July 30, 2007

Today we were officially Day Ones (of four days) at Processing. It was a busy day. First formation was at 0430, like normal. From there, we went to breakfast. After breakfast, we went to Johnson Hall where we filled out some paperwork for awhile. Then came a finance briefing. After the finance briefing, we got our $250 smart cards and went to the PX to get supplies. There were quite a few things on the list that wew were supposed to buy. things like razor blades, shaving crea, boot care kits, flashlight, batteries, running shoes, etc. I had enough left on the card to get more stamps and a camelback. A camelback is an insulated water holding backpack with a drinking tube. It holds three liters of water as opposed to the one quart a canteen holds. Another plus is that with buying it, I don't have to wear the uncomfortable pistol belt and canteen anymore. They are very serious about us drinking water here due to the heat and humidity. They said two soldiers have already died this year due to heat related illnesses. I've been drinking somewhere between two and three gallons a day, I would guess.

Also today, before the PX, we all paid a little visit to the barber shop. Yes, that's right. My head is now shaved.

After the PX, it was time for lunch. After lunch, it was back to Johnson Hall for fingerprinting and photo taking for our military ID cards. After that came dental x-rays, which was it for the day.

Lights out is in about an hour, and I have fire watch at 0200 to 0300. This means I stand around and make sure the barracks don't catch on fire. It seems kind of dumb, but it's required so oh, well. Last night I did it from 0000 to 0100. So with tonight, I shouldn't have to do it again this week.

Tomorrow we are supposed to get our shots (fun, fun). Hopefully, we will also get our boots tomorrow. We have our ACUs, but not the boots and bunch of us don't have the hats either since we needed haircuts first.

PFC Sam Jones