SATURDAY, APRIL 15th

Wow. It's been a busy week. On Tuesday, April 11th, we had bayonet training. That was pretty fun, but exhausting. The M16 only weighs about 8-9 pounds with the bayonet. But after stabbing, slashing, and blocking with it, everyone was pretty exhausted.

We also ran our first obstacle course on Tuesday. We "fixed bayonets" and charged in pairs through a half-mile course laced with barriers, logs, trenches, and trenches with enemy soldiers (dummies) we had to "dispatch." The grand finale was running up the last hill, crawling under barbed wire and up and over the last trench, all the while machine guns (blanks) were firing around us. I about collapsed when I reached the end. Oh, and we had to yell our "war cry" while running the entire course. And every move we made with our bayonet, whether it be a slash, stab, or blunt, we accented with a loud "KILL!"

From the way I make it sound, it like an adventurous summer camp. But the scary thing is that this is for real. That thoughts occurred to me when I was "dispatching" one of our dummies. I am becoming a trained killer. In fact, by the end of this training, I'll be able to kill people in a variety of different ways. I can even make a bomb out of an MRE (google it if you don't know what it is).

Anyway, on another note, yesterday we went to NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) weapons training. We were issued full body gear, complete with gas mask, rubber boots, gloves, etc. The suit is nearly airtight when complete. We need to be able to unpack and seal the mask to our faces in 9 seconds. We also need to be able to completely seal our full body suit in 8 minutes. We were tested on our skills in the "NBC chamber" yesterday. Yes, it's the gas chamber.

We had to enter a sealed room (10 at a time), unseal our masks, and inhale CS gas. CS gas is the "riot control" gas and they gave us a healthy dose in that sealed room. We then had to reseal our masks and clear our masks so we could breathe again. That was very, very hard and scary to do. The first inhale isn't bad, it was like inhaling the scent of strong peppers. But, it made you cough, and once you coughed, you cleared your lungs and had to take another breath. That next breath brought everyone in the gas chamber to their knees. Some puked, some got bloody noses, the rest had drool, snot, and tears everywhere.

We practiced clearing our masks for a couple of minutes. Then the "operator" of the gas chamber, who was directing us via loudspeaker, told us to turn and face the door so we could leave. I was so ready. But then, over the loudspeaker, our drill sergeant said, "Hello 2nd Platoon." Everyone froze and almost panicked. She ordered us to remove our masks completely and hold them above our heads.

After that, I don't remember much. She said something about us being late to formation and coming back to the gas chamber as punishment. I don't know, I found it hard to pay attention. At all times we had to hold on to each other so we knew how to get out. The guy behind me grabbed my dog tags, essentially making it even harder for me to breathe.

But that wasn't the end. After she got done, she made us sing a song. And, of course, we weren't loud enough the first two times we sang it. By this time, I could barely breathe. I was starting to panic and my eyes were burning shut. She ordered us to once again raise our masks above our heads, since, for some odd reason, some people had dropped their masks; and she told us to leave.

We practically dragged each other out of that room. I took a few minutes for me to be able to open my eyes. Seriously, while I was in the chamber, I was so scared I was going to die. You can't inhale because your throat swells up and burns, your eyes close and burn (you can't wear contacts in SC gas because they will fuse to your eyeballs), your sinuses start creating mucus by the gallons but you can't swallow, and any exposed skin you have burns like you're pouring hot water on it.

There were about 30 people who couldn't do it. They busted out of the gas chamber. But guess what the drill sergeant did...they dragged them back in. Some people went through 3 times before they completed the training.

Anyway, that's enough about that. I'll write more details later. Goodnight all.

Benjamin