AceM2's Journal: Merry Christmas

      I'm back home from my ITB-home today. Everyone in training gets around two weeks off for Christmas if they want to take leave, and there was no one I was going to sit around there picking up leaves and cleaning latrines at Ft Benning when I could be at home with my family. Hopefully I'll have a good vacation without getting lazy, but I know I'm going to end up blowing my last few paychecks on presents and such since I've missed everyone so much.
      My basic training experience has been interesting, but pretty fun overall. Some things are really difficult to put into words though. People ask me whether it is hard or easy, but it's neither. Overall I've had fun, but there are times when it can be very difficult. Anyone can pass basic if they want to, it's just difficult sometimes because it's so very different from civilian life. It also depends on what basic training you're going to. From what I hear, our Infantry basic training is much more difficult than what the other people go through. My company is right beside one that's training people with a technology-oriented MOS, and they don't get nearly the same PT or yelling that we do. Their Drill Sergeants don't swear, touch them, or drop them all that often. You haven't had fun until you've had a DS throw you to the ground by your chin strap, call you every name in the book (plus 100 things you've never heard of), and make you do pushups and flutterkicks for half an hour. Okay, that hasn't actually happened to me, but if you're a screw up...
      Another thing is we see a lot of NG and Reservists around here who are non-Infantry. Now I have lot of respect for the combat veterans around here no matter what branch of service they are, but the ones I deal with out there have been complete idiots. We knew more in week four than some of these people going to Iraq who are just in it for the paycheck. I wish them all luck and a safe return, but you would be amazed at how poorly these people were acting in the field. On our qualification day some Reservists were shooting their M4s and the women could not even pull themselves out of the foxhole.
      Anyway, overall it's been fun and I still have plenty of AIT left to go. I'll probably post some more things later regarding stories I've been told. I've met a lot of Infantry combat veterans and I've heard some disturbing things about the war in Iraq, it's a lot worse than I thought. I can't believe the way our enemy wages war. I'm even more hardened than ever about believing we need to wipe them off the face of the earth.

Glad you survived...

[On Lawn]

So did you do anything hairy? Like keeping the Desert in your MRE's or smuggling candy or the like?

My friend tells me that is the most common confession from his basic training.

Re:Glad you survived...

[AceM2]

I didn't do much of that stuff, I don't need the candy and whatnot. I did drink the coffee in my MREs even though we're not allowed to have caffeine. We're too afraid of brown recluse spiders and fire ants to bring any kind of food back to the bay so... Now, contraband in the form of playing cards and 'pictures'... That's a little different ;p I think about everyone had something or another hidden. It's really not hard to hide/smuggle stuff if you use your head. A lot of guys smuggle in things like ty