One month until I graduate!!! At least thats good news...As for the broken cell phone, the guy who had his cell phone broken didn't tell anyone he was going to sick call, and so his number wasn't on the board and he wasn't woken up. The entire company was woken up at 04530 (instead of 0500) because of this guy, so we weren't too happy (sleep is a premium here). This guy is new, for he already passed basic training and his AIT, and has been at his duty station for two years. He just acts too good for this place, and he has to learn that he has to follow the rules here! We were kept downstairs doing pushups for over 15 minutes, and then had to be downstairs at 0530 instead of 0600. It didn't give us much time to clean, but at least we were in PTs and had PT at 0600, so we didn't have to change! For PT, we had pui sui. Out senior drill sergeant led PT for our platoon today, and it kicked my butt! We did over 250 pushups (alternating partners, doing 25 at a time). After all the pushups, we did crunches and ab workouts (plank, bicycle, rocking chairs, etc...). I was hurting afterwards, and when we were told to stretch, I couldn't even stretch my arms and keep them up, they were so drained and weak. We went back to our bay, cleaned up, and changed into ACUs. We then took our rucksacks, FLCs, and ACHs downstairs and staged them in our formation area. Breakfast was at 0800 today, and then we left for our short two and a half mile ruck march to our training area. By now, it was 1000, and it was really getting hot and humid. We were all soaked in sweat and we had a half hour or so to cool down, drink water, and top off our camelbacks. Once we were "rested," we marched down a hill, through a marshy area, and then to an area where the underbrush had been thinned out. There, we put what we learned about squad movements into practice and went up and down the hill practicing the wedge and single file formations. Next, our drill sergeant had some flash bang grenades and we would have to yell, "incoming," and dive to the ground, wait for our platoon sergeant (appointed position by the drill sergeants) to yell which way to run and how far. We did this a few times, and then had a class over hand signals. After our class, we came back up the hill to our rucks and ate MREs. We did a mock 50/50 guard, where one person pulls security (take a kneeling or prone position and guard with your weapon up while your battle buddy eats/sleeps/cleans weapon), and in this case, the other person eats. After everyone ate lunch, we went back down the hill and did two man maneuvers, going from tree to tree. After that, we did squad maneuvers again, but this time, used hand signals to halt, freeze, and switch between the wedge and single file movements. After we practiced, we did it again, but this time we had blanks, and fired at our "enemy" (a couple of guys from the platoon shooting blanks at us). At 1600, we finished up and came back up the hill and topped off our camelbacks. We then went back down the hill to pick up brass. We really got a good workout walking up and down this quarter mile path, but at least the last time we came up, we had dinner! It felt so good to sit down and relax for once today! After a couple of hours of just relaxing and sipping on Gatorade, we put our rucks back on and moved back to the hill to set up a perimeter and bed down for the night. I was in a group of three (most were pairs of two), so we laid a couple of ponchos on the ground, put our sleeping mats down, and strung one about us in case it would rain, and we would squeeze up under the cover. Our drill sergeant called us together and just wanted to know if we had any questions about today's training or any questions in general. We finally got to lay down at about 2145, and I know I was asleep by 2200. We pulled 33% fireguard, which meant one person was awake pulling security while two people slept. I had a shift from 2330-0030, 0230-0330, and we split the last 90 minutes up so I had watch from 0430-0500 (wake up). Welcome to AIT!
15 July 2009 (Day 81- 30 days to go)
Everyone woke up tired, and to the sound of a couple of flash bangs going off in the woods. We struck camp, shaved, brushed teeth, and moved back to the area we had formed up in the previous day at the top of the hill. It didn't rain last night, and the clouds cleared, leaving the temperature to drop! I actually didn't wake up sweating like the previous bivouacs, so that was a nice change! We then had PT, which consisted of using our M4 as a weight and lifting it over our heads, switching it from left to right, and other combinations of the two. That lasted for a good 40 minutes or so, and then we sat on our rucks until breakfast at 0730. Breakfast tasted really good, and we even got an extra juice box of orange juice! After breakfast, we went off into the woods and practiced man up drills. We ran from tree to tree, taking cover. Yesterday, we were told to not low or high crawl anymore, but one of the guys did today, and got rewarded a phone call. I must say, I would have done what we weren't supposed to do if I knew I would've gotten a phone call for it. Ugh! Oh well, I will hopefully get one Sunday! After we finished, we took a water break, and then went to a new area and were taught about basic camping and survival skills. The drill sergeant showed us how to make different shelters using a poncho, a few knots, and how to dispose of human waste (proper hole digging). Being a Boy Scout, he knew that, and constantly asked me if he was right or if I knew a different method. I helped him out, but I guess it wasn't enough to earn me a phone call. When we were done, it was a little after 1100, so we ate our MREs, and then relaxed in the shade until 1230, when the rest of the platoons ate and were ready to ruck back to our barracks. It was a hot march back, but we made it back in 45 minutes. We took our rucks upstairs, took cold showers, and then started to organize ourselves, when we had to go downstairs for a quick 15 minute class over our training for tomorrow. We will be shooting blanks and then we go from walls to cars and barrels using the man up drills we have been practicing. When I gave Brittney and my parents a driving tour, I pointed this range out! After the class (and the warning about not to aim live rounds at your buddy's back), we came back up to the bay to clean weapons and unpack, which eventually led to people napping and writing! My arms and shoulders have been extremely sore today, because of pui sui yesterday and the M4 weight lifting this morning. I'm glad they are sore though, because I need to reach 42 pushups to pass my new PT test standard. Please keep me in your prayers that I do the right training and God gives me the strength to pass my next PT test! As long as I stay healthy, I'll pass my sit-ups and run without a problem...I just need that upper body strength! If I don't, then I would be held back until I can pass it, which to me isn't an option. Please, keep praying for me! We had dinner at 1800, which was nice to just sit down in a chair again to eat, as well as drink cold Powerade! After dinner, we got mail, which I received a letter from my Grandma Sease! It has been a little tough seeing my family this past weekend and then coming back to my Army mindset, so it was nice "hearing" a familiar voice! I then started my laundry and wrote letters home! We had final formation at 2045, and the drill sergeant on duty decided to have the "genius" from each platoon have a first ever A Co. 1-50 spelling bee. I must admit, it was entertaining listening to these guys try to spell words such as "furious," "sergeant," "specialist," "jumbo," and "jericho." The guy from our platoon lost on the word battalion, and the guy from second platoon won. What an honor...haha! Afterwards, I went up to fourth platoon's bay to weigh myself, and I weighed...DUN DUN DUN...207 lbs.! I have now lost 30 lbs. since being here! I then came up to the bay, finished up writing the journal (already put letters in the mail to my family and Sease grandparents), went and got my laundry, and then headed to bed! Rumor has it we are bivouacking again tomorrow night, so I'm going to get some sleep!
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