Common core...check!

Friday marked my last day of common core! This is what we call phase 0. It got everyone at a baseline for all of the standard Army briefings on everything from equal opportunity and sexual harassment to base skills in rifle marksmanship and hand-to-hand combatives.

Monday was pretty boring after combatives in the morning...we did some more combatives, which of course involved me getting guys to tap out due to loss of blood to their brain, and maybe a couple taps from me. Some of these guys have some prior experience in Jiu Jistsu, so they're a tad bit more experienced than the rest os us.

Tuesday was the worst day here so far... woke up around 2:30 to go trampling around the wilderness in the dark, and eventually daylight, to work on our land navigation skills. I attempted 7 our of 8, and found all 7 successfully. The Army saying is "you can't spell 'lost' without LT" (my abbreviated rank of lieutenant), so we tried to prove them all wrong. In my adventures however, a snake tried to bite me! I always try to come off as the tough guy, but I HATE SNAKES...much like Indiana Jones. I will mess with gardner snakes, but i'm always a little apprehensive at first. I was almost bit by a rattler snake when I was little, so I think that may have something to do with it. Story time: I was walking in some grass when I heard a slithering behind me...no rattle, so I sped up. The next thing I know, the snakes strikes the bottom of my left boot. It felt like it made me take a bigger step than I had planned. I began to run. I looked back about 3 seconds later to see it, but it was gone. My heart was racing and was glad it hit the bottom of my left boot and not the back of my right calf. It may have ruined my day. I had a dream about snakes that night, it wasn't pleasant.

Wednesday they let us sleep in a little bit, then went to the Ft. Sill Artillery Museum. Basically each Army post in known for something, or home to something, and Ft. Sill is the home of the Artillery and Artillery schools. The museum was very interesting and had very knowledgable people to lead us through the tour, but out guide was boring and it didn't help the situation that everyone was tired.

Familiarization

Thursday and Friday were IED (Improvised Explosive Devices, or simply referred to as roadside bombs) classes. We got to do simulated missions on the computers. I got to drive on each one : ) They had a steering wheel and gas pedals...It was pretty fun until it turned into our cadre being the bad guys and just killing us off. They said they wouldn't shoot us until we did something wrong...they lied. It's was still really fun, we all had a good time, but in the end received very valuable training. Friday we were taught by a retired Army soldier who had served 21 years and had survived 11 IED attacks. I guess that makes you an expert! He was very knowledgable and loved the training. I had heard a lot of it before, but his was very current and told us the new ways terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan are targeting Coalition Forces and ways we can stop it. Best class of the past three weeks.












WEEKEND! 
Saturday was a pretty relaxing day. I worked out a little in the morning, caught up on things I needed to get done during the week that I couldn't, and hung out with some of my new friends I'm making.
I went to see "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter" with some of the guys and it definitely looked cooled in the previews. I don't recommend it, some of the serious moments only made me laugh. On our way out though, we nearly got ran over by these two dudes on hourses...I guess Lawton is the real "Wild, Wild West." We are realizing quickly that Lawton, OK is a breed of it's own and I've never experienced a town like it.

Sunday was a bit more exciting. I went to the Foss Lake with the cousins and their friends. I'm beginning to really enjoy this habit. It was a lot hotter today, 101 to be exact. I used sunscreen a lot, between 50 spf and 110 spf....One would think this would be sufficient. One would be wrong. I'm burnt and not loving it.

Some Giant catfish that are used to getting fed by the kids...