Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
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
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
August 7th, 2009
Today has been a weird day for me. It has been an off day for most of us as a matter of fact. The day started off with a four mile ruck march for PT. I can’t tell you how much I strongly dislike ruck marches. If you are in the front of formation it isn’t so bad, but if you are in the back it sucks. People start to drag ass after a few miles and huge spaces start to form and create gaps in the formation. Drill Sergeants hate this so they tell you to “step it out” to catch up. Of course my ass is usually in the back of the formation. When the gaps start to form, people run to catch up and it creates a huge chain reaction which ends up in the entire platoon running instead of walking. I weighed my ruck sack today—97 lbs plus all the gear I was wearing . Four miles seems very far when your shoulders are screaming from intense pain and agony, and your lower back feels as if it is going to snap in half. Guess what? Welcome to the Infantry! Lol, I made it though, sweaty as Hell, but I made it.
After that, we didn’t do much. We got to go to the PX and buy things we needed. I spent about 25 bucks on laundry soap, PT shirt, bungee chords, and a towel. Cool huh?...Lol, as we were standing in line to check out, our Drill Sergeant, Drill Sergeant “K” who is leaving tomorrow for good () came up to me and a few guys and asked if we thought he was a “Candy Ass” drill sergeant. We obviously said, “Of Course not Drill Sergeant” to avoid getting smoked. He responded with “Bull Shit”—let me prove it to you that I am. When you get done paying for your shit, go next door and buy yourself a milkshake. (There was an ice cream shop outside) We are also not authorized to have that kind of stuff, so I called bull-shit immediately. I said, “There is no way you are serious, Drill Sergeant, you are not that nice”. He said he was serious, and I asked him if I would have to throw it up later, he responded with no. So still skeptical, we went with him and got milkshakes. It was really weird. Oh my God…I can’t tell you how good icecream is when you can’t have it.
You all really don’t know what you take for granted in life. When I first got here I wanted music, cell phone, computer, etc. Now I just want the bare essentials: Ice, Air Conditioning, Junk Food, lol…It’s 1900 right now and we still haven’t been smoked for it, so that’s good. I however will not rest easy until Drill Sergeant “K” is gone. He is on call tonight unfortunately, and 99% of the time we get woken up in the middle of the night for something stupid.
We hung out for the rest of the day and played it cool. Drill Sergeant “K” sat us down and told us some war stories and also gave us the update on the Solider who went down yesterday. He only has a 10% chance of a full recovery and will likely be a vegetable for the rest of his life due to severe brain damage. It sucks because we have all gotten pretty close here and now one of our brothers is down and out. We are praying for him, but the outcome doesn’t look too promising. Brutal, huh?
Alright that is it for today. I’ll write again tomorrow if I can, but probably Sunday because Saturday will be a busy day for us. I love you guys!
-PFC Zaleuke
After that, we didn’t do much. We got to go to the PX and buy things we needed. I spent about 25 bucks on laundry soap, PT shirt, bungee chords, and a towel. Cool huh?...Lol, as we were standing in line to check out, our Drill Sergeant, Drill Sergeant “K” who is leaving tomorrow for good () came up to me and a few guys and asked if we thought he was a “Candy Ass” drill sergeant. We obviously said, “Of Course not Drill Sergeant” to avoid getting smoked. He responded with “Bull Shit”—let me prove it to you that I am. When you get done paying for your shit, go next door and buy yourself a milkshake. (There was an ice cream shop outside) We are also not authorized to have that kind of stuff, so I called bull-shit immediately. I said, “There is no way you are serious, Drill Sergeant, you are not that nice”. He said he was serious, and I asked him if I would have to throw it up later, he responded with no. So still skeptical, we went with him and got milkshakes. It was really weird. Oh my God…I can’t tell you how good icecream is when you can’t have it.
You all really don’t know what you take for granted in life. When I first got here I wanted music, cell phone, computer, etc. Now I just want the bare essentials: Ice, Air Conditioning, Junk Food, lol…It’s 1900 right now and we still haven’t been smoked for it, so that’s good. I however will not rest easy until Drill Sergeant “K” is gone. He is on call tonight unfortunately, and 99% of the time we get woken up in the middle of the night for something stupid.
We hung out for the rest of the day and played it cool. Drill Sergeant “K” sat us down and told us some war stories and also gave us the update on the Solider who went down yesterday. He only has a 10% chance of a full recovery and will likely be a vegetable for the rest of his life due to severe brain damage. It sucks because we have all gotten pretty close here and now one of our brothers is down and out. We are praying for him, but the outcome doesn’t look too promising. Brutal, huh?
Alright that is it for today. I’ll write again tomorrow if I can, but probably Sunday because Saturday will be a busy day for us. I love you guys!
-PFC Zaleuke
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
August 6th, 2009
Today, I woke up and had that feeling like I just wanted to go back to sleep. I don’t care how much I get to sleep, it is never enough. On average, I get seven hours a night and that is only if I don’t have an hour long fire guard shift. So I rolled my ass out of bed and got dressed, acted as if I were busy so that I didn’t have to sweep or mop or anything, then I went downstairs for formation and PT. This morning’s PT was horrible. We started stretching and then we went into 60 120’s. That’s where you spring for 60 seconds and jog for 120 seconds over and over again. After that we would normally be finished, but not today! We had to form back up for a 30 minute smoke session which consisted of flutter kicks, pushups, jumping jacks, overhead arm clap, etc. We were dead tired.
Then we had to line up on side of the PT track and run 100 yard sprints. We did 22 of them and each had to be completed in 17 seconds or less. One of the guys in my platoon started walking funny, then he passed out. One of the guys went to get him and as we were walking, excuse me running off the field, he passed out again. T hey called for the ice sheets, which are literally bed sheets of ice to be used on him and they took his temperature. Apparently it read 98.6 degrees but it wasn’t working right. It turns out that his real temperature was 107 degrees which they took in the ambulance on the way to the hospital where he is now. Talk about brutal, and that was my morning pretty much.
I am so damn tired its crazy and I’m sitting in the dentist office now. We aren’t doing a damn thing today so they decided to send a bunch of us to the dentist so we could get squared away. I’m getting a cavity filled, awesome! On the bright side, I’m away from the company probably for a few hours and I have a lot of time to write. I’m going to try to write a few letters while I’m here.
It is so damn hot here in Georgia. I thought Florida was bad, but good Lord! It is almost a daily struggle not to pass out from the heat every day, it is that hot. There has been a few times where I felt as if I was about to pass out, but I can’t be “that guy”. I believe we are going on a four mile ruck march tomorrow morning for PT, and I’m really glad its going to be before the sun comes up because that always makes it easier. It’s not that I get physically tired from the marches, it is usually just the extreme heat and having to wear all of that gear that gets to me.
I was talking last night with one of our prior service/re-class soldiers last night and it seems that I will be able to make Sergeant in about a year and a half possibly, and even staff sergeant a year after that! I think that is pretty cool and I’m really excited. This new guy is full of information and is really cool. I enjoy talking to him as much as possible because I learn a lot from him.
I honestly cant think of anything that has happened that I can remember. Basic training is over in about 4 weeks and I will get to see my Dad, sister and niece which I am really excited about. I’m sure they have thousands of questions for me, as is expected. I want to tell my mom, grandparents, Mary, Donnie, Alisha, Debbie, and rest of my family how much I love them. I miss you all, and I will be seeing you all soon. Do me a favor, and kiss my puppy for me and let him know that I love him too. It’s hard not being able to communicate with one of your closest friends just because he is an animal. I miss my golden retriever LOL!
Before I go, I just remembered a funny story that happened to me a few days ago that I meant to write about in an earlier letter. We were outside in the woods a few days ago when it was raining and we had to set up a perimeter around an area. I was paired up with one of the black guys in our platoon. We were sitting back to back talking, and of course we got busted. We heard, “Privates, shut the Hell up over there! What is so important that you need to talk right now?” Obviously, sitting in the rain with my back up against a black guy reminded me of Forrest Gump…I said, “Bubba said that we should lean up against each other so we don’t have to lay our heads in the mud, Drill Sergeant”. He goes, “What?!” I said, “Forest Gump, Drill Sergeant”. He just stared at me for a few seconds and took a deep breath then continued on with his lecture. LOL. I’m always doing shit like that here, especially, “Lt. Dan!! I got you some Ice-cream!” LOL, my drill sergeants often say, “Shut-up, Zaleuke” from across the bay when they hear me. Maybe it isn’t too funny, but I think so, especially when I know they find it funny too.
Alright that’s it for now. I’m all out of stories today. Thank you by the way for all of the Billy Mays information you all have been sending me. People here think I am weird because I get so much Billy Mays stuff in the mail. What can I say though, the man was an Idol and also a genius with a flawless beard! He will surely be missed, by me especially. Lastly, a lot of you have been sending me song lyrics from bands I like and songs I love. I can almost hear the song perfectly in my head- Thankyou!
I just got back from the dentist and our drill sergeants sat us down to tell us about the guy who passed out today. He topped out at 108 degrees. He went into cardiac arrest and they brought him back. He is sedated for now but its pretty bad and right now we don’t know what is going to happen. Tomorrow’s ruck march may not happen now—I’ll keep you updated, it’s getting interesting!
-PFC Zaleuke
Then we had to line up on side of the PT track and run 100 yard sprints. We did 22 of them and each had to be completed in 17 seconds or less. One of the guys in my platoon started walking funny, then he passed out. One of the guys went to get him and as we were walking, excuse me running off the field, he passed out again. T hey called for the ice sheets, which are literally bed sheets of ice to be used on him and they took his temperature. Apparently it read 98.6 degrees but it wasn’t working right. It turns out that his real temperature was 107 degrees which they took in the ambulance on the way to the hospital where he is now. Talk about brutal, and that was my morning pretty much.
I am so damn tired its crazy and I’m sitting in the dentist office now. We aren’t doing a damn thing today so they decided to send a bunch of us to the dentist so we could get squared away. I’m getting a cavity filled, awesome! On the bright side, I’m away from the company probably for a few hours and I have a lot of time to write. I’m going to try to write a few letters while I’m here.
It is so damn hot here in Georgia. I thought Florida was bad, but good Lord! It is almost a daily struggle not to pass out from the heat every day, it is that hot. There has been a few times where I felt as if I was about to pass out, but I can’t be “that guy”. I believe we are going on a four mile ruck march tomorrow morning for PT, and I’m really glad its going to be before the sun comes up because that always makes it easier. It’s not that I get physically tired from the marches, it is usually just the extreme heat and having to wear all of that gear that gets to me.
I was talking last night with one of our prior service/re-class soldiers last night and it seems that I will be able to make Sergeant in about a year and a half possibly, and even staff sergeant a year after that! I think that is pretty cool and I’m really excited. This new guy is full of information and is really cool. I enjoy talking to him as much as possible because I learn a lot from him.
I honestly cant think of anything that has happened that I can remember. Basic training is over in about 4 weeks and I will get to see my Dad, sister and niece which I am really excited about. I’m sure they have thousands of questions for me, as is expected. I want to tell my mom, grandparents, Mary, Donnie, Alisha, Debbie, and rest of my family how much I love them. I miss you all, and I will be seeing you all soon. Do me a favor, and kiss my puppy for me and let him know that I love him too. It’s hard not being able to communicate with one of your closest friends just because he is an animal. I miss my golden retriever LOL!
Before I go, I just remembered a funny story that happened to me a few days ago that I meant to write about in an earlier letter. We were outside in the woods a few days ago when it was raining and we had to set up a perimeter around an area. I was paired up with one of the black guys in our platoon. We were sitting back to back talking, and of course we got busted. We heard, “Privates, shut the Hell up over there! What is so important that you need to talk right now?” Obviously, sitting in the rain with my back up against a black guy reminded me of Forrest Gump…I said, “Bubba said that we should lean up against each other so we don’t have to lay our heads in the mud, Drill Sergeant”. He goes, “What?!” I said, “Forest Gump, Drill Sergeant”. He just stared at me for a few seconds and took a deep breath then continued on with his lecture. LOL. I’m always doing shit like that here, especially, “Lt. Dan!! I got you some Ice-cream!” LOL, my drill sergeants often say, “Shut-up, Zaleuke” from across the bay when they hear me. Maybe it isn’t too funny, but I think so, especially when I know they find it funny too.
Alright that’s it for now. I’m all out of stories today. Thank you by the way for all of the Billy Mays information you all have been sending me. People here think I am weird because I get so much Billy Mays stuff in the mail. What can I say though, the man was an Idol and also a genius with a flawless beard! He will surely be missed, by me especially. Lastly, a lot of you have been sending me song lyrics from bands I like and songs I love. I can almost hear the song perfectly in my head- Thankyou!
I just got back from the dentist and our drill sergeants sat us down to tell us about the guy who passed out today. He topped out at 108 degrees. He went into cardiac arrest and they brought him back. He is sedated for now but its pretty bad and right now we don’t know what is going to happen. Tomorrow’s ruck march may not happen now—I’ll keep you updated, it’s getting interesting!
-PFC Zaleuke
Saturday, August 8, 2009
August 5th, 2009
I apologize for not writing the past day or so, but we have been crazy busy and they havent given me much time to myself. These past few days have been hectic for us. We spend most of the day on the range shooting and being hot. Seriously, the other day it was 108 degrees on the field. We ran out of water, and we were on a sand course with no trees or shade. We had on full battle rattle (ACU’s, Bullet proof vest, helmet, etc). We had numerous guys drop out and sent to the infirmary. It is absolutely miserable some days, but on a good note, I’m shooting well. I hit 37 out of 40 targets yesterday which is Expert level, so that’s pretty legit.
I woke up yesterday morning to a pleasant surprise too! PT Test!! I was so pissed off because I like to mentally prepare for something like that. I did pretty good though again. We had been smoked a lot the night before so I was pretty out of it, but I did 50 pushups, 63 sit ups, and ran my two-mile run in 14:06. Yeah, it ‘is lower than’ last time, but give me a break, I get tired. My score is still high (230) and I’m still #7 in PT in my platoon. Everybody’s run times were down by one minute this time but that may be because last PT test we ran on the track while this one was on the road. Reguardless though, I’m stronger than ever, not to mention I’m in the best shape of my life. My scores are still well over 60% which is what I need to graduate AIT, so I’m not worried. I’m still a bad Ass.
LOL- this is a funny story I wanted to share with you. A few weeks ago I was given a cheap Bible by the Army when I went to church. Each bible had a personalized note inside of it written by people to soliders. I got one written by a nine year old little girl named Hunger, and she wrote her address in it, and asked me (or whoever) to write her. On one of my lazy Sundays, I wrote her a letter thanking her for the Bible and what not, and I told her a little about myself. A few weeks went by, and Friday, July 31st I got a FedEx package in the mail. We have to open all packages in front of our drill sergeants. That night, Drill Sergeant “K” who is our most…lively drill sergeant made me open it. That little girl’s family sent me a box of cupcakes, candles, mini-birthday balloon, confetti, and a long note and stuff. I automatically hung my head as if saying “damnit” to myself. My drill sergeant goes, “Wellllll, Private. What do we have here? It appears to be someone’s birthdayyy!” He took the food and that’s where it all ended (or so I thought).
I thought I had made it without getting smoked for my birthday because all my friends and family had done such a good job keeping all Birthday mail inconspicuous. Monday evening rolls around and Drill Sergeant “K” calls my friends Thomas and Wisdom up to his office and he goes, “Zaleuke, get your ass up here too.” So I double timed it up to the front of the bay and before I even got there Drill Sergeant goes, “Get the fuck down and do pushups Private!” Now I had thought maybe it was because I was only wearing shorts and sandals, but he goes, “Do you know why your doing pushups, Private?” I said, “No Drill Sergeant”. He told me I could think of the reason why while I do them while he goes into his office. The entire platoon is standing perfectly still, drill sergeant is in his office, and I’m looking at all of the guys as if like saying, “WTF did I do!?”
A few seconds later, Thomas and Wisdom came out of the office with my drill sergeant holding a cupcake with a single candle in it singing the Happy Birthday song. LOL. He asked me how old I was, and made me do 22 pushups, 22 situps, 22 squat benders, 22 downups, etc. When I was done however I got to eat my cupcake (which was damn good by the way) So basically by writing a simple letter this little 9 year old girl got my ass smoked. FML. For all of you who are laughing too, you can kiss my ass.. AKA: Daniel.
That is about all of the news for now though. I got 24 letters in the mail for my birthday, and that was pretty cool. I got about 8 letters tonight too! My dad sent me some really cool letters, lol, most of which contain pictures and quotes from our favorite movies. Everybody has been sending me unique and cool letters lately as well, and I have saved every letter I have gotten since I’ve been here and it is filed away in my binder. It will be something I can keep and look back on, and I enjoy keeping up with it nightly. For those of you who have not received letters from me, bear with me, I am slowly getting around to writing you back. Don’t think I don’t appreciate all of your letters though because I read them all.
I’m not sure what we have planned tomorrow, probably more shooting. For some reason we keep hearing hints about Ft. Bliss in Texas, and how we will “possibly” be deployed in six months or so. It is a mathematical certainty that I am going, but when and where is yet to be determined. It’s kind of nerve wracking and somewhat cool too. The army has officially made me terrified of IED’s now though (google I.E.D) It’s apparently a big big deal over in Iraq. Sweet….
LOL, alright it’s bed time. I love you guys and I’ll write again as soon as they give me free time. I always do. Good night.
-PFC Zaleuke
I woke up yesterday morning to a pleasant surprise too! PT Test!! I was so pissed off because I like to mentally prepare for something like that. I did pretty good though again. We had been smoked a lot the night before so I was pretty out of it, but I did 50 pushups, 63 sit ups, and ran my two-mile run in 14:06. Yeah, it ‘is lower than’ last time, but give me a break, I get tired. My score is still high (230) and I’m still #7 in PT in my platoon. Everybody’s run times were down by one minute this time but that may be because last PT test we ran on the track while this one was on the road. Reguardless though, I’m stronger than ever, not to mention I’m in the best shape of my life. My scores are still well over 60% which is what I need to graduate AIT, so I’m not worried. I’m still a bad Ass.
LOL- this is a funny story I wanted to share with you. A few weeks ago I was given a cheap Bible by the Army when I went to church. Each bible had a personalized note inside of it written by people to soliders. I got one written by a nine year old little girl named Hunger, and she wrote her address in it, and asked me (or whoever) to write her. On one of my lazy Sundays, I wrote her a letter thanking her for the Bible and what not, and I told her a little about myself. A few weeks went by, and Friday, July 31st I got a FedEx package in the mail. We have to open all packages in front of our drill sergeants. That night, Drill Sergeant “K” who is our most…lively drill sergeant made me open it. That little girl’s family sent me a box of cupcakes, candles, mini-birthday balloon, confetti, and a long note and stuff. I automatically hung my head as if saying “damnit” to myself. My drill sergeant goes, “Wellllll, Private. What do we have here? It appears to be someone’s birthdayyy!” He took the food and that’s where it all ended (or so I thought).
I thought I had made it without getting smoked for my birthday because all my friends and family had done such a good job keeping all Birthday mail inconspicuous. Monday evening rolls around and Drill Sergeant “K” calls my friends Thomas and Wisdom up to his office and he goes, “Zaleuke, get your ass up here too.” So I double timed it up to the front of the bay and before I even got there Drill Sergeant goes, “Get the fuck down and do pushups Private!” Now I had thought maybe it was because I was only wearing shorts and sandals, but he goes, “Do you know why your doing pushups, Private?” I said, “No Drill Sergeant”. He told me I could think of the reason why while I do them while he goes into his office. The entire platoon is standing perfectly still, drill sergeant is in his office, and I’m looking at all of the guys as if like saying, “WTF did I do!?”
A few seconds later, Thomas and Wisdom came out of the office with my drill sergeant holding a cupcake with a single candle in it singing the Happy Birthday song. LOL. He asked me how old I was, and made me do 22 pushups, 22 situps, 22 squat benders, 22 downups, etc. When I was done however I got to eat my cupcake (which was damn good by the way) So basically by writing a simple letter this little 9 year old girl got my ass smoked. FML. For all of you who are laughing too, you can kiss my ass.. AKA: Daniel.
That is about all of the news for now though. I got 24 letters in the mail for my birthday, and that was pretty cool. I got about 8 letters tonight too! My dad sent me some really cool letters, lol, most of which contain pictures and quotes from our favorite movies. Everybody has been sending me unique and cool letters lately as well, and I have saved every letter I have gotten since I’ve been here and it is filed away in my binder. It will be something I can keep and look back on, and I enjoy keeping up with it nightly. For those of you who have not received letters from me, bear with me, I am slowly getting around to writing you back. Don’t think I don’t appreciate all of your letters though because I read them all.
I’m not sure what we have planned tomorrow, probably more shooting. For some reason we keep hearing hints about Ft. Bliss in Texas, and how we will “possibly” be deployed in six months or so. It is a mathematical certainty that I am going, but when and where is yet to be determined. It’s kind of nerve wracking and somewhat cool too. The army has officially made me terrified of IED’s now though (google I.E.D) It’s apparently a big big deal over in Iraq. Sweet….
LOL, alright it’s bed time. I love you guys and I’ll write again as soon as they give me free time. I always do. Good night.
-PFC Zaleuke
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
August 2nd, 2009
Today is Sunday, and I don’t really have too much to say. We went to sleep almost immediately after I finished my letter last night. I woke up today and ate a great breakfast then went to church. Now I’m sitting around waiting to go to the PX to get a haircut. I’m really tired and want to go to sleep but a few guys from 2nd platoon got busted sleeping and got smoked pretty badly, so I don’t want to risk it.
We got these prior service guys added to our platoon the other day because they were switching MOS’. They are all combat veterans who have been deployed, and they have been telling us all sorts of stories. They seem to think most of us will be set to Ft. Bliss which is in El Paso Texas because they will be deploying soon. The real Army sounds pretty cool. Our living quarters on base will be pretty cool too from what I hear. I’m really excited that I got paid yesterday and it was a bit less than it would normally be because they fronted us $300.00 upfront. I’m going to save most of the money I make, but there are a few things I’m going to buy when I get out of here because I think I deserve it. I want a new 52 inch LCD TV and maybe some rims for my truck. I’ll also be able to pay off my motorcycle real soon too which will be nice. If I get to go to Texas, I think I will like it. Hank Hill is from Texas, so it cant be that bad.
We have roughly 12 days left of white phase until we advance to Blue phase. It’s hard to believe we only have about nine weeks left until it is all over. It will be a glorious day for me too because I cant wait to get out of here. Oddly though, I’m really starting to get used to this new way of life. The days seem to fly by especially when you space out a lot like I do. Its sometimes the only thing I can do to feel normal, lol. I’ve heard some information that said we will not be able to go home with our parents after graduation. We have to stay here one more week to fill out paperwork to get it ready for our first duty stations. The Army will then pay for us to get home. I’ll have to fly home wearing my military uniform which will be pretty cool. I’m not sure how accurate all of this info is, but that’s the word on the street.
I’m counting down the days until I get to see my Dad, sister, and niece on my family day break which is about one month away. I’m looking forward to eating food that I’ve been missing, and the opportunity to use my computer which I hope my dad will bring with him. I haven’t checked MySpace for Facebook in ages it seems.
I gave our Platoon Guide a nickname the other day which the drill sergeants think is funny as hell. Usually we call him P.G. but I started calling him Pappa Golf (because of the Military Alphabet). Now that I write that, it seems less funny but whatever I guess, lol. Well that is about all of the news for now. If you all have any questions or want to know anything about how we do things, feel free to ask in your letters.
Just like you, I too like to have things to write about at times. Sometimes things here are quite boring. I weigh 186 now by the way. That is sixteen lbs I’ve gained since being here. That was random to bring up, I know, but oh well. I’ll talk to you all soon.
-PFC Zaleuke
We got these prior service guys added to our platoon the other day because they were switching MOS’. They are all combat veterans who have been deployed, and they have been telling us all sorts of stories. They seem to think most of us will be set to Ft. Bliss which is in El Paso Texas because they will be deploying soon. The real Army sounds pretty cool. Our living quarters on base will be pretty cool too from what I hear. I’m really excited that I got paid yesterday and it was a bit less than it would normally be because they fronted us $300.00 upfront. I’m going to save most of the money I make, but there are a few things I’m going to buy when I get out of here because I think I deserve it. I want a new 52 inch LCD TV and maybe some rims for my truck. I’ll also be able to pay off my motorcycle real soon too which will be nice. If I get to go to Texas, I think I will like it. Hank Hill is from Texas, so it cant be that bad.
We have roughly 12 days left of white phase until we advance to Blue phase. It’s hard to believe we only have about nine weeks left until it is all over. It will be a glorious day for me too because I cant wait to get out of here. Oddly though, I’m really starting to get used to this new way of life. The days seem to fly by especially when you space out a lot like I do. Its sometimes the only thing I can do to feel normal, lol. I’ve heard some information that said we will not be able to go home with our parents after graduation. We have to stay here one more week to fill out paperwork to get it ready for our first duty stations. The Army will then pay for us to get home. I’ll have to fly home wearing my military uniform which will be pretty cool. I’m not sure how accurate all of this info is, but that’s the word on the street.
I’m counting down the days until I get to see my Dad, sister, and niece on my family day break which is about one month away. I’m looking forward to eating food that I’ve been missing, and the opportunity to use my computer which I hope my dad will bring with him. I haven’t checked MySpace for Facebook in ages it seems.
I gave our Platoon Guide a nickname the other day which the drill sergeants think is funny as hell. Usually we call him P.G. but I started calling him Pappa Golf (because of the Military Alphabet). Now that I write that, it seems less funny but whatever I guess, lol. Well that is about all of the news for now. If you all have any questions or want to know anything about how we do things, feel free to ask in your letters.
Just like you, I too like to have things to write about at times. Sometimes things here are quite boring. I weigh 186 now by the way. That is sixteen lbs I’ve gained since being here. That was random to bring up, I know, but oh well. I’ll talk to you all soon.
-PFC Zaleuke
August 1st, 2009
Well today is my 22nd birthday, and I had a crazy day. Actually I had a crazy few days. In my last letter I wrote, I told you I was going out for a three day field training exercise. I have to say overall, it sucked. We took a bus there with our 70lb ruck sacks and set up on the range. We spent three solid days grouping and zeroing our weapons. I did mine in the first day with only 12 rounds. It took some people much longer. Since it is against policy to sleep on a range, we had to ruck a mile to and from the range. I can not stress to you how how it is here, so my ACU’s were soaked with sweat all day long. It also rained all day and most of the night which meant we had to sleep in the rain.
Funny thing about the infantry: We sleep in the places nobody else wants to sleep. We do it for the purpose that the enemy wouldn’t even want to walk through the shit to find us. SO- we had to sleep in 3 ft high grass and mud that was a swamp. You could imagine my delight!! Since I zeroed my weapon so early (since I am a bad ass) I had to sit around for two days wet and miserable. Awesome. We did go over a lot of tactical maneuvers out in the woods though which was pretty cool.
Friday night we returned to the bay and we had to repack our rucks for today’s journey. We woke up at 0430, got on a bus and went to a different firing range. Todays training was fun as hell. I got to burn off almost 150 rounds on pop up targets ranging from 75, 175, and 300 meters away. I dominated obviously. No, seriously through, I am really good with my weapon. I feel very confident when it comes time to qualify.
I got punched in the throat by some punk ass kid today because I didn’t want to take him to the restroom. I was about to go on range, and he wouldn’t accept no as an answer so he punched me in the throat… I stook there and said, “Really?” I smiled, and a few seconds later a drill sergeant came over and made the fucker get in the front leaning rest position and smoked the hell out of him. While he was down, I called him a pussy and the D.S. just smiled. Punched in the throat on my B-day..awesome.
Today’s temp reached 103 degrees in Ft. Benning. We had to ruck back. Holy Shit! Six miles, full battle rattle, 70lb ruck sack, limited water, it was God Awful. Out of 56 in our platoon, 27 made it the whole way. That is just in our platoon too, we marched our entire company of 220, and a lot fell out. I made it the entire way though…because I am a man. LOL! I’m exhausted, I have prickly heat on my back from not being able to shower these past few days, my feel look like rocks: All in all, Good day, good birthday. I feel accomplished and I am starting to gain motivation by watching others fail. I will not/can not fail. I refuse to accept defeat, I am a soldier now and we do not give up.
I’m going to bed now, Lol. I’m exhausted. I will write tomorrow about more stuff. By the way, I got a lot of everyone’s birthday cards and packages. Thank you everyone, seriously. You all found a way to make my birthday somewhat special while I’m at this horrid place. Thanks, I wont forget it. I love you guys, I’ll write about more stuff in detail tomorrow since its Sunday. Sleep well, I know I will tonight.
Talk Later-
-PFC Zaleuke
Funny thing about the infantry: We sleep in the places nobody else wants to sleep. We do it for the purpose that the enemy wouldn’t even want to walk through the shit to find us. SO- we had to sleep in 3 ft high grass and mud that was a swamp. You could imagine my delight!! Since I zeroed my weapon so early (since I am a bad ass) I had to sit around for two days wet and miserable. Awesome. We did go over a lot of tactical maneuvers out in the woods though which was pretty cool.
Friday night we returned to the bay and we had to repack our rucks for today’s journey. We woke up at 0430, got on a bus and went to a different firing range. Todays training was fun as hell. I got to burn off almost 150 rounds on pop up targets ranging from 75, 175, and 300 meters away. I dominated obviously. No, seriously through, I am really good with my weapon. I feel very confident when it comes time to qualify.
I got punched in the throat by some punk ass kid today because I didn’t want to take him to the restroom. I was about to go on range, and he wouldn’t accept no as an answer so he punched me in the throat… I stook there and said, “Really?” I smiled, and a few seconds later a drill sergeant came over and made the fucker get in the front leaning rest position and smoked the hell out of him. While he was down, I called him a pussy and the D.S. just smiled. Punched in the throat on my B-day..awesome.
Today’s temp reached 103 degrees in Ft. Benning. We had to ruck back. Holy Shit! Six miles, full battle rattle, 70lb ruck sack, limited water, it was God Awful. Out of 56 in our platoon, 27 made it the whole way. That is just in our platoon too, we marched our entire company of 220, and a lot fell out. I made it the entire way though…because I am a man. LOL! I’m exhausted, I have prickly heat on my back from not being able to shower these past few days, my feel look like rocks: All in all, Good day, good birthday. I feel accomplished and I am starting to gain motivation by watching others fail. I will not/can not fail. I refuse to accept defeat, I am a soldier now and we do not give up.
I’m going to bed now, Lol. I’m exhausted. I will write tomorrow about more stuff. By the way, I got a lot of everyone’s birthday cards and packages. Thank you everyone, seriously. You all found a way to make my birthday somewhat special while I’m at this horrid place. Thanks, I wont forget it. I love you guys, I’ll write about more stuff in detail tomorrow since its Sunday. Sleep well, I know I will tonight.
Talk Later-
-PFC Zaleuke
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