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.