Weekend #2 - Liberty!

Hello all. This week has been a lot less stressful than week one. Where in week one we were constantly being drilled and on the ground doing pushups for calling our Sr. Chief "sir," this week, we only hit the deck (floor) 5 or 6 times. We do have a "sir count" of 21, which will be paid later, but that's only 210 pushups or so. Not too bad.

This past week has been full with dental checks for everyone, 9 shots over 2 days, and class after class after class...you get the idea; and we have 16 online classes that we are to complete by the end of this week. Some have called our classes "PowerPoint Hell," but I don't think it is all that bad.

One of the classes this week had literally everyone in the class in tears. One of the LT's showed us a slide show from his time in Fallujah in 2004 (when the city was liberated). Wow! Everyone reading this, please do not ever become numb to our soldiers and saliors that fight for our freedom. The LT is in the Nurse Corps, so the pictures were very graphic. I'll leave it at that. Afterwards, we watched the movie "Taking Chance." Not a single dry eye in the room. This movie is based on a true story and shows what this country does for all of the soldiers and sailors that die for our freedoms that we take for granted. I encourage everyone to watch this movie, then say a prayer for our military forces. It is not appropriate for kids (although not graphic and it only has 3 swear words), the content would make any military kid nervous.

Ok, back to ODS stuff. Last Saturday, we picked up our khakis and have been wearing them every day. Yesterday we picked up our dress blues and will have a uniform inspection this week in addition to pictures. This week also holds our next PFA (Physical Fitness Assessment), 2 exams, and a tour of a ship coming into port. I can't remember which one, but with as little sleep as we have all had, it's not that surprising. :) It has been getting better though, and many are hitting the racks (bed) at 2200 after taps.

Life here isn't all that bad now. We eat like it is a cruise ship, except you don't get to eat whenever you want. Let's see...for breakfast, I had scrambled eggs (probably 3 or 4 eggs worth), two sausage links, 2 pieces of french toast, potatoes, fruit, grits with granola, and a cup of juice. All the meals are this large. Crazy though, all of us seem to be hungry before bed; probably from the work outs.

The team has been getting closer as the time has gone by. Today we played a prank on two of the others...they left their lockers wide open, so several of us stood outside their room at attention as if Sr. Chief was inspecting their room. As they came down the hall, one of the guys shoved the chair out of the room and tossed the garbage can out. The look on their face was priceless and it was so hard not to laugh. In general though, we are all helping each other out, and it has been great.

Everyone has to stand watch at different times (I stand watch tomorrow morning from 0445-0745 or so). Not too bad. Let's see, what else? Oh, we have been under a yellow flag since I arrived, which means no marching, formations, or extended time outside. The wind has had the temps between -5 and 2 when we are outside, so this time is limited. The last couple of days, we have been in the 40's and 50's, so with the green flag, we march pretty much everywhere. Can you believe the 40's and 50's in RI in January? It is supposed to snow on Monday, but we'll see. The nice thing is that they do keep the roads very clean here for cars, so no worries about driving for those that are coming to graduation.

Speaking of graduation, we have been working on the graduation ceremony already. Normally this would take place during the 5th week, but a new ODS class comes in then, so we are getting a head start as they will require much of the Sr. Chief's time for the "wonderful" first week.

I'm sure there is more, but I only have a few minutes left at the internet cafe before my time runs out. Talk to you all later!

Please keep Sally and the kids in your prayers. They have had some really bad weather that makes it really hard for Sally to keep the kids occupied. Sally also starts the spring term on Monday, and it will be a tough one for her. Also, please keep First Baptist of Kingston in your prayers. God is watching over them and I continue to pray for the church. Lastly, please do keep our class 10030 (India Company) in your prayers. We have had a couple of injuries and a couple of illnesses that have had some in the quarters for a couple of days.