Lasers, Nightvision, and Bullets Oh My.

So the week started out with a 2 mile day hike to the grenade range on Tuesday morning. It was a little more difficult hike then expected since I'm not used to the California hills yet, but by the end of the week I could already tell my body was starting to adapt to them. We were all really excited about being able to throw live grenades that day, but were later let down when the range was closed down due to a rainstorm. Apparently sometimes the grenades will get stuck in a mud puddle and won't detonate properly and some unfortunate soul has to go retrieve them. We went back to the squad bay that night and sat in classes and learned about how to throw grenades, how to use night vision, our scopes on our rifles, and how to scout areas and perform reconnaissance with our binoculars. The classes are pretty boring sometimes because they are theological discussions rather than hands on learning, but I guess its necessary to outline the ideas before you run out to the field and go crazy with all the gear.



Tuesday night we packed our large packs with all the MREs and gear we would need for a three day stay in the field. Wednesday morning we took off on around a 2 mile hike with around 120 pounds on our backs. The hikes are definitely a lot more difficult than the ones we did in boot camp due to the extra weight, increased speed, and hills. Basically you end up jogging or running half the time unless you're in the very front due to a slinky like effect. If you fall back too far from the main body you are considered a hike drop and you get counseled on it and can actually get dropped or put on a remedial physical conditioning program.

The week consisted of shooting certain drills during the day and then repeating those same drills at night with nightvision and infrared lasers. During bootcamp we shot in stationary positions but now we have begun shooting while moving forward, shooting to your side while moving, and turning around and shooting. It was unbelievable how much ammo we went through this week. Each person shot around 700 rounds. From what I can find on the Internet right now is that the price of 5.56 ammo is around 90 cents. So I spent over 600 dollars of taxpayer money myself this week on just training. There's 300 other kids in my company and they all shot the same amount. I find stuff like that interesting/humorous sometimes.
Another cool exercise we did was we were given binoculars and had to find 10 hidden objects in a field w/in 30 minutes using our scouting and scanning techniques we learned. It was really difficult but fun at the same time. They said we would be repeating it from time to time and the exercises would get harder and they would hide the objects better.

Also while we were at the field we were introduced to impromptu PT sessions. We had alot of down time in the day so our instructors would come and grab us and basically run us all over the mountains in our cammies and boots and mix in a few push ups and other exercises. It was a valuable lesson though; even though you are in the field you shouldn't use it as an excuse not to exercise.

At night we slept out under the stars in our sleeping bags and waterproof sacks. Its gets really cold at night when the sun goes down. Probably in the high 30's or 40's. We finished the week with a 2 mile hike back to the base around 11:00 p.m. and were cut loose the following morning with off base liberty. Two friends and I took a shuttle to San Diego and got a hotel room and ate a good dinner that night. I also took the opportunity to purchase a laptop so I could stay in touch with friends and family and have some entertainment on the weekends. I'm sitting in a USO in downtown San Diego typing this while I wait on a shuttle to take me back to base. Next week we should get cut loose on Friday evening so we'll have a little bit more of a break.

In the week to come we will be shooting machine guns, rocket launches, and making up the grenade range. Stay tuned for details...

First Week at SOI

So I've been at SOI for officially a week now. California is not so sunny and not so warm like I imagined it was all year round. I had quite a scare the first few days here. My orders told me to check in on Monday by noon, but everyone else in my company didn't check in until Tuesday at noon. Since I got there in the middle of the night on Sunday I think that someone didn't cross a T or dot an I. Anyways I spent two days in this receiving area which is just a holding tank for people waiting to start training. It was basically filled with the scum of the Marines. People who had gotten into legal trouble during training or during their leave were here as were people who had been dropped from training due to integrity violations and also people who were malingerers.

When the instructors came late Tuesday to pick up everyone for training and put them in their respective groups my name as well as a couple of others that checked in early were not on the roster. At first I thought that I might have to wait another two weeks in this purgatory type platoon to start training because some idiot didn't fill out all the paper work correctly, but one of the instructors realized it wasn't our fault and we did everything we were supposed to and had the problem corrected.

The first week was a little boring and a little lonely since there was so much downtime. We got issued all of our gear we would need for the field and training but in between that there was alot of waiting around and sitting in the squadbay. I made the opportunity to meet some new friends. I can usually tell who the problem makers are going to be within the first few days so I tried to avoid them. I met two guys from Alaska that are pretty cool and squared away. Who would have thought you'd meet an Alaskan in California?

It was pretty cool getting all of our high speed gear though. We got issued night vision goggles, infrared scopes for our rifles, and flak jackets. Tomorrow we will start training in the field. The instructors told us we will get a little increase in our pay for the next week for "hazardous duty" since we will be using grenades. You've got to have a good sense of humor to make in the Marines I'm beginning to learn.

Anyways, a typical week here will consist of spending Monday-Friday in the field and then returning late afternoon on Friday. We will then clean and turn in our weapons and gear to the armoury before we get released for weekend liberty. I'm going to try to take some time each weekend to update this to talk about the training and any other funny stories that pop up. I plan on purchasing a laptop the first opportunity that we get off base liberty so it should make it a little easier and I'll also be able to post pictures of my friends, the base, and California. The training is going to be pretty tough especially since there are so many mountains out here and there weren't any at Parris Island. So all of the kids out here that went to boot camp on the West Coast are a little more conditioned for the mountains. I'm ready for the challenge though and all the good stories and memories the training and time out in the field will produce.

Until next weekend...