The Boot Camp Saga: Warrior Week
"Are you ready to defend freedom, fly all over the world, meet interesting and exotic people, kill them and break their crap?"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
Week 4 of BMT is different from all the other weeks. For one week--"Warrior Week"--trainees stop worrying about dust-free lockers and perfectly-folded hospital corners and get to play in the dirt. Warrior week is what you see in all the recruitment videos--low-crawling, rifle training, and putting on gas masks in 14 seconds flat. It's practice for getting deployed to a war zone--much more glamorous than the rest of BMT.
On the first day of Warrior Week, we climbed onto a bus with our big green duffel bags and were driven out to the Warrior Week compound. (Perhaps the best part of WW was that our TI would not be accompanying us.) Upon arrival, we were issued helmets, dummy rifles ("rubber ducks"), and MREs (more on those later) and climbed a steep hill to the main meeting area.
The rules at WW are a little different. The TIs are known as "cadres" (no-one knows why) and, if possible, they have an even bigger attitude than the regular TIs. A cadre's job is to teach aggression rather than discipline--to show the trainees how to give a good battle cry, say "Halt!" with authority, and to hold the rifle as if you fully intend to blow your target's mother-lovin' head off. Most of the BMT rules still apply, but they're de-emphasized in favor of warrior spirit.
Each day at WW has a particular objective, although what order you complete them in depends on which battle group you're assigned to. Our first day was NBC (Nuclear/Biological/Chemical) training, which consists of a series of lessons followed by the infamous Gas Chamber. We were issued our gas masks, most of which were heavily scratched but all of which were functional, and were taught how to put them on quickly enough to protect us. We were taught the MOPP dance (don't ask) and the difference between chemical and biological agents. Finally, we all put on our masks nice and tight and filed in groups into an airtight room, which was then filled with tear gas. Then, two at a time, we were instructed to remove our gas masks and say where we were born. Most trainees got two or three syllables out before the tear gas got 'em. You had to answer to a cadre's satisfaction before you were allowed to *walk* out of the tear gas room, though. After you leave the gas chamber, you had to walk (arms extended) over to where everyone put their equipment and make 3 laps around that area (to the cheers of those who'd already gone through). Generally by that point the incredible burning in your face had stopped and you could pry your eyes back open. The Gas Chamber is something of a rite of passage--everyone in the Air Force has gone through it, and sharing stories about it is something of a favorite pastime.
Another feature of Warrior Week is the opportunity to get behind a real rifle for the first time. Everyone in WW has to carry around dummy rifles, and the AF is in the process of phasing in almost-functional rifle replicas which have moving parts (known as "smurf killers" for their blue color), but for one glorious day every trainee gets a chance to load, aim, and fire a real M602 rifle. The day starts out with a rifle familiarization class, which teaches you how to clear, load, unload, aim, fire, unjam, and disassemble your weapon. After the class, you learn how to clean the weapon, and then you're taken to the firing range. Passing your rifle qualification is easy, but if you have a steady hand and can remember the firing techniques, you have a chance to earn a Marksmanship ribbon, which you will be allowed to wear on your blues uniform during Week 6 and through the rest of your career. Quite a few people in my flight qualified; I came within 4 points of doing so myself, and intend to try again when I reach my first base.
A much-talked-about component of WW is FTX--the Field Training Experience. If you've somehow managed to stay clean up to this point, you can forget about that now. This is where they crank up the action--you will be attacked by waves of cadres firing blanks, simulated mortars, ambushes, and lots of guarding practice behind Defensive Fighting Positions (DFPs). You'll run, roll, and duck-walk through Hell's Half Mile (Warrior Week's other confidence course), you'll smack training dummies with the butt of your rifle, you'll high-crawl, low-crawl, and back-crawl for hundreds of yards, and you'll get to "shoot at" a cadre. FTX is a full-on forest combat simulation--as real as it gets.
At WW you'll also run the Confidence Course. (Run, in this context, means literally "run".) The Confidence Course is a series of moderately difficult obstacles ranging from balance beams to tunnel tubes to climbing cliffs. This was probably the most fun I had at WW. You'd be surprised what you're capable of after 3 weeks of PRT. The Confidence Course has horizontal climbing ropes, giant wooden ladders, water obstacles, swinging bars, and lots of other stuff. It's like a giant military version of a McDonald's PlayPlace, except you have to run the whole thing.
Of course, field exercises didn't occupy all our time. At night we slept on cots in an air-conditioned tent. (I'm still amazed that they managed to air-condition a tent.) Each morning we'd move all of the cots and the wooden lockers out of the way (i.e. stacked on top of each other--first on one side of the room, then the other) and sweep the tent out. Then we'd march in small groups over to the drill pad for MREs, the breakfast of champions.
MRE stands for "Meal Ready-to-Eat." It's a completely self-contained, chemically-heated hot meal which comes in a fairly wide variety of flavors, most of which are actually pretty good. I believe there are about 20 different MRE packages out there, including the vegetarian editions (how many vegetarians join the military, anyway?). Each is packed with a different combination of main course, second course, dessert, powdered drink, mixing bags & utensils, and miscellaneous add-ins such as chiclets and tootsie rolls. For a trainee who hasn't tasted sugar in 3½ weeks, this is a worthy and amazing thing, and even though we were always rushed through our meals, MREs made for a nice accent to every day. (Skittles or M&Ms in your bag are the ultimate wildcared. You can trade them for anything.)
That was Week 4--one long marathon of DFP practice, warrior training, tent cleaning, studying, rifle practice, and MREs. Week 5 consisted almost entirely of studying--not much to write home about. Week 6, however, is Graduation Week, quite literally a defining experience for every Airman.
COMING NEXT: Week 6 - "I solemnly swear..."
"SIR, YES SIR!"
Week 4 of BMT is different from all the other weeks. For one week--"Warrior Week"--trainees stop worrying about dust-free lockers and perfectly-folded hospital corners and get to play in the dirt. Warrior week is what you see in all the recruitment videos--low-crawling, rifle training, and putting on gas masks in 14 seconds flat. It's practice for getting deployed to a war zone--much more glamorous than the rest of BMT.
On the first day of Warrior Week, we climbed onto a bus with our big green duffel bags and were driven out to the Warrior Week compound. (Perhaps the best part of WW was that our TI would not be accompanying us.) Upon arrival, we were issued helmets, dummy rifles ("rubber ducks"), and MREs (more on those later) and climbed a steep hill to the main meeting area.
The rules at WW are a little different. The TIs are known as "cadres" (no-one knows why) and, if possible, they have an even bigger attitude than the regular TIs. A cadre's job is to teach aggression rather than discipline--to show the trainees how to give a good battle cry, say "Halt!" with authority, and to hold the rifle as if you fully intend to blow your target's mother-lovin' head off. Most of the BMT rules still apply, but they're de-emphasized in favor of warrior spirit.
Each day at WW has a particular objective, although what order you complete them in depends on which battle group you're assigned to. Our first day was NBC (Nuclear/Biological/Chemical) training, which consists of a series of lessons followed by the infamous Gas Chamber. We were issued our gas masks, most of which were heavily scratched but all of which were functional, and were taught how to put them on quickly enough to protect us. We were taught the MOPP dance (don't ask) and the difference between chemical and biological agents. Finally, we all put on our masks nice and tight and filed in groups into an airtight room, which was then filled with tear gas. Then, two at a time, we were instructed to remove our gas masks and say where we were born. Most trainees got two or three syllables out before the tear gas got 'em. You had to answer to a cadre's satisfaction before you were allowed to *walk* out of the tear gas room, though. After you leave the gas chamber, you had to walk (arms extended) over to where everyone put their equipment and make 3 laps around that area (to the cheers of those who'd already gone through). Generally by that point the incredible burning in your face had stopped and you could pry your eyes back open. The Gas Chamber is something of a rite of passage--everyone in the Air Force has gone through it, and sharing stories about it is something of a favorite pastime.
Another feature of Warrior Week is the opportunity to get behind a real rifle for the first time. Everyone in WW has to carry around dummy rifles, and the AF is in the process of phasing in almost-functional rifle replicas which have moving parts (known as "smurf killers" for their blue color), but for one glorious day every trainee gets a chance to load, aim, and fire a real M602 rifle. The day starts out with a rifle familiarization class, which teaches you how to clear, load, unload, aim, fire, unjam, and disassemble your weapon. After the class, you learn how to clean the weapon, and then you're taken to the firing range. Passing your rifle qualification is easy, but if you have a steady hand and can remember the firing techniques, you have a chance to earn a Marksmanship ribbon, which you will be allowed to wear on your blues uniform during Week 6 and through the rest of your career. Quite a few people in my flight qualified; I came within 4 points of doing so myself, and intend to try again when I reach my first base.
A much-talked-about component of WW is FTX--the Field Training Experience. If you've somehow managed to stay clean up to this point, you can forget about that now. This is where they crank up the action--you will be attacked by waves of cadres firing blanks, simulated mortars, ambushes, and lots of guarding practice behind Defensive Fighting Positions (DFPs). You'll run, roll, and duck-walk through Hell's Half Mile (Warrior Week's other confidence course), you'll smack training dummies with the butt of your rifle, you'll high-crawl, low-crawl, and back-crawl for hundreds of yards, and you'll get to "shoot at" a cadre. FTX is a full-on forest combat simulation--as real as it gets.
At WW you'll also run the Confidence Course. (Run, in this context, means literally "run".) The Confidence Course is a series of moderately difficult obstacles ranging from balance beams to tunnel tubes to climbing cliffs. This was probably the most fun I had at WW. You'd be surprised what you're capable of after 3 weeks of PRT. The Confidence Course has horizontal climbing ropes, giant wooden ladders, water obstacles, swinging bars, and lots of other stuff. It's like a giant military version of a McDonald's PlayPlace, except you have to run the whole thing.
Of course, field exercises didn't occupy all our time. At night we slept on cots in an air-conditioned tent. (I'm still amazed that they managed to air-condition a tent.) Each morning we'd move all of the cots and the wooden lockers out of the way (i.e. stacked on top of each other--first on one side of the room, then the other) and sweep the tent out. Then we'd march in small groups over to the drill pad for MREs, the breakfast of champions.
MRE stands for "Meal Ready-to-Eat." It's a completely self-contained, chemically-heated hot meal which comes in a fairly wide variety of flavors, most of which are actually pretty good. I believe there are about 20 different MRE packages out there, including the vegetarian editions (how many vegetarians join the military, anyway?). Each is packed with a different combination of main course, second course, dessert, powdered drink, mixing bags & utensils, and miscellaneous add-ins such as chiclets and tootsie rolls. For a trainee who hasn't tasted sugar in 3½ weeks, this is a worthy and amazing thing, and even though we were always rushed through our meals, MREs made for a nice accent to every day. (Skittles or M&Ms in your bag are the ultimate wildcared. You can trade them for anything.)
That was Week 4--one long marathon of DFP practice, warrior training, tent cleaning, studying, rifle practice, and MREs. Week 5 consisted almost entirely of studying--not much to write home about. Week 6, however, is Graduation Week, quite literally a defining experience for every Airman.
COMING NEXT: Week 6 - "I solemnly swear..."