BOLC2, Week 5

What a gruelling week -- we spent pretty much every waking hour of every day running around and doing missions.

On Monday we went out to the field and got our barracks set up. Normally, there's are shower facilities available, but for some reason they weren't working this cycle. Consequently, we had to go without showers, despite our captain's penchant for always doing PT (even in the field).

On Tuesday it was more of the same -- practicing movement in pairs to take out an enemy target. Nothing exciting. In the evening, I got my first leadership test when our platoon was assigned base guard duty for the night. For six hours, from 8:00 until 2:00 in the morning, my job was to make sure the base towers and Entry Control Points (a.k.a. "the gate") were guarded.

From 2:00am Wednesday until 8:00 my job then shifted to Quick Reaction Force, meaning we could sleep, but we had to stay dressed and ready for action in case the base was attacked by "opposition forces." We did get called up once, but when the cadre in charge heard that we just were getting called out to pull security for some other platoon's night mission, our trucks did a U-turn and we went back. That was merciful.

Needless to say, we didn't sleep well, though we were able to squeeze in a few more hours of sleep after breakfast.

On Wednesday, we did missions -- tests of leadership in combat simulations. In the evening, because the showers weren't working, those of us who wanted to go back to the barracks for personal hygiene could do so. I took full advantage of the opportunity to get a nice, hot shower.

Thursday was another missions day, followed by preparations for leaving the FOB the following morning. My squad's job, then, was to load up everyone's duffel bag of stuff they wouldn't be carrying with them and unload it at the barracks. Not fun, especially when we were all hoping to get plenty of rest before our ruck march.

On Friday morning, we set out for our final, 10 mile ruck march - our last graduation requirement. I don't do ruck marches very well, and this one was no exception. Because I walk at a slower pace than most everyone else, I frequently have to run to catch up. People say you shouldn't run on ruck marches -- that you should take longer strides -- but that just slows me down further. Running is really the only thing I can do to keep up, and that gets really tiring.

The good news is that my group finished in two hours, forty minutes -- walking straight through without a break. That's about 16 minutes per mile, with a 40+ pound rucksack on my back in addition to the utility vest and M4 rifle. I was pretty happ with myself.

What made the day all the better was that we got out earlier than normal -- about 3:00pm. I used the time to get my car weighed -- the first step in a DITY move. Hopefully, my car will be about 600 heavier when fully loaded so that I can get the maximum compensation.

Now we have a three day weekend ahead of us, and I intend to get a lot of rest....