Day 21 - The big guns

Today was Family Day for one of the other companies, so they had us run in ability groups (B group ran four miles in about 30 minutes) and then booted us out to a firing range. We "front-loaded" our rucksacks, though I'm not sure why we had to bring them along in the first place -- we didn't use anything at all from them.

The cool part about today was that we finally fired weapons -- and it was entirely too much fun. I remember as a kid having wondered what it would be like to shoot a "real" gun, rather than just a BB gun, and today we got to shoot both the M249 and the M240B. The 240 shoots 7.62 mm rounds (like and AK-47), so it really packs a punch.

The day wasn't all fun and giggles, though. We got smoked for "not enough motivation" in forming a four-rank company formation (how long should it take to get 240 guys lined up in four row?)

And I noticed that I have a pay problem -- they're taking out $100 for the GI Bill, even though I'm in the Student Loan Repayment Program. It's not that big a deal, since I pretty much got paid for a month and a half (don't know how that worked out, but thank you, Uncle Sam).

As far as chow is concerned, we had breakfast in the field, and MREs for lunch (I had #19, Beef with Vegetables). Dinner stunk - we came back too late to eat in the DFAC, so we had to eat field-style in a room. All we got was a small plate and three minutes to eat. Afterward, we cleaned weapons (our M-16s, the ones we didn't shoot) till 2100, then showered and packed it in.

I was thinking that my PT score will be better than I'd feared. As long as we run on the road, rather than the sand and gravel track, I shoud be OK.

In other news, our white phase transition test is tomorrow. And an OCS guy was here today -- he said that it's easier than basic, so I'm happy. Apparently, there are more priveleges involved, like weekend passes. Cool....