A G.I. Joe type weekend!
Friday was wonderful and crazy getting ready for drill. My girlfriend was able to get the day off so we were able to enjoy each other throughout the day. We had a tasty breakfast at the Cameo Cafe and then swung by REI for some bicycle stuff. I got packed up and ready, so she could drop me off at the base. After a many kisses it was time to get to formation. We got out of there pretty fast and were on our way to a training facility near Redmond. We got there at about 2300 and were put into four squads for the weekend. We were told that whoever had the most gear by morning formation would get a special reward. After establishing a secure sleeping arrangement for our Marines, a few of us Sergeants wondered off to probe the other sites. We made some early snatches to gear Marines weren't keeping a close eye on. The big target was the Motor T site which was situated inside one of the buildings in the mock up combat town. A three hour low crawl and 600 yards later we were in the building next to theirs, but they had sentries in each entrance and a roamer. Since it was seeming to be a lost cause and it was approximately 27 degrees outside we called it a night. I went and stood an hour of fire watch and then got about two hours sleep.
Saturday was filled with infantry tactics and marksmanship training. Convoy Operations, Military Operations Urban Terrain, FATS System marksmanship practice and BeamHit marksmanship training (I was instructing this one all day) were done on a round robin rotation for the squads. That night I took care of helping my section pack up their Comm gear and did other administrative tasks. I the last couple of hours of my day bullshitting with some of my combat engineer buddies and then crawled into my sleeping bag to stare at a beautiful starry night. Scorpio was right overhead.
Sunday was all about packing up and making a good show for the judges who were evaluating our food service platoon for Best Field Mess in the Marine Corps. This is the first time we've been pitted against our active duty counter parts. It was a long day and after spending some time with my girlfriend last night I was out cold at around 9pm.
After dropping her son off at Kindergarten I had an invigorating and beautiful run around the waterfront and back.
Saturday was filled with infantry tactics and marksmanship training. Convoy Operations, Military Operations Urban Terrain, FATS System marksmanship practice and BeamHit marksmanship training (I was instructing this one all day) were done on a round robin rotation for the squads. That night I took care of helping my section pack up their Comm gear and did other administrative tasks. I the last couple of hours of my day bullshitting with some of my combat engineer buddies and then crawled into my sleeping bag to stare at a beautiful starry night. Scorpio was right overhead.
Sunday was all about packing up and making a good show for the judges who were evaluating our food service platoon for Best Field Mess in the Marine Corps. This is the first time we've been pitted against our active duty counter parts. It was a long day and after spending some time with my girlfriend last night I was out cold at around 9pm.
After dropping her son off at Kindergarten I had an invigorating and beautiful run around the waterfront and back.