#93 - The confidence course

It is 11:51am, and I am out at the confidence course. I was not allowed to participate, since I am technically still on medical profile. Well, I didn't want to have to do this, but I would have preferred to have gotten it over with, since I will likely have to come back again at a later date with another company.

Many of the obstacles in the confidence course involve climbing up walls, high ladders, sliding down ropes, etc. There is a 40' ladder that has rungs spaced far apart (far, that is, for someone short like me), and no mat underneath. I wonder if anyone has ever fallen while scaling that ladder? Some of the obstacles we've had to complete here have been very safe with padding, mats, cargo nets, or shredded rubber underneath them, but this seems to be an exception.

One of the females in my platoon, Galagos, has been having a lot of trouble traversing the obstacles this morning. At one point she refused to scale the tall ladder, and was surrounded by several screaming Drill Sergeants. She was also unable to scale a relatively short wall using a rope to climb up. She tried several times, but gave up. The Drill Sergeant told her, "That's ok, I have CQ duty tonight, and I will remember you!". Many of the people in my platoon believe that they are going to be smoked later because of Galagos' unwillingness to participate in the obstacles. I actually heard whisperings amongst the females with the words "fist" and "blanket party" uttered. I don't think Galagos is trying very hard, because she doesn't want to be here. She is the female who tried to go AWOL a few weeks ago. She told me that she plans to go AWOL on graduation day (I don't know why she would wait until then?). Apparently she has three kids at home who are being watched by their grandmother. When Galagos shipped to basic and the DSs started talking about everyone going to Iraq, she decided that she no longer wanted to be in the Army.

Well, at least there is light at the end of the tunnel for the rest of us. The Drill Sergeants told us that it's all downhill from here. There will still be the PT test, road marches, and the two bivouacs, but most of the tough stuff is over. Tomorrow we are scheduled to be engaged in some type of squad tactical movement drills. I believe this is one of the things in BCT that is new since the military has been involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are times here when I feel very starved for mental stimulation. I miss my friends from home, as I feel I can't talk to a lot of the kids here. I usually amuse myself by writing many letters, or just examining my surroundings to keep myself busy. I try to make mental notes about everything that is around me, and figure out what parts I'm familiar with, and what is something I'm not familiar with. What types of trees are here at Fort Jackson? What types of construction are employed in the items on the courses? Could the buildings here be characterized as a specific type of architecture? How old are they? Are there are historic structures? Earlier I was looking at one of the obstacles here and commenting on it to myself. The retaining wall was three courses high, comprised of three 6'x6' pressure treated members, with added flying-buttress type supports to prevent the shifting of materials on the inside. An elevated tripod appeared to have the old pressure treatment - what were the ingredients they used... copper, mercury and arsenic, I believe. I was going through all of this and inadvertantly talking out loud, and someone nearby said that I was scaring them and didn't belong in the Army. ;p

I just feel starved for a good, deep conversation with someone. I find myself drowning in boredom. Being able to write is the only thing that keeps me sane here...

...

It is 1:55pm, after chow, and the company has resumed the confidence course. At lunch I finally found some conversation with Pvt. Jackman. She is only 18 years old, but one of the smartest people here. Her MOS is to be a Russian linguist/interrogator, with an AIT of 96 weeks. Jackman told me that she is also starved for some intelligent conversation, as most of the folks here want to discuss flatulence, food, rap music, or the ongoing subject of who they think is the platoon hottie. We ended up discussing politics and speculated upon the geopolitical and economic futures of China and Russia. I told her about the theory of evolutionary potential, and how a nation's natural resources can directly impact its ascent and downfall. I realized our conversation was probably too deep for some of the people around us, judging from the open mouths and odd looks on peoples' faces. I just wish there were more people like Jackman here for me to talk with. I guess I'm just really bored here in BCT...

I am stuck here watching the platoons' weapons because I am on profile. There are a number of others here with me - some on profile, and others who are in the process of being chaptered out of the Army. The conversation today has mostly revolved around a "snitch" in one platoon who ratted out several females for various infractions (these include someone having a belly button ring, one girl having possession of a cell phone in her locker, and people sneaking food into the barracks). One actually hears the phrase "blanket party" uttered here on a frequent basis, though I have yet to see (or hear of it) happening.