Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Signal OBC (Officer Basic Course)/BOLCIII

A long drive home (13 hours... don't think I will ever do that again, but after a bit the lure of my comfy bed called to me). A wonderful relaxing 4 day weekend (some long walks, good meals and seeing my friends and family (and seeing a pretty girl)) I again set off to Georgia for the next phase of my training on Tuesday. 8.6 hours later I was wandering around Ft. Gordon (Augusta GA), first trying to find housing and then to check in with my training unit.
The worst thing was learning that my housing was going to be off base..... way off base (like 16 miles away from the main gate). Going to make the mornings worse since it means getting up so much earlier. The place is a commercial suite place, not too bad but kind of isolated.

Getting to the base for the 0530 check in time was an interesting rush (since I had never made the trip before estimating the time and the traffic on the base (and the ridiculous low speed limits) made it a narrow arrival. My class is 49 Army soldiers (5 women) and 5 international (2 from Kazakhstan, 1 from Turkey, 1 from Lebanon, and one from somewhere around there). LOTS of paperwork today.

And on another note.... SOOOO HUNGRY... they are weighing and taping us tomorrow so I choose to keep the calories down today.... 600 calories.... definitely a fasting day for me. We have to wake up early to make the 0520 time for tomorrow....

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Memorial Day

I think that as a soldier this day means more to me than those who haven't served. For a lot of Americans its just another day. But when you put on that uniform (be it my US Army uniform or any of the other services, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines or Navy) and then see classmates head off to war it means a bit more. I haven't kept in touch with everyone I trained with and I continue to hope/pray that nothing has happened to any of those brave men and women, the odds are that if not now, then eventually one of them will pass away.

Its always the saddest part, that the military takes the best of America and that sometimes those brave men and women are sometimes not returned in the same shape (or not returned at all).

I hope that everyone takes a little bit of time to pause and to remember those who have paid the highest price to protect this country. They represent the very best and it was only through their actions and their fellow soldiers that we stand where we are today, able to live freely in the best country in the world.