Last night there was a surprise barracks inspection. The Drill Sergeants found all kinds of "contraband" hidden in the ceiling tiles and peoples' lockers. One girl had two cell phones, whole MREs, soda bottles, racy brassieres, sex manuals (!), a fictional sex/romance novel, and... um, a vibrator. I'm sure her face must have been red when the male DSs found that stash in her sock drawer. The platoon she belonged to had their guidon duct-taped with a telephone handset to signify their shame. We were all hoping they would have duct-taped the vibrator to the guidon instead. Now THAT would have been funny!
My battle buddy, White, is on her way to sick call again. Luckily some other folks in my platoon are helping me carry her gear. She goes pretty often, and I am stuck carrying around her rifle, IBA, kevlar, rucksack, etc. It is nice when people pitch in to help. I try to return the favor whenever I can. There is a fine balance, however, as some folks will ask the world of you if they feel they can get away with it. One of the females in my platoon asked me last night to make her bed for her. I told her that I would show her how to make a hospital corner and how to properly make the bed, but that she had to do it (she has been having other people do the work for her). She was visibly disappointed that I would not comply. Oh well.
We had MREs again for lunch today. I had a milkshake for the first time - something new in the MREs. It was actually pretty good. It was supposed to be a chocolate flavor, but it didn't really taste like it. I miss the real deal. I miss a lot of things!
It is now the afternoon, and we just finished shooting at the EST 2000 range. This is the indoor computerized range simulation. It realistically mimics the kick of an M-16, and you shoot at images projected on a big screen... it's pretty cool. It took me a few rounds to adequately group my shots, but I did it. The cadre member in charge of the range would not let me adjust my sandbags, so I was in a bit of an uncomfortable prone throughout the session.This indoor range is something new since I was at basic the first time. A lot of things are actually new since then. Perhaps the Army is catching up to the times. I wish the rest of the equipment was the same. We still have the antiquated old school pistol belts, rucksacks and LBEs that have been around forever. If we ever run out, there are probably some hanging around in the museum on post that we could borrow... ;p
I will have to remember to bring my writing material with me more often, as sometimes I have down time like this during the day. Many people complain about not having any time to write letters, but I've found some time to write every single day that I've been here... only sometimes you have to get creative about seizing the opportunity to do so. Everyone has heard about the Army way of "hurry up and wait". Sometimes we will be rushed somewhere in a tremendous hurry, only to sit on our asses for an hour afterwards. Other times I just have a few minutes here and there while one group is receiving instruction, and I am waiting my turn... These are all good times to pull a small notebook out of my pocket and write. The fringe benefit is that it also keeps me from getting bored, and helps the time to pass more quickly.
I was just sent outside the EST 2000 range with Jackman to guard the weapons. We left our "real" M-16s outside. She was falling asleep indoors so the Drill Sergeant lobbed a kevlar at her and yelled "Incoming!". Actually I'm surprised that more people didn't fall asleep inside the range, as the lights are very dim. It's like being in a movie theater, except for the staccato rhythm of the simulated M-16s firing.
The weather has still been cold. It is actually a bit colder than when we first arrived at Reception, usually in the 20s or 30s in the morning for PT and our first formation. In the day it has been going up to the 40s or 50s, and sometimes warmer, although there is often a chilly wind. I am very aware of the weather here since we are usually ill-prepared for it in terms of dress. The Drill Sergeants dictate what we wear at all times. If you are cold, you cannot just put on a jacket like you do in the civilian world. Most of the time it seems like we are freezing our asses off. I suspect that they might be toughening us up.
There are a number of people still inside the EST 2000 range having trouble qualifying. We are scheduled to go to a real live-fire range on Monday. Tomorrow is our first overnight bivouac or FTX (field training exercise), also known as "Red STX" (pronounced red sticks). It is going to be very cold.
I'd like to write a little about my platoon... There seem to be a good mix of all types of folks imaginable, and just about every race represented. Unfortunately there are only a few people that I like enough to seek out on a frequent basis. Most of the girls that I bonded with are in other platoons, though I still occasionally get to talk to them in the barracks.
A lot of the people don't have anyone who is coming to see them graduate, for various reasons - sometimes financial. I feel very thankful that my husband is planning to come from Pennsylvania to see me. I think about the prospect of graduation every day. It is still far off, but always on my mind.
We're sitting around now, and just had some A-rats outside (this refers to hot food from the DFAC served from insulated containers). For some reason we were served this outside the barracks. I told my battle buddies to not drink the purple kool-aid, but they didn't get the Jim Jones reference. I guess that was before their time...
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