#92 - We all want candy

We are still out at the rifle range. Lunch was MREs...again. I had the chicken fajita selection for the first time, which wasn't bad. It comes with two soft tortillas, rice, cheese spread, and a chicken/sauce mixture - way too much filling for the tortillas. Dessert was a raisin/nut mix which I gave away to one of the males. I did keep the vanilla cappacino mix, however, to slake my desire for something sweet. The taste is astonishingly similar to those International Foods coffee powders. Even the hint of coffee flavor was enough to make my tongue and taste buds dance with delight. I really miss coffee!

One of the girls in my platoon, Pvt. Bucking, got heckled earlier for trying to abscond with a pack of M&Ms from an MRE (we aren't allowed to keep the candy "contraband"). Each case of MREs should, in theory, have at least one menu containing a pack of Skittles or M&Ms. So if we have 4 cases of MREs, the Drill Sergeants expect that we should turn in 4 packs of Skittles or M&Ms, which almost never manifest. So, we usually end up getting in trouble because someone is taking the contraband candy. Many folks spirit the items away to the barracks hidden in the folds of their IBA for consumption at their leisure. The preferred alternative, however, seems to be wolfing down the contraband candy in the porta-potties right after we're done with chow. You can always see M&Ms wrappers in the toilet. These porta-johns are really nasty. How anyone could be comfortable eating something inside them is incomprehensible to me.

Uh oh... Pvt. White was just observed sleeping in the bleachers. One of the guys in the platoon spiked her kevlar helmet down in front of her to wake her up. She retaliated by throwing her helmet and cursing at him. Lately when White has been falling asleep at times whe she's not supposed to, someone from our platoon has been slamming a helmet down or otherwise making a loud noise to wake her up. She does this quite often. I was told that she fell asleep out at the rifle range a few days ago while she was in the prone firing position.

There is a rumor that our 1SG is going to condone a pizza party after we have our PT test. All soldiers will be allowed to participate, with the exception of my battle buddy, who has been given the nickname of "M&M" due to her recent contraband incident at the range. I won't turn down the prospect of having pizza, but I would rather indulge in other things... maybe some Ben & Jerry's ice cream, or organic dark chocolate... mmm...

...

It is 7:22pm and I'm sitting at my bunk in the barracks soaking my feet. Thankfully we have been given more free time lately.

We have not received mail for the second day in a row. I've been a bit pampered here, as my husband has written me every day during BCT. I have also received mail from my family and a few friends too. Receiving mail is always the highlight of my day.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to complete the confidence course. Honestly, I'm not really looking forward to it. There are many obstacles to traverse at heights, which is something that bothers me. I didn't mind rappelling at Victory Tower, but I hate climbing those huge ladders. If someone falls, they would be in a world of pain.

My battle buddy is currently spouting off about wanting to beat up several people. There is an incredible amount of posturing here at BCT. Everyone has to pound their chest and proclaim how tough they are several times daily. It's really quite ridiculous.

There are a number of folks here who are preparing to go home. They are being chaptered out of the Army for a number of reasons, premarily medical and mental health issues. There are a few mentally unstable individuals in the barracks leaving that many are happy to see go. I am sad to see some of the others leave. One girl claims that she is going to mail us all packages with contraband chocolate hidden inside. Somehow I think the Drill Sergeants would see through the ruse... I'm sure they've seen it all by now.