Oct. 26, 2011 Day 40

I'm afraid there isn't too much to write about today. Don't fret though. The next blog, which will be in a few days, will follow FTX2, so there should be a lot to write about.

We spent most of our day teaching classes to each other. My class was setting up a patrol base. In the midst of it all, our FITTED ASUs came in! Yes, I've already tried the jacket on, and Yes, I look great in it (not that any of you are surprised at that, I'm sure).

Another positive note, DS had the scale out today. I'm down 15 lbs. so far. We'll see what the next few weeks bring.

I'm going to cut this short and go to bed now since tomorrow is a 12K ruck march. I think I could use the rest.

Wife Perspective

So we’re a little more than halfway through this journey of basic training, and I thought I’d take the liberty to write a little bit about my experience on the other end. Many of our friends and family ask how we’re doing—oftentimes it’s hard for me to put into words. But I’m going to try to give you some insight into our perspective here at home.

First of all, in some ways, things have been easier, and in other ways, things have been harder than I expected. I didn’t expect the small things to matter as much as they do. Those of you who are married, you know there are little nuances about your husband-wife relationship that can’t be put into specifics, but they’re a part of who you are as a couple. Of course there are general things that I miss about my husband that I imagine most people would in these same circumstances: saying goodbye in the morning and getting a welcome home kiss in the afternoon, and being able to call or text my husband about a question or just to say hello, having his help with caring for our son and helping to take care of things around the house. When you’re married, your spouse becomes such a part of who you are, you don’t even realize it until they’re gone.

I’ve also realized that the lack of communication has probably been the hardest part for me. We’re writing each other every day, but it’s not the same as being able to talk. I think I could handle the lack of Brian’s presence here better if I could talk to him more regularly, or at least have an expected time to talk. I never know when my phone is going to ring, and that unpredictability is hard for me. I also received a letter at the beginning of basic training indicating that in general Sundays are the day more likely for phone calls home. So that means that Sundays are a day of waiting for me, a little on edge, and a little paranoid about having my phone nearby and turned up. Yet on the Sundays like today that it doesn’t ring, it’s a huge letdown. I don’t even know what to compare the disappointment to. So now I will wait until next Sunday--hoping and praying for a call. If I get one next Sunday, that’ll be 3 weeks without talking.

I think that’s something God is trying to teach me through this experience: even though God wants us to be one as we’re united as husband and wife, He still wants me to fully rely on Him and not my husband. It’s very easy for me to want to tell my husband all about my day—my struggles and the highlights of the day. Yet, God wants me to share those things with Him too.

I also see God showing me what ministry is right before us to military families. I’ve had an incredible amount of support from our family, friends, and church family during this time. Countless people consistently ask how we’re doing, offer to eat a meal together, offer to watch our son for me to have a break, and are praying for us during this time. I cannot imagine how it would be to go through this experience without that support system. And our time frame is only for 10 weeks! ALL military families need that kind of support while a family member is away, whether for training, or for deployment.

On a silly, positive note, there has been less laundry, less cooking to do, and any mess around the house, I can only blame on myself. J

Another lesson I see God teaching me is how to have an eternal perspective. We are separated for these ten weeks, but that’s not very long in the grand scheme of life. Also, God has been reminding me of the importance of Brian’s witness to the other PVTs at basic training. I know there are soldiers at BCT that do not have a relationship with God, and God has placed Brian there to interact with them and show them how much a relationship with God means to him and his life. If Brian’s friendship with someone helps that person to believe in Jesus and seek a relationship with Him, it is worth the time apart. What a small sacrifice for us to make—2 ½ months apart for someone to spend an ETERNITY with Jesus. So that is how I’m continuing to pray…for Brian to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the opportunities given to him to talk with other soldiers about his faith. And for those soldiers to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, how much He loves them, and how He wants to have a relationship with them.

Hopefully this provides a little insight into how it is at home. Thanks again to all of our family and friends that continue to pray for us and help us. We praise God for your support of our family!

Oct. 25, 2011 Day 39

Today was another great day at BCT. Thank you all for your continued prayers that have made that happen.
This morning I jumped at the chance to be on details since we were going back to the qualification range and I knew there would be nothing else for me to do. So at about 0600, I was on the range loading my 900 round share of 5.56 for the day's targets.
It was actually quite a nice experience to watch the sunrise over the range. Again, almost all of the ranges here are beautiful, especially with the fall colors.
I will admit, I was a little disappointed at the range today. In addition to the non-qualified shooting today, the DSs allowed those who shot 23-26 to shoot again and take their higher score. I, with a 29, had to hand a few of them a sharpshooter badge when they boosted their score. In the words of DS Leahart though, "No big deal." I just need to move on from it and refocus. I will have another chance to qualify next year.
Now I'm not sure which of you loved me enough to pray about good meals here, but someone did. This morning, detail had to eat MREs for breakfast. I don't mind them that much, but I love my hot D-Fac (dining facility) breakfast. Today though, I actually got a breakfast MRE, Maple Sausage! It was pretty good for an MRE.
Then we had a good field feed for lunch. There are two types of meals you eat while in the field: field feed-where the D-Fac caters basically, and MREs-the ones you probably have heard about.
Normally the field feeds are noodles with chicken or something like that. But you never seem to get as much or as good-tasting food that is in the D-Fac. Today though, we had beef stew! It was fantastic.
Then when we got back, we went to chow and had burritos. They're not Moe's mind you, but when you haven't had burritos in a long time, they are still pretty good. The unfortunate thing was, the DS must have a sense of humor.
As soon as we got back from chow, they had us change into PTs and we ran two miles...let's just say this 0300-0400 Fireguard shift has been quite musical. I think I've improved though on my run. We will find out Saturday on my last diagnostic PT test. After this one, the only other test is the one for graduation. I plan to kick butt on this one so I won't have to worry about passing the last one.
One last thing in closing. The battle buddy I talked about who had the infection is in a lot of pain from the waist down. So please continue to pray for him.

Oct. 24, 2011 Day 38

Today was a pretty good day at BCT. A cloudless sky, mid-70s, no major issues.
We spent the day at Range 7 for qualification. I shot in the third firing order and got 29 out of 40 targets. One short of sharpshooter, so of course I was kicking myself because of that one shot. But it still isn't that bad of a score. The main thing was to qualify. I killed on the prone supported position, lost a couple of 150s/200s in the unsupported position, then 150s kicked my butt in kneeling, which has not happened before. Time to move on from that though and focus on the next goal, a 12K ruck march on Thursday and an itPFT (physical fitness test) on Saturday.
The rest of the evening was spent doing some personal PT, getting mail call, etc. I'll be on detail tomorrow when we return to the range for those that didn't qualify, so that should keep me from boredom.
One thing I forgot to mention from Sunday. At the chapel service they gave out Bibles. The Bibles are distributed by "Operation Worship." The sponsors were CBA, Tyndale, K-Love, and Spirit West Coast. The cool thing about these Bibles is that people have written messages in a small section in the front of the Bible. For instance, mine reads, "Dear Soldier, Thank you for all you do to protect and keep our country free! Praying for you!" This was very encouraging to me. My "on the fence" battle buddies who received them enjoyed the messages too.
I honestly didn't pay that much attention to the ministries and organizations that support and encourage the military, but now that I am on the other side, I can see the strong, positive impact it has at Basic Training. I can only imagine how much more powerful it can be when one is overseas.
One last thing to leave you with. The three "infected" privates saw the doctor today. The doctor ruled out MRSA, saying the rashes were poison oak/ivy. The private with the worst rash got that way because it became infected. Thank God that there has not been a MRSA outbreak. At the same time, please pray for this private. He is in quarantine right now for an undetermined length of time. He has already been NSO's once, waited months to heal, and has been suffering in our cycle due to foot issues. I can see clearly from here that your prayers are being answered daily, and I would appreciate all the prayer you can lift up for my battle buddy.

Oct. 23, 2011 Day 37

Well yesterday was a rough day at the end of a rough week. I am sure you could tell from the tone of my writing. But today was a much better day.
Of course it started off with chapel. It means so much more to me than it ever has before. Just to have that mental, physical and spiritual break from training rejuvenates me for the new week.
Something pretty impactful happened to me there too. They were handing out mini-devotionals and Bibles at the service. I opened my devotional and one of the first verses listed was 1 Timothy 4:8, the same verse I wrote about before. That helped me recover some focus!
After service, we basically did detail the rest of the day. I was fortunate enough to get another outside detail, so I loved it.
After dinner, we went out for some personal PT time. It was great, but it had to be cut short when DS discovered that two PVTs appeared to have MRSA (a contagious staph bacteria that most often causes infections on the skin). That's two PVTs, from my platoon, from my bay! We stopped PT and went inside to disinfect everything (because you can get MRSA by touching objects that have the bacteria on them). From my experience with my job around clean rooms, I helped guide the group on where to focus most. Then I helped govern showers to ensure 1) everyone took one 2) everyone wore shower shoes 3) the worst part, checked everywhere for any signs of MRSA.
Please pray that this does not continue to spread and that the PVTs who have it heal quickly.

Oct. 22, Day 36

Today was another odd BCT day. It should have been a great day. The weather was beautiful again, and the only thing on the agenda was shooting. Unfortunately, two things ruined that potential.
First, I really stunk up the range. We had two practice rounds. My first round I only shot 25. My second round, I only shot 20, which doesn't even qualify. The DS warned up before that this particular range was horrible. We compared scores afterwards and found that everyone did worse. But we will be qualifying on the range right next to it, which is said to be worse. How can one be bad you ask? Well for one, the targets are placed differently, which makes transitioning a little odd. Secondly, the background is different, causing it to be more difficult to pick out the long range, green targets from the foliage background. And third, the firing positions were difficult to get into a comfortable position because of how they're built.
Excuses aside though, I have to do better. I never though I might actually have a problem qualifying.
The second thing that impacted the day was the immaturity and hypocrisy within the bay. I've kept a pretty good outlook to date on the males in our platoon, but this week was difficult. The DS put the people with the lowest reviews in charge and today, maybe due to my frustration on the firing line, my patience and tolerance started wearing thin.
There will be different leadership come Monday, but after today, I would like to ask for prayer so that I continue keeping a positive attitude.
One word of advice to future soldiers: the targets for qualification run based on the "qualification table." In other words, the sequence never changes. Pay attention during practice, and you will eventually learn what target is coming next, giving you a little more time to engage. Now if I can only learn to take that time myself.

Oct. 20, 2011 Day 34

So today wasn't too bad, though it did have some boring times. The morning started off with some PT, running. We did 60/120s. That's where you sprint for 60 seconds, walk for 120, and repeat x number of times. It's supposed to drop minutes off the run time. We'll see.
After breakfast chow, we returned to the barracks and did weapons maintenance, which we continued for most of the day. We had a special guest with us though. A three-year-old DS. DS Ortiz brought her son this morning, and he definitely learned from momma. She left him "in charge," and he proceeded to get soldiers to stand up, sit down, do pushups, etc. It was amazing to see how confident he was in a room full of soldiers.
At the same time we were laughing, I couldn't help but think of my son back home and what he was up to. I am just thankful for my wife who has been such an amazing mother. I'm sure he'll know his times tables by the time I get home. :)
In the afternoon, we went back to the electronic shooting range. We were given an opportunity there to practice for qualification. I was very disappointed. I shot 29 out of 40. I know my issue. As soon as I get on target, I jump the trigger instead of settling in. I just hope I can focus and correct it on qualification day.
One pretty funny thing did happen today. My singing battle buddy got called out by the DSs and sang their requests for a good five minutes. One of the requests was "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. If you know anything about my time in high school, you probably know why I had to fight the urge to join in. But if there is one thing to keep in mind at BCT, it is: Do Not Call Any Extra Attention to Yourself. If you finish BCT and your DS sees you at graduation and says, "Who the heck are you, private?" you've been successful.
That's all I have for now. Time for bed before uniform fitting tomorrow!

Oct. 19, 2011 Day 33

Today was a much better day. We started with climbing drills, which are various pushups, for PT, and then we moved to the range for qualification practice.
The qualification range has pop-up targets ranging from 50 to 300 meters. Occasionally, you'll even have pairs at the same time. I did okay today, 31 out of 40. To qualify, you only need 23, but I want qualification of expert, which is 36. You get 40 rounds exactly, so no multiple shots. Considering it was my first time on this range, and the fact that my first magazine had a feed malfunction in the middle of the first round, I feel confident I can meet my goal. I just need to take my time with it.
While others were practicing, I took some time to read the Bible a bit. A pretty impactful verse jumped out at me:
"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8
For obvious reasons, this verse related to me, and it really helped me re-evaluate my focus to ensure that I keep in mind the reason I am here in the first place.
Later tonight, we had a discussion with our First Sergeant. We talked about the good and the bad from the past five weeks, and he gave us advice for the remaining time. I just hope our platoon takes it to heart.

Oct. 18, 2011

BCT has officially become a roller coaster. Not the fun kind. It's more the kind of roller coaster made from 100 year old rickety timber with the vertical drops combined with a lack of working harnesses so that you have to use every ounce to hold yourself in. Somehow, we have all managed to stay relatively focused and positive, but it hasn't been easy.

As you are already aware, we recently lost our phase banner. This morning, DS Lockhart got his opportunity to let us know how he felt about it. In fact, in our first formation he told us we were going to get smoked especially hard in the evening.

The day itself would not have been too bad if it wasn't for the looming memory of DS's warning. Our day was spent doing Post Detail. Basically, our company was sent to different areas of the base to do odd tasks. (Oh, forgot to mention it is all of a sudden 40 degrees, rainy, and windy...brrrr!)

I was selected to be part of a four person team. Then my stomach started churning when I realized my team would be led by the still-steaming DS. But one we got in the truck, DS was actually very chill. For the entire morning we rode in the truck policing roads for trash and conversing about the military and the platoon. I was glad to realize that I was on that team, at least in part, because DS considered me and the others to be (at least mostly) squared away.

Unfortunately, the mostly relaxing day, except for the anticipation, had to end. After dinner chow, we learned some new exercises. I think I lost 5 lbs. of sweat tonight during the smoking. For me though, I just try to keep thinking of it as PT, getting stronger. But I will admit, for whatever reason, it was a bit harder to stay positive tonight.

The great thing is though, when other platoons would be at each other's throats, we kept pretty calm.

I'll close with a great DS comment: "Why are you wearing your sleeves like that PVT? Are you Emo? I wish my pizzas were as Emo as you so they'd cut themselves."

Okay, so it's horrible, but it's funny, and today, we all needed a laugh.

Oct. 17, 2011 Day 31

Well I suppose I will start with yesterday. It had some up points, one of which was it being Sunday number 5, but there were more low points than high.

One issue all of us in the platoon have is talking/moving in formation. You stand there for awhile waiting on a DS and the joking and conversations start. Of course, we get yelled at for it from all angles, but yesterday it caused us to lose our phase banner. We didn't (yet) get kicked back to red phase, but it is still pretty bad. You cannot understand how much a strip of fabric on a stick can mean until you have followed it for 5 weeks knowing full well that it represents you and your platoon. Now that we've lost it, we can't even call cadence with the rest of the platoon. We are all in agreement that a long smoke session would have been more bearable. Nevertheless, we are trying harder to stay focused and disciplined so that we can get it back.

So, the biggest high point, a 20 minute phone call home. Not only was it my son's birthday, and I got to sing to him, but I also found out my wife and I are having a son! I knew she was pregnant, but now I finally know the gender.

It's funny...I bragged to my entire platoon when I found out, and a lot of males responded with, "Oh, you should name him ____." It was funny to hear their first names considering that for the past five weeks I have only known their last names.

Today we went to our Land Navigation Course. We were given a map and a compass and were told to locate different coordinates. It was probably a mile and a half trek through the woods. I loved it!

After land nav, we headed back to the bay for mail call. I raked in again tonight. Thank you all so much for your messages! Every bit of encouragement helps.

My wife mentioned in her letter that she wonders about the food here. The food is actually pretty good for the most part. The only issue is that the menu rotates, meaning Wednesday's meal is always the same as last week. So now that 5 weeks have passed, some stuff is getting old Also, we aren't permitted sweets, chocolate, caffeine, etc. The only "dessert" we can have is fig newtons, and those are normally one per day (if that). I shouldn't complain though because I know it will help me trim down.

Oct. 15, 2011 Day 29

Ft. Leonard Wood is an incredibly beautiful place. Many don't speak of it like that, but, to me, it reminds me of the foothills back home.

Today we had FTX1. FTX is "field training excercise." It's where you are taking classes/applying skills in a more realistic environment than the classroom.

Our DS explained that FTX1 is a crawl (they teach), 2 is a walk (we practice), and 3 is a run (we perform). Most things at BCT work in a similar manner.

The trans (cattle trucks) dropped us off in some over-grown fields unknown miles from the barracks where our DS proceeded to teach us more valuable skills.

The temperature was mild with barely a cloud in the sky. Light breezes crept up every now and then while the trees gave off their autumn colors, leading me to nearly forget from time to time where I was. The 25 lb. ruck on my back and the M-16 in my hand definitely kept me aware, but at times I could just smile and imagine I was wandering the woods back home.

Thinking of home was a bit more difficult today as my family and friends celebrated my son's 2nd birthday. However, I stayed focused on the fact that I will be able to call him on his birthday. Understand that the Army does not automatically give you phone calls in BCT on those special occasions. The Lord worked it out though so that my 20 minutes fall on his birthday. Most times that I have called home, time has either been too short or the call was too late in the day for me to get a lot of time with him.

The rest of the day, we learned about Land Navigation. We were given maps and compasses to begin learning how to find our way without GPS. (Shocking, I know!) For me it was fun, but others seemed to struggle with the concepts more. I wouldn't be worried except our DS explained that the tests, whole individual, will be five team dependent, meaning if anyone on my five team fails, we all fail.

Tomorrow is the 5th Sunday, the halfway Sunday. Let's hope things continue as smoothly to the end.

Oct. 14, 2011 Day 28

The activity of the day today was the confidence course. It was awesome. The closest thing I have experienced to it was high ropes. However, there is one MAJOR exception, NO HARNESS!

We started with the wall, where you have to get your entire team over an 8 or so foot wall. There were several walls though that grew to what I estimate to be 10 ft. at the end. Then we went on to a ladder type obstacle that was approximately 30 ft. high. It's basically 2 phone poles 15 ft. apart with 4x4 rungs in between. You climb straight up, swing over, and climb down.

If you fall, hope you hit the pole vault mats at the bottom because that is all there is. The last intimidating obstacle we went on was the "tough one." You climb a 15 ft. cargo net onto a walkway that looks like a framed attic open underneath. After the walkway, you climb a triangular ladder another 15 ft. before swinging over to a cargo net to climb down.

After we finished, DS had one last thing in store. The belly crawl obstacle had a nice size puddle at the start and she apparently thought we were too clean. So one by one we crawled through and if you weren't dirty enough at the end, she made you go again. It was great. She even did it herself after we finished as the platoon chanted "Lead from the Front." In my opinion, it is that kind of attitude that helps make her a great DS.

I cannot get away from thinking about graduation. One female joined our company in first platoon today--restarting with us when her company just graduated. She had failed PT. Then we were told today that we will be fitted for our ASU (that's the dressy blue uniform) this coming week!

Things are going great. I just need to keep my focus.

Oct. 13, 2011 Day 27

Let me start with something I've been neglecting to talk about regarding daily activities, PT.

I don't really want to go into a ton of detail, but I will say it is ridiculously cold! At 0500, in Missouri, in October, I've experienced a new kind of cold when it's windy and the prescribed uniform is "summer" PTs, aka, shorts and t-shirt. At least today they let us wear our jackets.

PT is helping me though. I can tell I'm getting better in all three categories. Not to mention, I need a smaller uniform now.

So today's training was on the M240B and the M249. They are both automatic weapons (7.62 and 5.56). I realized something...it's nothing like the computer games.

I could not see a single round hitting to tell where I was hitting. Not to mention, they jump around pretty strong.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the weapons that fired close to 30K rounds in just a few hours. I love cleaning and tearing down weapons though, so it was a good afternoon for me.

Oct. 12, 2011 Day 26

Today I got a new love for mail call. It has been awhile due to the holiday weekend. I received 11 letters! Four came from my wife and the rest were from our amazing family! It means so much and makes things so much easier to know that you all are praying and thinking of me and my family during this trying time.
THANK YOU!
We had another round of BRM today. It was pretty awesome. We shot at a 175m target, man-sized. The coolest thing about it was that the target is connected to a computer that provides instant feedback as to where you hit (or missed). (I wonder how much a system like that costs. :) )
Our time was cut short a little bit due to some bad weather. Those of you who don't like storms, try waiting one our in a 20x15 3 wall steel shelter. Nothing happened though. The storm thankfully missed us.
During that time, I was asked by the other soldiers to lead them in a class for loading/clearing the M240 (PIG) and M249 (SAW). It made me feel great to actually be able to teach some of them. As you can probably imagine, many of the soldiers here have never held a weapon. They barely grasp the M-16 and are then tossed automatic weapons. That's what I call drinking from the fire hose.
When we got back, something pretty funny happened. Our DS was talking to the other Platoons in the company. I forget exactly what she was saying to them, but it ended with her asking us, "Do you love me 3rd?" We responded, "YES DRILL SERGEANT." We spent the next little while doing pushups to the cadence "I-LOVE-YOU, I-LOVE-YOU." Apparently, "Yes" was the wrong answer, but something tells me "No" would have been wrong too. Hey, without PT, how can you get Army Strong?
Tomorrow we get to fire the Autos!!! So it's time for bed.

Oct. 11, 2011 Day 25

Today was a little rough for some of us. My battle buddy heard some horrible news on the phone last night. Please keep him in your prayers.

Really though, it should have been a great day. Today was the first US Weapons day. We got to fire grenade launchers. One lucky dog got to shoot an anti-tank round. We were all supposed to shoot tracer sim rounds from the AT weapons, but they determined it was too dry and were concerned about starting fires.

At lunch chow, things got rough for me. I started feeling a bit sick on my stomach. That normally wouldn't be a big deal. Just use the latrine and move on. But the only latrine at the range was--well--let's just say unacceptable for sitting. Imagine a giant concrete portojohn. It looks like a full-on latrine, but there is not water, just a pit beneath. So when you enter, you're slammed with the trapped fumes from weeks before. I suffered and stayed strong for about 3 hours, but I eventually had to cave in. Let's just say of all the confidence/bravery tests/mind games/etc. this was by far the worst. I wanted to return to the gas chamber just to get the smell out of my nose.

When we got back, we had a few brief classes and headed up for personal hygiene.

Oct. 10, 2011 Day 24

Today was a great day at BCT!

We started off with combatives, hand-to-hand combat. My battle buddy has a lot of MMA (mixed martial arts) experience, so it was even more fun. We learned some basic techniques that we will build on over time. I have missed Tae Kwon Do as of late, so it was nice to get a taste of that again.

The rest of the day, we watched videos. It's Columbus Day, so they (the DSs) relaxed. We watched "Over There," a TV series that was short-run about US Army soldiers in the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq.

But the way the day ended was the best: a 20 minute phone call home. It is so great to hear my wife's voice. It is completely rejuvenating to my spirit.

Also on a positive note, tonight I was given my first leadership assignment: 3 Squad-Fire Team 1 Leader.

Do please keep praying for me and the other privates here. The private I wrote about before received more bad news today, and the others are a bit discouraged over different things. The biggest thing for us all now is to stay healthy and focused.

Oct. 9, 2011 Day 23

Today is another Sunday down. 4 down, 6 to go.

All in all, it was another good day, but there aren't many details to report. Sundays here are spent going to whatever service you prefer (they're all at different times) and the rest of the time is spent deep cleaning. Today though, our platoon decided to spend a couple of hours doing PT. Because of that decision, DS was impressed and gave us all phone time that we will get to use tomorrow night.

No bragging intended, but our platoon is definitely the strongest in the company at this time. Of course, that can change at any time. For now though, we are doing quite well. There is still a ton of room for growth though.

A few days ago, one of my battle buddies received some horrible news. I'm not going to share the details, but he has not been the same since hearing the news. Please be in prayer for him.

October 7 & 8, Day 21/22

I had to double up on days for this one due to no personal time on Friday.

Friday, we returned to the rifle range for those who had not been able to group/zero yet. Our company First Sergeant assigned me to take photos for the event. I was right at home. I spent the day walking around taking photos from every angle.

After we finished, we returned to the bays, but had no personal time as we had a wake-up call at 0300 for our first PT diagnostic.

When we returned to the bay, we did peer evaluations. Basically, we each listed the top three and bottom three soldiers based on the past three weeks. It was pretty harsh as the DS read out the evaluations after they were all in. Two of the bottom three weren't a surprise, but one was. I got several votes for one of the top, but I didn't have near the most. Pray that we will all use this as a learning experience instead of something to fight or brag about.

Our first PT diagnostic wasn't all that bad. I did better on the 2 minute push-ups and the 2 mile run than I expected, but I failed the sit-ups by ONE. I was pretty ticked at myself because I neglected my sit-ups to work on the other two. Just goes to show that you have to keep your focus on every detail. I've set my goals though. By the end of BCT I want to have 70 on push-ups and sit-ups in 2 minutes and under 14 minutes on the 2 mile.

After the PT test, we had our first phasing ceremony. That's right! We phased to white today, our our student leadership, and our new haircuts. This marks the 1/3 point and a change for the better. Of course, as our DS was sure to make clear, we can always take a step back.

The rest of the day has been pretty relaxing. I think the long weekend has many on vacation. Either way, I welcome the relaxation.

Oct. 6, 2011 Day 20

Today was great. Two words: LIVE GRENADES.

We went to the grenade range and after practicing with dummy grenades, we were given two live fragmentation grenades to throw. It was a great experience.

The range instructors also took the time to demonstrate an incendiary grenade, which melts through engine blocks, and smoke grenades.

Once we completed the grenade training, our company first sergeant called us together and announced that my platoon (3rd) had a female set a new female distance record on the range. This earned our platoon our first streamer.

Then it was time for our first ruck march. When I initially strapped the 25 lb ruck on my back, I was a bit concerned about the 5 mile route. I wasn't so much worried about the weight, but my ruck is quite uncomfortable with the bars poking into my spine as I walk. However, the march was pretty good. We were forced to spread out on the road, so you can completely clear your mind. It was actually in a weird way, relaxing.

When we got back though, we were all starving. Lunch was served at 1100, and it was now 1800. This may not seem like a large gap to you, but considering chow is the only time we get food (no snacks) and our high level of activity, we needed food. To our great delight, IT WAS SLOPPY JOE NIGHT! We almost ate our thumbs gobbling the food down so fast.

Thank you all for your continued prayer, support and encouragement for me and my family. It means more than you know.

Oct. 5, 2011 Day 14

Today we returned to the firing range for those who did not group/zero on Monday. I did group/zero, so it was a little boring. Fortunately, even though I wasn't on detail, DS selected me to help with some things. So I stayed busy, which equals happy around here.

Apparently, based on DS statements and the looks of some targets, we have a great group of shooters. My goal for qualification is expert.

Qualification is when you shoot at 40 different targets and have to make 23 to pass, X for sharp, X for expert. I want all 40!

Mail here comes in waves. FLW is a very large installation; larger than I realized. So it's a large effort to sort the mail out correctly. For me yesterday, this meant pushups. Our DS had us "pay" for our mail. I received 6 letters yesterday, at 20 pushups per letter. You do the math. But every single pushup was worth the letters from my wife, encouraging words and family updates, from my parents, and more encouragement from my grandparents.

One piece of advice to those that follow. It would "behoove" you to grant your spouse or someone you trust (with your life) some level of power of attorney. There are many people here who are having to worry and miss bits of training because of stuff back home that could have been easily handled with that document.

Morale in the platoon keeps heading in the right direction. Each night, PVT Bright and I serve as the bay radio, taking requests of familiar songs. It may sound a little odd or corny, but when you have no access to music otherwise, you do what you need to. Music soothes the soul.

Every day that passes, I realize (and am thankful), that my platoon is a really great one to be in. We recognize that many of the other companies do not seem to carry the same level of discipline and professionalism. For some, that may not mean a lot, but for me, if I'm going to do this, I want to do it 100%!

From the letters last night, it seemed that you all are a bit worried about my lack of sleep/rest. Don't be. My body was able to quickly adjust to the new sleep (or should I say "wake") cycle. No doubt this was thanks to God and to your prayers. Don't get me wrong, it's still not easy, but it is definitely doable.

We'll get our next haircut this weekend, and if we play our cards right, we'll phase! It may seem odd, but all of us are ready to be bald again. The hair that's grown is unshaped and very annoying in the BCT environment.

If I did not explain it already, there are three phases in BCT: red, white & blue. We are in red phase now, which is total control. White phase is lead more by the soldiers themselves with platoon guides, squad leaders, etc. Blue phase, the graduation phase, is even more soldier guided. The DSs call the phases control, mentor, and coach.

Okay, so one funny thing that happened yesterday. When we finished with mail call, we went to our bay to read our letters, show off new pictures, etc. About ten minutes in, the door flew open. It was one of our DSs and he seemed pissed. (Note that this is the most calm DS we have.) He yelled for one of the privates and started lighting him up with "What in the **** do you think you're doing?!?!" etc, etc. We were all wetting our pants for the guy. It was pretty intimidating. Then the DS cracked a smile and said, "Here's your letter." We all breathed the biggest sigh of relief I think we've had here.

Well, that's all for today. Thank you all for continuing to pray for us!

Oct. 4, 2011 Day 18

Today was probably the best day at BCT yet. Everyone has been in high spirits, weather was great, and we were successful in not getting smoked.

The day began with a trip to an enormous obstacle course. It was covered with big boy toys. Rop bridges, rope climbs, low crawls under barbed wire, etc. The scary thing was: no safety anything. For instance, the three rope bridge was 20 feet up and if you fell, you hit the rocks below.

The entire company went through the course first, then each platoon selected three males and three females to represent them in the challenge. Our platoon set a new base record by completing the course in 9:58, but we received a 30 second penalty, which meant the carebears won the streamer and regained their name, "outlaws."

The First Sergeant was so impressed with the times and with the motivation that he granted the company ten minutes of phone time. Of course, I called my wife and son. To my amazement, my son sang me his ABC's! (He is only 23 months old!)

Note from Dee: Brian wrote us his own BCT version of ABC's for our son. (I completed the ABCs with the few letters he couldn't think of words for.) Just thought it was too cute and had to be shared:

A is for Army, B is for Basic, C is for Chow, D is for Drill Sergeant, E is for Echo, F is for Fort, G is for Graduation, H is for Helmet, I is for Intelligent, J is for Joint Effort, K is for Kick Butt, L is for Love, M is for Missouri, N is for November, O is for On the Go, P is for Proud, Q is for Quality, R is for Reveille, S is for Strong, T is for Training, U is for Uniform, V is for Victory, W is for Walking, X is for eXhausting, Y is for Yell and Z is for Zzzzz's (or lack of them!).

It was so great to hear their voices and know they are okay. Mail comes very infrequently here. Not because people don't send me mail, but because it takes awhile to reach me once it arrives at FLW.

One funny thing today: I turned on my phone make my phone call, and on my weather app, I noticed the closest source of weather (listed as location) is Devil's Elbow, MO.

Weather is crazy here with temperature: 40's in the morning, near 80 in the afternoon. But we've only seen a couple of days of rain. So all in all, we've been blessed.

Oct. 3, 2011 Day 17

Well the topic of the day was BRM, basic rifle markmanship. We spent the day zeroing our weapons. I thought it would be a great day, but I would up being a little disappointed.

Today started with my first day "on-duty." The group of privates on duty spend the day assisting the DSs in setting up and tearing down the day's activities.

At 0430, I was up eating my first MRE, some Mexican dish, for breakfast. It was cold because we were in a hurry and had no time to heat our meals. We then packed all the equipment, and 22 privates, into the duty truck to start the morning.

By 0700, we had 400 targets setup and 2700 rounds in 180 magazines. Everything seemed to be going great, especially when that first satisfying aroma of gun powder hit my nose. That always brings me back to great times with my high school friends, especially Dano. But then the waiting began.

The zeroing process is very tedious. Each private (in groups of 50) shot 3 rounds at a time, pausing to check the target and make adjustments before firing the next for a total of 15. I did not get to shoot my first round until 1530. That's right, I waited ten hours to shoot 15 rounds. I'm sure that will improve though.

Today was a particularly good day to be on duty as most of the company was continuously getting smoked for goofing off.

When we finally returned to barracks at 2000, we were told to get in formation in our sleep bays. For the next two hours, we stood at attention while we and all of the lockers were searched for contraband. One person in our 52 personnel bay was caught. He had an MRE tube of peanut butter. Punishment? An article 15 (a potentially career breaking legal action) forfeiture of pay totaling $350 and an extra 14 days of duty. That's some expensive peanut butter, especially when you consider they threw it out, so he did not even get to enjoy it.

Because of his actions though, we were told we won't phase on Saturday as we'd all hoped. No big deal to me though. So long as the graduation date stays the same, I'm happy.

Oct. 2, 2011 Day 16

I think I will start combining entries for my weekends as there is not much that goes on. We had church again today. It is such a stress reliever, especially when there are hundreds of men and women in uniform worshipping wholeheartedly.

One DS joke I’ll share: “A man asked for a glass of H2O. A second man said I’d like a glass of H2O too. The second man died.” That may not be funny to you, but in this environment, you steal every opportunity to lighten the mood. (If you don’t get it, H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide.)

It’s the third Sunday. Seven more to go.

BRM (Basic Rifle Markmanship) starts tomorrow!

Oct. 1, 2011 Day 15

Not much to report today. It was pretty easy going. We started with our 2 mile assessment. I rain it in 16:00. I hope to cut it down to 13:00 by the end of BCT.

Other than that, we spent the rest of the day messing with our rifles and getting to know each other better.

Things should really start moving next week as we finally start the real training.

My Battle Buddy went to sick call today and has a torn ligament in his foot. He’s on crutches until Wednesday, so it shouldn’t affect his training too much.

Big advice to those following behind: Do PT before you ship. You will be much better off.

Sept. 30, 2011

It's Friday again! Sunday number 4 is fast approaching.

I did not get the chance to write yesterday because WE ARE OFF 50/50 and we were forced to go straight to bed with no personal time. It was a great night's sleep though. It's crazy that 7 hours is considered "sleeping in" now.

Yesterday, there wasn't much to write about. We spent almost the entire day in combat life saver class, which ended with a written exam. I scored 100 on my first attempt, but we had over 40 in our company fail their first attempt. In the second attempt, two failed again and will now be NSO'd (New Start Over, aka recycled).

We've also gained three people in our platoon. One male was a medical NSO, so he is resuming training with us. One male is on unit watch (aka suicide watch). He's made two attempts at this life already. Please say a prayer for him.

For unit watch, three people stand around one bunk with the center bay lights on all night while the person sleeps. The person also required two battle buddies everywhere they go. The females have two on unit watch too, but it's suspected that they just want to get out.

Dumb Move. If you want to quit, you just quit. Going on unit watch requires you to attend weeks of therapy and board reviews before you can be released.

Today was pretty cool. We went to the warrior tower. All we did today was rappel off the 60 ft. wall, but it was still a lot of fun.

The DSs are actually helping things to be fun now. To my shock, they have already been lightening up a bit. Or maybe we just aren't repeating the same stupid crap that gets them mad. Either way, it's a welcome change I hope will last.

We got the first mail call last night. It may as well have been a comedy show. Let me tell you, in the hands of our DS, an envelope can be a deadly weapon. I caught one piece of mail right in my eye-pros (glasses).

(On a side note, if you would like to mail anything, please avoid sharp/heavy objects, or very stiff aero-dynamic mail). :) Do it for the soldiers who are going to catch it in the face.

I feel like I've rambled in each of these entries. Hopefully my wife has been editing them to make sense. Before you judge, just keep in mind the conditions of my writing.

One last prayer request. My Battle Buddy injured his foot pretty badly today on the rappel tower. It reminded me of what I did on one of our beach vacations. He can hardly walk on it, so he is heading to sick call tomorrow. Please pray that he heals quickly so that he does not miss enough training to require NSO.

Sept. 28, 2011

Well, I'm writing this on my fourth straight night of 50/50 fireguard (aka 3 hours of sleep). We're actually starting to adjust to it though.

Today had its ups and downs The downs first...

The DS gave everyone a one-time opportunity to quit without fear of repercussions. We had 2 in our platoon quit. Then we had a guy find out, after two weeks of BCT, that he has a medical issue and will need to be discharged. He is from Nigeria, and this was his dream. Please say a prayer for him as he will be going up and having paperwork go up to review boards who will determine whether or not he will ever be allowed to return.

The "up" of the day was going to shoot weapons for the first time. It was not a live range, but an electronic range. It was impressive because it could show the slightest movements in your muzzle. My first time shooting the M-16 and I've already met standard. Now it's time to go for expert.

It's Wednesday, which means family day for graduates. It was great to be reminded of what's to come, but it was also a little painful as I haven't had but one 2 minute phone call since I arrived, nor have I received any letters. (Note from Dee--I've sent plenty, they're just taking forever to arrive!) Of course, I haven't received letters because they take time to get here, but it is tough to only have this one-way communication for now.

Things will be speeding up soon. We'll be going to the victory tower on Friday. Starting next week, we'll have a ton of range time.

Thank you all for your continued prayer for me and the rest of the Echo 2-10 Disciples!

Sept. 27 2011

Today was (dun dun dum) the gas chamber. We started off with a class on CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear). Then we fitted and tested out our masks.

When we aligned outside of the gas chamber, you could already feel the effects of the CS (chlorine sulfide) gas. We started sneezing and our skin burnt a little, but that was by no means the full effect.

We entered the gas chamber with our masks on in single file. The chamber is about an 8x15 room with a control room in the corner for our cadre to enjoy our pain safely.

We started by pulling our masks up, replacing and clearing them. Then we did the hokey pokey. :) The event is designed to build confidence in yourself and your equipment. But then the real effect started. We removed our masks and were told to recite the soldier's creed. We all made it to around the second line before the coughing and dry heaving began. CS is very effective.

After a few minutes, the DSs finally let us out. I thought the CS would take forever to wear off, but fortunately, it wore off within 30 seconds (for those of us who didn't rub our eyes).

Then we got stupid. Third PLT Disciples challenged 1st PLT Assassins to a walk-off, where each platoon walked as slowly as possible through the chamber without masks. The group that went the slowest (3rd PLT, my group) won, but it took two passes.

All in all it was a lot of fun and it really brought the group together.

Sept. 25, 2011

Well today we finally had a bit of a break in the form of chapel. My battle buddies and I were able to load a bus and go to chapel where there were NO Drill Sergeants!!! I took for granted just how much of a stress relief it would be. As soon as we started singing, I started tearing up feeling the built-up stress start to melt away.

One of the coolest things about the service though was the other soldiers. Everyone sang at the top of their lungs with no hint of being ashamed of worshipping. It was a pure worship experience that helped me refocus my mind.

When we returned to the barracks, everyone had detail (work). I was assigned a grounds detail. It was a beautiful day, so it was great to work outside, again without the DSs.

In talking to the other platoons, it has become even more clear that we have the strictest DS in our platoon. Where we've had seven or eight smoke sessions already, they have had one or two. And no, they aren't better. Both lost their phase banners and one even lost their title "assasins" and were renamed the "care bears." When they sound off, they have to yell "we're so fluffy."

While that's hilarious, it is somewhat frustrating that we are getting harsher treatment. Of course, I know that it will make us better.

So one week down. Next week should go by quickly as we are kicking off the interesting training with the gas chamber and the victory tower.