Ben called me again yesterday. He's got his own cell phone now, so if you email him your phone number you might get a call from him when he has a minute.
He was fishing, of all things, when he called me. Evidently, Ft. Leonard Wood has lots of ponds and lakes, so Ben and a few buddies bought some fishing gear on base so they could fish during their off-time. Because they cannot store the poles and gear in their barracks they have to hide the equipment outside near a pond, but Ben said very few people head out that way so there's little chance their gear will get stolen.
Other than that, he said it was a relatively slow week. Four and a half weeks to go!
Monday, July 10, 2006
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Phone Call From Ben
I received a phone call from Ben today! He's got 39 days left at Ft. Leonard Wood and very much looking forward to getting back to San Diego. As Bay Leader of his platoon, he has extra responsibilities, but his drill sergeants also cut him some slack on the little things because of his leadership position.
He's able to check the internet about once a week, I think, and now he can use a cell phone in the evenings, so send him an email if you want to receive a phone call from him. His email is benjaminsmyth at yahoo dot com.
Anyway, it was great to talk to Ben and catch each other up on things, although he caught me up on World Cup news, which was funny. Time is still scarce and now that he can use the phone it sounds like he'll be doing more calling than writing. Of course, I'll still post the letters he sends.
Terrence
He's able to check the internet about once a week, I think, and now he can use a cell phone in the evenings, so send him an email if you want to receive a phone call from him. His email is benjaminsmyth at yahoo dot com.
Anyway, it was great to talk to Ben and catch each other up on things, although he caught me up on World Cup news, which was funny. Time is still scarce and now that he can use the phone it sounds like he'll be doing more calling than writing. Of course, I'll still post the letters he sends.
Terrence
Thursday, June 29, 2006
MONDAY, JUNE 19TH
Unfortunately, I cannot write about all of the training I’ve had recently. There’s imply too much to tell. So, things have picked up a bit.
The basic topic we’ve covered is EPW (enemy prisoner of war) camps like Abu Gharib and how to run them. On Friday we were tested on everything we learned by running a EPW facility for 8 hours. For 4 hours, half of us acted as guards, while the other half acted as typically unruly detainees. After 4 hours, we switched roles. The entire day was a blast, even with the extreme heat.
For the first 4 hours I was a guard. However, I was placed on the QRF (quick reaction force) for the facility. Our job: control riots and unruly prisoners. Police batons, riot shields, handcuffs and pads were issued to us. And, as serious as our testing was, we had so much fun beating the crap out of each other.
This has been the first time since pugils that we’ve gotten to take our frustrations out on each other, so I was thoroughly excited to be holding a baton and acting as point man for the team.
Our first task was to control a riot. Only about 20 detainees were involved, and it was limited to a small section of the facility, but we went in anyway. All four of us in the ARF team arrived with batons “stacked up” on the gate to enter the compound area. Four vs. Twenty. We spotted the leader of the riot immediately and went for him.
I grabbed his head and pushed it down, while each member of my team went for a body part. He was down instantly, really before any of the other detainees noticed. But, then they noticed, and all hell broke loose.
They pounced on us all. It was a good fight, because we had the batons. My most satisfying moment, and the fondest memory I have, is throwing a “detainee” (a smart-mouthed kid from another platoon) who was trying to fight me back into a wall of the sleeping quarters. He actually hit the wall quite high, so that he bounced off and crashed into some of the cots. I took down two more before I went down. Batons are freakin’ awesome! A good time was had by all, though I was quite surprised by the amount of physical force being used against us for “training.” No problem though, because we got to be detainees in the afternoon.
Our first riot was short, because as former guards turned detainees, we had a plan before we started. Within 15 minutes of us being locked up, we had the new QRF team completely disarmed and on the ground, the keys to the compound, two guard ID cards, and two already outside the fence. The sergeants testing us were quite pissed at us, so we mellowed out after that. The final riot was by the best though.
During recreation time we started a “playground” fight. As predicted, the QRF team showed up, except there were two teams this time. Once the first team entered, we jammed the door to the rec area. (We’ll see how well they do when it’s four versus twenty.) Not well, apparently. When they rushed the “fighters” we grabbed them, too their batons and badges, and started taking off their uniforms. Even in play, humiliation isn’t fun, so the guards were quite pissed and got rather violent. Once we had cuffed them with their own cuffs, we went for the door.
The other QRF team was still trying to enter the compound. They were stacked up four deep pushing against the door. We stacked up eight and charged. We got it open enough to put a body through, so we started “crowd surfing” detainees over our heads and out the door. Once a few of us escaped and started releasing other detainees, the sergeants in charge of testing called an end to the exercise. Thank God too, because everyone was pretty beat up. We created a full-on riot and were barely pulling punches. Plus, they had run out of water to give us. Another exhausting, though rather enjoyable day.
We started our law enforcement classes this week. The most notable classes covered the use of force and evidence collection. Some law was also covered, which brought up some interesting points. For example, did you know that there is no privileged (private) communication between husband and wife in the military? Adultery is grounds for dishonorable discharge and up to twelve years in prison. Rape is grounds for capital punishment. And, military police are authorized deadly force even if there is only a “belief” on the part of the officer that a serious crime has been committed and the suspect is fleeing. All of this and more for only two days a month, two weeks a year! I guess they expect us to conform to stricter personal standards than other citizens. Good thing, I think.
Anyway, off to more law training. I hope all is well.
Benjamin
The basic topic we’ve covered is EPW (enemy prisoner of war) camps like Abu Gharib and how to run them. On Friday we were tested on everything we learned by running a EPW facility for 8 hours. For 4 hours, half of us acted as guards, while the other half acted as typically unruly detainees. After 4 hours, we switched roles. The entire day was a blast, even with the extreme heat.
For the first 4 hours I was a guard. However, I was placed on the QRF (quick reaction force) for the facility. Our job: control riots and unruly prisoners. Police batons, riot shields, handcuffs and pads were issued to us. And, as serious as our testing was, we had so much fun beating the crap out of each other.
This has been the first time since pugils that we’ve gotten to take our frustrations out on each other, so I was thoroughly excited to be holding a baton and acting as point man for the team.
Our first task was to control a riot. Only about 20 detainees were involved, and it was limited to a small section of the facility, but we went in anyway. All four of us in the ARF team arrived with batons “stacked up” on the gate to enter the compound area. Four vs. Twenty. We spotted the leader of the riot immediately and went for him.
I grabbed his head and pushed it down, while each member of my team went for a body part. He was down instantly, really before any of the other detainees noticed. But, then they noticed, and all hell broke loose.
They pounced on us all. It was a good fight, because we had the batons. My most satisfying moment, and the fondest memory I have, is throwing a “detainee” (a smart-mouthed kid from another platoon) who was trying to fight me back into a wall of the sleeping quarters. He actually hit the wall quite high, so that he bounced off and crashed into some of the cots. I took down two more before I went down. Batons are freakin’ awesome! A good time was had by all, though I was quite surprised by the amount of physical force being used against us for “training.” No problem though, because we got to be detainees in the afternoon.
Our first riot was short, because as former guards turned detainees, we had a plan before we started. Within 15 minutes of us being locked up, we had the new QRF team completely disarmed and on the ground, the keys to the compound, two guard ID cards, and two already outside the fence. The sergeants testing us were quite pissed at us, so we mellowed out after that. The final riot was by the best though.
During recreation time we started a “playground” fight. As predicted, the QRF team showed up, except there were two teams this time. Once the first team entered, we jammed the door to the rec area. (We’ll see how well they do when it’s four versus twenty.) Not well, apparently. When they rushed the “fighters” we grabbed them, too their batons and badges, and started taking off their uniforms. Even in play, humiliation isn’t fun, so the guards were quite pissed and got rather violent. Once we had cuffed them with their own cuffs, we went for the door.
The other QRF team was still trying to enter the compound. They were stacked up four deep pushing against the door. We stacked up eight and charged. We got it open enough to put a body through, so we started “crowd surfing” detainees over our heads and out the door. Once a few of us escaped and started releasing other detainees, the sergeants in charge of testing called an end to the exercise. Thank God too, because everyone was pretty beat up. We created a full-on riot and were barely pulling punches. Plus, they had run out of water to give us. Another exhausting, though rather enjoyable day.
We started our law enforcement classes this week. The most notable classes covered the use of force and evidence collection. Some law was also covered, which brought up some interesting points. For example, did you know that there is no privileged (private) communication between husband and wife in the military? Adultery is grounds for dishonorable discharge and up to twelve years in prison. Rape is grounds for capital punishment. And, military police are authorized deadly force even if there is only a “belief” on the part of the officer that a serious crime has been committed and the suspect is fleeing. All of this and more for only two days a month, two weeks a year! I guess they expect us to conform to stricter personal standards than other citizens. Good thing, I think.
Anyway, off to more law training. I hope all is well.
Benjamin
TUESDAY, JUNE 13th
Because of all the down-time we’ve had lately I’ve been doing a lot of reading. My latest escape is a book called “1776” and, I guess, was a pretty popular account of the Revolutionary War. I’m just about done now, thanks to the six hours of down-time we’ve had today.
One thing I will take back from this experience is a completely different perspective on the military and how it functions. It is absolutely jaw-dropping how many similarities the soldiers in today’s Army have with the generations of other soldiers who have fought in the world’s most major wars. One would not think that this bunch, containing a variety so diverse it covers the entire spectrum of the utter stupidity to the brilliant could fight such powerful threats.
A common thread that seems to remain, and one of the chief reasons this Army still exists, is the simple idea of fighting for liberty. In fact, the degree of strength shown by American soldiers is directly proportional to the degree that American freedoms and rights are threatened. For most people who try to put a leash on patriotism (liberals?) by calling some wars or invasions unnecessary, this will probably make very little sense. Americans love to fight for rights and freedoms. Why do you think boot camp is so hard for us?
Some would call us spoiled, saying we are too comfortable and not used to discipline. The British said the same thing about us before we beat them back to their side of the ocean. Americans had a higher standard of living than most people in the world before our revolution. Does that make our cause any less worthy?
We wanted freedom and rights, so we fought for it. We took the offensive. If we could’ve, I believe we would’ve invaded Britain and “occupied” it until the oppressors surrendered. Politically, this would’ve been disastrous and would’ve created much chaos at home. But that’s how the military works.
Here, we celebrate the detainees locked up in our prisons in Cuba, because they threaten our country’s freedoms. It’s idealistic and it is principled. It is not academic. It is not a humanitarian effort. Thank God it’s not, because frankly, people would die. Americans will die if we do not drop more bombs, raid more homes, and hunt down more terrorists. Military operations or war in general, seems to operate this way. I used to consider this logic rather barbaric and primitive because it ignored humanitarian concerns and open political considerations. Now I understand that in the mindset of battle, the suggestion of discussing political or social concerns makes about as much sense as cutting your fingernails before a fist fight for fear that you might scratch your opponent. Once a war as begun there are no manners, only tactics. It is an unpopular fact that war ends in surrender or death. Americans need to understand the principles that early revolutionaries, or “sons of liberty” as they were known, were motivated by beyond all other considerations. They considered it an act of Providence, or God’s Dive Will, that they would fight for and win their freedom. They left their homes for a promise of pay, benefits, hopefully some glory of their own, and to provide for their families. So did we here. Some fought just to escape something in their lives. And the same is being done here.
We are fighting for the same reasons as the colonies did: we want to create a free society. We are rebellious now against the attacks and control that terrorists organizations have on us. We share this fight with the majority of Iraqi people because, just as in the distant cities of New York and Boston during colonial times, our enemies are embedded into the operations of peaceful society. So, we go out to face our enemies in Iraq, just as we went and faced them in Boston and New York in 1776.
What happened after that? The British sent more troops to the colonies, just as terrorists have sent troops to Iraq. After that? The colonies were hesitant to send their own troops away for fear of an attack at home, just as some of our coalition members have withdrawn their forces from Iraq. The similarities go on, but we know how the story ends.
Americans love to fight for freedom, no matter how or why they ended up in the fight. So, in short, luck to the next leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq, you’re gonna need it!
Benjamin
One thing I will take back from this experience is a completely different perspective on the military and how it functions. It is absolutely jaw-dropping how many similarities the soldiers in today’s Army have with the generations of other soldiers who have fought in the world’s most major wars. One would not think that this bunch, containing a variety so diverse it covers the entire spectrum of the utter stupidity to the brilliant could fight such powerful threats.
A common thread that seems to remain, and one of the chief reasons this Army still exists, is the simple idea of fighting for liberty. In fact, the degree of strength shown by American soldiers is directly proportional to the degree that American freedoms and rights are threatened. For most people who try to put a leash on patriotism (liberals?) by calling some wars or invasions unnecessary, this will probably make very little sense. Americans love to fight for rights and freedoms. Why do you think boot camp is so hard for us?
Some would call us spoiled, saying we are too comfortable and not used to discipline. The British said the same thing about us before we beat them back to their side of the ocean. Americans had a higher standard of living than most people in the world before our revolution. Does that make our cause any less worthy?
We wanted freedom and rights, so we fought for it. We took the offensive. If we could’ve, I believe we would’ve invaded Britain and “occupied” it until the oppressors surrendered. Politically, this would’ve been disastrous and would’ve created much chaos at home. But that’s how the military works.
Here, we celebrate the detainees locked up in our prisons in Cuba, because they threaten our country’s freedoms. It’s idealistic and it is principled. It is not academic. It is not a humanitarian effort. Thank God it’s not, because frankly, people would die. Americans will die if we do not drop more bombs, raid more homes, and hunt down more terrorists. Military operations or war in general, seems to operate this way. I used to consider this logic rather barbaric and primitive because it ignored humanitarian concerns and open political considerations. Now I understand that in the mindset of battle, the suggestion of discussing political or social concerns makes about as much sense as cutting your fingernails before a fist fight for fear that you might scratch your opponent. Once a war as begun there are no manners, only tactics. It is an unpopular fact that war ends in surrender or death. Americans need to understand the principles that early revolutionaries, or “sons of liberty” as they were known, were motivated by beyond all other considerations. They considered it an act of Providence, or God’s Dive Will, that they would fight for and win their freedom. They left their homes for a promise of pay, benefits, hopefully some glory of their own, and to provide for their families. So did we here. Some fought just to escape something in their lives. And the same is being done here.
We are fighting for the same reasons as the colonies did: we want to create a free society. We are rebellious now against the attacks and control that terrorists organizations have on us. We share this fight with the majority of Iraqi people because, just as in the distant cities of New York and Boston during colonial times, our enemies are embedded into the operations of peaceful society. So, we go out to face our enemies in Iraq, just as we went and faced them in Boston and New York in 1776.
What happened after that? The British sent more troops to the colonies, just as terrorists have sent troops to Iraq. After that? The colonies were hesitant to send their own troops away for fear of an attack at home, just as some of our coalition members have withdrawn their forces from Iraq. The similarities go on, but we know how the story ends.
Americans love to fight for freedom, no matter how or why they ended up in the fight. So, in short, luck to the next leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq, you’re gonna need it!
Benjamin
SATURDAY, JUNE 10th
Well, the days have significantly slowed down. I’ve had one class in the past three days and the rest of the time we’ve been confined to the barracks. Utter boredom.
However, I’ve received more letters and got a chance to read some of the comments on the blog. Brian B., my old and future roommate sent me a letter. Thanks B. I also got a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from Behlo and Heather, thank to you both! I received my mother’s peanut butter cookies as well, which were excellent and brought back memories. I also read Kenny’s and Brian C’s comments, and took them to heart as always. I do, in fact, plan on telling both of you more of what has gone on here (that cannot be posted on the internet) over a round of golf and a cigar or three.
Also, after reviewing some of the things I’ve written, I’m partially ashamed of myself for whining so much. No, not ashamed, more embarrassed, like I just got pantsed in public. It’s funny how really difficult situations can make you behave childishly. We all fall back on our roots, I guess, which is probably why they make a point to install soldierly roots in us here. In the stressful situation of being shot at, hopefully we’ll fall back on these roots.
Anyway, that’s all for now.
Benjamin
However, I’ve received more letters and got a chance to read some of the comments on the blog. Brian B., my old and future roommate sent me a letter. Thanks B. I also got a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from Behlo and Heather, thank to you both! I received my mother’s peanut butter cookies as well, which were excellent and brought back memories. I also read Kenny’s and Brian C’s comments, and took them to heart as always. I do, in fact, plan on telling both of you more of what has gone on here (that cannot be posted on the internet) over a round of golf and a cigar or three.
Also, after reviewing some of the things I’ve written, I’m partially ashamed of myself for whining so much. No, not ashamed, more embarrassed, like I just got pantsed in public. It’s funny how really difficult situations can make you behave childishly. We all fall back on our roots, I guess, which is probably why they make a point to install soldierly roots in us here. In the stressful situation of being shot at, hopefully we’ll fall back on these roots.
Anyway, that’s all for now.
Benjamin
Monday, June 12, 2006
THURSDAY, JUNE 8th
Well, not much has happened lately. We’ve basically been sitting around waiting for our classes to start. We’ve also been getting more passes lately. Last Sunday we got an all-day pass and I actually got bored because I didn’t know what to do with free time away from the barracks. If I remember correctly, this is called institutionalization.
Anyways, while I’m out on pass I have the opportunity to use the phone. And with an 800 minute phone card, I’m running out of numbers to call. So, if you want to get a call and catch up, email your phone number to benjaminsmyth at yahoo dot com. Most likely, I’ll call you on a Sunday. Please make my passes worth it! :)
Benjamin
Anyways, while I’m out on pass I have the opportunity to use the phone. And with an 800 minute phone card, I’m running out of numbers to call. So, if you want to get a call and catch up, email your phone number to benjaminsmyth at yahoo dot com. Most likely, I’ll call you on a Sunday. Please make my passes worth it! :)
Benjamin
SATURDAY, JUNE 3rd
Well, I finally made it to the hospital. I’m sitting here in the waiting room right now. Nothing serious, just a little torn up from our last FTX. On Thursday, we returned from our 5 day FTX that marks the official end of the Basic Training portion of OSUT.
The FTX involved the most complicated and challenging training we’ve done. I exhausted myself more than I have in years. Here’s how it worked: each squad (18 or so people) in our company had 4 different missions to complete over the course of 3 days. When you weren’t completing missions, you were playing insurgent, trying to foil the plans of the other squads.
We did everything, and I mean everything, that we’ve trained on in the last 9 weeks during these missions. We would receive our mission about an hour before execution, load our equipment, and move out. We responded to helicopter crashes in urban terrain, ambushes on resupply routes, convoy security, and even interviews with pushy reporters during classified missions. And, of course, the missions never went as planned. Bad intelligence, false and betraying informants, routes changing, communications messed up or going down, etc. Not that we didn’t cause problems of our own. We cleared the wrong buildings, walked around in circles in the woods, and got in a crossfire with our own troops.
And though we didn’t want our fellow squads to fail the missions, we gave ‘em hell when we were the insurgents. One squad burned up over 1,000 rounds in one firefight. The exchanges only last about 60-90 seconds, and typically, the winner can be predicted after the first 20-30 seconds of the fight. Drill sergeants, as well as other range sergeants, acted as judges on the mission to determine who died or who got wounded. My favorite mission, and the longest, was our last mission.
We received a report from a “trusted” informant that one of our helicopters went down containing both civilians and soldiers. The helicopter crash was confirmed outside of a city and the survivors were reportedly surrounded. We were to meet the informant on the other side of a bridge when we entered the town so he could guide us to the crash. Uh huh, sure.
We left our base on foot and made our way to the city through the heavily wooded area surrounding it. We were careful not to be spotted. We crossed roads quickly, setting up security and moving in teams.
After arriving at the entrance to the city, one of our point men spotted an IED on the bridge. We took another back road into the city and found our informant. He agreed to guide us, but he was hesitant to do so. While making our way through the city, a news crew spotted us and approached our formation for questioning. Another good test. It was so tempting just to tell them to “kindly leave us alone” off. But we were polite and stupid, saying that we were on a classified mission, the purpose of which was known by someone higher up on the pay scale.
Long story short, we approached the crash site, go ambushed, took two casualties in the firefight. When we reached the site, we had a total of 6 wounded, whom we had to carry back to our base (about ½ mile away). We spotted and marked two more IEDs on the trail back to base. But after ¼ mile, our drill sergeants decided she wanted to have more fun with us. She told the acting casualties to go away, so it was just our squad left. Now, by this time, everyone is exhausted. We’ve all taken turns carrying casualties and equipment. It’s hot. I’m thirsty and lying in the dirt with my M16 covering the 2 to 4 o’clock of our perimeter. My feet are killing me when our drill sergeant yells “Incoming!” (the signal for us to get up and run) and we began the sprint through heavily wooded area back to base. People were tripping over rocks, trees, each other and running smack into the same. But, what the hell, this was our last mission in Basic.
Needless to say, we arrived at the base in a near crawl. Later one, we would march 15 km (9.3 miles) with full rucksacks (80 lbs) back to our barracks. We arrived at midnight and by that time, even our drill sergeants were limping. We dropped our gear and prepared to move out to our “values tag” ceremony, which was considered our graduation from Basic.
We marched out and arrived at a large bonfire in the middle of a field. Good thing, because we were all soaked through with sweat and the wind was a’blowin’. I actually got to be part of the ceremony, reciting the Army’s definition of selfless-service, which is one of the seven Army values listed on our values tags. We were all called up one at a time and received our tag, shook our drill sergeants hand (!), as well as the 1st Sergeant’s, captain’s, and command sergeant major’s.
We marched back at about 0130. As we marched through the barracks of all the other companies, we sang cadence (marching songs). Actually, yelled cadence. Hm, or screamed maybe. Whatever, we woke everybody up. We were done with Army Basic Training. We went to bed around 0200 and wake up was, as usual, at 0430.
Alright, so the doctor just looked at my feet and decided to remove an ingrown toenail that’s become very infected. He cut about half of my toenail off, ouch damnit. Free (*cough*communist*cough*) medical care. Hillary in 2008!
Anyways, I have a slight limp, but I should be better soon.
Oh, also… I got Top Gun in my company again, but this time it was for the 9mm pistol. Sixteen other shot 50 out of 50 like me, but all of my shots were within 8 inches of each other. I’m hoping they’ll let me take the silhouette target back home so I can put it in my classroom. It might save me from assigning a few more detentions.
Anyways, more soon. On to AIT!
Benjamin
The FTX involved the most complicated and challenging training we’ve done. I exhausted myself more than I have in years. Here’s how it worked: each squad (18 or so people) in our company had 4 different missions to complete over the course of 3 days. When you weren’t completing missions, you were playing insurgent, trying to foil the plans of the other squads.
We did everything, and I mean everything, that we’ve trained on in the last 9 weeks during these missions. We would receive our mission about an hour before execution, load our equipment, and move out. We responded to helicopter crashes in urban terrain, ambushes on resupply routes, convoy security, and even interviews with pushy reporters during classified missions. And, of course, the missions never went as planned. Bad intelligence, false and betraying informants, routes changing, communications messed up or going down, etc. Not that we didn’t cause problems of our own. We cleared the wrong buildings, walked around in circles in the woods, and got in a crossfire with our own troops.
And though we didn’t want our fellow squads to fail the missions, we gave ‘em hell when we were the insurgents. One squad burned up over 1,000 rounds in one firefight. The exchanges only last about 60-90 seconds, and typically, the winner can be predicted after the first 20-30 seconds of the fight. Drill sergeants, as well as other range sergeants, acted as judges on the mission to determine who died or who got wounded. My favorite mission, and the longest, was our last mission.
We received a report from a “trusted” informant that one of our helicopters went down containing both civilians and soldiers. The helicopter crash was confirmed outside of a city and the survivors were reportedly surrounded. We were to meet the informant on the other side of a bridge when we entered the town so he could guide us to the crash. Uh huh, sure.
We left our base on foot and made our way to the city through the heavily wooded area surrounding it. We were careful not to be spotted. We crossed roads quickly, setting up security and moving in teams.
After arriving at the entrance to the city, one of our point men spotted an IED on the bridge. We took another back road into the city and found our informant. He agreed to guide us, but he was hesitant to do so. While making our way through the city, a news crew spotted us and approached our formation for questioning. Another good test. It was so tempting just to tell them to “kindly leave us alone” off. But we were polite and stupid, saying that we were on a classified mission, the purpose of which was known by someone higher up on the pay scale.
Long story short, we approached the crash site, go ambushed, took two casualties in the firefight. When we reached the site, we had a total of 6 wounded, whom we had to carry back to our base (about ½ mile away). We spotted and marked two more IEDs on the trail back to base. But after ¼ mile, our drill sergeants decided she wanted to have more fun with us. She told the acting casualties to go away, so it was just our squad left. Now, by this time, everyone is exhausted. We’ve all taken turns carrying casualties and equipment. It’s hot. I’m thirsty and lying in the dirt with my M16 covering the 2 to 4 o’clock of our perimeter. My feet are killing me when our drill sergeant yells “Incoming!” (the signal for us to get up and run) and we began the sprint through heavily wooded area back to base. People were tripping over rocks, trees, each other and running smack into the same. But, what the hell, this was our last mission in Basic.
Needless to say, we arrived at the base in a near crawl. Later one, we would march 15 km (9.3 miles) with full rucksacks (80 lbs) back to our barracks. We arrived at midnight and by that time, even our drill sergeants were limping. We dropped our gear and prepared to move out to our “values tag” ceremony, which was considered our graduation from Basic.
We marched out and arrived at a large bonfire in the middle of a field. Good thing, because we were all soaked through with sweat and the wind was a’blowin’. I actually got to be part of the ceremony, reciting the Army’s definition of selfless-service, which is one of the seven Army values listed on our values tags. We were all called up one at a time and received our tag, shook our drill sergeants hand (!), as well as the 1st Sergeant’s, captain’s, and command sergeant major’s.
We marched back at about 0130. As we marched through the barracks of all the other companies, we sang cadence (marching songs). Actually, yelled cadence. Hm, or screamed maybe. Whatever, we woke everybody up. We were done with Army Basic Training. We went to bed around 0200 and wake up was, as usual, at 0430.
Alright, so the doctor just looked at my feet and decided to remove an ingrown toenail that’s become very infected. He cut about half of my toenail off, ouch damnit. Free (*cough*communist*cough*) medical care. Hillary in 2008!
Anyways, I have a slight limp, but I should be better soon.
Oh, also… I got Top Gun in my company again, but this time it was for the 9mm pistol. Sixteen other shot 50 out of 50 like me, but all of my shots were within 8 inches of each other. I’m hoping they’ll let me take the silhouette target back home so I can put it in my classroom. It might save me from assigning a few more detentions.
Anyways, more soon. On to AIT!
Benjamin
MONDAY, MAY 22nd
I finally got a chance to talk to my parents last night. It’s funny how important phone calls and mail call is to everyone here. Morale and motivation are the key to almost all the tasks we have to complete here.
Anyways, I thought I’d catch you up on some of the recent training I’ve done. I completed the night infiltration course, also known as Nick @ Night. The course would remind you of the scene out of Jarhead where the guy stands up from underneath the barbed wire and gets shot.
For 200 meters we low-crawled around burning jeeps, underneath razor-wire, between grenade explosions (simulated with a mixture of propane and oxygen), while being shot over with .308 tracer rounds from automatic machine guns, using flares to signal movement and to allow us to see where the hell we were going. It was more exhausting than I first thought (I still have some pretty deep gashes in my elbows to prove it), but also more fun and less frightening than it sounds. There were even speakers on the course playing battlefield sound effects (from We Were Soldiers and Blackhawk Down) to simulate actual combat (Medic!).
The best part (besides the end) was when I flipped on my back to crawl under some razor-wire. I guess I just had “a moment.” I was on my back looking up at my hands holding up my M16, which in turn was holding the razor-wire from my body. Beyond that was a clear night sky interrupted by the “zip” and flash of tracers, flares, explosions, and the glow of fire. Holy shit, I thought, I’m actually doing this. That fact probably should’ve occurred to me in my recruiter’s office. But whatever. Better late than never I guess, except if you sign up for the Army.
Anyways, it took about 30 minutes to crawl the entire length.
Yesterday we ran the PECS course. It’s meant to test physical endurance. It did a fairly good job. Run a mile, check. While jumping over walls, check. Cross over a pit using monkey mars, check. Low crawl while submerged under water with unknown animal feces in it, check. Crawl through tunnels, check. Cross ravine using single line rope bridge, check. Cross another ravine via suspended rope, check. Crawl under barbed wire, swing across another ravine, climb straight up 30 ft of rope, through tires, and run another ¼ mile with your gas mask on… Good times good times. Not done yet, though. There’s more to it, but I’m more bragging now than explaining. I’m glad I did it and hope I never have to do it again.
This week we learn how to drive the Army’s luxury line of automobiles: the Hummer. It only comes in two colors (green or tan camo), but accessories include a mounted .50 caliber machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, and 360 degree turret. We also qualify with the 9mm. Anyway, send letters! :)
Benjamin
Anyways, I thought I’d catch you up on some of the recent training I’ve done. I completed the night infiltration course, also known as Nick @ Night. The course would remind you of the scene out of Jarhead where the guy stands up from underneath the barbed wire and gets shot.
For 200 meters we low-crawled around burning jeeps, underneath razor-wire, between grenade explosions (simulated with a mixture of propane and oxygen), while being shot over with .308 tracer rounds from automatic machine guns, using flares to signal movement and to allow us to see where the hell we were going. It was more exhausting than I first thought (I still have some pretty deep gashes in my elbows to prove it), but also more fun and less frightening than it sounds. There were even speakers on the course playing battlefield sound effects (from We Were Soldiers and Blackhawk Down) to simulate actual combat (Medic!).
The best part (besides the end) was when I flipped on my back to crawl under some razor-wire. I guess I just had “a moment.” I was on my back looking up at my hands holding up my M16, which in turn was holding the razor-wire from my body. Beyond that was a clear night sky interrupted by the “zip” and flash of tracers, flares, explosions, and the glow of fire. Holy shit, I thought, I’m actually doing this. That fact probably should’ve occurred to me in my recruiter’s office. But whatever. Better late than never I guess, except if you sign up for the Army.
Anyways, it took about 30 minutes to crawl the entire length.
Yesterday we ran the PECS course. It’s meant to test physical endurance. It did a fairly good job. Run a mile, check. While jumping over walls, check. Cross over a pit using monkey mars, check. Low crawl while submerged under water with unknown animal feces in it, check. Crawl through tunnels, check. Cross ravine using single line rope bridge, check. Cross another ravine via suspended rope, check. Crawl under barbed wire, swing across another ravine, climb straight up 30 ft of rope, through tires, and run another ¼ mile with your gas mask on… Good times good times. Not done yet, though. There’s more to it, but I’m more bragging now than explaining. I’m glad I did it and hope I never have to do it again.
This week we learn how to drive the Army’s luxury line of automobiles: the Hummer. It only comes in two colors (green or tan camo), but accessories include a mounted .50 caliber machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, and 360 degree turret. We also qualify with the 9mm. Anyway, send letters! :)
Benjamin
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Interlude...
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your comments and support for Ben. I haven't received any mail from him for a while, most likely because he was out in the field wrapping up the remainder of Basic Training. If my calculations are correct, he should have finished Basic either yesterday or today.
Keep checking back. I'll post his mail as soon as it comes in.
-Terrence
Thanks for your comments and support for Ben. I haven't received any mail from him for a while, most likely because he was out in the field wrapping up the remainder of Basic Training. If my calculations are correct, he should have finished Basic either yesterday or today.
Keep checking back. I'll post his mail as soon as it comes in.
-Terrence
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
SUNDAY, MAY 21st
Well, not much has changed. The drill sergeants have been pretty pissed off lately. Apparently we are “one of the worst classes they have ever seen.” A big issue has been the cleanliness of our bays, which, of course, is what I’m in charge of. It’s difficult not to take the criticism personally. I regret taking the job now. It’s more stress than I thought it would be.
Today is Sunday. Everyone was supposed to get a pass today. Half of the people in the company have had their pass revoked due to one reason or another. Mine was revoked last night because I failed to wear my PT shorts underneath my PT sweats. How did they know, you ask? Because they told us to remove our pants. I would’ve ran without any pants or shorts to keep my 4 hours of freedom, but the drill sergeants still took it away. Freakin’ Nazis.
81 days ‘til graduation. 16 days ‘til AIT starts and Basic ends. My calendar and I have a love/hate relationship. Apparently, I check it too often and it doesn’t’ move fast enough. It can’t be helped.
In the meantime, I’ve made up a list of things to do when I get back.
1. Clean out my new car (my grandpa’s GMC Jimmy) and go for a drive
2. Smoke a Newport or twenty
3. Watch a good action/comedy flick
4. Go clothes shopping (I’ll need new ones)
5. Eat nothing but pizza for one full day
6. Play guitar outside during sunset
7. Sit on the beach barefoot
8. Go shooting/hunting with Dad
9. Go to Jack in the Box and In-n-Out
10. Sit on my porch with a beer
11. Laugh out loud about some of the things that happened here
12. Drop and do only 19 push-ups incorrectly
13. Sit in the back of church and listen to the worship music
That’s all I have so far, but the list is quickly growing.
Benjamin
Today is Sunday. Everyone was supposed to get a pass today. Half of the people in the company have had their pass revoked due to one reason or another. Mine was revoked last night because I failed to wear my PT shorts underneath my PT sweats. How did they know, you ask? Because they told us to remove our pants. I would’ve ran without any pants or shorts to keep my 4 hours of freedom, but the drill sergeants still took it away. Freakin’ Nazis.
81 days ‘til graduation. 16 days ‘til AIT starts and Basic ends. My calendar and I have a love/hate relationship. Apparently, I check it too often and it doesn’t’ move fast enough. It can’t be helped.
In the meantime, I’ve made up a list of things to do when I get back.
1. Clean out my new car (my grandpa’s GMC Jimmy) and go for a drive
2. Smoke a Newport or twenty
3. Watch a good action/comedy flick
4. Go clothes shopping (I’ll need new ones)
5. Eat nothing but pizza for one full day
6. Play guitar outside during sunset
7. Sit on the beach barefoot
8. Go shooting/hunting with Dad
9. Go to Jack in the Box and In-n-Out
10. Sit on my porch with a beer
11. Laugh out loud about some of the things that happened here
12. Drop and do only 19 push-ups incorrectly
13. Sit in the back of church and listen to the worship music
That’s all I have so far, but the list is quickly growing.
Benjamin
FRIDAY, MAY 19th
Things have gotten much more difficult these past few days. I was so stressed out and exhausted that I was about ready to quit my bay leader position and take on the “I don’t care, but I’m going to take my stress out on you” attitude. Actually, things are about to get worse. We’ve got a tough schedule ahead.
For the past week we’ve been doing PT twice per day. We’ll either run a few miles with sprints in between and do push ups, sit ups, pull ups or another combination of exercises. Everyone’s pretty sore, and I’m, once again, exhausted. We’ve done more physically in the past few days than we did in our first three weeks here. Oh well.
We’ve also been put on a company-wide “diet.” This means we have 1 minute and 30 seconds to eat. I’m beyond the point of being hungry. My stomach has shrunk by now. But so much exercise and so little food has made me pretty weak. My body doesn’t recover as fast as it used to I guess.
All of this is in preparation for the days ahead. Next Friday we have a final PT assessment, which will determine if we graduate from Basic and move on to AIT. We also qualify with the 9mm pistol next week. We get one day to practice qualify (50 rounds), then we qualify. That’s it.
So, that’s the latest plot. Goodnight.
Benjamin
For the past week we’ve been doing PT twice per day. We’ll either run a few miles with sprints in between and do push ups, sit ups, pull ups or another combination of exercises. Everyone’s pretty sore, and I’m, once again, exhausted. We’ve done more physically in the past few days than we did in our first three weeks here. Oh well.
We’ve also been put on a company-wide “diet.” This means we have 1 minute and 30 seconds to eat. I’m beyond the point of being hungry. My stomach has shrunk by now. But so much exercise and so little food has made me pretty weak. My body doesn’t recover as fast as it used to I guess.
All of this is in preparation for the days ahead. Next Friday we have a final PT assessment, which will determine if we graduate from Basic and move on to AIT. We also qualify with the 9mm pistol next week. We get one day to practice qualify (50 rounds), then we qualify. That’s it.
So, that’s the latest plot. Goodnight.
Benjamin
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17th
Today was a discouraging day. Most days I try to stay busy and ignore the environment. It’s the only way I know how to avoid losing the hope I have of getting out of here. Truthfully, the only reason I haven’t quit yet is because I know the fastest way to get out of here is to graduate. That’s it.
There have been very few days when I can honestly say I learned something that will make me a better soldier. Sure, I’ll be happy and proud when I graduate. But most inmates probably feel the same way when they make parole.
Thus far, the only change in myself that I’ve noticed is that I’m more easily frustrated and frequently on edge. Not quite the boot camp I was hoping for.
Perhaps I’m taking this experience too personally. Why should I care how good or bad my life is here so long as I make it through? Why can’t I just shut my mouth, filter out everything said to me except orders, and be happy? Having a personality here really doesn’t help. Caring about how well we perform as a company only hurts because the majority of our company is made up of people who would otherwise fail at life. They don’t care about anything, even themselves. They would self-destruct, especially if mommy and daddy would let them. But they don’t, so now the Army has to provide.
Seriously, people come here expecting that the Army owes them for “the selfless service of serving our country.” Spoiled brats. *sigh*
Anyways, I’m just taking my stress out on them. Simply put, I just hate this place, and my hatred grows deeper every day. I’ve been through seven weeks of basic training and I would throw it all away for a weekend back in California. AWOL? What sane person hasn’t seriously considered it? It’s the insane ones who actually do it though. Back to mommy and daddy.
Anyways, enjoyable reading, eh? I want to thank everyone for their letters: Mom & Dad, Jamie, Tracy, Charles and Tonya, Terrence and Jesica, Matt and Courtney. Thanks for your support and encouragement.
Benjamin
There have been very few days when I can honestly say I learned something that will make me a better soldier. Sure, I’ll be happy and proud when I graduate. But most inmates probably feel the same way when they make parole.
Thus far, the only change in myself that I’ve noticed is that I’m more easily frustrated and frequently on edge. Not quite the boot camp I was hoping for.
Perhaps I’m taking this experience too personally. Why should I care how good or bad my life is here so long as I make it through? Why can’t I just shut my mouth, filter out everything said to me except orders, and be happy? Having a personality here really doesn’t help. Caring about how well we perform as a company only hurts because the majority of our company is made up of people who would otherwise fail at life. They don’t care about anything, even themselves. They would self-destruct, especially if mommy and daddy would let them. But they don’t, so now the Army has to provide.
Seriously, people come here expecting that the Army owes them for “the selfless service of serving our country.” Spoiled brats. *sigh*
Anyways, I’m just taking my stress out on them. Simply put, I just hate this place, and my hatred grows deeper every day. I’ve been through seven weeks of basic training and I would throw it all away for a weekend back in California. AWOL? What sane person hasn’t seriously considered it? It’s the insane ones who actually do it though. Back to mommy and daddy.
Anyways, enjoyable reading, eh? I want to thank everyone for their letters: Mom & Dad, Jamie, Tracy, Charles and Tonya, Terrence and Jesica, Matt and Courtney. Thanks for your support and encouragement.
Benjamin
TUESDAY, MAY 16th
Tomorrow is a long day. And, frankly, it’s all I can think about as I lay here in bed (a bad habit, I know). We wake up at 0430 and don’t stop training until 2300 (that’s 11:00pm). We’re going through the night infiltration course tomorrow night. If you’ve seen the movie Jarhead, you know what the course is like. We start low-crawling @ 2200 (10:00pm) under barbed wire, climb over walls, do short sprints behind cover; all of which with 25 pounds of gear (better than the 80 pounds we had today). While performing these stunts, we’ll be shot at (er, over) by our drill sergeants with the M240B automatic machine gun. Grenades and claymore mines are also a part of the course, but I don’t yet know when they’ll come into play. Supposedly, we low-crawl for over half a mile, but that’s just rumor (or so I hope). Low-crawling, by the way, is literally dragging your body, including your head, along the ground. It is very difficult to do through gravel (like tomorrow) and very tiring.
But tonight I want to get my mind off of those things. For the past few days I’ve been really missing home. I know that because I’ve come this far I can’t quit, but I’ve desperately wanted to for the past few days. I can’t stand the “lifestyle” I live here. It’s so frustrating to live in a prison-like environment. I would tell you everything, but there are too many details to list. Ok, here’s one: every single night before lights-out we have “hydration formation”. At formation, we chug a full canteen of water (one quart) before going straight to bed. At this point, I’m so tired of getting up in the middle of the night (every night) to pee that I’ll probably just wet the bed tonight. Yes, I’m 25 years old, and I’m a bed wetter.
Oh, and here’s something else that’s fun. Sometimes we have to chug a full canteen in the morning before training (like we did today). Lo and behold, by the time we got to training, people had to use the bathroom. The drill sergeants chewed us out for that and smoked the entire company because half of us needed to pee. They were seriously upset because it threw off our training schedule. Makes sense, right?
Another thing. I often try to remind myself of the reasons why I’m going through this, the big questions, spiritual ones. But I have no time alone to pray, to read, to just think and clear my head. This is a total control environment. As such, I am unable to reflect and refocus on my motivations and goals. I am frequently uneasy, very tense and anxious, throughout the day. The methods by which I normally cope with difficult situations have been taken from me. For example, one of the people in the barracks just came up to me as I was writing and started telling me a story about home. There is no “me” time, because there’s too many “me’s” in one place.
Anyway, I really need sleep…and a beer…and a cigarette…and cherry pie. Goodnight.
Benjamin
But tonight I want to get my mind off of those things. For the past few days I’ve been really missing home. I know that because I’ve come this far I can’t quit, but I’ve desperately wanted to for the past few days. I can’t stand the “lifestyle” I live here. It’s so frustrating to live in a prison-like environment. I would tell you everything, but there are too many details to list. Ok, here’s one: every single night before lights-out we have “hydration formation”. At formation, we chug a full canteen of water (one quart) before going straight to bed. At this point, I’m so tired of getting up in the middle of the night (every night) to pee that I’ll probably just wet the bed tonight. Yes, I’m 25 years old, and I’m a bed wetter.
Oh, and here’s something else that’s fun. Sometimes we have to chug a full canteen in the morning before training (like we did today). Lo and behold, by the time we got to training, people had to use the bathroom. The drill sergeants chewed us out for that and smoked the entire company because half of us needed to pee. They were seriously upset because it threw off our training schedule. Makes sense, right?
Another thing. I often try to remind myself of the reasons why I’m going through this, the big questions, spiritual ones. But I have no time alone to pray, to read, to just think and clear my head. This is a total control environment. As such, I am unable to reflect and refocus on my motivations and goals. I am frequently uneasy, very tense and anxious, throughout the day. The methods by which I normally cope with difficult situations have been taken from me. For example, one of the people in the barracks just came up to me as I was writing and started telling me a story about home. There is no “me” time, because there’s too many “me’s” in one place.
Anyway, I really need sleep…and a beer…and a cigarette…and cherry pie. Goodnight.
Benjamin
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
SATURDAY, MAY 13th
Today was an interesting day. We went out to the machine gun range again today and shot three more types of weapons. We shot the AT4 anti-tank rocket, the Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher, and the M203 grenade launcher.
The M203 is a grenade launcher that attaches to the bottom of the M16 or M4. It is a single shot launcher that appeared in Black Hawk Down when “the coffee guy” jumped out in front of a turret and blew it up.
The Mark 19 is absolutely awesome. The “bullets” or grenades are linked together by a chain with each round about the size of a small fist. It’s fully automatic and could probably level a city block in 10 seconds. Everyone got to shoot this weapon at the range tanks and fortifications that were set up for our destructive pleasure.
However, only one person in our company got to shoot the AT4 rocket. That privilege was reserved for Top Gun. Yes, I got to blow up an Abrams tank with a rocket launcher today. Remember those war movies when one guy is kneeling with a big green tube on his shoulder and the guy to the side of him taps him on the helmet to let him know he’s ready to fire? Yeah, that’s the weapon.
It’s shoulder-fired and LOUD. I couldn’t see behind me, but I guess the flame was about 12 feet long when I fired. I was nervous because the entire company was watching and rather jealous because I got to fire it. Each round costs close to $10,000 so they are used in training very rarely. Even some of my drill sergeants have never shot one.
The tank was about 250 meters away and I hit it dead on. The satisfaction of seeing that tank erupt in flame is not easily described. I got a round of applause, and two drill sergeants and the first lieutenant complemented me on the shot. (Is it too early to ask for a promotion? :) ) Nah, just kidding, I just had a lot of fun. Truth be told, the darn thing almost knocked me on my butt when I fired it. And, due to my nervous tremors, “aiming” consisted of timing my shot when the sights passed by the target between shakes. Whatever, it was a good Saturday.
We also passed to the next and final phase of Basic: blue phase. This phase has two FTXs, one three day and one five day. (And FTX is when we train out in the field, sleeping in tents, eating MREs, etc.) The five day FTX ends on the last day of Basic before we start AIT. It’s supposed to be a test of everything we’ve learned. I’m nervous.
Also, we get our first pass tomorrow. It’s four hours long and we’re required to get a haircut and get personal hygiene supplies. However, we get to eat whatever we want. I’ve already organized a list of orders from the barracks for orders of pizza that will be delivered to the store while we’re shopping. We’ll probably get smoked after we return, and though I may see my pizza after I eat it, it will be worth it. Plus, the candy isle might be empty after we leave, who knows. Just dreaming about it…good times, good times.
I’ve been to church service every Sunday I’ve been here, but tomorrow I’m going to stay back at the barracks and get some time to myself. I love reading and re-reading the letters I receive from everyone. My parents’ letters have been really encouraging, so those are my favorite. But every letter I get I read at least three times on the day I receive it. They remind me of the people I’d rather be with. :) I do miss home.
Benjamin
The M203 is a grenade launcher that attaches to the bottom of the M16 or M4. It is a single shot launcher that appeared in Black Hawk Down when “the coffee guy” jumped out in front of a turret and blew it up.
The Mark 19 is absolutely awesome. The “bullets” or grenades are linked together by a chain with each round about the size of a small fist. It’s fully automatic and could probably level a city block in 10 seconds. Everyone got to shoot this weapon at the range tanks and fortifications that were set up for our destructive pleasure.
However, only one person in our company got to shoot the AT4 rocket. That privilege was reserved for Top Gun. Yes, I got to blow up an Abrams tank with a rocket launcher today. Remember those war movies when one guy is kneeling with a big green tube on his shoulder and the guy to the side of him taps him on the helmet to let him know he’s ready to fire? Yeah, that’s the weapon.
It’s shoulder-fired and LOUD. I couldn’t see behind me, but I guess the flame was about 12 feet long when I fired. I was nervous because the entire company was watching and rather jealous because I got to fire it. Each round costs close to $10,000 so they are used in training very rarely. Even some of my drill sergeants have never shot one.
The tank was about 250 meters away and I hit it dead on. The satisfaction of seeing that tank erupt in flame is not easily described. I got a round of applause, and two drill sergeants and the first lieutenant complemented me on the shot. (Is it too early to ask for a promotion? :) ) Nah, just kidding, I just had a lot of fun. Truth be told, the darn thing almost knocked me on my butt when I fired it. And, due to my nervous tremors, “aiming” consisted of timing my shot when the sights passed by the target between shakes. Whatever, it was a good Saturday.
We also passed to the next and final phase of Basic: blue phase. This phase has two FTXs, one three day and one five day. (And FTX is when we train out in the field, sleeping in tents, eating MREs, etc.) The five day FTX ends on the last day of Basic before we start AIT. It’s supposed to be a test of everything we’ve learned. I’m nervous.
Also, we get our first pass tomorrow. It’s four hours long and we’re required to get a haircut and get personal hygiene supplies. However, we get to eat whatever we want. I’ve already organized a list of orders from the barracks for orders of pizza that will be delivered to the store while we’re shopping. We’ll probably get smoked after we return, and though I may see my pizza after I eat it, it will be worth it. Plus, the candy isle might be empty after we leave, who knows. Just dreaming about it…good times, good times.
I’ve been to church service every Sunday I’ve been here, but tomorrow I’m going to stay back at the barracks and get some time to myself. I love reading and re-reading the letters I receive from everyone. My parents’ letters have been really encouraging, so those are my favorite. But every letter I get I read at least three times on the day I receive it. They remind me of the people I’d rather be with. :) I do miss home.
Benjamin
FRIDAY, MAY 12th
Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been quite busy. Let’s see, on the 10th we trained with CCOs (Close Combat Optics) which are basically “red dot” laser scopes. They mount on the M16 and M4 and are ridiculously accurate. I wish we could’ve qualified with those things.
Yesterday, we worked with grenades. There are various colored smoke grenades used for signaling and screening, as well as CS gas grenades, incendiary grenades that heat up and melt through anything you set them on, white phosphorus grenades which appeared in We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson when one exploded on a soldier’s face and they had to remove the burning tissue with a bayonet (they are chemical grenades that burn whether wet or dry), and finally there’s the M64 explosive grenade.
Throughout the day I threw probably 50 practice grenades and 2 live grenades. We actually qualified with grenades (for badges, just like the rifle) by running a grenade course and throwing grenades according to various scenarios. The practice grenades were the same size and weight as the live grenades, except they were basically firecrackers when they went off. Alright, I’ve been putting it off…I qualified as Expert on the grenade course. There were more Experts on the grenade course than the rifle qualification, but not much. I’m proud. Moving on…
The live grenades. The live grenades are…LOUD and very powerful. Standing about 500 meters away with a large berm between us, I still flinched when every grenade went off. Not only is it louder than every rifle, you feel the compression as if you were right next to the barrel of a gun as if fired. I was very impressed, and nervous. But it’s over now and I’m glad to have experienced throwing two grenades. (You should’ve seen how bad my hands were shaking after I pulled the pin out and prepared to throw.) I’ve never thrown anything so far in my life.
Today, we went to the machine gun range. Tomorrow we will be there as well. We shot three fully automatic machine guns: the M240B, the M249, and the .50 caliber. Holy crap. The M240B and the M249 (also known as “the SAW”) weigh about 17 pounds and are (luckily) mounted on a bipod. The only difference between the two is the caliber: the M240B shoots a 7.62mm or .308 round, while the M240 shoots a .223 round. (I’ve learned so much!)
The .50 caliber, also known as Ma Deuce (for M2) or BFG (for big fucking gun), was awesome. It weights 130 pounds and is mounted on a humvee or a tripod. The rounds are ginormous. Plus, on all the weapons we shot, every fifth round was a tracer so we could see the bullet hit the target.
The M240B and M249 are 60 years old. They are what Sylvester Stallone used in Rambo. Brass, lead, and the clink of metal as the links from our ammo chain fell to the ground. Unfortunately, the drill sergeants wouldn’t let me take the shirt off, but we all know how humiliated ol’ Sly would’ve been if I’d done so. :)
Personally, while I’ve been doing pretty awesome things, I haven’t been doing well the past few days. The environment is really killing me. Drill sergeants yelling, everyone getting stressed out and frustrated, walking in rows, marching, running as fast as you can then standing at the position of attention for hours, etc. I don’t even remember the taste of sugar.
As bay leader, and because of the M16 qualification, everyone knows my name and expects something better from me. It’s funny how, when the pressure goes up, past successes don’t matter as much as present failures. Most everybody is competing for position in terms of the toughest, wisest, and most powerful. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians as somebody once said.
Anyway, off to bed, er, fireguard.
Benjamin
Yesterday, we worked with grenades. There are various colored smoke grenades used for signaling and screening, as well as CS gas grenades, incendiary grenades that heat up and melt through anything you set them on, white phosphorus grenades which appeared in We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson when one exploded on a soldier’s face and they had to remove the burning tissue with a bayonet (they are chemical grenades that burn whether wet or dry), and finally there’s the M64 explosive grenade.
Throughout the day I threw probably 50 practice grenades and 2 live grenades. We actually qualified with grenades (for badges, just like the rifle) by running a grenade course and throwing grenades according to various scenarios. The practice grenades were the same size and weight as the live grenades, except they were basically firecrackers when they went off. Alright, I’ve been putting it off…I qualified as Expert on the grenade course. There were more Experts on the grenade course than the rifle qualification, but not much. I’m proud. Moving on…
The live grenades. The live grenades are…LOUD and very powerful. Standing about 500 meters away with a large berm between us, I still flinched when every grenade went off. Not only is it louder than every rifle, you feel the compression as if you were right next to the barrel of a gun as if fired. I was very impressed, and nervous. But it’s over now and I’m glad to have experienced throwing two grenades. (You should’ve seen how bad my hands were shaking after I pulled the pin out and prepared to throw.) I’ve never thrown anything so far in my life.
Today, we went to the machine gun range. Tomorrow we will be there as well. We shot three fully automatic machine guns: the M240B, the M249, and the .50 caliber. Holy crap. The M240B and the M249 (also known as “the SAW”) weigh about 17 pounds and are (luckily) mounted on a bipod. The only difference between the two is the caliber: the M240B shoots a 7.62mm or .308 round, while the M240 shoots a .223 round. (I’ve learned so much!)
The .50 caliber, also known as Ma Deuce (for M2) or BFG (for big fucking gun), was awesome. It weights 130 pounds and is mounted on a humvee or a tripod. The rounds are ginormous. Plus, on all the weapons we shot, every fifth round was a tracer so we could see the bullet hit the target.
The M240B and M249 are 60 years old. They are what Sylvester Stallone used in Rambo. Brass, lead, and the clink of metal as the links from our ammo chain fell to the ground. Unfortunately, the drill sergeants wouldn’t let me take the shirt off, but we all know how humiliated ol’ Sly would’ve been if I’d done so. :)
Personally, while I’ve been doing pretty awesome things, I haven’t been doing well the past few days. The environment is really killing me. Drill sergeants yelling, everyone getting stressed out and frustrated, walking in rows, marching, running as fast as you can then standing at the position of attention for hours, etc. I don’t even remember the taste of sugar.
As bay leader, and because of the M16 qualification, everyone knows my name and expects something better from me. It’s funny how, when the pressure goes up, past successes don’t matter as much as present failures. Most everybody is competing for position in terms of the toughest, wisest, and most powerful. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians as somebody once said.
Anyway, off to bed, er, fireguard.
Benjamin
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