Last night I went to the recruiter's office for the weekly DEP meeting, as usual. Only this time, someone actually wanted to do something more than run around the block.
Sgt. Shivers felt the need to show us some real PT, so he put the 6 of us in formation, got our streches in, and proceeded with a push-up exercise. It went something like this; 10 regular push-ups, 10 with your hands forming a daimond, and 10 wide-arm. Then proceed to 9 of each, then 8, etc. etc., down to 1 of each. At 7, we started doing these on a hill, facing downward.
By the time we got to 6, I was basically being hauled up and down by my partner. He looked like the guy who's been training for the service since he was 10 years old, so he didn't even break a sweat. I, on the other hand, was just looking to finish (being lifted up and down) without vomiting. And this is why I'm a radio guy.
When I got home, I slept. By 7:30 I was out cold. On the bright side, I'm not too incredibly sore. I've got a lot of work to do!
(P.S., no I haven't gots my email about THE BOOK)
39 Days until I ship
Friday, April 22, 2005
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Benedryl
Arrrg... Benedryl sleep... setting in...
Must get something useful done... must not sleep...
Must get something useful done... must not sleep...
Allergy Season Ho!
I've been sneezing my head off the last couple of days. It wouldn't be so bad if my body would actually decide to sneeze every time!
Everything's been pretty normal lately. I had drill this past weekend, which was fun as always. We moved some shelving, built some shelving, packed field bags, put covers on kevlar helmets. Nothing too horrible. On some of our downtime, I was able to get Sgt. Pursley and Sgt. Faughn to sign off on my DEP checklist. If I can learn all of the skills on the checklist and get them signed off before I ship to basic, I can get an automatic promotion. At this point, that just means I earn more money. I doubt if basic will be any easier because of it. The only skills on the checklist I may not be able to complete before basic are the physical fitness tests: 42 pushups in 2 minutes, 53 full sit-ups in 2 minutes, and 2 miles in under 15:54. I can't complete any of those right now.
School's normal. I think everyone got spring fever right about Monday, because nobody's been able to focus. Just 3 weeks left.
41 days until I ship.
Everything's been pretty normal lately. I had drill this past weekend, which was fun as always. We moved some shelving, built some shelving, packed field bags, put covers on kevlar helmets. Nothing too horrible. On some of our downtime, I was able to get Sgt. Pursley and Sgt. Faughn to sign off on my DEP checklist. If I can learn all of the skills on the checklist and get them signed off before I ship to basic, I can get an automatic promotion. At this point, that just means I earn more money. I doubt if basic will be any easier because of it. The only skills on the checklist I may not be able to complete before basic are the physical fitness tests: 42 pushups in 2 minutes, 53 full sit-ups in 2 minutes, and 2 miles in under 15:54. I can't complete any of those right now.
School's normal. I think everyone got spring fever right about Monday, because nobody's been able to focus. Just 3 weeks left.
41 days until I ship.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Second drill weekend
From journal entry:
2nd drill weekend. Most of the unit is going to Ft. Carson for weapons qualification, but us DEP soldiers got left behind. There's a new guy, Pvt. Dixit. I think he's from India. On Friday we actually kept relatively busy for a change; Sgt. Vidmar had us cleaning closets as usual. When we finished too early, he had us start on one of the storage cages. It had a whole bunch of shelving parts in it. Vaughn, Whittier, Dixit and I moved those out, again quicker than expected. Last part of the day we moved a safe.
Saturday, we started building shelves in an empty storage cage. We were joined by Pvt. Faith and a female specialist, an MP who's transferring to a different unit on Fitzsimons. After that, lots of waiting. Sgt. Pursley and Sgt. Faughn helped me with my DEP checklist. I found out 1SG Rusher retired, and Sgt. Vidmar is assuming the post next drill. Damn! I really liked Rusher; Vidmar, not as much.
Sunday was really boring. Pvt. Hollmann and I quizzed each other. When the main body of the unit got back, we helped them unload. We put covers on kevlar helmets, inventoried TA50 sacks, and put them on the new shelves. We did some marching, and each of the DEP privates took a turn at leading drill. Boring.
2nd drill weekend. Most of the unit is going to Ft. Carson for weapons qualification, but us DEP soldiers got left behind. There's a new guy, Pvt. Dixit. I think he's from India. On Friday we actually kept relatively busy for a change; Sgt. Vidmar had us cleaning closets as usual. When we finished too early, he had us start on one of the storage cages. It had a whole bunch of shelving parts in it. Vaughn, Whittier, Dixit and I moved those out, again quicker than expected. Last part of the day we moved a safe.
Saturday, we started building shelves in an empty storage cage. We were joined by Pvt. Faith and a female specialist, an MP who's transferring to a different unit on Fitzsimons. After that, lots of waiting. Sgt. Pursley and Sgt. Faughn helped me with my DEP checklist. I found out 1SG Rusher retired, and Sgt. Vidmar is assuming the post next drill. Damn! I really liked Rusher; Vidmar, not as much.
Sunday was really boring. Pvt. Hollmann and I quizzed each other. When the main body of the unit got back, we helped them unload. We put covers on kevlar helmets, inventoried TA50 sacks, and put them on the new shelves. We did some marching, and each of the DEP privates took a turn at leading drill. Boring.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Personality Test
| ISTJ - "Trustee". Decisiveness in practical affairs. Guardian of time- honored institutions. Dependable. 11.6% of total population. |
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
First Library Time... Ever
I never knew library time was so liberating! Not that the machines in here are really exciting; they're so far locked down I'm surprised I can use the keyboard AND mouse! And the network's also closed, so unless I'm sneaky I can't hook up my laptop. That's ok, I've still got my precious internet.
Things are good. Nothing new in school, except the end of semester is fast approaching.
I did end up telling Ashley about the schedule crisis, and she looked a little teary-eyed, but I suspect she saved the real breakdown until she got home and went to bed. She's glad to know, and I think she's actually a little excited about the preparations. It means she gets to go shopping for stationery and not feel guilty (or get in trouble)!
Things are good. Nothing new in school, except the end of semester is fast approaching.
I did end up telling Ashley about the schedule crisis, and she looked a little teary-eyed, but I suspect she saved the real breakdown until she got home and went to bed. She's glad to know, and I think she's actually a little excited about the preparations. It means she gets to go shopping for stationery and not feel guilty (or get in trouble)!
Saturday, April 2, 2005
Travel Plans
I got some... sad news, and I don't know if I want to tell Ashley now or sort of sneak it in as a stunning revelation later.
I looked a little more closely at the dates the Army set down for Basic and AIT. I ship to Ft. Jackson on 31 May, but I don't actually start Basic until 10 June. Basic is supposed to be 9 weeks; if it's exactly 9 weeks, I'll be done 12 August. After that, AIT is slated to start 15 August. That leaves me Saturday and Sunday, assuming I can leave the 12th and travel back to Ft. Gordon GA on the 15th.
Not only that, but if AIT lasts exactly 18 weeks like its supposed to, it'll be over 19 December. I don't know, but I hear the Army is notorious for pushing back travel until after major holidays.
I don't know if I want to tell Ashley now or not. I'd rather be told immediately so I could plan accordingly, but knowing Ashley she'll get emotional and fret and worry no matter when I tell her, so perhaps its better to tell her later and give her less time to worry. Any suggestions?
I guess I'm lucky nothing's set in stone yet, but it sure would be nice to know what the Army has planned for me.
I looked a little more closely at the dates the Army set down for Basic and AIT. I ship to Ft. Jackson on 31 May, but I don't actually start Basic until 10 June. Basic is supposed to be 9 weeks; if it's exactly 9 weeks, I'll be done 12 August. After that, AIT is slated to start 15 August. That leaves me Saturday and Sunday, assuming I can leave the 12th and travel back to Ft. Gordon GA on the 15th.
Not only that, but if AIT lasts exactly 18 weeks like its supposed to, it'll be over 19 December. I don't know, but I hear the Army is notorious for pushing back travel until after major holidays.
I don't know if I want to tell Ashley now or not. I'd rather be told immediately so I could plan accordingly, but knowing Ashley she'll get emotional and fret and worry no matter when I tell her, so perhaps its better to tell her later and give her less time to worry. Any suggestions?
I guess I'm lucky nothing's set in stone yet, but it sure would be nice to know what the Army has planned for me.
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