Thoughts after Bataan
On the trip there, we were very crammed going up. We had a lot of fun though, at the stops and everything. There were a lot of people in two vans that pulled up to subway and McDonald's, and they were pissed. Everyone was getting like 5 double cheeseburgers, or something crazy like that. We stopped at a gas station, and the lady was checking ID's for the smokers, everyone was showing their military ID, and she continued to do it. Maybe she didn't want to feel dumb for checking the first one, and wanted us to think she had to do it. About 2 miles away from the base, I got a call from Nichole. She got in a car wreck, she said she was alright but I was pretty shook up about the whole deal. She was in the hospital, had to get checked up on. She totaled her car, but I guess she is alright. I haven't talked to her since then, and that was Friday night. Obviously she doesn't care about me enough to give me updates on how she was, but at least she cared enough to call me. If I would have heard that from someone else I would have flipped the fuck out.
Sleeping arrangements sucked for the night. We were supposed to have cots, at least that's what the website told us. All the cots were taken, so we had to sleep on the cold basketball court floor. I didn't bring any covers, or pillows. It sucked pretty hardcore, and I didn't sleep that night. So I was running on 3 hours of sleep for 3 days at that point. I was energized though when we were talking to get survivors, and learning about Bataan. We went to walmart that night, got pillows, and covers. The night before Bataan we had to get good rest. Still slept on a hard floor, but they turned on the heat that night, unlike the other night. I slept like a rock though.
During the March, I talked to a lot of First Sergeants, Master Sergeants, Staff Sergeants and civilians. They were all surprised how AIT students were carrying heavy weight, and passing them. I'm sure that's what it was really about, they just thought it was nice that we were able to do that while still in TRADOC. Our A team got 6 hours 30 minutes, which was good enough for 6th place, out of 200+ team. I got some good pictures of me crossing the finishing line, Lord took them. The look on my face shows how we all felt when we were done. That road march was no joke. 26.2 miles, with 35+ lbs of weight, it sure did wear us down. It was a great learning experience, and a fun time. I hope that I will be able to do it next year, and see people who did it with me before.
Sleeping arrangements sucked for the night. We were supposed to have cots, at least that's what the website told us. All the cots were taken, so we had to sleep on the cold basketball court floor. I didn't bring any covers, or pillows. It sucked pretty hardcore, and I didn't sleep that night. So I was running on 3 hours of sleep for 3 days at that point. I was energized though when we were talking to get survivors, and learning about Bataan. We went to walmart that night, got pillows, and covers. The night before Bataan we had to get good rest. Still slept on a hard floor, but they turned on the heat that night, unlike the other night. I slept like a rock though.
During the March, I talked to a lot of First Sergeants, Master Sergeants, Staff Sergeants and civilians. They were all surprised how AIT students were carrying heavy weight, and passing them. I'm sure that's what it was really about, they just thought it was nice that we were able to do that while still in TRADOC. Our A team got 6 hours 30 minutes, which was good enough for 6th place, out of 200+ team. I got some good pictures of me crossing the finishing line, Lord took them. The look on my face shows how we all felt when we were done. That road march was no joke. 26.2 miles, with 35+ lbs of weight, it sure did wear us down. It was a great learning experience, and a fun time. I hope that I will be able to do it next year, and see people who did it with me before.