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