Yes! We finally got it! After our third excruciating week of SINCGARS, we had a half-day Friday. Instead our usual lunch, we had a little batallion party on Barton Field. It was kind of dumb, because they had about 600 privates trying to get thru 2 lines for food in as little time as possible. Lucky me, I was near the front. By the time I was done (and I was taking my time), they'd gotten about half the others thru the line. But after lunch, they did have a Drill & Ceremony marching demonstration that was pretty cool.
Anyway, after we got back from that, they finally handed out our badges. It's a wonderful feeling having that little laminated piece of orange paper. We're allowed to stay out all of Saturday night and Sunday morning now, as well as move around without a battle buddy attached to our hips. I didn't go off post this weekend, seeing as I'm broke, but it's a feeling of status. As a Phase 4, you are the newbie; as a Phase 5, you tell the newbies how it is and how to survive here. Now that I'm 5+, I don't even see newbies - they're just specks of dirt on my civilian shoes. Not literally, I still help them out, but it feels like I'm old and experienced and important. I can't wait until next weekend to get paid and use some of these well-earned privileges!
No comments:
Post a Comment