I'M HOME!!!!!!! It is so nice to be away from Depot Land. I have to fly back on Monday but thats a few days away and I am not focusing on that right now.
This week was a short week. But busy. We had patrol drive 4 on Wednesday. That was the big one. Again with no chance of an NI we either passed or failed. We had to drive down town and in the residential area for about 1/2 an hour. Each minor driving infraction cost us a point. That meant not shoulder checking 1 point, bumping the curb in a "U" turn another point, failing to stop for a full 3 seconds, 1 point. If you failed to yield to a pedestrian 5 points etc etc. There were alot of ways to get points. You were allowed a maximum of 15 points on the entire drive and if you caused someone to take evasive action or the instructor to hit the brake thats and automatic fail. I passed.... 7 points or 93%. Yay, I am now finished driving for the most part. I don't have to do any more patrol drives downtown. That should free up a lot more time. The only drives I have left are the gravel road drive and the highway drive. I am looking forward to those.
On Tuesday we had our 5 mile (or 8.04km) run. I think the Regina weather gods were angry that day. We started the run at a slow pace and there was a little drizzle coming down. At about the 1 mile point it started to hail. I felt like Sid the Sloth in the movie "Ice Age". Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse it started to snow. WOW, I LOVE SASKATCHEWAN...(can you feel the sarcasm) Then the snow turned to rain and by the time I finished the 5 mile I was soaked and of course the rain/snow/hail/ had stopped. I finished the run in 42min 32sec. I think the entire troop did very well. Every one finished in under an hour.
In PDT we started ground fighting. That is a load of fun. Painful but fun. On Tuesday we also had interviews with staffing. This is where we got to plead our case for where we would like to go in Canada. I wanted good old "E" division. B.C. for me. On Thursday just before lunch we were all informed what division we would be posted to. I got what I was looking for-- "E". I am coming back home. BUT where in BC I don't know yet. I have to submit, by Tuesday morning, a list of detachments in the province that I would like to go to. I am hoping to come back to the Island but time will tell. I should find out my detachment in 2-3 weeks. Here's hoping.
The last class before we came home was Drill with Sgt Stuart. We went out to the firearms range and got a class on chemical agents. Specifically the use of CS gas. Then we were told that we would be heading into the gas chamber. Sgt Stuart said that this was manditroy. If anyone refused to go into the chamber that they would be sent home. If you bolted from the chamber before you were told to leave you would be put back in. If you bolted again you would go home. Then he asked the question "does anyone not want to go into the gas chamber?" No one raised their hands. We were given a lecture on the proper use of the gas mask and then in groups of four we went into the room. Sgt Stuart, our APS facilitators, and the rest of the troop were watching through a glass window. Sgt Stuart then told the first guy in to drop a "tablet" into a can that was sitting on a burner in the room. The heat immedately caused the pellet to violently smoke. Then one by one Sgt Stuart asked a troop member to remove the gas mask, then asked the person question. Easy ones but not something you wanted to answer with the room, and your lungs, full of tear gas. The effects of the gas were instant. Some peope were affected more than others. My eyes started to tear up right away but I didn't feel any of the choking or caughing that some of the cadets experienced. Then after it was all over we had the nice long walk back to our dorm rooms from FTU (Firearms Training Unit) because the bus driver would not take us in the bus smelling like tear gas. We all carfully took off our clothes and jumped into the shower, packed our gassed clothes into plastic bags and then packed our suitcases. It was time to leave Depot. Most of the troop was heading home for the weekend. And speaking of home I am going to go enjoy the rest of my time with my family.
Week 16 starts on Tuesday.. |
