Be careful what you wish for ...
Since we've finally started training, we worked 18 days with only one day off. We worked Sunday to Friday. Then we had Saturday off, and worked the next 12 days straight. We did have some short days, but we also had some very long days especially at the firing range. Both M-16 and 9mm qualifying required night fire. I failed to qualify on the M-16 the first day we did. There was about 30 of us out of 100 that had to go back for a second try. I made it easily on the first try of the second day. I just needed a little more practice to figure out my positioning and sight picture, and my muscles were a lot less fatigued than they were the first day I tried to qualify. I shot 30; 23 was necessary to qualify.
The temperature has cooled off a tiny bit. The range days had high temperatures around 105 degrees with lots of sun and high humidity. We had to wear the kevlar helmet and individual body armor with ceramic plates when we were on te firing line. We spent the days soaked in our own sweat. Now that we're off of the ranges the high temps are usually topping out below 100 degrees. It's still pretty hot out there though. Iraq is going to feel a lot nicer than North Carolina.
I was off yesterday starting my four-day Labor Day Weekend. I drove up to Alexandria, VA to spend the weekend with my friend Rhea who moved from San Antonio this summer. It's very nice to be away from the military and the training environment for a bit. Her guest room and bath are also a lot nicer than my barracks room.
I want to be in touch more, but my schedules are crazy. When I can, I go to bed between 9:30 and 10:30. Internet access is very limited. Fortunately I can occasionally borrow my roommates laptop and wireless internet connection. I mostly just have time to catch up on reading. I don't have much time to send or post myself.
The temperature has cooled off a tiny bit. The range days had high temperatures around 105 degrees with lots of sun and high humidity. We had to wear the kevlar helmet and individual body armor with ceramic plates when we were on te firing line. We spent the days soaked in our own sweat. Now that we're off of the ranges the high temps are usually topping out below 100 degrees. It's still pretty hot out there though. Iraq is going to feel a lot nicer than North Carolina.
I was off yesterday starting my four-day Labor Day Weekend. I drove up to Alexandria, VA to spend the weekend with my friend Rhea who moved from San Antonio this summer. It's very nice to be away from the military and the training environment for a bit. Her guest room and bath are also a lot nicer than my barracks room.
I want to be in touch more, but my schedules are crazy. When I can, I go to bed between 9:30 and 10:30. Internet access is very limited. Fortunately I can occasionally borrow my roommates laptop and wireless internet connection. I mostly just have time to catch up on reading. I don't have much time to send or post myself.