August 9th, 2009

As I figured, I wasn’t able to write yesterday, but I had a pretty fun day. My day started out with being able to sleep in until 0600. Isn’t it crazy that I consider that sleeping in now? We did’nt have PT at all which was cool so we had to get into our ACU’s and get all of our gear packed up and we headed out to the range. We went to a different firing range than previous times, and that is because this range is a qualifying range. We have sixteen lanes and numerous pop-up targets that are spread out at ranges from 50 to 300 meters. We are beginning to shoot on the ranges that will be like the one we are qualifying on. They are a lot different, and I had some difficulty with it but not too much. There were like 10 or so targets that pop up at random times, and they are spread out. Some are really hard to see especially if you are looking through your optic because you tend to not see them. We get two magazines each with 20 rounds. We begin by shooting 20 rounds from the prone supported position, which is when we completely lay down on our stomachs and rest our weapon on a feed bag, hence the term “supported”. We bet most of our money on these shots because they are the most accurate shots. Next we change magazines and move the sandbags out of the way and fire 10 rounds from the “prone unsupported” position which is the same without the sandbags (obviously). These shots aren’t too bad, but they require more patience and focus on fundamentals. Lastly we will fire 10 rounds from the kneeling position (we get on one knee, or you sit on one foot, just as long as your not on your ass and one knee is up). This is the hardest position to shoot from, and because of this they don’t give us any targets beyond 175 meters.

I wasn’t too happy with how I thought I did yesterday until I got my scores. For a second I did’nt think I met the minimum requirement of 23 out of 40 targets, but I ended up with a 28 out of 40 which isn’t bad I suppose for my first time. We are also in full kit which makes shooting more difficult, but then again I remember when I played football I complained that the shoulder pads made it difficult to throw. I’ll get it down and I’ll surely pass when it comes time to qualify this Tuesday. Hell, some of the guys who are special ops in my platoon only got 5 out of 40 when they shot, so I feel good.

Right now, I’m taking a break from packing my ruck sack because we are getting our stuff ready for another FTX (Field Training Exercise). We will head out to the range tomorrow morning, and stay out “camping” and come back Wednesday sometime. We will spend tomorrow doing more practice shooting, and then we will actually qualify on Tuesday. I obviously have my goals of wanting to qualify on sharpshooter or earn expert, but if I only get Marksman (23-30) I will be perfectly content because Hey, I qualified!

After we returned from the range late yesterday afternoon, we had to take rushed showers and then we got ready to go to that freaking Hinder concert. I had a blast, and I didn’t even watch the show. That band is just as bad as I remembered, and I don’t understand why or how they have a fan base. I really did enjoy the extremely cheesey band shout outs they did to the soldiers though, lol. In between songs they would raise one fist in the air and say something dumb like, “USA! USA!” etc…I just took a deep breath and tried to focus on my real reason for being there: food. I ate a large pizza, a funnel cake, ice cream, snow cones (three of them), lots of candy and six sodas. I threw up once in the porta potty, then I went in for round two. It was well worth it. Me and a few of my buddies saw a booth where they were taking pictures, so we each paid 5 bucks and got a picture taken in our ACU’s. We each got three copies and I’m going to mail them to my Dad, Mom, and Sister. My family will scan the picture to the computer and I’m sure it will end up on facebook for those of you who want to see what I look like wearing my ACU’s. Hopefully my sister will post it.

After the concert ended around 2200 (10:00 PM) we marched back to the barracks where we had to stand in formation with the entire company because the drill sergeants made up this story about how they were informed that three privates were seen drinking beer. I knew it was a crock of shit, but they smoked us for two solid hours, and people were throwing up left and right, and the CTA (Common Training Area) was covered in vomit because everyone, like me, pigged out on food. Thankfully I didn’t throw up again, but it was pretty bad. We had to line up by Platoon and sing the Army Song while the drill sergeants stood four inches from our faces to smell our breath and make us incredibly uncomfortable.
We finally got to bed around 12:30am. I had a good time though, Verizon Wireless had a booth set up with 100 active cell phones and they were letting soldiers call home for free. I stood in line for an hour and got to talk to my Dad for about 10 minutes. I really enjoyed that, I’m always in a good mood when I get off the phone with him.

Today, Sunday, is a lazy day and we aren’t really doing too much. We just came back from getting haircuts that we really didn’t need, and I went to church earlier too which was fun. I think we are allowed 10 minutes to make a phone call later today, so I’ll get a chance to call my dad again. Things are going good here actually. We are just pushing through the suck of what is known as basic training. We have four more days left before we transition into Blue Phase—Sweet! That will be only three weeks and then BCT if finally complete. I’ll get a 36 hour pass to spend with my Dad and sister and then I will have to return back to base. We will begin our AIT training which is a total of five weeks long. From what I hear, It is three weeks of training and two weeks of cool down stuff like getting things ready for graduation, turning in all of our gear, being issued all brand new uniforms and boots, etc. So basically we don’t really have too much longer left. Thank God!

Alright, this letter is really long—there’s quite a bit to be typed out for your viewing pleasure. I will write back again as soon as we get back from our little FTX camping trip. I’ll let you know how I did qualifying and everything. I love you guys, take care, and keep writing me!

-PFC Zaleuke