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July 28, 2006
Ranger EarthPig,
3rd day in 30thAG. This place is Hell. I do personal PT in the barracks to keep myself sane. Any movement is welcome. It's hard to stay quiet around these kids. I don't know any more than they do, but I have the common sense to not pretend I do and make 30th more miserable for everyone. Brought the Ranger Creed with me. Have to have the Soldier's Creed memorized by Monday, so I'll get on the ranger Creed ASAP. Maybe on Firewatch tonight.
Staying quiet for now. Trying to absorb all the info I can. Probably won't get to mail this until Basic. I'll just add onto it.
July 29, 2006
Ranger EarthPig,
Received our first credible "smoking" this morning. PVT after PVT showed up late to morning formation, and an entire line forgot their identification. DS smoked all of B Company and moved us to the parking lot and smoked us again. Nothing too bad, but it's a taste of what's to come.
The biggest issues that I see here are patience and attention. Some people still haven't realized that they must wait...must stand still...must SHUT UP...and pay the Hell attention. Remember your identity (line number, roster number, etc.).Look at ranks, stand and speak appropriately. Felt sick when I woke up for fireguard this morning, so I hope to sleep through the night tonight. Today is Saturday, so 3 formations, 3 meals, and we're done. Did 45 pushups before I went to sleep last night, and I will do more every night. Feeling good about my decision to join. Especially as the days progress, and I feel more like a soldier. Parade Rest no longer hurts my back, and I can stand in it for hours. Getting hopeful! All for now.
August 3, 2006
Ranger EarthPig,
Nothing that exciting has happened in awhile. People have passed out, smoking has happened, and I have waited countless hours in formation. Note of interest, though....I was offered the opportunity to join the Old Guard. It's prestigious, and I was honored, but they don't see combat, so I declined and joined my buddies for their smoking. I've met with all the Ranger potentials here that share my contract, and most of them look serious enough. One of them has been trying to get out since he got to 30th and went to Sick Call because he blew out his knee....blew it out at Inprocessing....Lame! We call him Lunchbox, and that sort of explains it all. I'm concerned about all my training, etc., and know know I should be focusing on that, but I'm really concerned about my station. I want to get stationed at Lewis so bad, but I may not get it, and if I didn't, I wouldn't feel like I achieved everything I wanted. We ship tomorrow, so I'll send this off with my return address,
Zelse
05AUG06
Ranger EarthPig,
Before I shipped off and even at 30th, I did not understand how anyone would want or be able to quit OSUT. The shark attack, however, helped me understand why. There's no need to make excuses as to why it was hard running a full dufflebag down the road to Battalion (I think) with our full laundry bags hoisted over our heads. I can say that I was not prepared/expecting that. As I prepared myself to throw up, standing in a shoddy formation of 220 confused soldier wannabes, I told myself I had better change my fucking attitude, if I was going to drive on and attend Ranger Indoctrination.
From that point on I've noticed a change in few soldier's attitudes, as far as how serious they take formations, etc. This is NECESSARY! You cannot be successful in this environment without discipline. This is my Day 2 observation. It is hot here. I have Laundry Duty tonight, so I think my bag will get washed first. TAKE INTIATIVE! :D Lights out. Updates pending.
Zelse.......................................................................................................
Well, Zelse, it looks like you're getting a nice visit to Ft. Benning.
I'm curious about your attitude, however. You said you were more focused on your duty station assignment, than on the task at hand. You also stated that the "shark attack" that the DS's pull when you arrive at Basic was enough to make you see why people quit OSUT. You further pointed out that Saturdays are a cakewalk.I don't know dude.... if you enlisted because your brother is a Ranger, that isn't going to cut it. I understand that you want to be near your sibling, and that a Ft. Lewis assignment guarantees that, but this is not why you should enlist with an Option 40.
You need to want that Tan Beret more than you want anything else in the world. You want to covet it with each breath during your training at OSUT.
You must be willing to shirk off everything those DS's throw at you....and do it with a sarcastic smile.
If this isn't you, you're in for a shitty ride. I think it's way too early to judge your performance, so I will reserve that for down the road. Get your head on right. Listen to everything those DS's say. The things they will teach you are important. Be a sponge, and absorb it all. Quit worrying about your duty assignment. Hell, if you don't make your contract count, you'll get "worldwide"....you might get stuck in Korea! That's about as far from Ft. Lewis as you can get! Focus on today, but keep the OBJ in sight.
Thanks for the SITREP. Keep 'em coming.
RLTW
EP
