Day by Day

It's amazing how quickly time flies when you take it one day at a time. After next week we enter "Senior Phase" where we get many more privileges, such as cell phone usage in the barracks and other nice things like that.

Yesterday we did a 7 mile ruck march. We used more gear this time than previously. It seems like anything past 5-6 miles starts to become work....and anything over 10 is uncomfortable....while 15+ is just miserable. At least this time we had someone in leadership who made a point to check out everyones feet afterward and he sent a few to sick call the next morning for blisters and pulled muscles. Many of those are the same people who had issues with the PT test when they arrived. So there's more to it than just passing the test, it also shows that you are in shape enough to get through the class without greater injury. The rest of the day was more classes....nothing terribly exciting.

This morning we did some Medicine Ball exercises for PT and then we loaded up on buses to move out and do a "Recon" of an area that we are to defend on paper. This is all part of the classes on Operations and troop leading procedures. Unfortunately there was heavy rain all last night and the buses were sliding on the dirt roads getting out there. When we disembarked it really started to pore down. We walked about 2km to the point where we were to do the exercise and they called it off due to lightning and the fact that if we waited much longer the buses would not be able to make it back. We did not quit because it was wet and cold, but merely out of safety concerns. So after wasting the morning we were back in classes the rest of the day.

Tomorrow morning we are doing another obstacle course, this should be fun since it will be filled with mud. In this course we are going through in teams of 8-10 so it is another one where the leaders will be judged on their abilities.

I'm still waiting to see which branch I will get, I'd really like to know so I can concentrate in a certain area and perhaps make some plans past the next 60 days.