Blue Phase: Week 2 - Day 1

Today is a holiday (Labor Day) so we actually get to relax a little bit. We get to have pizza later and watch a movie. They say it's a centuries old Army tradition. Somehow, I don't believe them.

I know I haven't written an update in a while and for that, I apologize. But, in my defense, I have been really busy. Our training schedule has been hectic with lots of field time and night operations. However, I'll try to recap it all here and now.

Early this week we did US weapons. This is a familiarization with the M-249 squad machine gun, 240-B machine gun and the M-2 .50 caliber. The M-249 and M-240 are very similar. It was pretty cool firing off rounds down the range. But the real one, the one that gets you a little twitterpated is the .50 caliber. Wow. The shells for this weapon are about 5 inches long and it can take out anything short of a heavy tank. Two words: awe-some. If any of you ever have the opportunity to fire one, do it. It really is awe inspiring.

The next major training was simulating urban operations, both at day and night. We had to mimic searching for people, vehicles, etc. I gained a new appreciation for those who do such for hours and days at a time. Knowing that the next vehicle could be a family looking for work or loaded down with enough explosives to destroy the entire checkpoint. That's job stress. We also simulated clearing rooms and buildings. There is a definite technique to it and inattention to detail will get you killed. It's a sobering thought. By far the most overwhelming reality check was an urban mission at night. We were equipped with single-eye night vision goggles (really cool) and were supposed to clear buildings in a compound. There would also be hostile forces that would attack. Granted, we were all using blanks, but it's very overwhelming to be in a small room, pitch black but for one eye, the sound of firing M-16s from multiple directions and trying to identify if it's friend or foe before returning fire. Oh, and not getting killed. Very overwhelming. I know I'm not ready to engage in that kind of operation, but you get substantially more training before you do that anyway.

The only training events left for us are an urban assault course, night infiltration and a 15K road march. The night infiltration is where you low crawl under constantina wire while live rounds with tracers are fired overhead. Should be fun. After that, we're done. Just clean, clean, clean and turn in gear. Then, on Sept. 18, we graduate. I can't believe it's over already. In all seriousness, I'm glad to get to the end. In many ways, I thought it would be harder and in some ways I was challenged beyond what I thought possible. I know I'm not the same as I was 8 weeks ago and I have to believe it's a change for the better.

As I am so close to the end, this will likely be the last entry. I may have one more post for family day and graduation. Thanks for all of the support and good tidings from all who willingly read this hot mess. I may make periodic updates from OCS. It depends on time contraints. Thanks again and hopefully I'll see you all soon.

Hoo-ah!

White Phase: Week 3 - Day 4

Today was a very eventful day. It started off in a bad, bad way. During our hours of down time yesterday, a member of our platoon made a comment that we aren't good at drill and ceremony because we spend so much time cleaning. This, of course, made it's way back to our Drill Sgt who has a rule that we do NOT talk about the platoon to anyone outside of the platoon. So, to make a long story short, we start off the day with push ups, yelling, more push ups, drill and ceremony, push ups again and no shower. As you can see, just a fantastic start and it's not even 8 am yet.

Luckily, we had RBT today. RBT is Rifle Bayonet Training. The actual bayonet training is rather boring. It consists of stabbing/smashing at invisible people and whirling. A lot of whirling. But, after that we had the peugil sticks. This is exactly what you would imagine. Man vs. man with a peugil stick, protective gear and 6 weeks of frustration. It was 1st platoon vs. 2nd platoon. I was put in the middle weight division. It uses a 2 out of 3 points wins scoring system with one point per round. I would be going against a guy about my size but younger (of course). We start off about 20m apart, charge one another and engage. To start off, I went with an attempt to run the guy over. He had the same idea. It was a draw. A little skirmish ensued with me losing the point. The 2nd round was judged a draw and we had to start over. At the restart, I got the better of the initial charge and actually got him on the ground. I kept up the attack and wond the point. Score tied. Third round. By this point, I am gassed. It's amazing how 45 seconds of exertion can tire you out when you are simultaneously trying to beat the crap out of someone and trying not to let him beat the crap out of you. I didn't figure to win another brute force exchange. Not much time to think. We face each other and start to close. We both are now glaring down on one another, glaring at each other as though he had slapped our mama. I can see that for at least this moment, he hates me. So I sidestep, turn and knock the ever loving stink off the back of his head. Point - Boatwright. Score one for the old guys. Honestly, I have to say it felt good to win. Mostly, because I didn't want to let the platoon down. Also, because I got my lip busted a little and was mad. Then, the temp hit 105 and we had to shut down training for the day. Back at the bay, Drill gave us a good talking to. We had showers and personal time. Turned out to be a pretty good day, afterall.

White Phase: Week 2 - Day 7

Today has been a pretty mild day. We had our second full PT test this morning. I was a little nervous as to how, and if, I would improve, but ended up surprising myself. I was able to max the push ups portion with 80 reps. I did 65 sit ups, an improvement of 6 reps. Finally, I ran the 2 mile in 14:36. I was really, really surprised at this since it's about a minute faster than my previous time. I noticed after my second of three laps that I had a chance to run it in 14 minutes. I decided to focus on every reason I was here, every sacrifice and just run the lap. I hit a pace and set a new personal record. It felt great. Thirteen minutes, here I come.

The only other event was of a negative variety. A member of our platoon has been concealing a cell phone the entire cycle. The platoon found out and we had to turn him in. It doesn't help that he's not a team player, immature and selfish. He's probably getting an article 15 ($800 fine and 45 days extra duty) and recycled (starts basic over). The worst punishment might have been standing in front of the platoon and having them tell him how they feel. There were a couple of guys crying because they were so angry. This guy jeopardized our phone privileges. It was a very emotional event. You have so many people here who really don't get it. It disgusts me to wear the same uniform as these guys. I take pride in the decision I've made and measure it by my sacrifice. To be judged by selfish, immature, screw ups angers me. I don't want them in my Army.

White Phase: Week 2 - Day 6

All in all, this week has been pretty uneventful. We spent a couple of days in the field at the range. This is remarkable for only two reasons. One, we worked on buddy team bounding, covering fire, etc. Real soldiering skills. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I learned exactly how much I've grown. You know you've really broadened your horizons when you can comfortably move your bowels surrounded by 5 other guys. No wimpy stalls or partitions. Just you, a pot and 5 of your closest friends. Oh, how my world has changed. Then, today (Friday) we all got our second round of hepatitis shots and are cleaning. Can't you feel the excitement? Admit it, you thought the Army would be more exciting. It's amazing how quickly it has gone. I'm down to 27 days remaining in basic training. Some of those days are devoted to graduation rehearsal and turning in equipment. I can't say I'm sad about it, though. While I've settled into a routine, I'm still ready to get out of here.

White Phase: Week 1 - Day 6

Well, what can I say about today? First of all, the only activity we had today was to go to the field and do activities that simulated situations that applied the "combat life savers" techniques we've learned over the past week. Sounds simple, right? The result is me at the most tired and dirty I've been. The highlights are as follows:

The first lane is simulating treating a casualty on the battlefield. First, I'm a casualty which basically entails screaming in agony, lying motionless, and being dragged through the dirt. I nailed it. Next, I was a combat life saver treating a casualty. As luck would have it, I get "50 Cal" Calvert as my casualty. All 6'1" and 247 lbs of him. I can tell you that it's not easy to roll and maneuver a 247 lb man, but I did it.

The next lane was learning about carrying techniques and use of litters to evacuate casualties. Our first challenge was to low crawl under constantina wire with a litter. Oh, and it just happens to have a 247 lb man on it (no, not Calvert again). I can also tell you that it's not easy to low crawl with a litter holding a 247 lb man. Next, we had to demonstrate different carrying techniques. Of course, there is the fireman's carry, the piggyback, the shoulder strap, and the bear crawl. The ugliest and most difficult of these is the bear crawl. Basically, the casualty is lying on the ground and holding onto your neck. You then proceed to crawl on all fours as you drag the casualty underneath you. It looks bad. It feels bad. It is bad. We then raced in teams doing the fireman's carry. My battle buddy and I didn't quite win our heat, but I made a move on the inside late and almost pulled it out. Yes, I'm a failure. I feel shame.

So, that was today. Tomorrow is Sunday which means cleaning, a trip to the PX and phones. Next week is land navigation. That should be fun.

White Phase: Week 1 - Day 4

Sorry folks. Mitch wrote a reallllllllly long (and funny) blog to post today. I had almost finished typing the entire thing and my wrists were feeling like painful noodles. Then, tragedy struck. Somehow, I accidently pushed a wrong key and all but the 1st three sentences were gone. Poof. Just like that. I don't have it in me to re-type the whole thing. Soooo, here's the gist. They spent the day at the grenade range. There was a lot of sitting around and waiting for just a few seconds of "boom". He did well, but was really shocked by the power and loudness of them. Not like what you see in the movies at all.

If there is no blog entry in his letter tomorrow and I can find the time, maybe I'll try to re-type this entry. If not, I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can.

Donna

White Phase: Week 1 - Day 3

Today was actually a pretty good day. It started off with our platoon receiving the Guidon Streamer for having the best bay during this weekend's inspection. That made our DSs happy. And, of course, happy drill sgts equals happy recruits. We then did PT, got changed and headed out to the COC, or Confidence Obstacle Course. It's a pretty basic military obstacle course. We're not evaluated or anything, but I did pretty well. I didn't fall off of anything and my squad got through pretty quick, so it felt good. That was pretty much our day. We just came back to the battery and showered. They're taking it easy on us in anticipation of the 10K road march tomorrow. Wake up is pushed up to 0330 and we're going to the grenade range. Tomorrow should be an interesting and fun day. However, the day is not ending well. Since a few selfish idiots (it's always the same ones) can't stop talking, we won't be getting mail tonight. That really bothers me on multiple levels. I'm sick of suffering because of other people, which I thought ended with red phase. And I'm sick of the same kids always being the screw-ups. I'll be so glad to get out of here. Until then, I'm going to blow things up with grenades and I'll be getting paid to do it. I love America.

White Phase: Week 1 - Day 1

Hooray! We made it to white phase! Of course, our Drill Sgts informed us that, white phase or no white phase, they remain in control. We did learn that one new privilege is weekly access to the internet cafe. It'll be nice to check my pay statements and send email, even if it is only from my Dept. of the Army account. As far as today's events, we had a drill and ceremony competition this morning that I'm pretty sure we failed. I say this since both of our Drill Instructors see no need in devoting much time to drill and ceremony since it has no applicability to "the shit going down over there in Iraq, Privates". In the afternoon, we had our Period III inspection. This was odd since I don't recall our Period I or Period II inspections. Anyway, our platoon passed and I was really squared away as I didn't get gigged for anything. The worst part was standing at parade rest for about an hour. Hated it. Overall, not a bad start to white phase.

Red Phase: Week 3 - Day 4

Today promises to be another uneventful day. Today SHOULD be qualification day on the M-16. This would be my opportunity to improve my score so I could get sharpshooter. However, half the battery (about 100 people) still hasn't qualified after 2 days of prequalification. So, anyone who has already qualified is staying in their bays and cleaning...again. Oh well, no sharpshooter for Mitch.

On a lighter note, I think my fever broke this morning on the way to PT. As we were marching, I got really light headed and starting sweating profusely. I thought I was going to pass out, but didn't. I've been feeling better since. Still have a cough and sore throat, but generally better. To top it off, it was a very intense PT session. It's tough to run with a chest cold.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Just sitting around and cleaning. That was until after chow. Then we got a doozy of a smoke session. With the fever (yeah, it's kind of back), no fans in the bay, and the exercise, sweat was pouring off of me. And we had just taken showers. We go downstairs for accountability formation where we get it a little more. We're dismissed and I decide to change shirts. I put on a nice dry one to sleep in. Mistake, as we weren't even close to finished. We got smoked for another hour. We were also told that we would not be going to white phase next week. All of this ostensibly because one private was late getting out of the shower and into formation. I think it was planned to keep us in check because we were getting a little lax. We shall see.

Red Phase: Week 2 - Days 6 & 7

Saturday was pretty boring. PT in the morning, then we rode over to the computer simulation range for some more practice. Didn't do so well today until the kneeling portion. Ironically, it's my least favorite since it's uncomfortable, but I hit 10 out of 10 targets. Oh well. Then, we were transported back to our barracks and spent the rest of the day cleaning our weapons and bunks.

On Sunday, we spent all day cleaning. I mean really cleaning. I think I'm starting to make a positive impression on my Drill Sgt. He's actually a pretty cool guy in his own way. Of course, a couple of morons nearly ruined it for us at dinner and we almost lost our phone privileges for today, but we didn't. Since these two days were so uneventful, I'll give you my top 10 list of "words or phrases most likely to be heard around Alpha Battery 1-40th FA".

10. Turds!
9. Holy shit, Private!
8. Nice job, Bitch.
7. Get away from me, Private.
6. Front leaning rest position. Move.
5. Weapons count!
4. At ease.
3. You eye hustling me, Private?
2. No secondary movements!
1. Jesus tits!

Red Phase: Week 2 - Day 5

Not much happened today. Marched 5K back to the range. Today, we worked on the actual range we will qualify on. It has 75m, 175m, and 300m targets. I started out amazingly for a guy who hadn't really fired a gun before a few days ago, but then I got a ton of sweat in my eyes (thanks, Oklahoma!) and struggled a bit. This led to my Drill Sgt. chastising me for sweating so much. (I don't know Drill, maybe because it's 100 degrees, I'm wearing long sleeves, strapped down with 25 lbs of gear while lying on cement, firing a weapon.) What can I say, I sweat a lot. But, I finished up strong hitting 4 out of 5 from the kneeling position, including the 300m target. Sniper school, here I come. Only one more week of red phase. Once we get to white phase, there is no more group punishment. He who screws up, gets dropped. Woo-hoo! Not sure what's on deck for tomorrow. Kind of getting sick of the range just because we spend so much time sitting around in the sun. The actual firing of an M-16 is cool.

Red Phase: Week 2 - Day 1

Not much happened today as I spent most of it at sick call. It took forever since seemingly all of Ft. Sill has fallen ill. The evening was just prep for an 8K march tomorrow as we will be spending the next five days at the firing range. That should be a little more exciting. I can say that the most annoying thing about basic is the fact that the DSs aren't on the same page. We sometimes get conflicting instructions everyday. We spend more time trying to figure out what to do than we spend actually doing it. Which sucks when your number 1 goal is not to get yelled at or smoked. Case in point: we spent all day yesterday getting our wall lockers a certain way. At 7:00 pm, another Drill Sgt. comes by and tells us an entirely new way to do it and that we'll be inspected in the morning. The whole platoon argues about which way to do it. Two guys almost came to blows and then we never even got inspected. Gee, I love the Army.

Red Phase: Week 1 - Day 4

Dear Sweet Baby Jesus!!! What a day today was. First on the agenda was a simulated chemical attack. During a patrol, we come under chemical attack and have to don our mask, etc and decontaminate. During this organized chaos, I lost my glasses. Luckily, they were my civilian glasses so once I get my Army glasses, I'll be ok. After this, we had the gas house. Now typically, I imagine things to be terrible and they never turn out to be as bad as I thought. This was not the case when it came to the gas house. I thought it would take time to infiltrate your body. I was wrong. As soon as I unmasked, my eyes & nose were burning and I began to manufacture copious amounts of tears, snot, and spit. CS gas is the debil. He had to unmask and say our name, rank, and social, then reseal the mask. After that, we stood on the ready line, unmasked, and were guided out. We also had to tell what platoon we are in on the way out. Total time is about 10-15 seconds. It feels like an eternity. We finally emerged blind, drooling and snotting everywhere. Easily the most torturous experience ever and ensures that I will never protest anything. Ever. On the bright side, it did temporarily clear my sinuses.

We also had our first encounter with MREs today. We had them for breakfast and lunch today. That was pretty much it. Except for the brutal smoking session we got since guys still do stupid shit (leave clothes in the latrine or turds in the toilet). Hopefully, we'll do better tomorrow.

Red Phase: Week 1 - Day 3

I unintentionally lied to everyone. We didn't do the gas house today. It's tomorrow. All day today was classroom work in preparation for tomorrow. Oh, and our worst smoking yet. Our platoon was really slack today. Forgetting equipment, not staying in cadence during PT and not securing their wall lockers. So we got smoked during PT, after class, and in barracks. I never realized over the head claps could hurt, but if you do 100 of them (which is really 200 since the Army counts "1,2,3-1: 1,2,3-2") they really, really burn.

On a brighter note, only 59 days left. Yes, I'm already counting down. I think I'm adjusting ok. My appetite is back with a vengence. It's amazing how much food you can eat in 4 minutes. In case you're wondering, it's 2 sausage patties, eggs, potatoes, a banana, a yogurt, and a plum. I'm a little banged up from the repelling swiss seat and half of my right big toe nail fell off today for some reason, but otherwise ok. Except for the sniffles which, apparently, everyone gets since we have 51 guys living together. Hopefully, we will be able to head to the PX soon and I can get some Halls.

Red Phase: Week 1 - Day2

The only thing we had today was Treadwell Tower. It is, essentially, traversing three rope bridges and a 40 ft. repel. The hardest thing was one of the rope bridges. You must cross a single rope on your stomach, pulling yourself across by hand. It's great until you get to the middle and it sways. But, I made it and never fell off. I didn't even hesitate on the 40 ft. repel, which kind of surprised me! Tomorrow's event -- the gas house. Hooray for me!

Red Phase: Week 1-Day 1

Today was the first day of Red Phase or "Total Control". This means that the Drill Sgts control every aspect of your life. Day and night. The only real event today was our initial PT test. It consists of max pushups in 1 minute, max sit ups in 1 minute, and a 2 mile run. I did fine (for me) and even ran the 2 mile in a personal best 15:47. Of course, we have Drill Sgts that are much more demanding on us, which I like. I don't really like it when we get "smoked" just before our PT test. Oh well, I don't think they care.

Week Zero: Days 1-3

Day 1: We were shipped to basic on Thursday. We traveled from the reception battallion to basic "across the tracks" in modified tractor trailers/buses. We were greeted at the loading area by Drill Sergeant Oskoui (Oss-koo-ee). DS Oskoui's favorite word is, apparently, turd. I am making this assumption based on the fact that this is how he refers to us, both individually and collectively. All in all, it wasn't that bad. I did get a little grief because I had already been to sick call due to gastro issues, but it still wasn't that bad.

Day 2: Today was dominated by two things: equipment issue and a moron. We were issued about 70 pounds of equipment (kevlar, helmet, rucksack, etc). Then, we piled into actual cattle cars, in full ACUs and equipment, to ride back to our battery. By the way, I am officially a member of A battery 1/40th Field Artillery 1st Platoon. On to the moron. We were in barracks in classroom formation which consists of us seated on the floor around the DS. As we're filling out paper work, some guy rips one. The DS says "No busting ass in here. You gotta bust ass, go to the latrine." Here comes the moron. Not even 1 minute later, some other guy rips one. Un-be-liev-able. To his credit, he did own up to it. We were pushing very quickly. Yay. Our first smoke session because some moron couldn't contain a fart. Awesome.

Day 3: Today was a big day. We were issued our weapons: the M16A2 rifle. I have to say it feels weird carrying a semi-automatic weapon. I now know how to field strip an M-16. How many of you ever thought you would hear me say such a thing? I didn't. Honestly, it's kind of cool in it's own way.

I have to mention a few words about my "battle buddy". In the Army, you never go anywhere without a battle buddy, which is your bunk mate. The first words my bunk mate ever said to me were "I'm glad I got over my anger issues before I got here". Great. Fifty guys in this place and I get the one with anger issues. Honestly, he's a pretty nice guy. We are both married and missing our wives a lot, so we have that in common. Some of these kids are idiots, though. Seriously.

I guess that brings everything up to date. It's still brutally hot here. Though it did rain a few days ago. Well, I'm off now to write a one page essay on why I joined the military. Go me.

Reception

It is official. Fort Sill, OK is the hottest place on Earth. So hot, that I look forward to the nightly shower even though I know I'll be surrounded by 6-10 other guys at a time. Oh well. I've also learned how quickly a person can become phychologically conditioned. After only two days, I can no longer hear "1,2,3,4" without responding with "Hoo-Hah-Alpha". Great. Additionally discovered that in the Army you do a lot of two things: walk/march and wait. The pleasure of this is compounded by the wonderful Ft. Sill weather. Average temp is 100+ degrees. I haven't seen a cloud in three days. Unfortunately, nothing has really happened since we're still in reception. No smokings, no PT, etc. That will all change soon enough.

And so it begins...

Sometime in the next 24 hours, I will board a flight that will inevitably take me to Ft. Sill, OK. While staying at beautiful Ft. Sill, I will undoubtedly experience many wonderful sights, sounds, and happenings. Accordingly, I want to share these events with you. Since my free time there will be limited, I (with the assistance of my lovely wife) am going to attempt to have my experiences posted here for your viewing pleasure. So if you're curious or simply think the whole idea of me going through Basic training in the U.S. Army is a recipe for disaster, low-comedy, and/or train wreck-like awesomeness, check back in a few weeks and gasp/laugh/stare accordingly. Feel free to leave copious comments. While I won't be able to read them for quite some time, I will eventually have internet access again. Until then, I will be thinking of you all and wish me luck.