What I should've said to my students at some point on Thursday: Don't focus on how you may have it worse than others, nor how you may have it better. Looking at others' fortune in comparison to your own situation can almost always be balanced (or unbalanced) by those who are less fortunate than you. Instead, deal with the reality of your own current situation and overcome the challenges in front of you. There are those who would say that we've been playing at war this past week; I'd s...

Woah. I'm beat. Grenade assault course. MOUT training. Pretty good stuff, but there were some... issues. I'm not going to get into it, nor into the interpersonal drama amongst the students, but instead give you a 'me' update. I did not break my arm. It's just a really really deep bruise that makes it look like my forearm is deformed. I think I doubled the number of bruises I had just from today. The cactus needles are still there, just pretty much broken off down to the s...

I've been getting too much sun this week. I feel a bit beat down, but I'm convinced that I'm looking more tone up top from carrying around the 40lb ruck (much less rucking for me the past few days; we decided to let the student leadership actually lead, which requires us to back off a bit). I'm not starving myself, but I am intaking less calories than I'm using... although it's hard to tell for sure since I had Burger King for lunch (self-imposed 1/2 hour lunch break; the students had 2 ...

4 mile run around a local campsite. Breakfast was an egg and an egg substitute, tall glass of milk with a scoop of protein powder. We met up with the troops at the classroom and ran down some First Aid techniques. Buddy carries were demonstrated and executed and, by the time I got back from a thing, they were running walk-throughs of react to direct fire (near/far ambush). Up next was search/seizure skills and we broke for lunch. Man, the chow hall still sucks. I had insisted on n...

0500 PT, the gym. (Breakfast is two turkey sandwiches on wheat.) The students don't have a first formation until more than two hours later. We meet them later than that, review yesterday's information, and then tell them to move to a training site. SSG J asks me if he can bum a ride out there, and I inform him I planned on walking with the students. Not to be outdone, he grabs his gear and walks with me. (He was outdone, IMO, because my ruck weighed about 35lb more than his.) We corr...

The academic (technical competence) portion of the course is over, and I get to try my hand instructing something I've done far too little of: field craft (tactical competence). I was nearly giddy this afternoon as I put on my flak vest and load bearing equipment, and strapped my kevlar helmet onto my head. I'm reading ahead, as my practical knowledge (such as it was) has atrophied from long disuse. I realized that my copy of Field Manual 7-8 (Infantry Squad and Platoon) is over a decade...

1=8522">Link 8. Soldier Why it's everlasting : Even if world peace were a reality, there would still be a fear of future wars based on history. What it pays : The basic pay for enlisted personnel is an annual income of $14,137. The position also includes paid housing, food allowances, healthcare at little to no cost for the soldier and their family, extended vacation/leave, education stipends and additional incentives. Yes, I have job security (although take a look at the pa...

Damn, I'm lousy at this sport. My legs are shot, I haven't given myself time to recuperate, Every day has been something with my legs. If I go to the gym at all this weekend, I'm staying away from lower body entirely. Good workout, though. Good cardio. I just need to eat less.

So far, I've passed two PT tests and two weigh-ins/body fat tests, I've gotten 100% on three academic tests, and I haven't gone apeshit. Good deal. I need to start studying Arabic again, get this academic paper done this coming week, and figure out what to do with myself for the weekend. I need to buy those bunk beds and get them delivered ($900 later), and I still need some other things for the apartment. Geez, I guess BNCOC isn't that bad, I've just got a bunch of other stuff on my ...

They finally took it (fourth time's the charm!) so I don't have to buy a Gortex jacket. I wouldn't really want it, anyway. Don't get me wrong, they're nice, but soon enough I'll be switching to ACUs. SPC Gemstone pointed out that until the wear-out date for BDUs, you can pretty much mix-and-match ACU/BDU TA-50 and accessories. Just because it's in regs doesn't make it right . I clear the unit on Monday, and may also Final Out then as well. Might save it for Tuesday; there are still...

Everything went smoothly.. e-tool repainted, check. Gear laundered, check. But they didn't take the Gortex, even though I had laundered it. "The cuffs dirty, I can't issue dirty like this!" Spray + Wash, sit, scrub with a washcloth... I can't get it any cleaner. Going back for round 3... can't outprocess the unit until after CIF. May not be done until Monday now. Other news: I have a moving van reserved. SPC Whitebread is going to help me out tomorrow and Saturday getting the b...

They only kicked back 1/2 of what I tried to turn in: Gortex Wet Weather Pants Canteen Cover Canteen Canteen Cup First Aid Pouch Kevlar Cover Kevlar (So, I need to replace the webbing?) some other things And I forgot some things: Sweater Field Jacket Liner Pile Cap Coveralls (I have to turn these in?!? There's paint all over them now!) maybe something else And I felt too guilty to show them my Wet Weather Top. I think there's soda all over it, probably a Coke.

Our unit has been trying for awhile to laterally promote several Specialists to Corporal (an advancement which doesn't grant any extra pay, but makes them a junior Noncommissioned Officer). While this isn't supported by our TOE, our commander was able to justify it to higher command. After months of wrangling, it was finally approved for this month. As we sat in a POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harrasment) class in the conference room, one of the soldiers slated for recognition approached me...

I'm going to reenlist, possibly this week, maybe early January. It may depend on what the bonuses look like. It will depend on when the re-up NCO is available. Four years should max my bonus at $15k. GAFB, AIT instructor, which should nearly guarantee me SFC (E-7) within three years (as long as I get my records update, but I think Geezer can help me with that procedure). Things look very good for me professionally, and I'm excited about that. SFC Spadde will be ecstatic, but I'm goi...