End of Week 2

Two down, fourteen to go.  Tuesday started out with combatives before PT.  Pt proper consisted of a long and fast run down to 'Big Cardiac'- for those of you not familiar with Fort Benning, it's big freakin' hill.  From there, we did five sprints to the top of the hill, and an additional four sprints halfway up, followed by a slower run back to the quad.  You got to the point where you would will your feet to move, but you were barely inching forward.  All in all, it took almost three hours.  The rest of the day was devoted to classroom instruction - much of it will be review for ROTC and USMA guys - roles and responsibilities of PL/PSG/SL/TL, OERs and NCOERs, how to conduct counseling, how to plan training and PT, nutritional and fitness information.

Wednesday was the O-course.  The whole company was running the course, so choke-points inevitably developed, and the wait to get through certain obstacles was significant.  Basically, the whole thing just got you sweaty.  More classes, this time delving in to the very basics of tactics - mostly operational terms and graphics dealing with fire control measures.

Thursday's PT started with a run to Doughboy Stadium, and then exercises based on ability groups (the cadre will already have a list of who is in which ability group, so no sham for you!).  Basically, a lot of lower body endurance and abdominals.  We went out into the field in order to conduct Combat Lifesaver Training; I have no idea how readily information is available on CLS, but the trainers requested us to not discuss what was taught.  Not that you have to worry about it, they will teach you everything you need to know, and you'll be more than prepared for the examination.  The training itself was at a TTB, so it wasn't exactly roughing it.  They even had showers available, so no baby wipes needed.

Friday was the piece de resistance for this week's PT.  The RPAT (Ranger Physical Assessment Test, or something like that.  I was frankly too busy gasping for air to pay attention).  Run 2 miles in full battle rattle (no rucks), rope climb, 100m litter drag, 6 barrier hurdles, another rope climb, and a 1 mile run to finish.  Standard is 45 minutes or less.  The unanimous opinion of our platoon was that the litter drag was, by far, the most taxing event.  our advice would be not to pull the litter with you hands, but instead loop the drag handle around your waist or upper body and lean forward.  After that, we wrapped up CLS training, took the written exam, and did a practical exercise.  Both Thursday and Friday were long, as they had to pack in quite a bit of training.  Bring caffeine.

All in all, a tough week, both for PT and staying alert.

Observations / Lessons Learned:

• If you don't have a leg-locking technique down-packed for the rope climb, I strongly suggest practicing one.  Even with thirty pounds or so of junk on, its possible to strong-arm your way up, but it ain't pretty.  Do yourself a favor and practice.
• You're not going to have much time after the workday these first two weeks, so prioritize what you want to get done and haul ass.  You'll need the sleep.
• Go ahead and get your gear adjusted/customized before you get out there.  There's a little bit of leeway with your LBE setup, and there's a quite a few adjustment points on the ruck that can't be done on the fly, so take the time to find what works for you.
• If you haven't done so already, start investing in some personal gear.  I'm not saying be a geardo, but a good pair of gloves, and good boots will serve you well.  Snap-links and LED lights seem to be prevalent within the platoon, as well.  You might want to go ahead and look at map cases, as well.  You won't need them until week five, but they aren't going to issue you one, so you might as well find one you like.  One guy had a little map case that folded up into an admin pouch, that he said cost him only about twelve bucks.
• As BRM is next week, there was some discussion about magazines:  I noticed that many people add their own duct-tape / para cord pull loops to the baseplate, to ease pulling magazine out during exercises.   If you're really paranoid about having working magazines, you can buy three-pack replacement followers for about six bucks - unlike the standard followers, they're designed to not slip / stick in the magazine well, which reduces jamming (supposedly).  None of this is necessary, but more power to you if you do it.

Posting will probably be weekly from this point on; I had barely enough time during the past week to take care of things as it were, and the next few weeks are probably going to be spent mostly in the field.  because of this, some details may be lost, just because of memory/fatigue.  However, if you contact me and want me to elaborate on anything, I can probably jog my memory enough to help you out.