#119 - Victory Forge, day 4

It is the fourth day of Blue STX, so we are over the hump. It's all downhill from here!

We are at the Anzio range and just completed the vehicle convoy live fire exercise. Luckily no one was shot or seriously injured. This is the most dangerous thing we had to do at basic training, mainly because people were shooting live rounds right next to each other off the back of a moving vehicle.







Our exercise went like this... Fourteen people climbed onto the back of a 4 or 5 ton truck, seven on each side. The truck is very tall and there really isn't anything to grab onto to help you climb into it, so all of the short people like myself struggled. The truck then drove around one side of the range, where the seven people on the driver's side engaged targets. Then the truck turned the other way, and the seven people on the passenger side engaged their targets. The truck then came up a hill where a simulated IED went off. The vehicle then came to an abrupt halt, and we all had to jump off and run to our positions, where we once again fired on targets. We did this once as a dry run with blanks, and then with live ammo. The range was made to look like a bombed out urban environment, with walls, overturned cars and trucks, and debris. The most difficult part of it for me was just getting on and off the truck. One time I fell flat onto my face - no fun on a gravel surface (the Drill Sergeant laughed). Thankfully it is over. This was one of the last major training requirements we had to meet for BCT.

Tomorrow Newman and I will probably go to sick call. Yeah, I really do feel like a "sick call ranger" now. My foot is still really hurting from the road march. My knees and leg have also been causing me considerable pain. Yesterday we were marching around in deep sand, which didn't help things. The pain at one point was bad enough that I was almost crying. At least I'll probably get more 800mg Ibuprofen at sick call. Again, if this was the civilian world, it wouldn't be a big deal... I would have medicine on me, and I wouldn't have to go.

Last night our squad had to act as security at a vehicle checkpoint while we were attacked on several occasions. During the final attack, I was in the treeline visiting the forest facilities along with Bucking and Manacles (girls do go to the bathroom in groups!). We saw the enemy attacking our checkpoint in the distance, and engaged them with our blank M-16 fire from afar. As we were outside the checkpoint at the time, we missed out on the CS gas attack. Poor Jackman had the CS gas canister land right next to her, and then she had trouble putting her mask on, so she nearly puked.

The trouble about playing war with blanks is that you don't know, or can't prove, when you've "killed" the enemy. From our vantage point in the distance, the three of us easily picked off the enemy while they were attacking, as they had no idea we were out in the woods. Unfortunately the DS in charge didn't see it that way.

This morning I believe we were gassed while we were waking up. I saw a canister in the distance emitting smoke, and cluster flares lighting up the night sky. I was just about to leave my hooch to visit the forest facilities, and had to stay and quickly don my pro mask. Nothing is worse than getting gassed just as you are about to go to the bathroom. Someone also lobbed a smoke cansiter into Bucking and Jackman's hooch and nearly caught it on fire.

Last night I had roving guard duty with White. It was quite boring walking around in the dark, but at least our shift ended before the rain came. It had been raining since last night, and it is still raining now, making for a very cold, wet and miserable environment. Some rain did come into our hooch, but luckily the sleeping bags are encased in a Gore-Tex shell.

Yesterday we actually received mail, which was a surprise and a treat. I got a letter from my husband and two cards from my mom. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to send out any mail from the field.

...

It is 1:38pm, and after chow. The company is milling about in the bleachers. I'm tired of being here, and am counting down the days remaining. Earlier I engaged in a verbal altercation with one of my platoon members. They had stolen the weapon from someone who was sleeping, and were planning to torture that person by not revealing its whereabouts. The person who was plotting this had been caught sleeping several times yesterday, so a bit of hypocrisy was in order. I told them exactly what I thought, and their retort was "You know what your problem is? You want an easy ride. You always want to easy way out." Oh well. Guess I got some flack for defending one of the people who aren't popular here. BCT is difficult enough without having to deal with platoon members making it hard on their battle buddies unecessarily. I'm not thrilled with many of the folks in my platoon, but I try to support them when it is necessary. That's the only way that you can make it through this experience.

It's disappointing, in a sense, when I compare my 2006 basic training experience with the first time I went through BCT in 1997, almost 10 years ago. By this time, this late in the game, the first time I went through BCT my platoon had already bonded and become something of a family (albeit a dysfunctional one). In the present BCT cycle, this is not the case. Folks are constantly at one another's throats, and are quick to jump on someone who exhibits weakness or displays, god forbid, any shortcomings. Social graces and consideration for their comrades are in short supply. People are generally rude, and rudeness only begets more of the same. I've found that, in general, I no longer prefer the company of others, and want to be left alone. Sometimes one is able to get away from the teeming masses for a little while, but generally you're stuck with a lot of annoying, ill-temperate, inconsiderate people.

A few more days - that's just what I keep telling myself - just a few more days of this shit.