I talked to Sam the other day on the phone. He has completed all the requirements for graduation and will be graduating on October 4th. He told me that one of the last activites they did was a nine mile march. The march began at 2 am and they ended it at 6 am. When they rounded the last bend, a platform was set up and several of the guys in charge (commanders or captains, something like that) gave speeches. There were flags flying and (I think) a band playing. One of the officers said something like: "Nine short weeks ago you came here as civilians. You are no longer civilians. You are soldiers." Sam said he got goosebumps and almost cried.
My mother and I are on our way down to Georgia for Sam's graduation. You can read more (if you like) about our trip at http://rebekahjones.blogspot.com
I'll post more here after I see Sam again. Thanks for your prayers!
Rebekah
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
September 19, 2007
As you know, this morning was the PT test. I THINK I passed, but I don't know for sure yet because they didn't tell us how many situps we did. I know for sure I passed pushups and the two mile run. I will update this letter later tonight when I know for sure. For pushups, I had to do thirty to pass and I did 33. For the two mile run, all I can say is wow. You know that verse that says God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think? Well, this was a perfect example. I prayed and asked Him to help me me on the test. If you recall, on Saturday I ran the two miles in 17:09. Today, the whole time I was running I was thinking, "See Bekah on family day. See Bekah on family day." To pass I needed a 17:54. Today I ran it in 16:10. I don't know how, so it had to be the Lord helping me. Now if I can just find out how many situps I did.
After the PT test, we had breakfast and then caught transportation to Patton range where we learned how to load and fire the M2 .50 caliber machine gun. Then we got to fire it and oh man. That thing is something else. The bullets are roughly as big around as my thumb, and as long as my hand. The guns max effective range is over a mile and you can feel the power when you fire it. We each got to fire about 40 rounds through it. It was quite fun.
After that, it was just trans back to the company area. Now we are sitting in the barracks waiting for Drill Sergeant Smithling to tell us what to do or for chow, whichever comes first.
Well, it's now the evening of 20 Sept 2007. Last night got a little crazy and today was nuts too. The day started with PT and it was crazy. There are a couple of new drill sergeants here and we had one of them. We did over a hundred pushups and situps. Fun, huh? After PT was breakfast, followed by an inspection by the battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel Lightner) and the battalion sergeant major (Command Sergeant Major Heurta). The company as a whole failed the inspection. My platoon and fourth platoon were okay, but first and third had dirty, rusty rifles and a lot of them didn't have water in their canteens like they were supposed to.
The PT scores are finally in. I PASSED! I PASSED! I PASSED! Fifteen people in my platoon failed and will have to retake it. Some of them missed passing by only one pushup or situp, which is a real bummer.
Tomorrow is Convoy Live Fire Exercise, so that should be interesting. It involves eight of us at a time riding in the back of a truck firing at targets. It's the last required training event other than the third FTX.
PFC Sam Jones
After the PT test, we had breakfast and then caught transportation to Patton range where we learned how to load and fire the M2 .50 caliber machine gun. Then we got to fire it and oh man. That thing is something else. The bullets are roughly as big around as my thumb, and as long as my hand. The guns max effective range is over a mile and you can feel the power when you fire it. We each got to fire about 40 rounds through it. It was quite fun.
After that, it was just trans back to the company area. Now we are sitting in the barracks waiting for Drill Sergeant Smithling to tell us what to do or for chow, whichever comes first.
Well, it's now the evening of 20 Sept 2007. Last night got a little crazy and today was nuts too. The day started with PT and it was crazy. There are a couple of new drill sergeants here and we had one of them. We did over a hundred pushups and situps. Fun, huh? After PT was breakfast, followed by an inspection by the battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel Lightner) and the battalion sergeant major (Command Sergeant Major Heurta). The company as a whole failed the inspection. My platoon and fourth platoon were okay, but first and third had dirty, rusty rifles and a lot of them didn't have water in their canteens like they were supposed to.
The PT scores are finally in. I PASSED! I PASSED! I PASSED! Fifteen people in my platoon failed and will have to retake it. Some of them missed passing by only one pushup or situp, which is a real bummer.
Tomorrow is Convoy Live Fire Exercise, so that should be interesting. It involves eight of us at a time riding in the back of a truck firing at targets. It's the last required training event other than the third FTX.
PFC Sam Jones
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
September 18, 2007
Today was supposed to be mid-cycle testing, but it didn't really happen so I don't know if it's going to happen later or if it's going to be one of those everyone passes things. Today we also learned how to setup, disassemble, and reassemble the M2 .50 caliber machine gun. Tomorrow after the PT test, we are supposed to go fire them. That should be fun.
Also today, a lot of us went back to 30th AG to exchange ACUs and boots that were stained, damaged, didn't fit, etc. I got four brand new sets of ACUs in Large instead of Extra-Large. That was very exciting! I look much thinner in them because they are a much better fit than the XLs were. The XLs had gotten really baggy on me. Plus, my old ones had dirt stains and things like that from all the training. I'm hoping with these to only wear two pair between now and graduation and keep the other two sets in new condition. I'm not positive, but I think we wear our Class As (the dress greens) for Family Day and the Beret Ceremony and our ACUs for graduation itself.
Like I said, tomorrow is the final PT test. Here's hoping that I pass. I should be okay. I'll be thinking of you and of seeing you, and that should provide me with all the motivation that I need. I'm determined to pass.
Now that we are in blue phase, we seem to have much more free time. The drill sergeants leave around dinner time, so unless they leave us an assignment, we generally have from after dinner until lights out as free time.
PFC Sam Jones
Also today, a lot of us went back to 30th AG to exchange ACUs and boots that were stained, damaged, didn't fit, etc. I got four brand new sets of ACUs in Large instead of Extra-Large. That was very exciting! I look much thinner in them because they are a much better fit than the XLs were. The XLs had gotten really baggy on me. Plus, my old ones had dirt stains and things like that from all the training. I'm hoping with these to only wear two pair between now and graduation and keep the other two sets in new condition. I'm not positive, but I think we wear our Class As (the dress greens) for Family Day and the Beret Ceremony and our ACUs for graduation itself.
Like I said, tomorrow is the final PT test. Here's hoping that I pass. I should be okay. I'll be thinking of you and of seeing you, and that should provide me with all the motivation that I need. I'm determined to pass.
Now that we are in blue phase, we seem to have much more free time. The drill sergeants leave around dinner time, so unless they leave us an assignment, we generally have from after dinner until lights out as free time.
PFC Sam Jones
Monday, September 24, 2007
September 17, 2007
Today was a good day I guess. The drill sergeants left early and forgot to pass out the mail, so I have no mail to read tonight. That's kind of a bummer, but what can you do.
The day started with a very early transport to Pierce range, which is one of the ranges here. Today was Buddy Team Live Fire, which was actually pretty fun. I teamed up with my friend Heath Jones. It almost reminded me of playing paintball, except the gear is much heavier here. We had to do it while wearing our LCEs (load carrying equipment) which is a harness that has two ammo pouches and two full one quart canteens, our IBAs (body armor), and our ACHs (Army Combat Helmet). That's a fair bit of weight.
The way the training worked was this. The range is set up with bunkers of one type or another every ten meters, with groups of them on the right and left of each lane on the range. To start off, we did a dry fire run so that the drill sergeants could make sure that everyone was doing things safely. We had to low crawl from the starting point to the first bunker. Once the person on the left reached their first bunker, they would begin firing down range while the person on the right low crawled to their first bunker. Once the person on the right reached their spot, they began firing and the person on the left then had to commando crawl to their second bunker and the process repeated itself. After those crawls, we utilized a movement technique called the three to five second rush. After the dry run, we ran it again, this time with blanks. After that, it was time to do it with live ammo. That was pretty fun. It was safe though because we were probably twenty feet or more from our battle buddy.
After that we came back and Drill Sergeant Smithling gave us the MIG parts of the mid-cycle test so that we could get that out of the way. We will do the rest of the test tomorrow. Then Wednesday is the final PT Test. Other than the final nine mile road march, those are the last two things that I have to pass. I should be fine. I'm keeping my eyes on the goal.
PFC Sam Jones
The day started with a very early transport to Pierce range, which is one of the ranges here. Today was Buddy Team Live Fire, which was actually pretty fun. I teamed up with my friend Heath Jones. It almost reminded me of playing paintball, except the gear is much heavier here. We had to do it while wearing our LCEs (load carrying equipment) which is a harness that has two ammo pouches and two full one quart canteens, our IBAs (body armor), and our ACHs (Army Combat Helmet). That's a fair bit of weight.
The way the training worked was this. The range is set up with bunkers of one type or another every ten meters, with groups of them on the right and left of each lane on the range. To start off, we did a dry fire run so that the drill sergeants could make sure that everyone was doing things safely. We had to low crawl from the starting point to the first bunker. Once the person on the left reached their first bunker, they would begin firing down range while the person on the right low crawled to their first bunker. Once the person on the right reached their spot, they began firing and the person on the left then had to commando crawl to their second bunker and the process repeated itself. After those crawls, we utilized a movement technique called the three to five second rush. After the dry run, we ran it again, this time with blanks. After that, it was time to do it with live ammo. That was pretty fun. It was safe though because we were probably twenty feet or more from our battle buddy.
After that we came back and Drill Sergeant Smithling gave us the MIG parts of the mid-cycle test so that we could get that out of the way. We will do the rest of the test tomorrow. Then Wednesday is the final PT Test. Other than the final nine mile road march, those are the last two things that I have to pass. I should be fine. I'm keeping my eyes on the goal.
PFC Sam Jones
Saturday, September 22, 2007
September 16, 2007
Here is how things will work for those last three days from what I understand. October 3 is Family Day. First thing will be the beret ceremony. Once that is over, we are allowed to leave on pass until 2000. The next day is graduation. After graduation is over, we can again leave on pass until 2000. The next day we should be able to leave for AIT, but I don't know exactly what time. I should know by Family Day.
I weighed myself when I got back from the FTX and I was down to 215! Can you believe it? I've lost at least 25 pounds so far. There are still almost three weeks to go, so 210 or maybe even 200 is still a distinct possibility. Sometime this week we are due for a quartermaster's refit, which is good because I think I need large ACUs now, not extra large. My extra-large pants are huge on me now.
Tomorrow looks like a fairly easy day. We're going to one range and doing some sort of weapons training. We're scheduled to be back by 1430 so that shouldn't be too bad. I'm not sure exactly what training we'll be doing, but that's nothing new.
PFC Sam Jones
I weighed myself when I got back from the FTX and I was down to 215! Can you believe it? I've lost at least 25 pounds so far. There are still almost three weeks to go, so 210 or maybe even 200 is still a distinct possibility. Sometime this week we are due for a quartermaster's refit, which is good because I think I need large ACUs now, not extra large. My extra-large pants are huge on me now.
Tomorrow looks like a fairly easy day. We're going to one range and doing some sort of weapons training. We're scheduled to be back by 1430 so that shouldn't be too bad. I'm not sure exactly what training we'll be doing, but that's nothing new.
PFC Sam Jones
September 15, 2007
Finally! Time to write again! This is my first free time in about four days due to the FTX. It was fun, but pretty tiring. We had a vehicle checkpoint set up that had to be manned twenty-four hours a day and our fighting positions had to be manned as well. So sleep was a pretty limited commodity out there. We learned battle drills which are sort of like plays in sports for specific situations. It's thinks like reacting to an ambush, squad attack, reacting to enemy contact, etc. With all that I've learned, I could train quite the paintball scenario team if I wanted to.
We got back from FTX yesterday a bit before dinner and were still up to midnight cleaning our rifles and gear and such. Wake up was at 0400, so needless to say, we're all pretty tired. This morning we had a practice PT test (the final is coming up on Wednesday) to see where we are at. To pass, I need to be able to do 30 pushups in two minutes, 36 situps, and run two miles is 17:54 or less. Today, even as tired as I was, I did 31 pushups, 28 situps, and ran two miles in 17:09. I should be fine for the test on Wednesday.
After that, we went to one of the ranges and shot at moving targets. That was a bit challenging but fun. There were 50 targets and you were supposed to hit at least 18. I got 31, so I was happy.
We transitioned to Blue Phase today! We really only have two weeks of training left. The last week is little stuff and recovery week.
PFC Sam Jones
We got back from FTX yesterday a bit before dinner and were still up to midnight cleaning our rifles and gear and such. Wake up was at 0400, so needless to say, we're all pretty tired. This morning we had a practice PT test (the final is coming up on Wednesday) to see where we are at. To pass, I need to be able to do 30 pushups in two minutes, 36 situps, and run two miles is 17:54 or less. Today, even as tired as I was, I did 31 pushups, 28 situps, and ran two miles in 17:09. I should be fine for the test on Wednesday.
After that, we went to one of the ranges and shot at moving targets. That was a bit challenging but fun. There were 50 targets and you were supposed to hit at least 18. I got 31, so I was happy.
We transitioned to Blue Phase today! We really only have two weeks of training left. The last week is little stuff and recovery week.
PFC Sam Jones
September 11, 2007
Can you believe that it's been six years since the twin towers and all the attacks? When First Sergeant said that today, I almost couldn't believe it. Where does the time go? It was a good reminder that time is precious and we need to make the most of what we have.
You wanted more information for the blog and you will certainly get some here. Yesterday, as I said in an earlier letter, was an extremely busy day. The first things we did was go to the ETS (Electronic Targeting System) building and get our first Advanced Rifle Marksmanship class. ARM involves close quarters combat. In the ETS, we were engaging targets at 25 meters and closer. It involves using a red dot sight, which is pretty cool. I scored 31 out of 36 possible during the ETS portion. So I was pretty happy with that.
After that, we had lunch, then caught transportation to one of the ranges. There, we did the same thing only with live ammo. It was quite fun. You start with your rifle on safe, locked and loaded, and at the low ready position. On the command to engage the target, you snap the rifle up into firing position while switching it from safe to semi and fire a controlled pair at the target. You then lower the weapon, flipping the selector switch from semi to safe. We fired two twenty-round magazines between twenty meters and five meters. I liked it a lot. It was much more fun than BRM was.
After that, we waited around until dinner time, ate dinner then walked over to the next range for night firing. Now that was really fun! For that, we used a combination of a night vision monocular that mounts to our helmet and a device that paints the target with a laser (visible only through the night vision) that mounts to the forward handgrip. That was really cool. The night vision device was amazing. There's a reason the US Army owns the night. We fired forty rounds there also.
Today was cool also. First, we caught transportation to a range where we learned to fire the AT4 rocket launcher. Then we got to fire five or so practice rounds from them. I hit my target every time and got several compliments from the drill sergeant working my firing station. After that, the two guys who scored the highest in BRM got to fire the real thing so we could see what they are like. Then we caught transportation to another range where we learned to fire the M203 Grenade Launcher. We got to fire several practice rounds from that as well and that was fun also.
You wanted more information for the blog and you will certainly get some here. Yesterday, as I said in an earlier letter, was an extremely busy day. The first things we did was go to the ETS (Electronic Targeting System) building and get our first Advanced Rifle Marksmanship class. ARM involves close quarters combat. In the ETS, we were engaging targets at 25 meters and closer. It involves using a red dot sight, which is pretty cool. I scored 31 out of 36 possible during the ETS portion. So I was pretty happy with that.
After that, we had lunch, then caught transportation to one of the ranges. There, we did the same thing only with live ammo. It was quite fun. You start with your rifle on safe, locked and loaded, and at the low ready position. On the command to engage the target, you snap the rifle up into firing position while switching it from safe to semi and fire a controlled pair at the target. You then lower the weapon, flipping the selector switch from semi to safe. We fired two twenty-round magazines between twenty meters and five meters. I liked it a lot. It was much more fun than BRM was.
After that, we waited around until dinner time, ate dinner then walked over to the next range for night firing. Now that was really fun! For that, we used a combination of a night vision monocular that mounts to our helmet and a device that paints the target with a laser (visible only through the night vision) that mounts to the forward handgrip. That was really cool. The night vision device was amazing. There's a reason the US Army owns the night. We fired forty rounds there also.
Today was cool also. First, we caught transportation to a range where we learned to fire the AT4 rocket launcher. Then we got to fire five or so practice rounds from them. I hit my target every time and got several compliments from the drill sergeant working my firing station. After that, the two guys who scored the highest in BRM got to fire the real thing so we could see what they are like. Then we caught transportation to another range where we learned to fire the M203 Grenade Launcher. We got to fire several practice rounds from that as well and that was fun also.
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