Thursday, July 12, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Home for 30 Days
So, we got the bone scan results back and the doctor kind of freaked out about how messed up my heel really is. He decided to pull me from training immediately -- that was two weeks ago. Since I was being pulled anyway, I decided to go ahead and tell him about all the other aches I've been having and we've now found another nice fracture in my hip. Yay! It's not actually broken in two pieces, but I've been warned by both the doctor and one of my drill sergeants (last cycle a girl had the same fracture, continued to run on it, and broke her hip badly enough to require surgery and possibly a hip replacement in the future) to stay the heck off of it for a while.
So, I'm home for 30 days medical leave, as recommended by the doctors and approved by the company commander. Well, I'm almost home. Right now I'm sitting in the USO in the airport in St. Louis, killing time before my 11:25 flight. I'll be in Knoxville at 9 tonight.
I'm fairly bummed that I'm not going to be graduating with my platoon, of course. Especially since today is the very first day of week 8 and everyone is, as I type this, probably just finishing the 10K ruck to the final field training exercise. They'll be essentially done with basic training on Wednesday morning, after marching 15K home from the field. When I go back, I'll have to go through physical therapy until I am able to run 2 miles without any pain and then I'll start with a new bunch of people, maybe in a new company entirely, at week 5 or 6. That sucks. But, it's better to stop now with a little fracture than stop later really busted up.
So, I'm going to sign off and go find a Starbucks in this airport. Yum!
So, I'm home for 30 days medical leave, as recommended by the doctors and approved by the company commander. Well, I'm almost home. Right now I'm sitting in the USO in the airport in St. Louis, killing time before my 11:25 flight. I'll be in Knoxville at 9 tonight.
I'm fairly bummed that I'm not going to be graduating with my platoon, of course. Especially since today is the very first day of week 8 and everyone is, as I type this, probably just finishing the 10K ruck to the final field training exercise. They'll be essentially done with basic training on Wednesday morning, after marching 15K home from the field. When I go back, I'll have to go through physical therapy until I am able to run 2 miles without any pain and then I'll start with a new bunch of people, maybe in a new company entirely, at week 5 or 6. That sucks. But, it's better to stop now with a little fracture than stop later really busted up.
So, I'm going to sign off and go find a Starbucks in this airport. Yum!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Received May 31, 2007
5/ 27
Man, I write so much that I don't have a clue what I wrote you last. I had a pretty good week, I suppose. I actually got to DO something which was super groovy. We did a confidence course with lots of super high climbing and stuff that was really fun. Most obstacles were really a struggle for short people and for people that were really afraid if heights. I was fine - and it was nice to be not only doing something but doing it well. I did take a really nice fall and landed flat on my butt, which is still super sore (it’s been a few days!).
We also did our bayonet course. That was pretty fun, too. They really wanted us to be super motivated and aggressive ( it seems that aggression is key when stabbing someone in the guy with a bayonet) so we had to yell a bunch of stuff in response to the drill sergeants questions. For example, What makes the green grass grow? BLOOD, BLOOD, BRIGHT RED BLOOD! What is the spirit of the bayonet? KILL, KILL, KILL WITHOUT MERCY! SO that was my Saturday.
Sundays are a mix of the best and the worst day of the week. It’s cool because it’s a day off but it also really sucks because the only thing there really is to do is sit around and talk or clean. You can only clean for so long, and then you have to talk to people. There are some females that I really like to talk to and they aren’t idiots, but the loud ones that you can never seem to get away from. (Especially since all the females in our platoon are in three rooms.) always end up either arguing about something really retarded, talking about how drunk they’re going to get when we graduate (and most of them are under 21 - way under) or their disinteresting home loves. Their lives seriously have to suck if the best things they can come up with to talk in about are so boring. That sounded really mean I guess. Oh well.
My heel is a whole lot better. It really doesn’t’ give me that much grief at all unless I’m running. If I can run 2 miles in 20 minuets and 30 seconds or less , I should graduate on time. Normally, that would be cake but it really hurts to run and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it. We’ll see.
I’m optimistic about the whole thing.
Everyone here is so loud. They constantly try to talk over each other and it just gets louder and louder. Quality of life would be so much better if we had some quiet time. I didn’t expect this at all. I thought that, almost halfway through, there would be, like, some order and discipline.
But, honestly I just do my best to ignore all of it. There’s no way that anything I do by myself is going to change the behavior of 80 girls (especially when the drill sergeants don’t do it), so what’s the point of getting all upset about it?
I think that I wrote to you about changing rooms and being happy to get away from the drama?
Well, I really miss the old drama. The new living situation has the same amount of drama. It’s just that this bunch is the behind the back kind of drama girls so it took a while for it to be apparent just exactly what the situation really is. As annoying as it was to deal with the fireworks in the old room - I’d rather have that than all the backstabbing stuff. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I really like all of the people that were in that room but I had much more respect for them because at least they’re upfront about their drama.
And, did I mention that I’m really tired of the drama? Because I AM!!!!!!
So, what makes the green grass grow?
BLOOD! BLOOD! BRIGHT RED BLOOD!
Ok, that’s enough for tonight. We have another day of sitting around to look forward to since tomorrow is a holiday. I think I might lock myself in a wall locker or something to get some peace! Oh well. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of time to write to you tomorrow. Goodnight!
5/28
Well, it’s about 9:30. I’ve been up since 5 doing jack-doody. We cleaned all day yesterday, so there’s really not much to clean. The floor in our sleeping bay has already been mopped 3 times because people are desperate for something to do. I have so far dusted the top of pretty much everything and scrubbed the shower walls. I’m pretty contend with my contribution to the cleaning effort, and now have no guilt about stretching out in the corner next to my wall locker, writing letters and *hopefully* sneaking in a nap because I’m so sleepy. Today we got up an 0500 but didn’t have formation until 0650. There was nothing to do for nearly 2 hours, but we had to get out of bed. I wanted to just sleep in 1 day so baldy. But, no, we have to be up and at ‘em for the holiday that the rest of the military ( well, a large portion of them, at least) gets off. Even though there’s nothing to do. So far the dramatics have been so bad but I’m pretty afraid that it’s just a matter of time. All of us just sitting around has a lot of potential to get ugly.
We’ll see!!
Did I write you since we officially went in to white phase? That happened last week…Thursday I think. Things are pretty much the same except people are allowed to run around the building at night and we have white phase banners in front of our formations now. Yay!
Well, I made it through the day of nothing. I cleaned my weapon ( that was already pristine), I watched Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers, I did a crap-ton of push-ups , and I did a bunch sitting around on my butt, wishing I could be asleep. A nap would’ve been so nice today!
But, the Army says I’m getting plenty of sleep, so it must be true.
CRAZY LOVE!
J-HO!!!!
P.S. I just red this and it sounds like I’m really miserable. I’m really not! I’m actually have fun a lot of the time!
Man, I write so much that I don't have a clue what I wrote you last. I had a pretty good week, I suppose. I actually got to DO something which was super groovy. We did a confidence course with lots of super high climbing and stuff that was really fun. Most obstacles were really a struggle for short people and for people that were really afraid if heights. I was fine - and it was nice to be not only doing something but doing it well. I did take a really nice fall and landed flat on my butt, which is still super sore (it’s been a few days!).
We also did our bayonet course. That was pretty fun, too. They really wanted us to be super motivated and aggressive ( it seems that aggression is key when stabbing someone in the guy with a bayonet) so we had to yell a bunch of stuff in response to the drill sergeants questions. For example, What makes the green grass grow? BLOOD, BLOOD, BRIGHT RED BLOOD! What is the spirit of the bayonet? KILL, KILL, KILL WITHOUT MERCY! SO that was my Saturday.
Sundays are a mix of the best and the worst day of the week. It’s cool because it’s a day off but it also really sucks because the only thing there really is to do is sit around and talk or clean. You can only clean for so long, and then you have to talk to people. There are some females that I really like to talk to and they aren’t idiots, but the loud ones that you can never seem to get away from. (Especially since all the females in our platoon are in three rooms.) always end up either arguing about something really retarded, talking about how drunk they’re going to get when we graduate (and most of them are under 21 - way under) or their disinteresting home loves. Their lives seriously have to suck if the best things they can come up with to talk in about are so boring. That sounded really mean I guess. Oh well.
My heel is a whole lot better. It really doesn’t’ give me that much grief at all unless I’m running. If I can run 2 miles in 20 minuets and 30 seconds or less , I should graduate on time. Normally, that would be cake but it really hurts to run and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it. We’ll see.
I’m optimistic about the whole thing.
Everyone here is so loud. They constantly try to talk over each other and it just gets louder and louder. Quality of life would be so much better if we had some quiet time. I didn’t expect this at all. I thought that, almost halfway through, there would be, like, some order and discipline.
But, honestly I just do my best to ignore all of it. There’s no way that anything I do by myself is going to change the behavior of 80 girls (especially when the drill sergeants don’t do it), so what’s the point of getting all upset about it?
I think that I wrote to you about changing rooms and being happy to get away from the drama?
Well, I really miss the old drama. The new living situation has the same amount of drama. It’s just that this bunch is the behind the back kind of drama girls so it took a while for it to be apparent just exactly what the situation really is. As annoying as it was to deal with the fireworks in the old room - I’d rather have that than all the backstabbing stuff. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I really like all of the people that were in that room but I had much more respect for them because at least they’re upfront about their drama.
And, did I mention that I’m really tired of the drama? Because I AM!!!!!!
So, what makes the green grass grow?
BLOOD! BLOOD! BRIGHT RED BLOOD!
Ok, that’s enough for tonight. We have another day of sitting around to look forward to since tomorrow is a holiday. I think I might lock myself in a wall locker or something to get some peace! Oh well. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of time to write to you tomorrow. Goodnight!
5/28
Well, it’s about 9:30. I’ve been up since 5 doing jack-doody. We cleaned all day yesterday, so there’s really not much to clean. The floor in our sleeping bay has already been mopped 3 times because people are desperate for something to do. I have so far dusted the top of pretty much everything and scrubbed the shower walls. I’m pretty contend with my contribution to the cleaning effort, and now have no guilt about stretching out in the corner next to my wall locker, writing letters and *hopefully* sneaking in a nap because I’m so sleepy. Today we got up an 0500 but didn’t have formation until 0650. There was nothing to do for nearly 2 hours, but we had to get out of bed. I wanted to just sleep in 1 day so baldy. But, no, we have to be up and at ‘em for the holiday that the rest of the military ( well, a large portion of them, at least) gets off. Even though there’s nothing to do. So far the dramatics have been so bad but I’m pretty afraid that it’s just a matter of time. All of us just sitting around has a lot of potential to get ugly.
We’ll see!!
Did I write you since we officially went in to white phase? That happened last week…Thursday I think. Things are pretty much the same except people are allowed to run around the building at night and we have white phase banners in front of our formations now. Yay!
Well, I made it through the day of nothing. I cleaned my weapon ( that was already pristine), I watched Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers, I did a crap-ton of push-ups , and I did a bunch sitting around on my butt, wishing I could be asleep. A nap would’ve been so nice today!
But, the Army says I’m getting plenty of sleep, so it must be true.
CRAZY LOVE!
J-HO!!!!
P.S. I just red this and it sounds like I’m really miserable. I’m really not! I’m actually have fun a lot of the time!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
received may 26
5/21
We did our basic rifle marksmanship last week. I shot the worst since I’ve been here on our qualification day but still qualified easily on the first try. So, with that out of the way , should I have to stop training for rehab, I’ll start again in week 4 instead of week 1. I’m pretty happy about that.
I’m currently in the nuclear medicine waiting room at the hospital. My bone scan is today and I’ve already had my radiation injected and am drinking 1 canteen of water 1 hour and going to pee about every 4.2 seconds. I thought that I would find out today if I had a fracture, but I guess I won’t know until tomorrow. I’m pretty much used to the whole I’ll find out when the Army decides to tell me thing, though, so it’s not such a big deal.
There are 10 of us waiting here, drinking water, all sharing one bathroom. It’s funny because as soon as one person come out, someone gets up to go in. I understand now why our briefing include instructions to only use the one in the clinic and not go out into the hospital. At the time, I didn’t get why someone would go out into the hospital when there’s one right here.
Basic training is interesting, huh? Paragraphs about where we pee…
Man, hanging out at the hospital is pretty awesome. Everybody here is so polite and the food was awesome. I mean, in the real world it would suck pretty hard, but in Fort Leonard Wood, it’s sweeeet. For desert I had a stale cinnamon roll with about half as much icing as a good one would have. It was delicious. The other girl that is here (also getting a bone scan of the same heel) was excited because she got a coke for lunch. Pop and cigarettes are the two things most folks lust after around here. The other girl was surprised when I got Gatorade instead of coke because we drink Gatorade (not a choice - the Army knows about hyponatremia
, it seems) every day. Everybody knows that I love Gatorade. So I’m happy that it’s compulsory.
I’m finished at the hospital and back at the barracks, on personal time, even, They didn’t’ give me the results today like I’d expected. I’ll get them tomorrow instead. I’m really nervous about it because there was a part on the screen that was brighter than the res and the guy kept pointing it out to a girl he was training. So, I don’t know, maybe it’s just something normal. I surely have no idea what parts supposed to glow on a bone scan, y’know?
We were supposed to move from red phase to white phase on Friday but we’re still in red phase because our company commander feels like we haven’t demonstrated that we are ready to phase over. As soon as they decide we’re ready we’ll get longer phone time and actually be able to do things like go for runs without the platoon or fo to the PX more often. Also, a really awesome privilege of white phase - instead of being punished as a platoon when one person screws up, we’ll get individual punishments. Life will be so much sweeter then.
We had our first shake down type inspection this morning. We had to open up our lockers and stand with our nose to the wall in the hallway while they went through everything. They really, really screwed up a bunch of peoples stuff but mine didn’t’ get it so badly . I heard them talking about an inspection yesterday so I made sure everything was all squared away. I think that the people whose stuff really got torn up were the ones that had messy lockers. I had to leave immediately after for my Dr. stuff, but from what I saw, it was the slobs that had EVERYTHING dumped out. I also had to leave before I got to see who was in trouble for what contraband, but I’m sure somebody had something stashed away. As our drill sergeants say frequently, ‘there’s always one.’
There are lost of phrases that are seeping into my vocabulary because the drill sergeants say them so much. “Jacked up” and “Squared away” are staples “High speed”, “holy crap, privates” ,“freakin”, and (probably my favorite) “ this is why we can’t have nice things, privates” are also heard frequently. I think that freakin is the worst one. Our d.s.’s aren’t technically supposed to cuss at us, so lots of cuss word substitutes are thrown around. Freakin’ is the most common but we also hear a bunch of “bull jacks”. Oh, and I forgot “la dee da dee, everybody” You really have to hear the cadence of that one to get the full impact. But trust me, it’s great.
5/22
Okay, this has to go in the journal. Hey people that are supposed to be writing me - I haven’t gotten mail in 2 days!! Quit slacking!!!!
Anyway I didn’t’ get my results today - I have to go back tomorrow. I’ll write more then. I’m just having competition with one of my battle buddies about who will get mail from the most different palaces and she pulled ahead today, so I had to put that message in there. <3
5/23
Okay, I definitely do have a stress fracture. I’m still in training for at least one more week. Next week we’ll see what’s happening.
Right now it’s lights out and our drill sergeants are playing music for use over the PA system.
Our drill sergeants are awesome.
<3
J.
We did our basic rifle marksmanship last week. I shot the worst since I’ve been here on our qualification day but still qualified easily on the first try. So, with that out of the way , should I have to stop training for rehab, I’ll start again in week 4 instead of week 1. I’m pretty happy about that.
I’m currently in the nuclear medicine waiting room at the hospital. My bone scan is today and I’ve already had my radiation injected and am drinking 1 canteen of water 1 hour and going to pee about every 4.2 seconds. I thought that I would find out today if I had a fracture, but I guess I won’t know until tomorrow. I’m pretty much used to the whole I’ll find out when the Army decides to tell me thing, though, so it’s not such a big deal.
There are 10 of us waiting here, drinking water, all sharing one bathroom. It’s funny because as soon as one person come out, someone gets up to go in. I understand now why our briefing include instructions to only use the one in the clinic and not go out into the hospital. At the time, I didn’t get why someone would go out into the hospital when there’s one right here.
Basic training is interesting, huh? Paragraphs about where we pee…
Man, hanging out at the hospital is pretty awesome. Everybody here is so polite and the food was awesome. I mean, in the real world it would suck pretty hard, but in Fort Leonard Wood, it’s sweeeet. For desert I had a stale cinnamon roll with about half as much icing as a good one would have. It was delicious. The other girl that is here (also getting a bone scan of the same heel) was excited because she got a coke for lunch. Pop and cigarettes are the two things most folks lust after around here. The other girl was surprised when I got Gatorade instead of coke because we drink Gatorade (not a choice - the Army knows about hyponatremia
, it seems) every day. Everybody knows that I love Gatorade. So I’m happy that it’s compulsory.
I’m finished at the hospital and back at the barracks, on personal time, even, They didn’t’ give me the results today like I’d expected. I’ll get them tomorrow instead. I’m really nervous about it because there was a part on the screen that was brighter than the res and the guy kept pointing it out to a girl he was training. So, I don’t know, maybe it’s just something normal. I surely have no idea what parts supposed to glow on a bone scan, y’know?
We were supposed to move from red phase to white phase on Friday but we’re still in red phase because our company commander feels like we haven’t demonstrated that we are ready to phase over. As soon as they decide we’re ready we’ll get longer phone time and actually be able to do things like go for runs without the platoon or fo to the PX more often. Also, a really awesome privilege of white phase - instead of being punished as a platoon when one person screws up, we’ll get individual punishments. Life will be so much sweeter then.
We had our first shake down type inspection this morning. We had to open up our lockers and stand with our nose to the wall in the hallway while they went through everything. They really, really screwed up a bunch of peoples stuff but mine didn’t’ get it so badly . I heard them talking about an inspection yesterday so I made sure everything was all squared away. I think that the people whose stuff really got torn up were the ones that had messy lockers. I had to leave immediately after for my Dr. stuff, but from what I saw, it was the slobs that had EVERYTHING dumped out. I also had to leave before I got to see who was in trouble for what contraband, but I’m sure somebody had something stashed away. As our drill sergeants say frequently, ‘there’s always one.’
There are lost of phrases that are seeping into my vocabulary because the drill sergeants say them so much. “Jacked up” and “Squared away” are staples “High speed”, “holy crap, privates” ,“freakin”, and (probably my favorite) “ this is why we can’t have nice things, privates” are also heard frequently. I think that freakin is the worst one. Our d.s.’s aren’t technically supposed to cuss at us, so lots of cuss word substitutes are thrown around. Freakin’ is the most common but we also hear a bunch of “bull jacks”. Oh, and I forgot “la dee da dee, everybody” You really have to hear the cadence of that one to get the full impact. But trust me, it’s great.
5/22
Okay, this has to go in the journal. Hey people that are supposed to be writing me - I haven’t gotten mail in 2 days!! Quit slacking!!!!
Anyway I didn’t’ get my results today - I have to go back tomorrow. I’ll write more then. I’m just having competition with one of my battle buddies about who will get mail from the most different palaces and she pulled ahead today, so I had to put that message in there. <3
5/23
Okay, I definitely do have a stress fracture. I’m still in training for at least one more week. Next week we’ll see what’s happening.
Right now it’s lights out and our drill sergeants are playing music for use over the PA system.
Our drill sergeants are awesome.
<3
J.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
May 21, 2007
5/10
Okay, I can't remember what the last I wrote to you was about. Just ignore anything that is repeated. I think that I wrote you the last info sometime last week. Since then I've done the gas chamber ( not that bad ) and the repel ( nowhere near as fun as climbing).
I'm pretty sure that you haven't heard anything about the latest injury news. I went to physical therapy doc on Tuesday and she recommended an even longer profile and I'm also required to go to physical therapy 3x a week in the mornings instead of regular PT with the platoon. At this point there is pretty much no doubt that I will be pulled from training and new started in a little over a week. The one really good thing about that is that I'm staying with Alpha 2-10 through our rifle qualification. As long as I can hit 23 out of 40 targets (no, really - that's it!) and qualify with the M-16, I can start with a new bunch that has also completed the marksmanship ( which means they'd be in week 4) instead of all the way back at the beginning. So, it won't be all that bad. I'll get some down time to heal and not have to go back to day one.
In other news, our drill sergeants have finally trusted some of the group with a little bit of leadership. They've divided the platoon up into four squads, each with a squad leader and chosen a platoon guide. We've already seen one platoon guide fired (within about 20 minutes of getting the job actually) but the guy we've got now is actually doing ok with things.
The squad leader ( at least, the female ones) aren't doing so hot though. They are doing a really great job at over managing things. Ours last night asked me about 7 times if I had my uniform ready for the morning. I finally explained that I was dressing myself before she was born (she's a whopping 17) and dressing in uniform for about 3 weeks now I've got it covered. I think I offended her a little but, darn it, she didn't ask me any more!
I do think that, ultimately she'll do really well. She seems like a very smart girl and interacts fairly well with people. I'd say that after a couple days of spending all her free time doing excessive prep. suff, she'll get a clue and do a lot better.
Living with all of these females is still drama, drama, drama. Our one major drama queen sprained her ankle yesterday which, as I'm sure you can imagine, was such a major catastrophe in the world. Sometimes it gets so ridiculous here that you wonder if it can be real. That was one of those times.
I'm getting pretty tired of being a gimp. I have to ride in a big 'cattle truck' when the group marches anywhere and the other 'injured' folks, for the most part really, really sucks. I'm 100% that most of them are faking their injures and almost all of them are looking for ways to go home. When I tell them that the doc things I have a fracture their yes light up and they jealously tell me that, if it's bad enough, I could get to go home! It's like they're jealous because the doctor only gave them the diagnosis of mild inflammation due to over use of something that with a recovery time that is equally as short. There is one guy that's trying to get our for being crazy. They took away his shoe laces so he can't march.
5/12
Well, here I am on fireguard gain. I'm actually not supposed to have fireguard tonight but the girl that is in charge of getting the schedule done is really an idiot and she keeps getting the thing all screwed up. At first I though that she was messing it up on purpose to give herself better shifts but her's are as bad (maybe a little worse) than everyone else's, so I'm not sure that she's just really, really dumb.
We actually went to the range and fired our M-16s for the first time. Today we are grouping; that is, trying to get 6 shots in a 4 cm radius anywhere on the target. Tomorrow we will zero. I was excited to get to shoot but then, after getting to the range, realized that good shooters wouldn't get much actual shooting time.
We fired an initial 6 rounds and continued with 3 more untill we had 6 round groups. I fired my first 6 with 4 in a group and two thrown away. I fired the next 3 in a tight group just to the left of the original. After checking the target, the drill sergeant asked if I'd ever shot before. I said yes and he told me that if I didn't quit wasting ammo playing around and group he'd make sure I got good and scuffed up when we came back from the range.
There might be something to that 'drill sergeants have seen all the tricks before' thing. Even though I was tempted to keep throwing it so I could keep shooting, I grouped with my next 3 rounds and, in the 7 1/2 hours we were there today I fired a total fo 12 rounds. Awesome!
5/15
I've got a nice cold or flu or something. I ran a fever all night last night but I do feel better today. My fever is gone and, while I've still got some congestion, I fell more like a normal person.
Last night was pretty funny. Drill Sgt. ( the one that reminds me of Daniel ) told us a bunch of ghost stories about things he swears hav happened to him in our barracks. So of course, everyone was completely terrified all night long. Twice I woke up to people asking other people to to go the latrine with them so they don't have to go alone. And mind you, the latrine is directly across the hall from our sleeping bay - a good six feet away. Although, I'll have to admit that I did almost crap my pants when I turned around in the latrine and saw our fire guard standing there. I didn't hear her come in at all and she was wearing a reflective vest that was glowing in the dim light.
Right now I'm waiting at sick call for someone to finish so that I can go back to the barracks I had physical therapy this morning and have been done for a half hour or so, but I have to waith for a 'battle buddy' to go with me. The battle buddy system in pretty frustrating, but I understand the reasoning behind it. So I guess it's all good.
One of the platoons in our company got a new drill sergeant that is actually kind of mean that called a couple of kids fat and lazy ( they are! ) and told one girl she was a useless piece of crap. All the whiners in the company have been complaining every since.
Ok this is a weird place to end a letter, but I'm doing it just so I can send it off.
LOVE
J
Okay, I can't remember what the last I wrote to you was about. Just ignore anything that is repeated. I think that I wrote you the last info sometime last week. Since then I've done the gas chamber ( not that bad ) and the repel ( nowhere near as fun as climbing).
I'm pretty sure that you haven't heard anything about the latest injury news. I went to physical therapy doc on Tuesday and she recommended an even longer profile and I'm also required to go to physical therapy 3x a week in the mornings instead of regular PT with the platoon. At this point there is pretty much no doubt that I will be pulled from training and new started in a little over a week. The one really good thing about that is that I'm staying with Alpha 2-10 through our rifle qualification. As long as I can hit 23 out of 40 targets (no, really - that's it!) and qualify with the M-16, I can start with a new bunch that has also completed the marksmanship ( which means they'd be in week 4) instead of all the way back at the beginning. So, it won't be all that bad. I'll get some down time to heal and not have to go back to day one.
In other news, our drill sergeants have finally trusted some of the group with a little bit of leadership. They've divided the platoon up into four squads, each with a squad leader and chosen a platoon guide. We've already seen one platoon guide fired (within about 20 minutes of getting the job actually) but the guy we've got now is actually doing ok with things.
The squad leader ( at least, the female ones) aren't doing so hot though. They are doing a really great job at over managing things. Ours last night asked me about 7 times if I had my uniform ready for the morning. I finally explained that I was dressing myself before she was born (she's a whopping 17) and dressing in uniform for about 3 weeks now I've got it covered. I think I offended her a little but, darn it, she didn't ask me any more!
I do think that, ultimately she'll do really well. She seems like a very smart girl and interacts fairly well with people. I'd say that after a couple days of spending all her free time doing excessive prep. suff, she'll get a clue and do a lot better.
Living with all of these females is still drama, drama, drama. Our one major drama queen sprained her ankle yesterday which, as I'm sure you can imagine, was such a major catastrophe in the world. Sometimes it gets so ridiculous here that you wonder if it can be real. That was one of those times.
I'm getting pretty tired of being a gimp. I have to ride in a big 'cattle truck' when the group marches anywhere and the other 'injured' folks, for the most part really, really sucks. I'm 100% that most of them are faking their injures and almost all of them are looking for ways to go home. When I tell them that the doc things I have a fracture their yes light up and they jealously tell me that, if it's bad enough, I could get to go home! It's like they're jealous because the doctor only gave them the diagnosis of mild inflammation due to over use of something that with a recovery time that is equally as short. There is one guy that's trying to get our for being crazy. They took away his shoe laces so he can't march.
5/12
Well, here I am on fireguard gain. I'm actually not supposed to have fireguard tonight but the girl that is in charge of getting the schedule done is really an idiot and she keeps getting the thing all screwed up. At first I though that she was messing it up on purpose to give herself better shifts but her's are as bad (maybe a little worse) than everyone else's, so I'm not sure that she's just really, really dumb.
We actually went to the range and fired our M-16s for the first time. Today we are grouping; that is, trying to get 6 shots in a 4 cm radius anywhere on the target. Tomorrow we will zero. I was excited to get to shoot but then, after getting to the range, realized that good shooters wouldn't get much actual shooting time.
We fired an initial 6 rounds and continued with 3 more untill we had 6 round groups. I fired my first 6 with 4 in a group and two thrown away. I fired the next 3 in a tight group just to the left of the original. After checking the target, the drill sergeant asked if I'd ever shot before. I said yes and he told me that if I didn't quit wasting ammo playing around and group he'd make sure I got good and scuffed up when we came back from the range.
There might be something to that 'drill sergeants have seen all the tricks before' thing. Even though I was tempted to keep throwing it so I could keep shooting, I grouped with my next 3 rounds and, in the 7 1/2 hours we were there today I fired a total fo 12 rounds. Awesome!
5/15
I've got a nice cold or flu or something. I ran a fever all night last night but I do feel better today. My fever is gone and, while I've still got some congestion, I fell more like a normal person.
Last night was pretty funny. Drill Sgt. ( the one that reminds me of Daniel ) told us a bunch of ghost stories about things he swears hav happened to him in our barracks. So of course, everyone was completely terrified all night long. Twice I woke up to people asking other people to to go the latrine with them so they don't have to go alone. And mind you, the latrine is directly across the hall from our sleeping bay - a good six feet away. Although, I'll have to admit that I did almost crap my pants when I turned around in the latrine and saw our fire guard standing there. I didn't hear her come in at all and she was wearing a reflective vest that was glowing in the dim light.
Right now I'm waiting at sick call for someone to finish so that I can go back to the barracks I had physical therapy this morning and have been done for a half hour or so, but I have to waith for a 'battle buddy' to go with me. The battle buddy system in pretty frustrating, but I understand the reasoning behind it. So I guess it's all good.
One of the platoons in our company got a new drill sergeant that is actually kind of mean that called a couple of kids fat and lazy ( they are! ) and told one girl she was a useless piece of crap. All the whiners in the company have been complaining every since.
Ok this is a weird place to end a letter, but I'm doing it just so I can send it off.
LOVE
J
Friday, May 11, 2007
Received May 10, 2007
Jecca says:
So, today is day 4 of REAL basic training and day 11 since I actually arrived at Ft. Leonard Wood. When I first arrived we spent a week in reception doing paperwork and getting shots and standing in lines a lot. It pretty much sucked - real hard. The most exciting part was this 36 year old woman that was all crazy. She couldn't carry her own bags or eat without assistance or stay awake - even when being tapped over and over again.
But she didn’t' come to real basic with us, so it's all good. It's kind of hard here but not really what I expected. The hardest part - by far - is dealing with all these females with attitudes a whole lot bigger than, um, something really big. Like a blue whale. It's been very frustrating for me to deal with people that are just rude or mean - not because it really upsets me or hurts my feelings, but because there's no reason for it. The drill sergeants have to be mean to us, so why should we be mean to each other and make it that much worse, you know?
I honestly really like my drill sergeants a lot. I guess that sounds kind of weird, but it's true. I have one male and one female in charge of our platoon. They are both very knowledgeable and fair.
Today isn't a good day for me so far. It's not even 6:30 yet, though, so I'm hoping it's going to get a lot better. I came to sick call this morning because I was told that I could come and get some ibuprofen and Neosporin and immediately go back and not miss any training. I have scrapes on my hand from the pull up bar and we're going on our first field exercise in a few days so I felt like it would be very important to get the stuff.
I am very glad that I'm not seriously injured. though and I've almost finished my first full week which means I only have eight and some change to go. I'm really struggling with my upper body strength. It's very frustrating for me because when we do PT using bags or our rifles or something I can do more reps than all the girls and many of the guys but when it comes to push-ups I can barely push my own weight. I do push-ups and sit ups every night on my personal time on top of the ones we do throughout the day but I haven't seen any improvement so far and I don't know what to do.
Ok I've made it to sick call. My ankle is extremely painful this morning - i can barely walk. It does feel a little better with my boots on. I'm really afraid that I have a stress fracture. That would make it a very real possibility that I'd have to start all this crap all over.
So far I would have to say that this is probably my worst birthday ever, but really in the grand scheme of things its isn't that bad at all. Plus I even got time to eat three of the little chocolate covered mini donuts at breakfast. I got a pack of six but didn't finish them fast enough. That was almost like birthday cake. There are about 110 people in line ahead of me so I'll probably be here for lunch and that means I'll get a nutritious and delicious (ha!) MRE for lunch. Super Duper Yay!
Today is officially the fist day of my second week. 8 weeks is a lot better than 9 to go, and hopefully I can recuperate every quickly, stay on schedule and go on to Texas.
<3 J
So, today is day 4 of REAL basic training and day 11 since I actually arrived at Ft. Leonard Wood. When I first arrived we spent a week in reception doing paperwork and getting shots and standing in lines a lot. It pretty much sucked - real hard. The most exciting part was this 36 year old woman that was all crazy. She couldn't carry her own bags or eat without assistance or stay awake - even when being tapped over and over again.
But she didn’t' come to real basic with us, so it's all good. It's kind of hard here but not really what I expected. The hardest part - by far - is dealing with all these females with attitudes a whole lot bigger than, um, something really big. Like a blue whale. It's been very frustrating for me to deal with people that are just rude or mean - not because it really upsets me or hurts my feelings, but because there's no reason for it. The drill sergeants have to be mean to us, so why should we be mean to each other and make it that much worse, you know?
I honestly really like my drill sergeants a lot. I guess that sounds kind of weird, but it's true. I have one male and one female in charge of our platoon. They are both very knowledgeable and fair.
Today isn't a good day for me so far. It's not even 6:30 yet, though, so I'm hoping it's going to get a lot better. I came to sick call this morning because I was told that I could come and get some ibuprofen and Neosporin and immediately go back and not miss any training. I have scrapes on my hand from the pull up bar and we're going on our first field exercise in a few days so I felt like it would be very important to get the stuff.
I am very glad that I'm not seriously injured. though and I've almost finished my first full week which means I only have eight and some change to go. I'm really struggling with my upper body strength. It's very frustrating for me because when we do PT using bags or our rifles or something I can do more reps than all the girls and many of the guys but when it comes to push-ups I can barely push my own weight. I do push-ups and sit ups every night on my personal time on top of the ones we do throughout the day but I haven't seen any improvement so far and I don't know what to do.
Ok I've made it to sick call. My ankle is extremely painful this morning - i can barely walk. It does feel a little better with my boots on. I'm really afraid that I have a stress fracture. That would make it a very real possibility that I'd have to start all this crap all over.
So far I would have to say that this is probably my worst birthday ever, but really in the grand scheme of things its isn't that bad at all. Plus I even got time to eat three of the little chocolate covered mini donuts at breakfast. I got a pack of six but didn't finish them fast enough. That was almost like birthday cake. There are about 110 people in line ahead of me so I'll probably be here for lunch and that means I'll get a nutritious and delicious (ha!) MRE for lunch. Super Duper Yay!
Today is officially the fist day of my second week. 8 weeks is a lot better than 9 to go, and hopefully I can recuperate every quickly, stay on schedule and go on to Texas.
<3 J
Friday, May 4, 2007
Received May 03, 2007
Jecca says.
I'm exhausted and will write more later. I literly haven't time to do shit and today (Sunday) was supposed to be king of laid back. Yeah, right!
<3
J
(She also put her address so email me if'in you want it. becky.smecky@gmail)
I'm exhausted and will write more later. I literly haven't time to do shit and today (Sunday) was supposed to be king of laid back. Yeah, right!
<3
J
(She also put her address so email me if'in you want it. becky.smecky@gmail)
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Today's the Day!
I'm out, kids. Have fun and behave -- I'll miss you all bunches and bunches.
I'll have my phone until sometime tomorrow night. I'll have e-mail until this afternoon. If I was supposed to do something with/for you before leaving, and I haven't talked to you about it, I've forgotten it completely and you really oughta remind me all quick-like. I'm kind of thinking that all those loose ends are tied up at this point -- if not, let me know!
Mucho Love!
MWAH!!!
j.
PS. If you're able, please stop by my mom's house and play with my dog every once in a while. I (and Ratchet) would appreciate it oh-so-much!!! Plus, my mom will probably give you cookies or something.
I'll have my phone until sometime tomorrow night. I'll have e-mail until this afternoon. If I was supposed to do something with/for you before leaving, and I haven't talked to you about it, I've forgotten it completely and you really oughta remind me all quick-like. I'm kind of thinking that all those loose ends are tied up at this point -- if not, let me know!
Mucho Love!
MWAH!!!
j.
PS. If you're able, please stop by my mom's house and play with my dog every once in a while. I (and Ratchet) would appreciate it oh-so-much!!! Plus, my mom will probably give you cookies or something.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Ship date changed
I injured my ankle just before I was supposed to ship. I saw an Army doc on Friday and he said I couldn't go until after the 11th. They plugged that into the computer and came up with a new ship date of April 19th. Everything else is the same.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
What I'm doing, where I'm going, etc.
I am leaving Wednesday, March 28th, bound for Fort Leonard Wood, MO, for basic training. Basic training is 9 weeks long, plus an initial reception period typically ranging from 4 days to 2 weeks.
From there, I will head to Fort Sam Houston (San Antonio, TX) to train for Army MOS 68W, Healthcare Specialist. This training will last 16 weeks.
I will be entering the Army as an E3--Private First Class. I have signed a contract for four years of active duty with eight years total commitment. I do not know where I'll be going after my training is completed.
From there, I will head to Fort Sam Houston (San Antonio, TX) to train for Army MOS 68W, Healthcare Specialist. This training will last 16 weeks.
I will be entering the Army as an E3--Private First Class. I have signed a contract for four years of active duty with eight years total commitment. I do not know where I'll be going after my training is completed.
How this blog will work
This blog will be updated while I'm in basic training. Since I'm so lucky to have lots of wonderful people in my life that are interested in how I'm doing, and since I'm unsure how much free time I will have to write everyone letters, I will be sending regular updates for everyone to my friend Becky (a super-rockstar), who has agreed to type and post them for me, and for you.
I have no idea how frequently I will be able to send things so, unfortunately, I can't give you an estimate about how frequently you should check back.
If you would like to send me letters while I'm in basic, I need your address before I go. I will get my mailing address after I'm there, which I will then send to you. I would LOVE to hear from everyone, of course, so send me your address to me at jeccaj@gmail.com now!
I have no idea how frequently I will be able to send things so, unfortunately, I can't give you an estimate about how frequently you should check back.
If you would like to send me letters while I'm in basic, I need your address before I go. I will get my mailing address after I'm there, which I will then send to you. I would LOVE to hear from everyone, of course, so send me your address to me at jeccaj@gmail.com now!
The WHY...
Well, it's hard to explain and it's complicated. Everyone wants to know why and I have a difficult time articulating my reasons.
I do love my country and my freedom and all of those wonderful things. I feel so incredibly lucky to have a life like mine; I've had the opportunity to travel and see and do amazing things, I have so many positive and inspiring people in my life, and I have the freedom to make choices about the direction my life will take, for better or worse. The last part is probably the thing I'm the most thankful for.
I've been told time and time again, starting at a very young age, that I can be anything I want. While it's easy to get caught up in obstacles and discouraged as you try to be whatever it is you want, I do believe that that message, found in everything from Dr. Seuss books to college brochures to Army propaganda, really is true. We have the freedom to learn and grow and, while we may not all be successful in our quests to be astronauts or the President of the World, we have the freedom to be the people that we want to be on all the important levels. We can be good people -- helping others, speaking out and working for things we believe in, learning about things we are interested in, and pursuing the way of life that will make us happiest -- without fear.
While I do love all the ideals of peace and harmony and buying the whole world a puppy, I understand that people naturally struggle for power. The US is a wonderful place to live and, while there are certainly huge problems with corruption and waste and apathy and a million other things, we, as American citizens, have the ability to change things for the better and that power is huge. I believe that preserving a country that gives its people so much is certainly worth a fight and personal sacrifice.
I do not care to discuss my personal feelings about the war in Iraq. I am not joining the military because of my personal feelings about the war in Iraq. Regardless of my personal feelings, the chosen leaders of this country have made the decision that it is essential to our nation that we fight this war. I understand that joining the Army comes with a big chance that I'll get orders to go and fight and, while that comes with risk on many levels, I am comfortable with the risk.
I have a close relationship with a few individuals that have, and are currently, giving a lot of themselves to the military. Seeing some of the things that they are going through does horrify me on some levels, and I am so appreciative that they are still willing to stand strong in the force that is crucial to protecting the strength and personal freedoms that I enjoy so much, despite the crap they have to do and see and deal with.
In addition to being appreciative for their service, I also feel a bit selfish for being, up to this point, unwilling to offer anything of myself to support our military. I am strong; I am physically and mentally able. I can do it, but I haven't.
I understand that the this may sound very naive and overly idealistic. Maybe I am naive and overly idealistic. I may have a very different story to tell four years from now. I may have a very different story to tell two weeks from now. I'm fully aware of that possibility.
There's one more huge reason, though, that I'm doing this that is even more difficult for me to convey to others. In all the things I've done, I've seen some really, really screwed up stuff happening to people in our country (to put it as nicely as I can). I saw these things most profoundly in Mississippi, after Katrina. If I were to start explaining the ways that my time on the coast shook me to the core, I would be writing this all night and I still wouldn't be able to convey it well.
I want to change things, at least a little bit. I feel that the best leaders are the people that are willing to put others before themselves. Military service will hopefully be a stepping stone to place me in a position to do things that I want to do. The training, experience, and whatever sacrifices I may make, for better or worse, will hopefully play a large part in my future success.
And, you know, there's also the Travel and Adventure that my recruiter keeps telling me about!
I do love my country and my freedom and all of those wonderful things. I feel so incredibly lucky to have a life like mine; I've had the opportunity to travel and see and do amazing things, I have so many positive and inspiring people in my life, and I have the freedom to make choices about the direction my life will take, for better or worse. The last part is probably the thing I'm the most thankful for.
I've been told time and time again, starting at a very young age, that I can be anything I want. While it's easy to get caught up in obstacles and discouraged as you try to be whatever it is you want, I do believe that that message, found in everything from Dr. Seuss books to college brochures to Army propaganda, really is true. We have the freedom to learn and grow and, while we may not all be successful in our quests to be astronauts or the President of the World, we have the freedom to be the people that we want to be on all the important levels. We can be good people -- helping others, speaking out and working for things we believe in, learning about things we are interested in, and pursuing the way of life that will make us happiest -- without fear.
While I do love all the ideals of peace and harmony and buying the whole world a puppy, I understand that people naturally struggle for power. The US is a wonderful place to live and, while there are certainly huge problems with corruption and waste and apathy and a million other things, we, as American citizens, have the ability to change things for the better and that power is huge. I believe that preserving a country that gives its people so much is certainly worth a fight and personal sacrifice.
I do not care to discuss my personal feelings about the war in Iraq. I am not joining the military because of my personal feelings about the war in Iraq. Regardless of my personal feelings, the chosen leaders of this country have made the decision that it is essential to our nation that we fight this war. I understand that joining the Army comes with a big chance that I'll get orders to go and fight and, while that comes with risk on many levels, I am comfortable with the risk.
I have a close relationship with a few individuals that have, and are currently, giving a lot of themselves to the military. Seeing some of the things that they are going through does horrify me on some levels, and I am so appreciative that they are still willing to stand strong in the force that is crucial to protecting the strength and personal freedoms that I enjoy so much, despite the crap they have to do and see and deal with.
In addition to being appreciative for their service, I also feel a bit selfish for being, up to this point, unwilling to offer anything of myself to support our military. I am strong; I am physically and mentally able. I can do it, but I haven't.
I understand that the this may sound very naive and overly idealistic. Maybe I am naive and overly idealistic. I may have a very different story to tell four years from now. I may have a very different story to tell two weeks from now. I'm fully aware of that possibility.
There's one more huge reason, though, that I'm doing this that is even more difficult for me to convey to others. In all the things I've done, I've seen some really, really screwed up stuff happening to people in our country (to put it as nicely as I can). I saw these things most profoundly in Mississippi, after Katrina. If I were to start explaining the ways that my time on the coast shook me to the core, I would be writing this all night and I still wouldn't be able to convey it well.
I want to change things, at least a little bit. I feel that the best leaders are the people that are willing to put others before themselves. Military service will hopefully be a stepping stone to place me in a position to do things that I want to do. The training, experience, and whatever sacrifices I may make, for better or worse, will hopefully play a large part in my future success.
And, you know, there's also the Travel and Adventure that my recruiter keeps telling me about!
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