The daily grind...

Hello again,


   I originally planned to chronicle the events and adventures of these last three weeks.  However, I didn't account for the toll this high speed, low drag training would take on my energy.  So, as this evolution comes to its end, I thiught I'd share some random thoughts and observations with you all. Please forgive me as this will likely be a random stream of consciousness. I will try to keep this one focused on an average day here in training.

     About half of our days here are spent on the range or out in the woods for training of some sort.  You wake up really early and drag about 60 lbs of gear to the classroom.  There, you are served a lukewarm breakfast of eggs, meat product and grits.  I ate cereal bars most mornings.  (Thank you Jennifer - those were a lifesaver)  Then you carry your 60 lbs of gear out to the grinder (Navy term for what most of you would call a parking lot without parking spaces).  You muster and then carry your 60lbs of gear onto the bus. 
   Now, I'm pretty certain Ethopians wouldn't be able to fit on this bus.  The seats are munchkin sized and the aisles more narrow than Southwest's airplane aisles.  Since the seats are about the width of one ass cheek and we have our Ninja Turtle outershells on, you are left with oh...about 4 inches of aisle space in which to maneuver.  Fortunately, we all get to share in the joy of being hit in the face with either the butt of a rifle, someone's body armor or backpack.  To add to the fun, don't forget we have velcro pasted on the entire uniform so we get to stick to our shipmates as we pass them.  It really does kind of enhance the overall experience.
    Once we load the bus and arrive at our destination, we carry our gear usually to bleachers.  Then we set it down and await further instruction.  Often, we pick the gear back up a few minutes later and put it all on.  Then we conduct training until lunch.  At lunch, we remove our gear and get our choice of MRE (they stopped putting a bottle of hot sauce in them..that is just cruel) and sit in the grass to eat the tasty meal.  After lunch, we put our gear on and continue training.  There is a lot of down time due to the logistics of it all.  If you have 16 shooting lanes and 90 people who need to shoot, it's gonna take awhile.  We spend most of this time taking off our gear, hiding from the sun, trying not to get caught with our cell phones and bullshitting the day away.  If there's a nice breeze, I try to take a nap but it rarely works out for me.
    When the training evolution is complete, we take our 60lbs of gear back on the bus and ride home.  Then, we haul our gear and put it into our barracks and usually reconvene in the classroom.  We clean weapons, conduct classroom training and generally drive our Drill Sergeants nuts.  It's not intentional but Sailors can't do anything without asking why nor can we do anything without pointing out the 20 different ways we think it should be done.
     My day typically ends with a stellar meal at the galley, laundry, more weapons cleaning and preparing for the next day.  Before I know it; it's time to start all over again.