| And the weeks keep adding up. This week started out on a fun note. We had drill first thing Monday morning. Sgt Stuart was replacing Cpl Furland for this class. He called us to attention and started his inspection. He passed by the front rank of cadets inspecting boots, clothes, and our grooming. He got a couple of guys for facial hair. Sgt Stuart can pic out a blade shave vs an electric shave from a mile away. As Sgt Stuart passed behind me I felt a finger poking my shoulder. �When was the last time YOU had a hair cut cadet!� �Uhh? � �DON�T START A SENTENCE WITH UHH!!!� �Yes Sargent.� �I had my hair cut two weeks ago Sargent.� �That�s two weeks too long. I will see you at 7:30 tomorrow morning with a proper hair cut!� �Yes Sargent.� Well crap. Learning assistance again. In fact it had been 13 days since my last hair cut and my 1/4 inch of hair was way too long. I had tried to get a hair appointment that Saturday but the schedule was all filled up. So I had booked an appointment for Monday at 7:00 pm. Just thought I could make it through one more Drill class. Oops, I was wrong. So Monday night I told the barber to make the hair cut to Sgt Stuart specs. SHORT. This week was filled with scenarios. One day I played an officer and the next day I was an actor. We had more files to do and info to gather. It was a pretty boring week as weeks go. Most people are waiting to hear about our postings. We know what division we are going to but we have no idea where in that division we will be posted to. So far only 5 of us know their detachments. On Thursday we had our final PARE. Wow, that�s it. I passed with a respectable 3:27. Same as my second PARE here at Depot. I was hoping to do better but it's under 4 min and that�s all that counts. I actually had a faster run time that my last PARE but the push pull machine got hung up and I had to take 5 sec or so to get it to move. Our fastest time in the troop was 2:50sec. Only 2 guys got below 3 min. That is a superior in the PARE. We found out a rumor that we might be moving to �D� block next week. WOO HOO. That is the �hotel� - single rooms with cable tv, showers and no snoring guys sleeping 4 ft away. The rumor hasn�t been substantiated yet but one of the guys in our troop saw written on a board �troop 25 move to D block May 3rd Troop 26 May 10th� well Troop 25 just finished moving their stuff. So here's hoping. I actually will be kind of sad to move. Although there is absolutely no privacy there is a lot of comradery. You go back to your dorm room and hang out. Even when it's lights out you sometimes stay up a bit and just chat with the guys in your room. I have been living in the same space for the last 5 months with pretty much the same guys 24/7. Its going to be a bit weird at first in �D� but I think I can handle it. Last class on Friday was ground fighting rings. Seeing that I am typing this I can say that nothing is broken and I am still alive. The whole troop did really well. The Cpls said that we went to the pain areas more than most troops. Aaa yes, troop 26 are a bunch of psychos. You didn�t get to choose your partner and I was teamed up with Dwayne, the oldest guy here at depot. At 49, Dwayne is keeping up quite well with us guys. Some of whom are half is age. When it was our turn to fight we started out on our knees and the Cpl said GO. We started to fight and Dwayne managed to get me in a front head lock. Well, that was it. He held on for dear life and there was pretty much nothing I could do for about a full minute but try and keep my airway open. Finally after a minute I managed to work myself free. The fight was on again but after so long holding up Dwayne�s body weight I was pooped. Dwayne had a few pounds on me. We fought for a bit and Dwayne managed to get me off balance and I landed on the mat with my clenched fist at my chest. With Dwayne�s combined weight that knocked the wind right out of me. Luckily the Cpl called time and the fight was over. I have a number off bruises but the nice thing is that no one got hurt. There have been many stories of cadets being sent home because of ground fighting injuries. This week we have our Firearms qualifications. That�s it I had better shoot well tomorrow. This where cadets in the past have had to go home. You get to shoot once. The targets add up to 250. 250 out of 250 you get crossed pistols on your serge with a crown on top as well as a superior. 225 or better out of 250 and you get just crossed pistols. 200 - 224 is a P and anything under 200 is a fail. You will get one more chance after that and if you still can't make 200 you go home. Wish me luck Marching in to week 18 |
| May 5, 2003 |
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