TRAINING WEEK SIX
980601; Monday; (980602; 0230); MCRD, San Diego - T24
To say that today was a busy day would be an understatement. Right after morning chow we had the first day of swim qualifications. Being the great swimmer that I am (yeah, right) I have been looking forward to just getting through this week. Swim qual is important and is also a graduation requirement.
Today was the first of 4 swim days. I also found out that we would be swimming with a cammy trouser and a cammy blouse on. I didn't know what to expect, having never swam fully clothed.
The first thing that we had to do was swim the width of the shallow end of the pool. Simple enough. We can use only 3 types of strokes; Modified Breaststroke, Sidestroke, and Elementary Backstroke.
For the short swim I used the Modified Breaststroke. The cammies made it a little more difficult to swim in as they increased weight and drag and decreased movement.
The second part of qualifications for today was jumping off of a 10 ft tower and swimming to the side of the pool. That was actually rather fun. After swimming to the side we were to tread water for 2 minutes. Well, this is where I failed. Just haven't gotten the treading water part down yet.
They took us back to the classroom where a Drill Instructor told us how to do it an easier way by simply floating and bicycling your legs slowly. Doing it that way I qualified.
Next was the dead man's float. Another 2 minute exercise. That one was a little more exhausting, but I still passed it. After that was the blouse float. The blouse float is simply blowing a breath of air into your blouse and floating. The air in your blouse combined with the air in your lungs keeps you up. This was only a 1 minute exercise. Right after that we had to swim the length of the pool using only the three strokes mentioned before. I chose the Elementary Backstroke because it is my strongest, as well as the easiest, to cross. I did qualify on today's swim. The other 3 swims are on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
The swim took all morning and in the afternoon we had PT. We did a mock PFT. I didn't do as well as I did on the initial PFT. 11 pull-ups, 86 crunches, and a 22:20 run.
PT took us almost up to evening chow. After chow we went to the Parade Deck and went over a couple of drill cards. We did ok, but we will need to do a lot better for Final Drill Inspection.
I received the first two weeks of my journal back tonight during mail call as well as letters from Dwight Mattix, Guy White, Sarah Edwards, and my family. I was surprised to hear from some of those people. That's what makes mail call so important to us.
The provision of God is amazing as He always supplies us with our needs. This is His promise to us, His children. While here at MCRD I do long for certain Christian fellowships and the services that we have back in Shelton. I have also had a hard time learning and trusting that God is providing me with only the things that I need. Anything extra is a blessing to me and should be considered as such.
Please pray for me that I might be able to work contentedly with what God has provided.
980602; Tuesday; (980603; 0230); MCRD, San Diego - T25
Today's swim was CWS-3. Each day of swim qual is more difficult and has a longer time period before requalification. By qualifying as CWS-4 (Combat Water Survivability - 4) yesterday, in two years I will need to requalify. CWS-3 is three years, CWS-2 is 4 years, and CWS-1 is 5 years. CWS-4 is the minimum that recruits need to graduate boot camp.
CWS-3 is comprised of jumping off the 10' tower with cammies and boots, swimming the length of the pool. Then everybody gets flak jackets, LBV's (Load Bearing Vest), and waterproof pack. Next, with the pack on they swim around the deep end of the pool, starting at the shallow end near one bulkhead and making a horseshoe and coming around to the other side of the shallow end. They do this using the Combat Crawl. They lie on their back and pull water back and under them using their feet in a bicycle movement. After that they jump off of a 5' tower with the pack, swim to the middle and remove the pack. Then holding on to the pack, they swim back to the shallow end, completing CWS-3.
Me being all experienced and everything at swimming in general and especially with clothes and boots on, I couldn't swim across the pool with just the cammies and boots on. So I qualified as CWS-4 and will have 2 years to try and improve my skills. Swim is over for me. Now I am on work parties there at the swim tank. Frankly, I'd rather do that than swim.
With swim taking up all morning, PT was in the afternoon again. Today was the S and E course. A 2.5 mile run with periodic stops to do side-straddle hops, mountain climbers, push-ups, crunches, hand-to-knee squats, dips (triceps), pull-ups, and flutter kicks. Then after the run the usual remedial PT, crunches and pull-ups.
It is really starting to feel like summer. Getting very warm in the afternoon. Still stays cool at night. Too cool. Especially when there is a breeze coming off of the ocean.
980603; Wednesday; (980604; 0250); MCRD, San Diego - T26
Today we got back to my kind of stuff. The rush course in the morning and Pugil Sticks II in the afternoon. The rush course was an introduction to combat crawling. The high crawl, low crawl, and back crawl. The rush course is very basic, but hard on elbows and knees. First you start out with the high crawl on your elbows and stomach. After reaching the next sign you switch to the low crawl with your helmet in the dirt pushing yourself with your right leg. Next was the back crawl, on your back pushing with your legs. After that your team of 4 simulates a rush. The fire team leader says, "Fire team prepare to rush." The fire team repeats. Fire team leader says, "Rush." Everybody rushes to the next log in front of them in a zigzag pattern. After doing the rush on 4 logs the course ends. Then we did the course again. When we got back we were covered in dirt.
Right after afternoon chow was Pugil Sticks II. The Bridge. They set us up weight against weight and Trail series (PLT's '69, '70 and '71) vs. Lead series (PLT's '65, '66 and 67). An individual came up each side of the bridge and met in the middle. On the whistle they started fighting. The first recruit to apply one of the five killing blows won. By being on a bridge it forced recruits to actually swing rather than just push each other around.
The recruit I fought was tougher than the one in Pugil Sticks I. He was stronger and more aggressive. At first I just got in close and pushed him back (can't swing or hit someone hard at close quarters, but neither could I. It also can put someone off balance.) After being called back to the center a couple of times I started swinging more and pushing less. But by still pushing I succeeded in getting his balance off a couple of times. The second time I hit him in the head. Don't remember what I did or how.
When everything was said and done, Trail series had laid it on Lead series. Lead series only won somewhere in the area of a dozen to maybe two dozen. That is with 120 recruits in each series and probably a 100 present in each series. Only 3 in our platoon lost.
Our guide, Stare, when it was his turn to fight came up against the guide from 3066 (this happened coincidentally). This fired both sides up as now it became a matter of pride. Stare, who is unbelievably aggressive at Pugil Sticks, annihilated the other guide. He is now known as the Pugil Stick King. Every opponent that he has faced has been decimated. Our Senior really gets into Pugil Sticks. When Stare first came on the bridge the Senior grabbed his face mask and motivated or threatened him (probably motivated him).
After Pugil Sticks we had a core values class lead by Drill Instructor Sgt. Harrison. He is probably the most respected of our Drill Instructors by the platoon. He is hard, fair, and cool in his own way. Most people in the civilian world would probably hate him, but here he is cool. Everything from his marching cadence song to the way he speaks is cool. His marching cadence song is one of a kind. Real music for boot camp. You'd have to hear it to understand. When he talks everything is stinkin'. It is never 'Raise your hand,' it's "Get your stinkin' sandwich clamp in the air." I may say that he is cool, but I mean that out of genuine respect for him. He has earned the respect of this platoon and in turn he is now giving us respect. Drill Instructor Sgt. Harrison is an O3 II (basic rifleman in the infantry) and now a Force Recon. During core values (when he teaches them) he gives examples of positive and negative from his experiences in Desert Storm and Somalia.
980604; Thursday; 2155; MCRD, San Diego - T27
Well back to the swim routine. CWS-2 was this morning. To qualify as CWS-2 you have to swim the length of the pool with a flak jacket and LBV on (that also includes the cammies and boots). I say, "Yeah, right." "Go ahead and write me up as drowned. Here's my parents' phone number and address. Everything I own is theirs."
I see a point to all that; but man, that of all things, has got to be hard. The second part of qualifying was to drag another recruit (both have packs on) the length of the pool (simulating water rescue). I spent all this time on work parties. The first party was fixing and straightening the "alpha" packs that the swimmers wear. The second was making "guts." Guts are cammies rolled and waterproofed in plastic bags. These guts are put in the packs to make them float.
In the afternoon we had a couple of classes. One on Combat Leadership and the other on Marine Corps Mission and Organization. After which we went to get shots for up north. You have a pretty good idea of how I feel about them. Frankly, I'd rather get a shot than go swimming. My approach to shots is similar to tests. Don't stress. Relax. It can't kill you and it only hurts for a while. Most importantly though, you're going to get it anyway so take it calmly. Some of the recruits just don't like needles. You see it in their reaction to being stuck. Tell you this though, the military has one whopper of a shot. Today we had 4 shots (exactly the same as back in receiving). One in the left deltoid, one in the left tricep, one in the right deltoid, and the fourth, which is the worst, in the left butt cheek. You'll feel that one for the next 24-30 hours. Every time you sit down it says "Hi" in its own special way.
That took all afternoon. After evening chow we had our dummy grade for final drill out on the Parade Deck with the Drill Master. We looked terrible.
I've been thinking a lot about David. Who he was, what he did (both right and wrong) and mostly about what God said of him. I started reading 1 Samuel 16 where the story of David starts. It amazes me to think that 1 Samuel 16 picks up with David at an age slightly younger than me, yet he became a man after God's own heart. Both David and Joseph are Biblical examples to me of great Christian character. It is this character which I want to emulate and practice.
980605; Friday; 2145; MCRD, San Diego - T28
Well our last and final day of swim. We had 3 classes this morning. This afternoon after noon chow we went to CWS-1. The last step in Combat Water Survival. Out of all six platoons in the company, only 4 people passed CWS-1.
Tomorrow we have something important. Not quite sure what, though. Sunday will be spent getting ready for the next week.
Weather here is beautiful. Sunny and warm during the day. Just wait and give it another month, though. Well, I'm really tired tonight. I'll try to catch up with you tomorrow.
980606; Saturday; 2135; MCRD, San Diego - T29
In yesterday's entry I said that there would be something important. Well I was wrong. In the morning we had a great class on "The Sexual Responsibility of Male Marines." My agenda, plan for action and standards are a little higher, to say the least. After that we had PT. The Oak Course times 2. By now the Oak Course is boring. The coolest thing about it is the rope climb.
The afternoon was spent drilling and going over oral prac. I had a terrible day out on the drill field. It wasn't just me, though. Our platoon in general stunk it up. Drill Instructors Sgt. Wilson and Sgt. Harrison were also filled with a vengeance today. From what I understand one of the recruits who is on light duty and trial training as well, was sitting down or goofing around during PT while as a gear guard. Drill Instructor Sgt. Harrison saw him doing this when he came back in after PT. Literally sent him off the wall. This recruit is also known as our lip service recruit. He has lots to say during platoon meetings and core values classes, but the rest of the time he is on his own program and his own schedule. To some extent or another all of us are hypocrites here. Some are just better at it than others.
This next week is going to be very busy. Monday is Final Drill Inspection and the Company Commander's Inspection. Tuesday is final PFT. Wednesday is Prac. I think Thursday is rappelling. Friday and Saturday will be spent packing and cleaning the barracks. Sunday, June 14 (Dad and Mom's Anniversary), we will go north for 4 weeks.
Am praying for you all, and am also praying for our own Psalm 139.
"At one time I thought that the first tears that I would shed here would be on the Grim Reaper receiving the EGA. Now I personally know of a God who has predestined a child and protected him. He has blessed this child immensely. I wept in both joy and sorrow. Joy in God's protecting Psalm 139 and sorrow in that I cannot be a part of his everyday life. I pray that he will be ... a man of faith."
from a letter dated 980604
Please pray about going up north. I do not know how much time I will have for devotions, etc. I always need your prayer. I love you all. Some as son, some as brother, and some as friend.
I AM IN GOD'S FAITHFUL HANDS. I ALSO TRUST HIM THAT YOU REMAIN THERE AS WELL.
980607; Sunday; 2145; MCRD, San Diego - H5
Had a short sprinkle while we were in the mess hall for morning chow. By late morning it was clear, sunny and getting quite warm.
You know how in Washington after it rains during the summer it smells fresher and everything smells bolder? Well here it stinks. I think it's the smog that gets everywhere.
Church gives me a chance to review my past week spiritually and seek to improve it as well as seek to learn and become closer to my God, to understand Him in a more personal way.
With the schedule this week; Monday - Final Drill, Company Commander's Inspection, Tuesday - Final PFT, Wednesday - Written and Oral Practicals, Thursday - Thunder Dome (Pugil Sticks III), Friday - Rappelling, there will be a lot expected of me as a squad leader. Especially for Final Drill and Company Commander's Inspection and practicals because I am a prac recruit. The other 3 are pride issues, especially Pugil Sticks III.
We had a light drill session in the afternoon, but mostly we just worked on our uniforms for tomorrow.
Well, Kilo Company came back from Camp Pendleton this afternoon. Their graduation is this Friday. Seems hard to believe as we remember them here, right where we are now, at the first of May. Only 2 companies remain in front of us: Charlie (First Battalion) and Fox (Second Battalion). Bravo (1st Bn), Echo (2nd Bn), and India (3rd Bn) are behind us.
We were supposed to have a phone call this evening, but something went wrong. This phone call was for making travel arrangements. Senior Drill Instructor Sgt. Saenz rescheduled it for Wednesday evening.
Must hit the rack. I PRAISE GOD DAILY AND PRAY THAT YOU MIGHT EXPERIENCE HIS PEACE WHICH IS BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION. I CONTINUE TO PRAY.
Please feel free to me!
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