Thursday, October 22, 2009

Into the Unknown

As promised, here is the link to my new blog that I will be writing in from now on. I hope you all enjoy. Please feel free to comment when ever. 

www.mikezaleuke2.blogspot.com 


Sunday, October 11, 2009

My happy ending (minus the sexual gratification)

 Today is Sunday October 12th and I am writing from the comforts of my home in Vero Beach Florida. As you can guess, I did in fact graduate (as expected lol) on October 9th from Ft. Benning and am now a full fledged Army Infantry Soldier. Here is what has happened over the last few days:
I re-read my entry on October 3rd a few minutes ago and it made me laugh a little. At the time when I wrote that entry, I was extremely frustrated and all I wanted to do was get the Hell out of there and back to my home in Florida. The Drill Sergeants on Sand Hill really know how to get under a person's skin and make them feel truly miserable at times. No matter how accomplished someone might feel, they will step in and knock you off of your pedestal where you will land backwards on your ass and feel as if you are lower than shit. That is exactly what they did to us over the past few days. After completing FTX and receiving our cross rifles, we in Delta Company 1-50 felt as if we had truly accomplished something and were on top of the world. We go back to our barracks and we were all in the mindset that we were actually done with all of our training and didn't have to put up with anymore bullshit from anyone. I mean, Hell...The meanest Drill Sergeants came up to me and shook my hand and congratulated me on a job well done and told us "Welcome to the Infantry Soldier." You can see why someone would think, " Hey...I've done it...They wont treat me like shit anymore. I'm a soldier now, and all I need to do now is turn in my shit now and head home." ....Not the case.
There are five phases that make up Infantry OSUT (One Station Unit Training) and those include: Red, White, Blue, Gold, and Black phase. Typically speaking Red phase is the worst phase because they treat us like we are lower than dirt. From what you read online, they make it seem like things will gradually get better and you will be treated better once you advance in the phases. As much as a soldier would like to believe that, it simply was not the case for us. We were shot back to red phase once we completed FTX. The only tasks we really had to do was complete our 5 mile Eagle run and turn in all of our TA-50, and we were good as gold and ready to graduate. As easy as that sounds, the Drill Sergeants made those last two weeks a living Hell for all of us- Especially the last 48 hours before our departure and graduation. 
Thursday October 8th, we had our turning blue ceremony, and it was probably one of the proudest moments of my military career so far, and for good reason. On that day I was officially dubbed an Infantry Soldier (among many of my peers) in front of hundreds of people. We were lined up around the corner for all of the crowds anxiously awaiting the ceremony. We were given the order to march, and as soon as we started marching around the corner we could hear the sounds of M240 Bravo's being fired off in the distance and simulator grenades going off in almost all directions. As we rounded the corner we marched through what seemed like an endless tunnel of smoke which was from the numerous smoke grenades that were set off. As our company made our way through the smoke, suddenly we saw the crowd of people which were made up of our friends family and loved ones. We all lined up on the street facing everyone and stood at parade rest and attention as the ceremony began to take place. When the time came for our First Sergeant to instruct our Drill Sergeants to award his soldiers their blue chords, I could feel my stomach begin to twist in knots. This was the moment I have been waiting for since I signed my contract, I was about to become an infantry soldier. As you all probably have noticed, my father and I are extremely close and I couldn't think of anyone better to pin my blue chord on my shoulder than my best friend and father. Before the ceremony even took place, I acquired an extra set of gold cross rifles, and I kept it in my right pocket. When my father stepped forward out of the crowed to see me for the first time, I was standing at the position of attention. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, and handed him my blue chord which he placed on my right shoulder. My blue chord was in my right pocket, so when I handed it to him, I also grabbed that set of extra cross rifles and held it in my hand. After he pinned my blue chord on me, he and I shook hands. As we shook hands, I secretly passed off that set of cross rifles to my father as a gift. I worked my ass off to earn my cross rifles, and I honestly don't think I could have gotten them without the moral support of my father. That being said, I awarded him a set of cross rifles as somewhat of a thank you for everything he has done for me over the years. He is a good father, and one that any guy could be proud to call "Dad." My father wrote to me in a letter during the beginning of the cycle and told me that he would be with me every step of the way. When times were tough, I reached deep down inside and remembered that he was running every mile, doing every push up and sit up, and rucking every step along side me despite him not actually being there. That alone got me through the toughest days of training. If I earned my cross rifles....in my eyes, he earned his too. 
Upon arrival back at base after family day was over, Delta company seemed to be hit in the face with a force that can only be described as "The wrath of Drill Sergeant B." We were told that a different Drill Sergeant would be on duty that night, so we were anticipating a calm night and also a full nights sleep. That certainly was not the case because when we arrived back to formation in our Class A's, we were immediately told to get down in the front lean and rest position for some unknown reason. I immediately thought to myself, "really? Is this actually happening right now? All I want to do is go upstairs, get changed and go to sleep." Drill Sergeant "B" seemed to have some wild hair up his ass and he planned on making our last night a living Hell. We were instructed to go upstairs and conduct bay maintenance, and as we went up to our bay, the minute we walked through the door, the power went out. My immediate thought was, "How the Hell am I going to get this bay cleaned to his standards if I cant see two feet in front of my face?" What I forgot to mention in previous letters is that I was promoted to Assistant Platoon guide, and when our Platoon guide had left for good (because he was prior service) I became the Platoon guide. So it was my job to ensure that everything was done properly or else there would be Hell to pay. At 10:30pm, we all had to make a random phone call to our parents to come back to base and pick up all of our shit because we were told that we all had too much luggage and not all of it would be taken to where it needed to go and therefor would be either left behind or stolen. Awesome... So after I had my shit picked up, I was told that he would be conducting a bay inspection at 1am. Wake up was scheduled for 4am. This meant that we would only be getting three hours of sleep before graduation. Long story short, we only got about an hour or so of sleep before we had to wake up and head off to the graduation field. Needless to say, I wasn't a very happy camper. All I could think of was that It was our last night, and to try to stay positive and make the best out of a shitty situation. 
We woke up, got dressed and boarded the buses that would take us to the NIM (national infantry museum) which was where graduation would be conducted. We arrived at 5am and we were scheduled to graduate at 10 am, so we spent about 5 hours sitting around doing absolutely nothing. The Army really lives up to it's "Hurry up and wait" reputation. Finally the ceremony began and we did our thing and before I knew it I was standing before my Drill Sergeant and hearing him say the words "Dismissed." I immediately directed my attention to finding my father who was already walking towards me and when I found him, he gave me a big hug and a handshake and said to me, "Look at what you've done...look at what you've done." I could see that he too was extremely proud of what I had accomplished, and that made me feel good deep down inside. You have to remember, me joining the Army wasn't really the kind of thing anybody expected from me. So me actually doing something like this was a big shock to a lot of people, so actually graduating and completing something like this was indeed a pretty big accomplishment for me. So for all of those people who doubted me and thought I couldn't do it, you can kiss my ass. 
After the ceremony was complete, I did exactly what I said I was going to do in my last letter. I rushed out to the car with all of my friends, got changed into civilian clothing and headed straight to Hooters where I began my day/night of intoxication. That first sip of beer in over four months was really one to remember. As Will Ferrell said in the movie Old School, "Once it hits your lips....It's so good! It's so good!" After lunch and a lot of beer, I made my way to the tattoo parlor and got a few tattoos that I had been wanting. I got my collar bone finished and I also got a tattoo on my lower leg that memorialized my grandmother. My sister and I both got the same tattoo, but instead of having the exact same ones, we got slightly different ones and in different places but mainly the same concept and idea. My sister and I were both very close to my grandma, and when she passed away a few months ago, we both decided that we'd get a little something to remember her by. I'm pretty big into tattoos anyways as i've said before, and I have quite a few of them, but this one in particular means a great deal to me. As I stated in previous entries, I spoke to my grandmother quite a bit when times were tough and at times it seemed as if she heard me and leant a helping hand, thus getting me though some of the roughest times of basic training. I truly believe she was watching over me and helped me out. She passed away before I decided to join the Army, and I think she would be very proud of me for what I've accomplished. As much as the cross rifles on my shoulder are dedicated to my father, they are also dedicated to my grandmother. I hope she is looking down on me right now smiling and proud. 
The feeling of pulling away from Ft. Benning to head home to Florida was one that I cant even describe. It was as if i've been in prison for the past 4 months and I was out on parol. My father and I drove the 8 hour drive back to our home town of Vero Beach and talked the entire way about anything and everything. When I got home, I was greeted by the loving face of my other best friend- my Golden Retriever puppy Raleigh. You would swear that he hadn't seen me in years by the way he reacted. He gave me his version of a big hug and seemed to have said, "Welcome home buddy, it's sure good to see you." I then realized...I'm home...I'm not dreaming, I am actually home! I unpacked all of my stuff and hopped on my motorcycle and went for a long ride. Just like any happy ending book you read as a child, where this story began is exactly where it ends. I rode my bike to the beach and watched the sunset just like I did the day before I shipped off to basic training. I sat on the boardwalk and appreciated the freedom of watching the waves crash upon the beach and the seagulls and sandpipers play in the sand. I remember thinking of the song written by one of my favorite artists Tim Armstrong from the band Rancid which I have quoted numerous times before, especially that day on the beach before I left. 
"Well Earthquakes shake and fires take, from this view I've seen it all. I've tasted smoke as the hills burned, i've watched the freeway fall. When there's nothing to say, just look into the Bay, you know some things they just feel right. Another East Bay night, yeah..it's gonna be alright."
  I thought to myself,"Yeah..I am home. I am finally home. All of the lonely nights laying in my bed at Ft. Benning dreaming of my return has finally became a reality. I am home. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I wouldn't trade that experience for the world, despite how incredibly shitty it was at times. It all becomes irrelevant once you're done and back at home where you are truly happy. This story has a happy ending, and I couldn't be more satisfied with that if I tried. Despite me stating over and over again in this letter that I have "accomplished something," I want to make it known that deep down, I haven't yet really done anything yet. In my mind, by me graduating basic training, I have only given myself an opportunity. I have only accomplished the fact that I am now given the opportunity to become a great soldier. Basic Training is the easy part. It is now up to me to go out and make something of myself utilizing the training that I have been given, and with some hard work and determination I can possibly become a great soldier who does his job effectively and in return I can keep my battle buddies safe as well as myself when the shit hits the fan. 
I know I had said before that this would be my last entry in this blog, and in some ways that statement is true. I have been receiving countless emails, messages, and comments from people I don't even know telling me how much they enjoy reading about my daily experiences and the things that I have to say. I must admit it is all a bit overwhelming to think that people actually rely on me and my writings to help give them a little peace. So many people tell me that they have a soldier who is currently going through training and this blog helps them understand what they are, or will be going through and by reading it they feel as if they are actually there or can picture their soldier doing the same things I have done. This was never the intentions of this blog, rather it was for my friends and family to have a way to stay connected with me while I was away. That being said, I actually enjoy writing about my day and experiences in the Army, and I after some thought and encouragement by readers, I have decided to continue writing. I plan on starting another blog that will pick up right where this one left off an follow me through my first duty station in Germany and possibly through my first deployment. If people enjoy reading this crap, and I enjoy writing it, then who am I to just end it? I will write until I no longer have anything else to say or until people no longer care to read what I have to say. Since this blog is only about my life in Army Basic Training, this will be my last post on this particular blog. I will start another one on this site and I will post the link to it shortly so that you all will be able to continue reading about my adventures in the United States Army. Who knows...maybe one day I will write a book similar to how Colby Buzzell wrote his. Only time and experience will tell. 

Stay tuned, I am not going anywhere anytime soon.

-PFC Zaleuke

PS: I encourage all of you to feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have dealing with the Army, or to just leave some feedback. You can reach me by posting a comment on the blog or by myspace or facebook.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

October 7th

I finally have a sense of completion as far as this basic training and AIT shit goes. We are finally done as of right now. This includes turning in all of our gear, weapons, practicing for graduation and turning blue ceremonies, etc. Tomorrow is our turning blue ceremony and also family day, and Friday is graduation. These past few days have sucked pretty bad, and the Drill Sergeants are staying on our ass right up to the moment we leave this Hell hole. Whatever.. 
Since I am the tallest soldier in our platoon (6'4) I will be up front next to the D.S for both the T.B. Ceremony and graduation due to the fact that we line up tallest to shortest. My family should be pretty happy with that and have no complaints since they'll get to see me easily rather than have to search for me in a group of 400 soldiers. It wouldn't be hard anyways, all they would have to do is look for the most attractive soldier on the field.  We all got high and tight haircuts again today, so I am no longer sporting the skinhead look with combat boots. I always thought I pulled that off pretty well, it reminded me of a soccer hooligan.
I am going to miss this place so much....lol, I cant even keep a straight face while writing that sentence. There is not one damn thing I'm going to miss about Sand Hill. I loath this establishment in every possible way. We have been commanded to "Present Arms so many times here, I think I'll command myself to "Present Finger" as I pull away. I am going to miss my Senior Drill Sergeant though. That guy is cool as shit and also an all around good guy. 
Tomorrow is going to be a fun day for me. I get to see people I haven't seen in months, and I cant wait. Friday will be even better because it will include lots of celebratory Guinness beers and a few tattoos......Mmmmmm.
Alright, I've got more packing and shit to do. I'll write again about graduation and all of the shenanigans that were involved once I get back home to FLA and get settled and have a day or two to rest. So hold tight, it will be my last entry and I'll try to make it a good one. 

-PFC Zaleuke

October 3rd

Today I have a headache, and I'm stressed out. I am completely finished with everything here, and they are still messing around and fucking with us because they too seem to be bored. I have four days and a wake- up until I get to see my family and five days until I actually graduate. All I want to do is leave this place and go home, but the days seem to drag on as if they will never end. Lately I feel like a zombie, probably because I am purposely removing myself from everything mentally to where it is almost like I am not even here at all. At least when we were training, the days would go by faster because we were busy, but now they last forever. Four more days...four more days.
Yesterday morning we had our five mile "Eagle Run" which was surprisingly easy. I just ran, and I was so out of it and zoned out that I was finished before I even realized I was spacing out. I'm not depressed, rather just fed up with all of the bullshit and ready to get the Hell out of here. I finished my book already, so I've got nothing to help pass the time anymore. To make things even more annoying is that we are now allowed to have our Ipods and MP3 players. The problem with that is our Drill Sergeant told us to give our personal shit to our families when we saw them a few weeks ago, which I did. Among my personal belongings was my Ipod...Awesome. 
I've been hearing a lot of things about how most units in Germany will be deploying in November, so there is a good chance I'll be heading to Afghanistan around then, or depending on when they would send me to meet up with my unit. Things in Afghanistan are heading up from what I hear, so I could be in for some interesting times in the near future. 
My friends from college are driving down to see me graduate on Friday, and I have some fun shit planned out. The second they allow me to leave I am getting the Hell out of there and begin drinking immediately. It's always a good day when you can start drinking before noon. On top of all of that, I am probably more excited to just drive away from Ft. Benning and head down to Florida where I can relax on my beach with my puppy and ride my motorcycle. Key word in that sentence is Relax. Damn right "Mah Focker."

-PFC Zaleuke

Friday, October 2, 2009

September 29th, 2009




I really am loving life right now. This is the first time I have been almost stress free since I’ve been here at Ft. Benning. Since we finished FTX, life has been pretty good for us. We are being treated fairly well, being called soldiers, and most of all relaxing. We have spent the last few days cleaning all of our TA-50 which is the fancy name for all of the issued gear we received. Everything needs to be spotless by the time we turn it all in on Thursday. So we have been working pretty hard to get it all done. Being that I am not a procrastinator, I finished all of my stuff including my weapon being spotless. Now, I am awarded the luxury of sitting on my ass and doing what I want. For example, my buddy Hays paid me 40 bucks to sit down in the laundry room and watch his stuff so that nobody stole it. Please and thank you!

Today I had to go to a few briefings that related to me going overseas. One of the briefings was on Anti-terrorism and how to keep ourselves safe despite not being stationed in a Hostile area such as Germany. Some of the stories that were told made me laugh because the guy made Germany out to be some third world country and also that almost everybody was out to kill me now that I am a soldier. Really? I mean, come on I understand being careful but just because I have a short haircut doesn’t automatically label me as a soldier in the eyes of civilians. I could be a soccer hooligan for example…lol. Afterwards we had a briefing about “trans” the cool military term that means transportation…anyways, more stupid questions were asked, some repeated numerous times, but it was all basically simple: Be where you need to be ready to fly on the date that is shown on your itinerary. Mine shows I leave the 26th to Frankfurt, Germany. Sweet. I also get to fly with some of my good friends too which is okay in my book.

Speaking of book, I am reading a great one currently. Yeah I actually have time to read, believe it or not! I went to the PX on Sunday and I was looking for some good reading material. Since we are only allowed to have military affiliated books, I was kind of limited. I grabbed a book that had big bright colored writing on it titled: “My War: Killing Time in Iraq” by Colby Buzzell. I briefly glanced at the cover and said, “What the hell?” and bought it. I started to read it and was really shocked. The book is about a guy who joins the army, goes to Iraq, and starts to blog to tell about his experiences. The weird thing is, this guy could be my twin brother. We are similar in almost every way when it comes to interests. We listen to the same virtually unknown punk bands, have similar tattoos, same sense of humor, both skate, etc… He even went to basic training here at Ft. Benning in the same battalion as me, only a few years ago. So, I have been completely submerged into this book, loving every minute of it. I would love to meet this guy one day. I mean, we both started a blog for the same reasons almost. Who knows, maybe I too could write a book some day.

We have a five mile run Friday, and other little things to take care of, but other than that I am taking it easy and waiting to get the Hell out of here. I got all new uniforms today too which is sweet. Also, don’t send me anymore mail, and its not to be mean or because I don’t want it, but because we are no longer receiving mail. Any mail that is sent to me will be automatically forwarded to Germany, so I wont get it for a while. That’s it for tonight!

-PFC Zaleuke


Thursday, October 1, 2009

September 27th, 2009

Hey everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve written, but I’ve been somewhat busy. I got back in last night from FTX around 11pm and I am exhausted. I am extremely proud to say that I am now an Infantry soldier, and I have my cross rifles in hand. FTX was long, tiring, and stressful but was nothing like I expected it to be. I wont bore you with all of the details, but I’ll tell you about it a little so you can get an idea.

We took busses to our location 15 miles away and walked to our campsite a mile or so away from wh ere we were dropped off. We set up camp in a small clearing deep in the woods, which was one of the Patrol bases I’ve told you about. We spent all five nights sleeping on the cold, wet, ant infested ground. We honestly did not train all that much, rather we walked almost non-stop. I think they told us we walked around 50 miles (with ruck sacks) total. One morning we had to get up and go on a three mile run which wasn’t too pleasant but oh well. We walked mostly always through the woods wherever we went and most of the time we had to make our own path through the thick Georgia brush. Numerous guys got heavy cases of poison ivy and insect bites from being out there, lol my friend Thomas has it all over his face. I don’t want to walk through the woods again for a while.

The squad leaders were all issued these old vintage radios to communicate with and the things were massive! Drill Sergeant “M” handed me mine and I said, “Do you have a bigger one or do you only have the small ones?” I was obviously being sarcastic and I got a good laugh out of him too LOL. He tried to explain how to work them, and I explained to him that I’ve seen Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks use them on numerous occasions but he wasn’t satisfied and insisted that I shut up and listen… lol. We had to pick call signs to use over the radio, but he immediately canceled that request and gave us call signs when he heard me say I wanted to be Night Hawk, and my buddy Tyler wanted to me George Clooney. (They never let us have fun here LOL).

The training we did do were things like reacting to contact, engaging enemies, and walking in squad formations. One of my favorite moments was when we were going to have to walk five miles or so through the woods, our Drill Sergeant called the squad leaders over to brief us. The woods we were walking through were adjacent to a dirt road which our Drill was going to walk on. I raised my hand to ask a smart ass question which was, “Would you enjoy some company while you walk (I.E., me)? Surprisingly he said, “Yeah Zaleuke, you walk with me.” So while everyone walked through woods, struggling, HA HA, I walked on the street casually talking and joking around with my Drill Sergeant . He really is a good guy, and I enjoyed talking with him.

Through the course of the time we were there, we were ambushed a few times in the middle of the night and had to open fire on them (squads and Drill Sergeants who had nothing better to do than to mess with us). We had grenades going off, heavy machines guns and so on. Its a great way to wake up in the middle of the night, let me tell you..  It was kind of fun though. The last day we were out in the field, we had to conduct our twelve mile final ruck march. Unlike our previous marches, we walked through the woods for the 12 miles rather than on the road. I barely noticed that I was tired or that my legs hurt or that my feet were bleeding because the only thing I cared about was finishing. We even had the privilege of walking up the infamous "Stairway to Heaven" which is a brutal steep road that seems to reach straight up into the sky.   We finally finished 2 miles away from our battalion, where we walked in the woods and sat down and were greeted with pizza and powerade. We rested for a few hours and then after getting smoked for no reason, we began our final march to Honor Hill. As we made our way up the street we were greeted by hundreds of soldiers who lined the streets with flash lights who were cheering and clapping for all of us as we marched pass. Simulator grenades and smoke grenades were going off everywhere as we sang cadences, and finally we passed through the gates of Honor Hill. To best describe what it was like, I can only compare the setting to the TV show “Survivor”. There were torches and bonfires everywhere. We formed up and stood there in the rain as we were inducted into the Infantry. We shook hands with each of our Drill Sergeants as they each said, “Welcome to the Infantry, Soldier”. I was awarded my cross rifles by one of my favorite Drill Sergeants who “gently” pushed the button onto my jacket which may or may not have pierced the skin. I can honestly say that was one of the proudest moments of my life. I did it. I accomplished what I set out to do, I made it. I did not miss one single day of training, and I was present for every smoke session and ass kicking that the Drill Sergeants dished out. I deserve this.

What comes next is that we lay low for a few days, clean out weapons and all of our gear before we turn it back in. I have 10 days and a wake-up before I see my family for the turning blue ceremony. I can’t wait. More soon.

-PFC Zaleuke

Saturday, September 26, 2009

September 19th, 2009

I’m tired. Yesterday wasn’t fun either. It was probably the hardest day I’ve had here physically too. We had to go to the firing range for a company competition, and what they did was had each platoon ruck march 3 miles (mile ½ each way) and upon their return we would have to run and get ammunition and get down and start shooting. We were all timed as well, and the platoon with the fastest ruck march time and shooting record won. Well not all of the platoons have an equal amount of soldiers, so one of the Special Forces Drill Sergeants decided to make it equal, so he went through each platoon and hand selected what appeared to be the best of the best, and made a 5th platoon. When he chose me to be a part of his group, my heart sank because I want no part of anything that involves him. We had all of the Special Forces guys in our group too…sweet. They are cool dudes, but I know if they are together they are going to work their asses off.

So when our turn came up to set off on our little 3 mile ruck, I found out some glorious news! Instead of walking like usual, we were going to run it! We were in full gear! So we did the airbourne shuffle the entire way, only stopping to walk to turn around and yell at everyone to catch up. I finally came across something physical that I almost thought I couldn’t do. I thought I was going to fall out at any time, but somehow I managed to keep going and I made it. FML. That sucked. Lol.

Today, we went to the Infantry Museum again, and we got to watch some documentary on the Lewis and Clark expedition on the I-MAX which was pretty cool. Afterwards we were told to form up outside where the Drill Sergeants marched us around the corner and out of sight and began to smoke us because some of the guys left trash in the movie theater. After about ten minutes a man approached us and our drill sergeants and began to chew out or drills. That man happened to be the Post Command Sergeant Major, and he was not happy with how we were being treated. From what I hear, it is wrong to smoke us in public and inappropriate to do it at a memorial such as the one we were at. We were told to drink water and sit in the shade while our Drill Sergeants got yelled at while standing at parade rest. It was entertaining to see something like that, but now we are worried about if we will get smoked even harder now? Oh well.

Tomorrow is the FTX prep and then we are off to the big show. I’m nervous and anxious, but more importantly I cant wait for this to be over with. 18 days and a wake-up until I get to see my family and get my blue chord. Thank God! I’ll write again tomorrow if there is anything else to actually write about. If not, then this will be my last letter until I return on September 27th, after FTX. I’ll have my cross rifles in hand as well, so wish me luck!! I love you guys.
-PFC Zaleuke

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

September 17th, 2009

Today I accomplished a great deal of physical work. I believe I mentioned in my last letter that I had a PT test coming up this week, well that was today. We were told that if we passed this PT test, we would be completely finished and not have to take the last one. Since this was our first AIT PT test, this meant we had to pass it at a 60% or better. I’ve passed all of my Pt tests at 60% from the start, so I was good to go. I took it easy on this test. I got 50 push ups, 61 sit ups, and 14:13 two mile. Wasn’t perfect, but then again I wasn’t trying to dominate, just pass and get this all over with. So I don’t have anymore PT tests here! Sweet.

We also had our Phase 3 test immediately after, which was really hard but fun at the same time. We had to run a timed mile in full battle rattle as a platoon (sucked but I came in 2nd out of my platoon), had to take our weapons apart and put them back together again, climb the 30 ft ropes, carry 25 lb jugs of water, a 500 lb log and a tractor tire around the PT track and finally take apart the 240 and the saw. We were timed as a platoon during the events and we had all of our times added together. We ended up coming in second and missed first place by only seconds. Afterwards we had Class A uniform inspection to get them ready for graduation. I’m starting to get really excited too.

I got some really cool and exciting news tonight. I got a quick glimpse of my orders and I had to sign off on a few things. I got awarded 18 days of leave which will begin after I graduate. I am so damn excited about that too! I couldn’t ask for anything more, and now I’ll get the chance to spend some much needed time with m y friends and family. I will be departing for Germany on October 24th, 2009 and will be heading to Vilsek. This will most likely be just a processing station which I will spend a day or two in before they ship me out to my actual unit. My orders also show that I am in a “battle buddy” program where they will be putting me and another guy together in the same unit and same company for the next six months. Thankfully I am paired up with my buddy Nick Wisdom, so it appears he and I will be heading to Germany together.

Tomorrow is another busy day. We have a few more competitions, one of them includes a 2 mile ruck march as a platoon walking/running as fast as we can with Ammo cans. So it will be fun, I suppose. Tonight we get our cell phones again, as well as pizza, powerade, and candy. Life is good right now (For now, LOL).
-PFC Zaleuke

Friday, September 18, 2009

September 15,2009

Since my return to AIT training, life here has been Hellish. Much like I suspected it would be. The Drill Sergeants have been smoking the piss out of us, and trashing our bay. Today they claimed they found a can of dip, and tried to get someone to confess. In reality it was just a can of Drill Sergeants dip, which I knew and suspected all along. I'm not stupid, and i learn how people operate fairly easily. So I knew it was all a bull-shit game from the start. When things like this happen the best thing you can do is to keep your head down, don't speak, do what they say and don't give them any reason to believe you are getting an attitude with them. Oh well, 24 days left right?

So these last few days, besides getting the shit smoked out of us, we have been doing convoys, and react to tire with Hummers. I got the chance to be the 240 gunner in the turret above the driver which is bad-ass. We had to react to getting hit by an IED in a convoy, and how to react to that situation. Tomorrow we will be getting briefed most of the day for people like me going over seas.. I'll be glad to get more info on my situation and get a chance to ask some questions. We only have five more days until our FTX. I'm getting more and more anxious as each day advances. I just want to get it over with and leave this place, which can only really be best described as "Satan's Asshole".

I'll be in the field for six to seven days. So be mindful that I will only receive your mail after I return, and I will also not be able to write anymore during that week. You should be hearing from me upon my return, cross rifles in hand, and I'll most likely be excited as Hell. I'm going to cut this letter short tonight because I am exhausted and I need to get some sleep. I love you all, keep me in your thoughts please!

-PFC Zaleuke

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Family Day

Words simply cannot express the happiness that I feel at this very moment. I am sitting here in an air conditioned room in a soft bed, I just took a hot bubble bath, and I am more relaxed than I have been in ages it seems. I am sitting next to my sister, and my dad watching television and my little 4 year old niece is laying down in the little bed next to us sound asleep. 
Today we were woken up at 4am by a fire alarm. That started out the day amazingly lol, so by the time we got back in, it was 4:30am which justtt happened to be the time we had to wake up, so I got cheated out of 30 minutes of sleep. We spent the majority of the early morning cleaning and getting safety briefings on what to do, what not to do etc. We were still standing in formation in our PT's when parents started to arrive, so they hurried us upstairs and rushed us into our Class B uniforms. We were told to stand at attention and wait for our parents to come up to the bay area. We heard Drill Sergeant say, " 4th Platoon, I have your loved ones out here, are you ready to see them?" in a highly sarcastic tone that made us all smirk a little. We sounded off with " YES DRILL SERGEANT!!!" He said, "No..no..Your families aren't satisfied with that," and he repeated his question and we would repeat our answer, and it went back and fourth a few times until finally he allowed our families to enter our bay. Almost immediately upon them stepping foot into our bay we heard, "Front leaning rest position...move." We had to get down and we heard, "In cadence, exercise!" (this means do push ups) So as our families entered we were all down doing push ups in our class B uniforms. I saw out of the corner of my eye my father, sister and niece standing in front of me watching, not really knowing what to do.  I could tell my Dad was on the verge of tears because he hadn't seen me in forever and for the simple fact that he was proud. Drill Sergeant called us to attention, and we had to stand there until our families came to "relieve" us. One of the guys went to hug his mom and dad and our drill sergeant said, "Ohhhh no...get down and start pushing (meaning push ups) Private!" lol, so my Dad and sister kind of stood there looking at me not really knowing what to do, and not wanting to do anything to get me in trouble, so as the Drill sergeant looked away I motioned for them to come over and touch me and I mumbled, "If you want me to leave, come touch me!!!" lol, so finally my dad and sister came and gave me a big hug and there was nothing more satisfying to me than when I finally got to hug my father after not seeing him for over twelve weeks. Even I almost lost it, but I stayed strong and powered through the extreme emotions. I introduced my family to some of my buddies, and I said, "Now, lets get the Hell out of here." I showed them around our company where we did morning PT, where we ate chow every day, and showed them the inside of my locker and all of that good stuff. We finally left our Battalion and I took them on a drive to show them where we train, the long roads we ruck on, and some of the firing ranges. We went to the main post, stopped at a gas station where I bought a Red Bull and some candy, which tasted absolutely amazing by the way, and a Drill Sergeant who was wearing civilian clothes gladly went out of his way to point out the fact that I had forgotten to take off my buret inside. I immediately snatched it off my head and cursed myself for being stupid, and apologized to him. If he really really wanted to be a dick, he could have taken down my name and what not and reported me to my company and gotten me into some "little" trouble for being careless, but thankfully he was nice about it considering I am a private and this was my first time off base technically. We went to the main PX which is almost like a small shopping mall where I purchased a Gerber ( look it up ) and a few small items that I was authorized to bring back with me upon arrival tomorrow night, as well as a Barbie doll for my niece which I had promised in a letter to her. After that, all I wanted to do was get off base and away from anything remotely military. Before we did that, we went to the Infantry museum which I absolutely loved. I was greeted by a few volunteer veterans who thanked me for my service and talked to my family for a few minutes before entering. I cant tell you how weird it is to be thanked for serving my country. It is weird because I personally don't see any need for any thanks. I technically haven't done anything to be thanked for yet in my eyes, but apparently others see it differently because of the simple fact that I (and every other soldier in basic training) enlisted to serve my country in time of war. It is a weird feeling and one that really makes you feel proud. It was the first time that anyone has been nice to me in the military. All other times I (and everyone else) am constantly being cut down and told what a worthless piece of shit I am. This will all stop, for the most part, once I graduate and become a full fledged Infantry soldier. It's all part of the game and is part of paying your dues, and it is also what makes being a soldier prestigious. 26 more days left, and I'll stop being called, "shit head" and start being referred to as "Soldier." As cruel as it sounds, It's not really that bad, and makes you smile deep down inside knowing that you have to keep working hard to earn people's respect. Respect isn't given, it is earned, and most of us still have a long way to go. For now, being referred to as Soldier will do just fine. I cant describe the feeling I had upon walking through the museum gates. It was very overwhelming for me at first because I realized that I will soon belong to a brotherhood that is unlike any other. I got to walk through an amazing display of photographs and statues mounted on fake battlefields of soldiers past who were at one time just like me. These guys all went through the same things I went through, and it only makes it that much easier knowing that these guys have done it, and so can I. I've always been a big dork who loves anything to do with history, so I cant tell you how much I enjoyed that experience. There was a section completely dedicated to Basic Training, so I got to take my family through and explain everything and give them some visual aides to go along with all of the stories and descriptions i've given them in the past few weeks. I think it helped paint a good mental picture of what exactly it is that we do here on a daily basis. These blogs that I write sometimes don't seem like enough to me to where at times I almost want to say, " No...you don't understand!" So after today, I feel somewhat accomplished to where I can finally rest knowing that they are aware of the hardships we have to go through with a full understanding of what it is I'm trying to convey through my letters.
After we left, we went and ate lunch at Applebees, and sadly we didn't get kicked out like I envisioned after seeing Talladega nights lol, but I ate a crap load of food and drank a lot of soda and got to catch up with my family which was really really nice. We spent the rest of the evening inside where I got a chance to write a few blogs, play around on the internet, talk to friends, relax and watch some tv, and most importantly just feel like a normal person again. I say this time and time again, but It's amazing how much we take for granted until everything is taken away from us. You really learn to appreciate the little things, and I don't think I could be any more appreciative of something as simple as air conditioning lol. Tomorrow I am going to be awarded the luxury of sleeping in...wow...and then who knows. I don't really care to be quite honest with you, as long as I get to spend some more time with my family i'll be happy. I honestly don't want to go back tomorrow night, but I know that I only have 26 more days to put up with this Hell and I'll be a free man. That is motivation enough to go back and finish what I started.  I still hang on to a quote my Dad sent me, " When you've reached the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." 
Tomorrow will be an emotional day for me having to say goodbye once again, but hopefully it wont be too bad. They will be up here again in about three weeks to see me graduate along with hopefully many of my friends. I cant tell you how damn excited I am...and also excited to end this blog. Some days I have to fight to pick up a pencil and write because I am just too tired to write anything. I made a promise to myself and everyone else though that I would finish this and let them know what is going on, so if you keep writing me, I'll keep writing you.  

 I want to end this blog with some words that I quoted in one of my first posts. This is one that I hold close to and keeps me going strong. 

" My Jungle is made of concrete,
  Through the silence I could feel
  My aim is true, and I will walk on through
  These mountains made of steel."

It's bed time now, and I'm going to enjoy this comfortable bed and the last few hours I have with my family. I love you all, and thank you again for all of your continuous support. I don't think I could have made it this far without you. Goodnight and sweet dreams. 

-PFC Zaleuke

September 11th, 2009

Today is Friday September 11th, and I am currently laying in my bed drinking a cappuccino (French Vanilla). I still had it left over from an old MRE lol. My feet probably hurt more than they ever have in my entire life, however I feel very accomplished. Let me start from the beginning: 

Wednesday we went to the training site that was completely dedicated to making foxholes. We had to spend the majority of the day setting up a patrol base deep in the woods and then we had to dig. An average sized foxhole for two people is about 4 feet wide, 7 feet long and 4 feet deep, and it is a bitch having to dig up this Georgia clay, so it took us a while. And then the greatest thing happened!! It began to rain extremely hard over the next three hours, soaking everything we had. Then, the next greatest thing happened! We put on our wet weather gear to keep ourselves dry, but the Drill Sergeants decided that we didn't need to wear it, so they made us take it off. We then had to march 4 miles, soaking wet, through mud carrying our heavy ass ruck sacks. Once we arrived to our destination, we got to relax and clean ourselves up some. Thankfully they issue us these sweet wet weather bags that are made of gortex and are lined with a thin layer of rubber, so all of your spare clothing stays bone dry. We headed out deep into the woods once again to form a patrol base. I'm not sure if I ever explained what that was or not, so let me go ahead and do that so you understand. Bare with me a moment please.  We will form up into our formation. The PG will take me and my squad (we are the re-con team) and we will all go scout out a safe and secure location that isn't easy to locate and begin to set up. A patrol base is a giant triangle, each point is called an apex. I have nine guys with me and I will drop three guys at each point: 6 o'clock, 10 o'clock, and 2 o'clock. I'll leave one of my team leaders in charge and the PG and I will head back and retrieve the rest of the platoon. We will lead them into the patrol base in a single file line and have them fill in the lines between the apex's which will result in a giant triangle. Each guy has a battle buddy he is paired up with, so they sleep next to each other. They are spread out 10 to 15 meters apart from the next pair of guys and we will pull 50% security, meaning that one guy is down in the prone position facing outward protecting the area while the other is conducting personal hygiene and/or setting up their makeshift beds for the night. Eventually they will switch, and the resulting action is that we have at least half of the platoon conducting security at all times. The platoon guide, Assistant Platoon guide, and all four squad leaders are stationed in the center of the patrol base (triangle) that way we can easily access any part of the squad at any given time. 
Once we got everything set up, I got the opportunity to change into some dry ACU's and dry socks. Our boots were soaking wet, so I spent a good amount of time taking care of my feet so that I wouldn't get trench foot. A few guys here got it pretty bad, and it is a pain in the ass, not to mention painful. For those of you who've seen Forrest Gump, Lt. Dan wasn't kidding when he said, " Take care of your feet!" My buddy Williams and I layed down a poncho, I climbed inside of my bivy cover ( gortex waterproof sleeping bag) and went right to sleep. It's amazing how used to the sound of grenades and 240 Bravos you get after a while, I fell right asleep. I woke up the next morning and drank a cup of cold black coffee and started my day. We spent the day learning how to patrol an area as a squad (about 15 guys) and how to react if we made contact with an opposing force. We walk in two wedge formations, one behind another. You could compare a wedge formation to a flying "V" for you Mighty Ducks fans out there, or the formation in which birds fly. Alpha squad first, Bravo squad behind, The squad leader (me) in between both.  When contact is made, we will all get down and take cover behind the nearest available tree, and my Alpha team leader will say something along the lines of, "Enemy contact, 12 o'clock, 200 meters!" I will respond asking him how many people there are. Army rule states that there must be a 3:1 ratio meaning that there must be three of us for every one of them. I will then tell Bravo team to flank right or flank left. I will take my 7 guys out and around, forming a giant "L" shape between the two squads. Alpha is spread out at the bottom, and Bravo will end up sweeping across engaging the enemy from the side, suspiring them. Alpha has one SAW (Squad Assault Weapon) gunner and one 240 Bravo weapon and a few M4's covering us. Bravo Team has six M4's and one SAW gunner. We throw a smoke grenade, and sweep across and kill the targets, the smoke lets Alpha know we are walking across and to cease fire. It all sounds very difficult, but in the end, when you grasp the concept it is very simple and somewhat fun. I must have burned 9 full 30 round magazines in a period of 5 minutes lol, it is definitely over kill, but I put my weapon on burst or "Do work" as I like to call it and I went at it. Normally it would be stupid to waste that much ammo in one setting against only five targets, but Drill Sergeant wanted us to get rid of the ammo so they didn't have to turn in the excess later that day. We were using blanks too sine we were shooting at people, but it was still fun nonetheless.
After we finished training for the day, we had about five hours to sit in the woods in some old foxholes and take naps and chill. We had to rest up for our 10 mile ruck march that night. We stepped off around six thirty and walked all night long. It was extremely humid last night, so after mile three my ACU's were completely soaked in sweat. I drank three Camel-baks (100 oz each) of water during the duration of the march. We stopped every three miles to rest for five minutes or so. At one of the rests I sat down in a big pile of sand, and the sand stuck to my wet pants and lower back, so during the march the sand rubbed up against my hips and ass and ended up rubbing skin off and giving me a gnarly rash. Awesome. One of my friends had it a bit worse though lol, he layed down in a huge pile of red ants. He had to strip down completely naked in front of the entire company with the truck lights shining on him. The people in the truck: Our company commander and our first sergeant...haha!! It definitely made a bad night really funny. After it all happened our Drill Sergeant walked back to us and stopped and said, "Go ahead and laugh...it's funny lol" 
Remember how I said we rucked 10 miles? Yeah, well thats what we were told as well. We ended up rucking 12 miles instead last night, the same amount as our final ruck march during FTX in two weeks. Lots of people fell out, and at one point I thought I'd be one of them as well, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and marched on. The 8 mile one we did last week was 10 times easier, none of us understand why the 12 miles was so damn bad, besides the obvious extra 4 miles...but good lord! Our feet were honestly spent. I couldn't walk last night, or at all today. It was brutal as Hell. Lol, if you can imagine walking in the pitch black, soaking wet from head to toe, tripping all over rocks and shit (yes I turned my ankle and fell twice lol,) and having Drill Sergeants screaming at us to "Move our asses!" That is basically how it went. The entire time I was like, "FML!" But in the end, we did it, and for the very first time ever, our Drill Sergeant told us good job, and to keep our heads up because we should be proud. It felt Damn good!
Now, today I started this letter early this morning and it is now about 4pm, and we just finished our Drill and Ceremony competition. We were scored by the Command Sergeant Major and we competed against the other three platoons. We ended up winning the competition which is good because it makes our Drill Sergeant happy, and that is always a good thing.  That is all for now, tomorrow is family day and we have a lot to get done before we get to see our families and friends. I'll write a blog to tell you all about it. Thanks for all of the support.

-PFC Zaleuke

September 8th 2009

I am so excited about family day. This week is full of training and also stress, but most of us are just letting it roll off our backs because we are keeping in mind that we will see our loved ones very soon. Yesterday and today we have been at the range working our butts off in the blistering heat. We got a crazy smoke session last night for no apparent reason, but it turned into "extra pt" due to our high motivation. We ran a mile and a half in full ACU's and combat boots followed by heavy sprints and calisthenics. Our Drill Sergeant turned the last event into a competition. We had four squads of 15 people and we split up, 7 carrying a 400lb log and 8 carrying a 500lb tractor tire. We had to carry it around the PT track and race the other three squads, and the first squad finished got to use the phones for 15 minutes tonight. My squad really worked together and we ended up winning the event, so I get to call my Dad tonight which is pretty cool. After that, we took showers and had to go downstairs for final formation.. which we were late to. Our grand prize: A 20 minute smoke session that resulted in completely canceling out the fact that I took a shower 30 mins previous to this happening. Awesome.
Today was much easier however, and I got to shoot a crap load of ammunition which is always fun. Currently the guys are circled up in the center of the bay, two men armed with a wet towel, wearing only shorts. The objective: Who can take the most lashings without giving up. Lol, maturity at it's finest! I already packed up my ruck sack and it's ready to head out into the field tomorrow. We will stay out in the field tomorrow, tomorrow night, and all day Thursday. We will have to ruck back 10 miles Thursday night, and Friday morning we will have a Drill and Ceremony competition against the other platoons. All of the above will be rough and certainly challenging but hey, when its all said and done, we will get to see our families. I talked to my Dad on Sunday night, and he seemed to be very excited as well which in return is only making me even more anxious to see him. He will be bringing my computer with him, so instead of sending this letter in the mail as usual, I'll keep it on me and just blog it myself. I'll also be making a blog to let you all know about family day and what not, as well as be on facebook most of the night. I'm sure I'll have to catch up with a lot of people who have written me since i've been away at BCT. I got the chance to check my facebook the other night on someone's phone and I was surprised at how many messages I got from people who happened to stumble across my blog and read it on a daily basis. I'm looking forward to responding to them and their messages as well. We had our class B uniforms sent to the dry cleaners today to get ready for Saturday morning, so we are all very excited. We were all informed officially today that we are all finished with BCT and we all passed (for the most part) and are now onto AIT. Not too much longer now. Okay, that is all for tonight. The next time you hear from me will be on Saturday night from me personally unless I get a chance to write more before then. Take care everyone.

-PFC Zaleuke

Thursday, September 10, 2009

September 4th, 2009

I am very surprised at how much stronger I am now than I was when I first got here. We had our 8 mile ruck march this morning, not the ten mile like I thought, but it was probably easier than the two mile ruck we did at the beginning of the cycle. We start out slow for a reason and progressively work our way up, but I could have easily gone on to do more. This does nothing but build my confidence for our final 12 mile march. Walking continuously for miles in combat boots is hell on your feet, so my feet are sore, but my legs felt fresh even afterwards. I am beginning to enjoy these marches more and more because it gives me ample time to think about..well anything really. There isn’t too much to a ruck march rather than concentrating on putting one foot in front of another rand pushing through the pain. I walk, think, sing, quietly talk to my buddies to my front and rear and enjoy the fresh morning air.

I have noticed lately that I have unconsciously been making an effort to take my training more seriously simply because we are not two weeks away from our final FTX where we will be tested on everything we have learned so far. I am a squad leader and I have a lot of responsibility to ensure that my squad performs at its best. I have been moving people around to make my Alpha and Bravo fire teams balanced to where one team is not overloaded with all of the talent. I am satisfied with the team leaders I appointed and I feel they will not disappoint when we are put to the test. I am the only squad leader who had not been replaced in the past few days which means my Platoon Guide thinks I am capable of getting the job done. I am also the only squad leader who is not an 18 x-ray (Special Forces) so I definitely feel the pressure to perform at my best. My PG is my friend Salazar who is an E-4 promotable who will become a staff sergeant when he arrives to his unit next month. He is a good PG who I trust is more than qualified to help us succeed. As much as FTX is going to suck, we are all really excited for it because it is a means to an end here. My final 12 mile ruck march will be a hard one, but one which will be fueled by my desire to reach the end where we will march up to honor hill and receive our cross rifles. I can tell already that it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and also one of my proudest moments. Time is ticking and the clock is winding down, and my spirits are extremely high. I am almost done. Where has the time gone?

Tomorrow we will be clearing houses with paintball rounds against Drill Sergeants. They aren’t normal paintballs, but rather actual bullets that mark with paint, and yes- they hurt. We will be shot, but pain has become my new friend lately. As I said earlier, work through the pain right? Today marks the beginning of our AIT training and also Black Phase. Basic Combat Training is officially over and I welcome AIT with open arms. Two more weeks of actual training and an FTX and that’s it!

It is bed time though, so I’ve got to run. I love you guys, keep writing!
-PFC Zaleuke

September 2nd, 2009

My days lately have seemed to be all blurred into one giant day to where I can no longer tell when I did exactly what. It feels like I haven’t written in a long time, but it cant have been more than a few days, right? In any case, I am sorry for those of you who count on this blog as a means of communication with me.

Like I said, these past few days have been really busy for us. I believe in my last letter I mentioned that I had a PT test coming up. Well that was either yesterday or the day before, I kind of forgot, lol, but I did very well (again). My dad always taught me to consistently strive to better myself in every aspect. So of course when I get letters from home or the rare opportunity to talk with him on the phone, he always tells me to push myself to get, “ one better” on my PT tests. This means at least one more pushup that last time, or one more sit up, and the same time for my run time. Even if it isn’t a dramatic difference, it is still better, right? That being said, I am constantly keeping that in my head while I do my PT tests. I did 55 pushups as compared to lat times 53, I got 63 sit ups compared to last times 62, and I finally ran my two mile in 13:42 as compared to the previous 14:00. My combined score was 246 out of 300, well above passing and definitely enough to allow me to participate in our family day here. All in all I am pleased with my results, especially my run time since I really wanted to get under 14 minutes.

After our PT test, we had to go out to a firing range and take two very brief classes on the M249 SAW machine gun and the 240 Bravo Machine gun. We were then thrown on the range and expected to perform flawlessly lol. Long story short, I got my ass chewed out because I forgot to ride the bolt forward on the saw, lol, it sucked and felt like I was back in high school football. However,the second time I got to fire I didn’t mess it up, so I suppose I learn by blunt trauma lol. Both of those weapons are so….so bad ass. I’d love to be a saw gunner. We also go tto do a night fire with tracer rounds, and the best way to describe them are like…the guns from star wars and the red lazers they shoot out. I of course being the dork I am was like, “Oh! Sweet! Star Wars!!” My drill sergeant goes, “Every cycle…there’s always one every cycle” Lol.. I can’t help it, I like star Wars. I remember my dad asking me if the weapons we fire have a lot of kick, and honestly I have to say no. The 50 cal. Does but it is on a huge tripod, but almost anybody could fire these weapons with the proper training. We left the range around 11pm and went to bed by midnight, and we got to wake up at 5:00am. Awesome…

I cant wait to leave here. Lol. We have 36 days total left, and 10 days until I see my Dad and sister, and you all know I am excited as hell about that. I intentionally don’t wear a watch because it makes my days speed by faster. When we get smoked my mind focuses on the fact that they are only making me stronger, and the stronger I am, the faster I will be able to leave. My mind is constantly wandering except for when I’m being taught something valuable which isn’t a lot.

It seems all we do is get messed with by certain drill sergeants, so if you don’t let it show that it gets to you, they will leave you alone individually. You would think that going into week 10 (starts Friday), we would be done with the “fuck fuck” games and move onto mature subjects and actual teaching. Lol, not at all and there are just some days when you wake up and don’t feel like getting messed with and that seems to be the day you get it the worst. The moral of my rambling is this: 36 days. What is 36 days? I’ve put up with the “shenanigans” (great word) for this long, I can certainly keep truckin’ and walk out of here come graduation day. The only real physically challenging thing I have left to do is a 10 mil ruck march on Friday, my week long FTX, which is concluded by a 12 mile ruck to Honor Hill (where I will receive my cross rifles), and a five mile “eagle run” towards the last few days. I’m physically ready to accomplish these things, and the training will pay off in the end.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Aug. 31st, 2009

Last night, not too long after I wrote my last post, a drill sergeant made us take every item out of our locker and move it downstairs in 15 minutes and have it layed out Every person’s things have to be in the exact same place. After we accomplished our task, we had to gather our things and take it 100 yards away and do the same thing. While doing this, we had weapons guards to watch our weapons, but unfortunately they both decided it would be okay to take a shit at the same time. The drill sergeant who was “punishing” us walked into our bay and saw that nobody was guarding our weapons. Awesome.

We see 50 soldiers running to the PT field with E-tools (tiny shovels) and numerous 5 gallon jugs of water, and of course all 54 of our weapons. They were instructed to dig a giant hole, throw our weapons in, and cover them and pour water all over. Long story short, we had 30 minutes to take our shit back up to our bay, put it back perfectly in our locker, and dig up our weapons. We made the two guys who screwed us over clean all of our weapons, lol they got maybe two hours of sleep. We love to play fun games like that in our free time…FML. Drill sergeants aren’t fun to be around when they are bored.

So..we are doing MMA combatives right now. I have little interest in this but whatever, we have to learn it. I just found out that we are going to have to go up against our Drill Sergeants in a few days! The one our platoon is fighting is freaking huge! We have to fight him standing, and there are a few rules. Rule one, we can not swing and hit him. Rule two, we have to get him in four holds before we pass. We can only block his Haymaker blows to our face. Anyone else beside me think this does not sound like fun? Honestly! My idea of a good time is not getting my shit rocked over and over again by my drill sergeant. Lol. Awesome.

Friday we have a ten mile ruck march and tomorrow I have my fifth PT test. In order to go on family day, we have to pass this test. I was thinking how funny it would be to twist my ankle and m iss family day.. lol. God, I would be so mad, Ha Ha! I’ll pass my test reguardless though, it’s too easy.

Alright its bed time. I wasn’t paying attention to the time. Night people.

Aug. 30th, 2009

Today is another lazy Sunday, my favorite day of the week. I’m laying on my bed right now, comfortable as Hell, and I thought I’d write you all again. Last night I had the opportunity to use my cell phone for an hour, and it was fabulous! (That word isn’t gay when I say it, I’m bringing it back!) I got a chance to talk to my Dad, Mom, Sister, and a few close friends, and it was really nice hearing them. Most of my friends are back at school right now, and it feels really weird not being there with them. I mss all of them and I wish I were there with them right now to complain about how much school sucks lol. I like being in the Army, don’t get me wrong but having to leave friends and a certain way of life behind isn’t easy. Days like today make being away from everyone hard because we have so much down time to sit and deal with our thoughts. I got to hear my three year old niece Kelsey ask me last night on the phone, “Do you like my drawings Uncle Mike?” I don’t know exactly what it was but it made me tear up a bit. She is getting so big, and I hate that I am not there to see most of it. Regardless though, it was really nice to hear her little voice and I can’t wait to spoil her when I see her on family day. I am happy with all of my decisions that I’ve made so far with joining the army, but the sad part is that most good things always seem to come with sacrifices. I don’t like how I have to sacrifice my family and friends for my job, but I suppose that it will become more bearable as time goes on, as do most things.

I think my problem is that I just want to be out of this hell hole and onward with my career. They have us so closed off from the world, its ridiculous. I would be content with my cell phone and computer, but then again this is basic training… So…

I think I’m over being sick again. Thank God I’ve been horribly sick twice now during basic training and still have not gone to sick call. I believe it will take a broken leg to send me there, anything short and I’m not going. I’ll tell you where I will be going though, Germany. I don’t think too many people are as excited as I am though. I am still trying to find out if I will have some time off between Basic Training and when I leave for German y. I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of anybody and it is pissing me off. I’d at least like the chance to get my affairs in order and gather my things before I am swept off across seas.

I can’t seem to concentrate on this letter to keep writing. I am boring myself almost, does that ever happen to you? I’m going to go lay down between my locker now and try to get some sleep. I’m filling in for the Assistant Platoon guide today so hopefully nothing will go wrong and I won’t get woken up. I love you guys.
-PFC Zaleuke

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

August 28th, 2009

This Georgia weather is a killer. It varys so much, it is so unpredictable. So, as fate would have it, I'm sick again. Everybody around me is sick, and with them all coughing all over me at night, ic an see how it would only be a matter or time I suppose.

Thursday, we got to the field and spent the day bounding with partners. It is where one person will advance on a target, get set, and cover his partner while he advances as ell. You have to stay parallel to each other to ensure we dont shoot and kill one another (in training only). It was a hot day but thankfully I got chosen for Ammo detail, so before and after I shot, me and a few of the other guys spent most of the day out in the sun and in the ammo shack loading magazines. I love days like that. I wasn't around too many drill sergeants and I got to spend the day shooting the shit with my friends.

After the day was over, me and 8 other guys had to stay at the range for clean up duty while the rest of hte company moved out to the camp site a mile away. Usually detail squads will get to hitch a ride on the deuce (short for Deuce and a half, which is a flat bed truck with cover used to transport equipment and soldiers from time to time) and we get to skip out on the walking. Now, of course, a mile ruck is pure cake but if I dont have to do it, I'm not going to complain lol. My buddy Salazar (who is now PG) said, "We can walk drill sergeant, its no big deal". I of course gave him an evil look but accepted it. So, drill sergeant got into his jeep and drove off while one of the more "adventurous" drill sergeants told us to get on our rucks and prepare to head out. He also said, "Make sure your shit is tight and secure beause we will be running there". For those of you that know me probably can recognize my facial expression as I thought, "What!?" So...we didn't just run to the camp site, we spritned there...in full kit. Lol, Salazar and I were the only two that did not fall out and kept pace with the Drill Sergeant. The others eventually made it there. As we were running, I glanced over at Salazar and mocked him by saying, "We can walk Drill Sergeant, its no big deal", in a severely sarcastic tone. Lol, it sucked but it was nice to once again be one of the few who did not quit and made it.

We settled for the night, and did some cool trianing with our Drill Sergeant until about 9:30 pm. He told us to go to bed, and as we began to head into the woods to our Apex, we all felt that single drop of rain. That single drop turned into a complete monsoon. It had been clear all day, and literally the minute we were allowed to go to bed it starts to pour. It rained form 9:30 pm until 10:00am so all throughou the night, all we could do was sit on the ground with our ponchos and wait for the 4:00am wake up call. I forgot to mention that my friend Thomas also got chosen to be the 3rd squad leader, so he and I, along with the other two squad leaders and PG at in the middle of the Apex in a huddle and laughed at how much life sucked. We were all soaking wet and our Patrol base was flooded in six inches of water so our ruck sacks and weapons were submerged. Embrace the suck, right?

We finally were woken up early, not that we were sleeping anyways to head back to the range where we waited until 9:30 for the busses to bring us home. That hot shower and warm bed felt so damn good, not that I got to lay in bed or anything, but I imagine it would have felt nice if I would have been allowed to lay down lol.

That's it for tonight, I'm going on 48 hours of no sleep, so I'm going to bed now. They are letting us sleep in until 6:30 tomorrow. I love how that is considered sleeping in now to me lol. FML.

-PFC Zaleuke

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Aug. 26th, 2009

Today was a pretty cool, but intense day for us. We had some gnarly PT that was so darn tiring. We had like 8 different stations, which consisted of various exercises, most of them strenuous. After each station we would have to take one lap around the PT track, so all in all on top of the stations, we had to run a total of two miles. It was nothing major but it was a good work out. Afterwards we had to get on our full kit and backpack to a training course two miles away. We learned how to “bound” which is advancing on targets in pairs, hiding behind cover, and covering our partners. Tomorrow and Friday we will be doing it with live fire, so I hope I get a good partner because its dangerous if you don’t know what your doing. Afterwards we had to walk back two miles, not on the road though, through the woods. I found out that the terrain in Georgia is very different than Florida, lol. It was a long, hard, hike back but it was fun as hell. We walked along creeks, saw snakes…and frogs (which of course got tossed at me) and it was just fun as crap because it was different. By far the best part was the recon mission we did on the way back. We came up behind another company who was doing training. They had two weapons guards who were guarding their water buffalo (giant water tank on wheels that we drink from) and our mission was to steal water and not be noticed or create a disturbance. We pulled off the mission nicely, and we got a chance to apply some of the things we’ve learned so far. Our drill sergeant showed and explained to us how we could have eliminated a whole platoon on a battlefield by contaminating or taking away their water supply. I enjoyed the hands on learning experience very much.

Now, onto bigger things. Germany. It still has not hit me yet I don’t think. I am going to live there, not visit or “stop by” lol. I took two semesters of German at college and I’m sure once I am in country I will be able to pick it back up and speak it fluently. Or I could purchase the Michael Phelps edition of Rosetta Stone and see how that works out (Joking of course, but do you remember that commercial?) I am so damn excited to have the opportunity to do this, I am beside myself. I don’t know how it will work exactly but the bases in Germany deploy quite often and it will be likely that I will be deployed very soon. It could happen anywhere from one month to six months from when I arrive to my unit. Now lets say my unit is 4 months into their deployment. I’ll go and jump right in and finish it with them. A typical deployment is 12 to 15 months but could be as little as 6 months in some cases. Every solider is awarded a mid-tour leave in the middle of his or her deployment as well which is typically two weeks long to spend with family. The word on the street is that we will be headed to Afghanistan not Iraq, cool? So for now I’m thinking I may sell my truck depending on what my father things, and ship my motorcycle overseas or sell that as well and buy a new one while I am there. Reguardless though, I cant not have a motorcycle while I am there. So dad, don’t put anymore $$$ into my bike or truck for now, it might be pointless considering all things.

Its going to be horrible having to leave all of my family and friends behind, but I simply can not pass this up. I’ll have to miss out seeing my almost four year old niece grow up in some of her cutest years, I’ll have three less years to spend with my Golden Retriever and best friend who already Is seven years old. This being said, for those of you (friends and family) who want to visit, It will certainly be an experience for you. Tim and Daniel, the Germans make some great beer or “Bier” in Deutche. I bet Daniel (one of my best friends) is stoked about me getting to go, and also excited that he has no choice but to attend Oktoberfest with me at some point.

I received a few of your letters tonight, Tim’s especially because he forgot to put my roster number on my letter (453) which got me 150 push ups, thank a lot Asshole. But seriously don’t do that on purpose, they will mess you up for that. LOL. I saw who it was from and I was like “Dammit Tim….” The letters I am most excited about getting are people’s reactions to my situation now, especially my dad’s. I can’t wait to talk to him on the phone on Sunday too. But that’s enough rambling from me for one night. I’m leaving tomorrow to spend the night out in the field, but I’ll be back Friday evening and I will write again then.

Lots of love
-PFC Zaleuke

Friday, August 28, 2009

August 25th, 2009

Since I have started writing this blog, there have been a few posts I’ve been excited to write about. This post right here will be the one I am most excited to write, besides the one on graduation. Do you want to know why I am so excited? Well today I received my orders to my next duty station. That means the place the Army will be sending me after basic training. I signed a three year contract which means I will spend three years here. Would you like to know where I am going? Well, Lol, bear with me for a second. Of course I had my list of places I would like to go like Hawaii, Alaska, California, somewhere overseas like Italy, but I figured with my luck I would get sent somewhere random and stupid.

Well today my drill sergeant was in his office and was peaking out behind his door with his megaphone saying, ,” I know where you’re going for Duty Stations!!” and he would shut the door leaving us all in suspense similar to how I’m doing to you purposely right now. Finally he came out and started telling us one by one.

The guys with Ranger contracts haven’t gotten their shit yet, the guys who are going airborne are going to Italy, some guys are going to Ft. Polk in Louisiana, and then there are the lucky guys such as myself. Out of the 56 guys in my platoon, 13 of us got chosen to go here. I wish to God I could see my father’s face right now. I am going to Germany!
Can you believe that shit? I am literally in shock still. I freaked out when my Drill Sergeant told me, Ha Ha, I was like, “Bull shit, you’re lying!” This is the reason I joined the army, I wanted to see the world. I cant believe I am lucky enough to get to go overseas for my first duty station.

Now, in my last letter I mentioned I would be a mechanized unit. Well it is now set in stone and confirmed. I will either be in 1st I.D. (Infantry Division) aka ‘The Big Red One” or 1st A.D (Armor Division) aka “Old Iron Side” which are both mechanized units. After basic training (AIT included is over and I graduate, I will have the option of taking 14 days leave, ,which I will be doing and returning to Florida, or I could leave directly from here and go to Germany. I cant not see my family and head out to Germany for three years lol. The cool thing is I can bring my motorcycle with me and get it shipped with my personal things “fo free” lol. I’m sorry, I’m excited as hell and I’m rambling. I need to get more information as to where exactly in Germany I will be, what to do with my truck, etc… As soon as I find out more I will let everybody know. For now, I’m going to rest and get some sleep. (We didn’t do much today, just went to the range and shot all day) Germany!! Ha Ha!!

-PFC Zaleuke

August 24th, 2009

I don’t have a lot of time to write tonight but I wanted to write a little something. Some of you have been asking about what it is my MOS does. Well there are a few types of Infantry, two in particular are light Infantry and Mechanized Infantry. The light infantry walks wherever they go and packs all of their shit with them all of the time, they are pretty hard core because they have to deal with all of that suck. Mechanized infantry travel in Hummers and Bradleys and hitch rides on modes of transportation and fight primarily from their vehicles (50 cal. Machine gun). The best part is obvious—little walking and rucking. I got some good news today. My platoon was chosen to be the mechanized platoon which means all other three will be light Infantry. I am not Mechanized infantry—can you say sweeeeet?

I will head to a mechanized unit which could be anywhere really. I was hoping I would get this because honestly…between walking and driving, I’m sorry I’m going to have to go with driving. Call me lazy but I’m all about comfort here. If you have beef, I’ll let you borrow my boots and you can come here and ruck 8 miles and then we will talk lol. Infantry basically kick down doors, clear houses, kill enemies, fuck shit up…lol. No, but we are kind of like SWAT at times.

Anyways, today we woke up to a fun surprise. And that was a fantastic 5 mile run! How did it go? It sucked! I did it, but it sucked lol. We then went to the firing range and did some more shooting, then came back and cleaned our weapons for a few hours. We had some PT later on in the evening and now here I am!

It’s about bedtime now. I’m exhausted and my feet are killing me from the run. So I’m gonna head out. I’m sorry if this letter is too short or too random but I’m kinda spacey tonight anyways. I love you guys, I’ll write more tomorrow when I get more time. Also, thanks Dad for sending the pictures of me and the Mexican whores from Tijuana! The guys got a kick out of them.
-PFC Zaleuke

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Aug. 21st and Aug. 23rd

I’m sorry I haven’t written in a few days, but I’ve been crazy busy, and quite a bit has happened. I’ll start with my PT test I took on Wednesday morning. I’m getting tired of these by the way, but I’ve been doing pretty damn good on them. So I won’t complain. I forget my overall score out of 300 but it was between 235 and 247. I did 53 push ups (more than last time), 62 sit ups (same as last time), and I ran my two mile in 14:00 flat (six seconds better than last time). So overall I did better than our previous test, too
easy- too easy!

After our PT test, we had to get ready to head out to the field for our three day, two night FTX (Field training exercise). We packed up our heavy ass backpacks, aka ruck sacks, and headed out to Hell on Earth. I hate Georgia, its weather, its land, and everything in between…We were only allowed to bring one extra set of ACU’s, so besides the ones I was wearing, I only had one back up set of clean clothes. FML.

We spent three days doing ARM (Advanced Rifle Marksmanship) which is where we go through houses and clear them out, so we are literally out on the range in the heat sweating our asses off all day. After day one I was already filthy and extremely tired, but an hour before bedtime one of the drill sergeants thought we needed to do some late night PT. During the course, one of our guys farted which made everyone laugh. This pissed the drill sergeant off and we got smoked for almost two and a half hours. We had to low crawl in the dirt for an hour enough times to make a “race track” impression in the ground. We then had to stand at attention for the remainder of time getting threatened with being sent back to Red Phase, and Article 15’s. By the time we got done, and finished setting up our patrol base in the woods, it was near 2:30 am. We had to wake up at 4:00 am…FML.
We had a long three days out in the woods lol. We have sleeping bags and items that “could” make us comfortable laying in the dirt but nooooooo.. we can’t risk unpacking that stuff because at any given time we have to get up and react to indirect fire. That means we grab our shit and run away as fast as we can to another designation which is previous set in case of a situation like that. It sucks because it means generally we sleep with everything on and nothing unpacked. I can’t tell you how much I love running through the woods, pitch black, 2:00am with a 70lb ruck sack on my back. I am so graceful as I jump joyfully over logs and creeks… I never fall….FML!

I am really tired of even talking about being out there, that’s how miserable it is. Our last day was slightly fun though at the last shooting range. We got to shoot at moving targets and it was almost like sitting on a hill picking off civilians….or enemies. I don’t want you to think I’m crazy lol. But it really was like a sweet video game.

We had a memorial today for Private “H”, he was the guy in our platoon who died from a heat stroke two weeks ago. I cant tell you how sad it was to see Sergeant Majors, Colonels, First Sergeants, and Lt. Colonels salute his picture, touch his dog tags, and leave him his cross rifles and blue chord. I can usually keep it together pretty well, but even I had a hard time. Final Roll call was pretty weird as well. They literally call out a few names of soldiers present, and lastly they call out the deceast’s name which of course will not get a response. I don’t like military funerals, but I have a feeling that I will have to attend many of them unfortunately throughout my military career.

This paragraph is being written on Aug. 23, 2009. We thankfully have had a few days of down time since our return on Friday, and I feel somewhat rested again. Yesterday, Saturday, we sat through a nine hour class on personal finances. It was all mostly things I already knew, but I enjoyed it. I found out that I can get all credit card/car payment interest rates down to 6% because I am active duty. Sweet! The entire time we were in class, aka: all day long, our drill sergeants trashed our bay just because they were bored. We had all of our bunks turned over, all of our laundry thrown into the middle mixed with one another, and pepto bismol thrown all over our bathroom. Wed had the pleasure of cleaning all that up too, lucky us.

Afterwards, the drill sergeants were going to make all four platoons take apart their beds and move them all downstairs (We hate doing that) but instead they had a competition. We had to pick a few guys from our platoon to do their best impressions of drill sergeants, as did each platoon. The two losers had to take their beds downstairs, and we were not one of them thankfully. Some of the impressions were funny as hell too, and its funny to watch guys do impressions when the drill sergeant they are doing is standing in front of them.

Today is another lazy Sunday, I love Sundays lol. It is also August 23rd which means that we have 11 more days of basic training left. We will start AIT on September 4th which will also be the start of Black phase. Family day will start Saturday September 12th which his 19 days from today. I’ve made my own elaborate calendar which is very detailed, and I mark off each day. I have a total of 47 more days until I graduate as well, I cant wait! I’m excited as Hell too see my friends and family.

Alright, I think I’m about done with this one. I want to leave you with a quote that I enjoy, and often keep close to my heart. From the great words of Colonel Sanders, “I’m too drunk to taste this chicken”.

-PFC Zaleuke

Thursday, August 20, 2009

August 17th, 2009

We here in Delta company, 4th platoon are drop dead exhausted right now. We had a rough day today which is expected after the past two days of us doing absolutely nothing. Well, let me start with what happened last night before I get into today’s events. I probably saw one of the craziest things Ive seen in a long time. The entire company (all four platoons) were assigned tasks to do in order to fully clean the common area. I was sweeping the floor, and I hear a loud metallic “Bang”!

It took me a second to realize what it was that I saw, and what it was that I heard, and then add the two together. One of the soldiers in another platoon, who happened to be on crutches, got pissed off at someone and snapped. He took one of his aluminum crutches and did a full tomahawk swing with it, thus bending it over the kids head (literally) and split that Mo-Fo’s head wide open. I was like, “Ohhhh!!...Nice!” but that was of course my first reaction, and we all know I really need to filter and or completely not speak until I’ve had a moment to gather my thoughts lol. I got some weird looks after that comment, but I played it off of course. Honestly though…how often do you see shit like that?! I enjoy shocking things. One of the older soldiers who was an ex-Marine/ex-SWAT took his ass down and restrained him until the MP’s came to arrest him. Very eventful. Oh yeah, the kid is okay, he got 8 staples in his head, and his gash was so rad, you could see his skull!

Moving on, lol. This morning we woke up at 0430 and cleaned our bay for a solid three hours because the new company commander was coming through to inspect bays. We ate chow, I had four glasses of chocolate milk by the way, and we headed to the busses to head out to the range. I have a new found love for hand grenades, they are everything that Sylvester Stallone makes them out to be in the movies. Lol, seriously though they are pretty cool. We had to throw a few practice grenades before they trusted us to throw real ones. It can be pretty scary holding a live grenade in your hand, and all of the practice I had playing Team Death match on Call of Duty 4 did not help me much. Lol, damn video games have really cheated me.

After we were finished we had to stand in formation for about 20 minutes in the pouring rain with full gear on. Then they surprised us with the fantastic news of having no busses to pick us up. So we had to walk the three miles back in the pouring rain. We are used to this by now, so it was not big deal, but there is always a catch to something that seems too easy. The kids on “profile” who are the kids who go to sick call and cant march or walk…yeah, we had to carry them. All of them. They just happened to be the fat guys and bigger guys I the platoon too. It was horrible lol, carrying their fat asses with all of their gear and weapons for three miles. Awesome!

You can imagine why we would be damn tired lol, plus we got smoked for about 30 mins when we got smoked for about 30 mins when we got back because we all took showers. I don’t care though, that shower felt damn good. Tomorrow will be an easier day I assume, we are only going back to that firing range that is a video game to learn how to kill people on the move. You can sugar coat it all you want, but that’s what it is. We are learning to kill people. What do you do at your job?

Lol, bed time. More later.
-PFC Zaleuke

August 15th, 2009

I am writing this letter to inform all of you that I have nothing new to report . We honestly haven’t done a damn thing today, and it has been awesome! We woke up late today (with permission) and honestly sat around the bay and did literally nothing. Today I wrote some letters to people, sat under my bunk for several hours and bull shitted with the guys for the rest of the time. We got several people to do the “Impossible Sit-up” which is where you blind fold them, one person stands over them with their ass exposed, and as they go to do their sit-up you remove their blind fold and they come face to face with another man’s ass. I don’t know why that is so damn funny to me but it is. I’m 22 years old and I am going on 12. I honestly don’t think I will every truely grow up.

We had a weird thing happen to us today with one of our drill sergeants. He is one of our replacements who is a pain in the ass. In reality he is special forces and is a total bad ass, but he is mean as hell. A lot of us call him “the man with no shadow” and often exchange his name and Chuck Norris’ when we tell old Chuck Norris jokes. Drill Sergeant “B” ‘s tears cure cancer…too bad Drill Sergeant “B” has never cried. He came into our bay today and made us all go down stairs ASAP. We were all like, “Damn…not again”. He eventually came downstairs with a football and we all played football on the PT track as a platoon and it was fun as hell. We were all really thrown off by that whole situation. Touch football in basic training? That is honestly the only thing we have done today. Ive spent a good amount of time working out in the bay by doing pushups and stuff to pass the time. We are all getting prepared for another PT test which will be on Wednesday of this week. I’ll dominate that again as always.

I don’t know if you remember me telling you about my battle buddy a while ago when I first got here, but every day he seems to prove me wrong. When you think that there is no possible way a person could get more stupid, it happens. The best way I could describe him would be Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber. Honestly, its pretty damn close to that. He provides me with hours of endless laughter from day to day. Today while I was laying on my bunk writing a letter, he was passed out on the floor next to me. My friend Nick and I took a sharpie and drew a sweet mustache and soul patch on him. About five minutes later we had to all head down to form up for chow, and after everyone laughed at him, he realized there was something on his face. He saw it was a mustache and when we told him we had to go right now, he grabbed shaving cream and a razor. Let me say this again… “He grabbed shaving cream and a razor” to get off a sharpie mustache. That whole situation honestly floored me. The thought process that must go on to determine that he needs to shave a penciled in mustache is amazing to me. That ladies and gentlemen will be the person who could be covering my ass in a fire fight on day…Awesome! A literal Gomer Pile with a whopping 33 ASVAB score. He means well, but come on! Lol is a little common sense too much to ask out of somebody?

I don’t know if I have told you all about this or not in a previous letter because honestly its hard to keep track of everything I write but I got promoted within the platoon the other day. I am Alpha Fire team leader for my squad. I answer to my squad leader and platoon guide only and I am in charge of about 8 guys. Its honestly not a huge responsibility but it gives me something to do at least. I was Brave Fire team leader before, and if my squad leader messes up and gets his ass fired, I’ll have to take his place. I would’nt mind being a squad leader actually because you really don’t do shit, just tell other people what to do and make sure it gets done. I made one of my buddies “Assistant TO the Fire team leader”. I think its funny to break the chain of command down to the ridiculous. I may even make a “Secretary to the Assistant TO the fire team leader” position. LOL, it just depends on how bored I get and how much I want to irritate my Platoon Guide, which is quite often lately.

Alrighty, well that is really all I have for now. Monday we have grenades and stuff like that so I will probably wait to write again until then because tomorrow is Sunday and we will probably do even less than we did today. So peace out suckas! …..yeah….. excuse that one, it kind of slipped out (That’s what she said) LOL!

-PFC Zaleuke