre and a black bar censoring his eyes. He is flanked by two women in niqaabs, having only their wide open eyes visible.
10. Muhammad standing on a cloud, greeting dead suicide bombers with "Stop Stop vi er løbet tør for Jomfruer!" ("Stop, stop, we have run out of virgins!"), an allusion to the promised reward to martyrs.
11. Another shows journalist Kåre Bluitgen, wearing a turban with the proverbial orange dropping into it, with the inscription "Publicity stunt". In his hand is a child's stick drawing of Muhammad, referring to Bluitgens upcoming illustrated children's book on the life of The Prophet. The proverb "an orange in the turban" is a Danish expression meaning "a stroke of luck", here the added publicity for the book.
12. And in the centre:
    A police line-up of seven people, with the witness saying: "Hm... jeg kan ikke lige genkende ham" ("Hm... I can't really recognise him"). Not all people in the line-up are immediately identifiable. They are: (1) A generic Hippie, (2) politician Pia Kjærsgaard, (3) possibly Jesus, (4) possibly Buddha, (5) possibly Muhammad, (6) a generic Indian Guru, and (7) journalist Kåre Bluitgen, carrying a sign saying: "Kåres PR, ring og få et tilbud" ("Kåre's public relations, call and get an offer")

The picture is not great but it gives you an idea of just what caused the problem. One page in a Danish right-wing newspaper. The entire country has just over 5 million residents and I cant imagine that too many of read this newspaper.

A paper that has far less readers than the NY Times or the Washington Post has caused quite an uproar. Now that we are all informed. What do you think?

Is there reaction understandable? Justified? Over-the top? Or dare I say expected from our peace loving Muslim neighbors?

I have an opinion but I do not want to influence yours any further than I have.

COMMENTS PLEASE!

Flying at just over a thousand feet altitude, a military C-130 jet propeller aircraft approaches the Fryar Drop zone. The Jumpmaster yells the first of many commands to be echoed and executed be all personnel on the aircraft following each command.

10 MINUTES.

GET READY.

OUTBOARD PERSONELL STAND UP!

INBOARD PERSONELL STAND UP!

HOOK- UP.

CHECK STATIC LINES.

CHECK EQUIPMENT.

SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK .


The aircraft approaches the DZ for the final pass and the jumpmaster leans out the door to check the location.

1 MINUTE

30 SECONDS

STAND BY

GO!

After that I jumped from the door of a perfectly good airplane that was moving at about 125 miles per hour, in to prop wash that feels like a wall of air. I float away from the airplane counting one thousand, two thousand. Before I can continue in my count there is a jerk and my canopy is open, as I descend to the earth at 18-22 ft per second. I check my canopy to make sure there are no problems and then I keep an eye out for fellow jumpers to avoid collisions. Less than a minute later as I pull on my risers to slow my descent, my feet touch the ground and I roll to my side keeping my feet and knees together.

What a rush!!

The view was great as I floated down. Honestly, I was nervous on the plane until the routine started. From there it was all rehearsed movements. All I had to do was react. The nerves settled as soon the commands began and next thing I know I am floating to the ground. I never thought about stopping, just jumped both feet into the wind and let gravity do the rest.

Man that was great! I completed 5 jumps successfully after two weeks of training.







A is for Airborne
I is for in the sky
R is for rough and tough
B is for born to fly
O is for on the go
R is ranger
N is for never quit
E is for every day
'Cause I'm Airborne
All the way
Super-duper Paratrooper

1 More Milestone Passed.

I recently completed IOBC. The course was 16 weeks of training to be an Infantry Officer. The course was designed to resemble the pattern of training we should use in leading our troops and modeled to train each individual on how to correctly perform infantry tasks and tactics all while providing opportunities to improve your leadership skills. The focus is on making you a competent Platoon Leader with the necessary skills to train and lead your platoon. (At least, the base skills to train and continue to learn more as you lead and train.)
Overall it was a good course. We had some excellent trainers. The curriculum was a week of classroom tactics followed by a week of tactical field practice. We would learn the theory and then go apply it in the field. I had a good time and learned more fieldcraft.
The end of the course we are awarded an Infantry Blue Cord to wear as we join the ranks of Infantrymen. It is a very symbolic and significant addition to your uniform that only 13% of the Army wears.

Here are the actual narrator's words from the ceremony when we were awarded the cord.

Infantry Blue Cord
Eighteenth Century European armies used cords and aguilettes to distinguish service branches and officers from enlisted. Many Continental Army units adopted this custom. After the American Revolution, cords fell into disuse until the Mexican War. During this war some Mexican military leaders threatened to hang any captured U.S. Officers. Many gallant men defiantly wore short ropes on their shoulders as they pressed home the attack in mocking tribute to their enemy's empty threat. Cords and aguilettes soon officially reappeared to denote various positions and awards and have remained with our Army until this day
General Washington selected the color blue to distinguish his tough and resolute infantry in the Continental Army from other types of soldiers. General LaFayette chose a light blue color to outfit his American Infantry Corps. For the next 120 years, the official Infantry color alternated between blue and white until 1904 when the Army officially adopted what we now know as "Infantry Blue."
In 1951, the Army leadership sought to encourage and recognize foot soldiers who were bravely fighting intense battles in Korea. They soon adopted the Infantry Blue Cord. This cord would only be worn by fully qualified Infantrymen and would announce for all to see that these men would be on the front line when our nation was at war.