New from Army Goddess (I like that)

23 NOV

On Tuesday we practiced land navigation. They took us out to the woods and give us a list of six spots that we had to use our maps, compasses and protractors to find. Our team found every spot that we had to find. The guys went to two wrong spots before they would listen to me, but I finally got them to pay attention, and then we made a really good team. It was snowing and sleeting while we did this. We had our wet weather tops on, and that kept up half dry, but our legs were soaked. We ate lunch on the ground in the freezing rain.

We took a long march yesterday, maybe 3 miles. We had to carry our heavy rucksacks and wear our helmets and carry our guns. Of the four platoons in our company, ours was the only one that didn't have anybody who couldn't make the whole march. Every other platoon had people fall way back into the other one behind it, or even have to ride the truck for a while.

We're in a class to check our gas masks for defects and how to use it. This shit is scary.

I'm doing okay as a squad leader. They don't listen to me all the time, but I think they're (mostly) understanding that I just want the best for everybody. I think they're also noticing the extra stuff we have to do, like account for everybody in our squad, make sure everybody is squared away with all their gear, etc.

We have 3 DS's - DS Hulsey is THE platoon Sergeant, and Dickerson & Barstow are under him. DSH is the toughest, and some of the girls call him Major Payne. They say DSB look & talks like Vin Diesel, and DSD doesn't have a nickname. ... I lead the right side of the road march, and did fine keeping up with the pace. About halfway through it yesterday, he told me that "junior would be proud of me." I made sure to show him Lane's pictures, and he took the time to ask what company Lane was in here, and what his MOS was. Usually the DS's don't discuss anything personal. I have to admit that I got choked up when he said what he did on the road march, thinking about Lane graduating that day.

25 Nov

We moved to UAC (now MAC) - Unarmed or Modern Army Combatives -- wrestling. We practied each move in buddy teams -- we took a lunch break, then went back out for more. About mid-afternoon, we started the real stuff, wrestling each other to get 2 champions per platoon. DSB started by asking if anybody in the platoon didn't like anybody. A few of us raised our hands, including me, and he called me first, and told me to name the person. Oh, crap, I didn't expect to have to make a full show of it in front of the whole platoon. The girls know who doesn't get along, of course, but I didn't see any reason to air it out in front of the guys too. I'd just figured he'd make a short speech about, "this is the time to get it out, yada yada," but I put myself in the center of the ring and point to the girl who was the mouthiest and most disrespectful and resentful. She talked all night about how she was going to whip half the platoon's ass today, and she's a big, strong girl. I full expected her to rub me into the ground. She ended up tapping out because she got so winded that she couldn't breathe, and DS wouldn't let me give her a break so she could catch her breath.

When we got back to the bay, she made a point of announcing that I'd earned her respect, both by being willing to be up-front and call her out, and by out-lasting her.

The combat was marred a few rounds later, though, when a boy broke his leg. All of their moves were almost text-book, but he planted wrong and both boys went back on his one leg. I don't think he even noticed it at first, he had so much adreneline going. He asked the DS if his bone was sticking out -- the DS said, "Do you really want to know?" Yes, it was. The CPT called the ambulance, and they made us move our circle to another spot and keep going. Some fo the girls were upset -- they didn't think we should keep going, both because it was "too dangerous" and because they thought it was disrepectful to the injured boy. I told them that some of these kids would have to see their buddies shot or blown up and be able to complete the mission, so carrying on was exactly what they had to do.

We hear a lot of "but this is only training, we shouldn't have to do this in the sleet/full force/ sleep deprived, etc. There's also a lot of, "the only danger I'll ever be in is from a paper cut. I won't need this for my MOS." That's a very disappointing view of life in general.

We're not supposed to use "girl" or "boy." We are all soldiers, and, if necessary, "male" and "female." I enjoy being a "girl" though -- one of the girls, your girl, way-to-go-girl. I'm enjoying the hell out of being a soldier, too. Maybe I won't need the combat-oriented training (the reality is, of course, that I may), but in my job esp., I'll need to understand all soldiers' frame of reference and what they have to face, and how they have to perform.

A lot of females are regretting their decision. There's so much focus on Exodus [the term for the Christmas break], wanting to go home for break, how many days until we leave. I'm glad that I'll get to be with you guys before 9 weeks is over, but I really think the break in training is detrimental to morale. People aren't focused on graduation and Victory Forge, just getting away for that two week break. I miss you terriby, but I know that this separation is of our own choosing, and we are working towards goals that you and I set together. I'm focused on doing the best I can in this short time here, and succeeding, not all that I'm missing at home.

....

Tell Tony I sure do have balls, and they're getting tougher and bolder every day. In class one day, DSH asked for a volunteer to read the screen in a loud voice. I had my hand up before he embellished, "a deep, loud voice." He cocked his head and rolled his eyes at me, and I stuck my hand up further, so he told me to get up -- I rang out, loud and clear, everybody heard me. I'm definitely holding my own.

Army Goddess News

Got this one yesterday -

We have a log book to keep when serving as Fireguard, that has one sheet filled out as an example of how to record common events like missing soldiers: i.e., PVT Jones in med quarters. It also handles routine missing weapons. The woman coming on after me (she's not even a teenager) said, "Oh, this is messed up, we have no weapons here (they are locked up because we've spending half a day tomorrow handling our reservations for COMING HOME), what are we supposed to say?" Some of the Drill Sergeants always remind soldiers of "situational awareness" - look around you at all times, and see what the hell is going on. I don't think our educational system is doing a good job of teaching our children how to notice the world around them.

We're sitting in the barracks, pretty wet, waiting for buses to come take us to the travel agency to get tickets for Christmas break, AKA Block Leave, AKA Exodus. I'm so excited that Don is coming ot get me.

(We've bussed to the ticket agency now.)

I'm in a better place than I was the last time I wrote to you. There are still assholes, and there's still not a damn thing I can do about them. The training is interesting now, though, so it's not like I have to spend all day sitting or standing in line listening to idiots and being frustrated. My most severe frustrations now are different altogether. Of course, there's the obvious. ;) There's also the frustration of not being fast enough, not being strong enough - I want to master it ALL already. I do feel like I get a little bit better everyday, one baby step at a time. I'm getting the hang of the rapid pace. We can't change in our bay because the drill sergeants come through all the time - their office is on our side. We can't take our weapons into the latrine/shower area, so we have to change in shifts - one "battle buddy" babysits weapons while others change. I'm almost used to everything I need to get dressed; but if I start changing and realize I forgot a t-shirt, I have to get dressed again and go get it. I can't run out in ACU bottoms and a PT top, because that's "out of uniform." We have to keep out boots and shoes on top of our wall lockers, neatly laced and tied, which means that we have to retie them after they come off, and untie and loosen them before we can put them back on. It seems to take me for-freakin-ever to get my damn boots on with trousers tucked. I'm lucky, though - my boots are a perfect fit, and I haven't had the first blister. Yet. I'm sure there will be some after the long marches. I'm covered in bruises from crawling in the dirt yesterday, and it was soft and sandy. Go figure. I think I finally got all the dirt out of my teeth.

Request from Sam

When I talked to Sam she still had the hoarse, sore throat and said that practically everyone in the unit had it. On top of that, the PX has been out of cough drops. She asks if you would send her cough drops she would share them with the unit.

Otherwise, she still sounds good. They get to go camping Thursday (see insisted its more than that and called it going FTX). They got extra time on the phone today because a female in their unit won the pugil stick contest. They also do the gas chamber exercise this week. At her PT test on Sat. she ran the 2 miles in just over 21 mins (she has to run it in 24 to graduate) and did 12 push-ups and 53 sit-ups (compared to 9 and 40 in her initial tests at basic). Sounds like she's really getting into shape.

Phone Call From Sam

Talked to Sam Today.

Her voice was very hoarse -- she said it came on her this afternoon. She said things were going very well. The last couple of days was spent doing bayonet and unarmed combat. The DS had the women raise their hands if they had any problems with anyone else in the unit. Sam raised her hand as did some others. She thought it would be a time to have everyone work things out and emphasize the unity of the group. Instead (as I knew while she was telling me), they had them fight each other. The girl same called out had to fight her. Sam beat her and she said that it made all the difference with the girl's attitude. When they got back to the barracks, the girl made it a point to announce to everyone that she respected Sam because she was willing to call her out and then beat her. It really is like high school (at least what boys experience in high school).

My Latest from Sam

15 Nov.
19:59

I am covered in bruises -- we did the low crawl and the high crawl ("high" still has the abdomen on the ground) for 60-70 meters. We were crawling in loamy sand, I don't know how my elbos got so banged up. We practiced traveling in a squad wedge formation, learned how to dig a "hasty" which is what they use instead of fox holes, very quickly reviewed radio procedure, learned how to set up 360 degree and triangular perimeters, identifying IED's, squad flanking movements after "contact" (IE - they're shooting at us), how to guard the entry of a Forward Operating Base and wha to do to the driver if there's anything suspicious, how to clear a room (the Army's acceptable casualty rate for clearing a room is 75% -- DS said if 4 people go in and 3 people get shot, the Army will say "good job") and the crawling.

16 Nov
11:10

Tell my first-born, please, that I am going to beat the hell out of him for lying to me about having to use those chin-up bars. There are 3 different exercises that we do - we start with shrugs, which are okay, then we go to full pull-ups (I mean it, I'm going to kick his cute little ass, he's got the training to patch himself back up now), and then we hang sideways and do bent leg lifts. Oh. My. Gawd. How could that little brat not warn his own dear mother?!? The guys, bless their heart, are absolutely great during this -- they get behind the weak ones and hold our feet, so we can use our legs, and they do half of the lifting. They have to do it for some of the guys, too, so I don't feel too badly about it.

We got to march to and from chow in a decent rain (I missed watching the moon while we did PT this morning). We've been sitting in an auditorium all morning while people made their travel arrangements. My ass hurts, my back hurts ... my whole upper body hurts. I actually feel very good after PT, but this sitting for 3 hours is killing me.

They fed us our first night in reception. They had plastic-wrapped trays with cans of pork & beans, vienna sausages, crackers & potted meat, juice ...

We saw footage of convoys driving through IED's - nothing graphic, just superficial damage like windshields cracking. I'm certainly not going to complain about my helmet again. It was sobering to see the soldiers moving with their weapons at low ready, like they are training us to do. I wonder how many of these 240 will survive the next 5 years.

20:52
Well, we spent the evening practicing the Swiss Seat belt tie, which is exactly what Walter taught me. I helped a few of the females out when it came time for everybody to practice - and some of the guys, too, I guess. At the end of all that, the DS made me a squad leader. The ones we'd been using were the ones who just happened to be in the spot on the first day that we lines up. Now's he's going by leadership. He held a meeting with his new "leadership" and told us he'd be utilizing the chain of command, so our squad comes to us, we go to the PG's, and they go to the DS. If we have any trouble, like anybody refusing to listen to us, then we take it to the DS and they'll discipline. I've been having trouble with a couple in particular who somehow always manage to end up next to me and have gone out of their way to let me know that they don't give a rat's ass if they get the whole platoon smoked, they will talk as much as they want. I simply cannot fathom that level of selfishness.

After I did the Swiss seat, I sat down and told our PG that was the most action my crotch had seen in 2 weeks. She lost it. Then she got onto me, because she said she hadn't been thinking about that and now she'd probably be thinking about it all night....

19 Nov
13:30

We've gone through our first locker inspection. Woo hoo. Some of the peole are getting together to creat a Platoon motto. The PG & APG had to work hard to find 3 males and 3 females who could work together without wanting to hump each other, that's why I'm left out of the group. JUST KIDDING!

19:15

I left some girls in shock and awe again. A guy suggested this for a platoon motto: "First we stop, then we gonna roll, then we gonna cock, let it go, let it go, 3rds gonna give it to ya." I said I didn't want to be sounding off about cock when I wasn't getting any. As I walked away, I heard, "Well, yeah, but I didn't expect that from her." I just giggled to myself, and remembered how much I thought I knew about love and sex at that age.

Call From Sam

I just had a 15 min. conversation with Sam. They let the platoon use their cellphones for calls today. She mostly wanted to catch up with what was going on with me and the kids because she still hasn't received any letters from us.

But what I did learn from her is that she is now squad leader (because she knew how to make the swiss seat for repelling and helped others do it --- thanks Walter). From Lane's experience we know that they appoint squad leaders and then fire them regularly. I guess they want everyone to have the experience.

She feels good about the way things are going. She hasn't lost any weight, she says, because they keep emphasizing for them to eat plenty. The DSs say they will take care of the weight. She is also in much better physical condition from all the conditioning things they are doing. She has moved up from D group to C group because she is running so well.

She is having no problem with her hair (a concerned she had had). She puts it up in a bun and it is staying there.

Overall, she sounded good from her voice in addition to what she was saying. 4 weeks from today I will pick her up for the Christmas holiday.

Sam's Latest

14 Nov 21:39

We did our first long run today - I'm in D group, no surprise there, but I managed to hang in there and ended up in the middle of the group. I started in the rear, but people fell back and I had to move into their place. A good portion of it was really at a fast walk, not even a jog - more like hard-core mall walkers. I'll get better.

We were briefed by a pair of 68x's [Sam's job choice] today -- It was way cool to see someone of my MOS. The first one rev'd Appropriate Beh., A& D treatment, values, etc. The second one gave more info about the kind of stuff he's done -- his topic was Rape and Sexual Assault. ... He's done counseling for victims, then turned around and spent 2 years working w/sex offenders at Ft. Leavenworth -- he had plenty of stories from that. He's been deployed to Korea, went to Egypt 3 days after 9-11, and is waiting on orders to go to Iraq in Feb. As a staff sgt, he said he'd be in charge of a Platoon and would stay in the rear, while people like me would go into the field to handle Critical Instance Debriefings (for deaths in units) or deal w/battle fatigue in the field hospitals. It sounds like I'll eventually really get to work doing what I want to do, and not just administrative paperwork and taking vitals, which I was afraid of being stuck with.

Samantha

Today from Sam

13 Nov. 21:49

Wow, the pace is insane. We still spend time waiting -- waiting for 240 people to file in to the classroom, waiting for 60 people to fall into formation (4 rows of 15, we did it in HS, what's so freakin' difficult?) and waiting for everybody to get issued more gear (flak jacket and gas masks today) ... but all our waiting time is now spent at Attention, Parade Rest or clapping and chanting cadences. We get brief bathroom breaks - the way we get through them is to unbutton, untie & unbuckle while we're waiting for an open stall, and then tuck, button, tie & buckle after we get out of the stall. The schedule is just as tough on the Drill Sergeants -- they're responsible for keeping the whole company flowing from one spot to another with no spare time for the 8 million questions, 6.3 million of which were already answered in briefings that were missed because so many people don't pay attention.

PT is killer. I lost count of how many times we switched from push-ups to sit-ups, so I have no idea how many I actually completed. Getting smoked on asphalt & gravel mixed is no fun at all -- my hands are still red. Our DS ordered us (females) to get 10 extra push-ups and 25 more sit-ups in before bedtime. One woman here, who is Kelly's height, can place her ankles on the bunkbed, about 3 feet high, and do push-ups that way. Wow. My PT partner this morning told me she could not do a single sit-up but I coaxed her to keep trying, and she got 5 out, then one or 2 more here and there as we switched -- she ended up with probably more than 10, and thanked me for helping her. That felt good.

One female waved to one of our DS's as he was leaving tonight and said, "Bye, see you tomorrow." He told her that he was not her buddy or her pal, and to get on the floor. She looked at him and said, "Are you kidding me?" He then screamed for her to get on the fucking floor and exercise. And this post is known as "Relaxin Jackson."

Samantha

Latest from Sam

9 Nov
Our DS's have been great so far - they talk to us with a degree of respect, which is more than I can say for some of the ones I've heard. My old bunkmate was crying in the lunchroom today -- her DS called her out in front of the DS table to show them all that she "already had one crying," then made her sit at our table without a tray (I think, maybe, that she couldn't find where she'd left her food -- we have to set our food down, then go get our drink, and walk across to our seat with our widdle hands over the top of our widdle glasses, so we won't spill.). It's one thing to yell at somebody and chew them out, it's another altogether to degrade and humiliate them.

We're not being woken up until 05:00. That feels decadent.

Part of our briefings was a clip on how to talk to Drill Sergeants from Forest Gump. "What are you supposed to do, Gump?" "Do everything you tell me to do, Drill Sergeant." "You're a fucking genious, Gump!"

We got to put our duffle bags on a truck to get here [The Basic Training Barracks], and we rode buses, but we had to carry full laundry bags and our personal bags into and off of the buses. We had to run with all our gear ... and, oh my gawd, did we ever get more gear. 2 sleeping bags and a tarp in one bag, a matt rolled up, and a heavy rucksack full of wet weather gear, knee & elbow pads, a blank adapter (wtf?), more canteens, slings, helmet, etc.

We get weapons on Saturday!


11 Nov. 3am
We did PT, then the "Fit to Win" course that the DS told us was a "Confidence Building" course ... It did build a lot of confidence ... We climbed over a 20 foot high rope net platform -- 2 females fell, one almost from the top, and were hauled away by ambulance. Their confidence was probably not boosted. I loved it -- and did fine on everything but the Monkey Bars (Pam will be disappointed). I had to do 10 pushups for falling off the Monkey Bars.

16:07
I did 9 (54%) push-ups (he didn't like my 10th), 40 (72%) sit-ups, and ran my mile in 10:49. Lots of people, including drill sergeants, are pretty astonished at my age, and I enjoy bragging about my son graduating from here.

We're sitting in the sand, signing our weapons cards. I was psyched about getting the weapon, but then I found out we have to carry it everywhere. How did I forget that? I'm trying to think up a name [for it]. I wish I could look up Goddess Warrior names ... all I can think of is Nike = Victory, but I can't remember exactly what the other goddesses covered. Could you print me a lish of goddess names that are associated w/Warriors, Hunt, Victory & Motherhood? Leave Hera out -- whe was a jealous bitch, not that Zeus didn't give her plenty of reason, but she's not poly-friendly. ... I'll call her Moxie for now, until I get a permanent name.

20:09
That M16A2 isn't heavy yet -- I'm sure it will be after the first mile hiked. ... My left calf was killing me after the PT test - both legs cramped up while I did sit-ups and I was seriously worried that I had strained a muscle - but lots of marching and stretching later, it feels okay.

Tell Sue's Tim we march to the Tank Hill PX tomorrow. Graduation is on 26 January.

Sam's Address

PFC Samantha Alice Sampson-Jackson
3rd Platoon Rough-Riders
C Co. 3-34 IN
Fort Jackson, SC 29207

Gypsy Mail

Got a letter yesterday ...

"We ship out tomorrow. Today is chilly and misty. It was warmer at 04:30, when we formed up for breakfast so we only have t-shirts under our uniforms. We are sitting in the breezeway under the barracks, and it seems like all the wind is pulled under the building. We get to sit here until 21:00, when it's lights out, except for chow and latrines (there are no bathrooms here), because the captain caught a couple dozen people screwing around in the barracks when they were supposed to be outside. We've been yelled at by Sergeants, Drill Sergeants, First Sergeants, and the Captain herself, and darned if people aren't still talking."

"I need reinforcements. I need the Goddess squad to come straighten these infants out."

"I really, really, really need a KelChellapalooza when I get home ... gather the Goddesses for me, as many as can, please?"

"p.s. Day-umm, all these young girls must have intestines lined with rose petals and sunshine, because it is a major event if anybody farts or if their poop stinks, with lots of screaming and hollering about the smell. Digestion must have changed in the last 20 years. I knew you'd appreciate that little nugget."

Cards from Sam

I received another note from Sam. Here are some excerpts:
November 7-8
I was a naughty, disobedient soldier today. We have been ordered to sit on our duffel bags outside all day because the Co. Comdr caught a bunch of fools messing around inside, when they were not supposed to be. It was balmy at 04:30 when we formed up for breakfast, so all we wore under our ACU's were t-shirts. It's gotten colder since then, so....When I went to the latrine, I snuck to my locker and put on my poly-pro shirt. Can you believe how bad I am? I'm getting the hang of putting Chapstick on without a mirror. I'm just full of new tricks! I'm not looking at many mirrors, except when I'm doing my hair. My BCG's are more feminine than Lane's were...but they are still pretty hideous. :<
I've been pretty down today. It's downright tiresome to be yelled at constantly for other people's misbehaviors....Sigh. I wonder if there will be more consistency in BCT. On the positive side, my boots fit perfectly! Ooh - the sun just came out. The warmth is delicious. I'm afraid my letters must be boring because my days are full of waiting in lines.
Sorry this is so sloppy. I'm scratching this out on my lap, using my soft little smart book as a writing surface. I've read half of it so far - especially enjoying the part dealing with disposal of human waste in the field. I'm ready to go camping! Yummy....Hey, we just got the lab reports where they actually tested our blood to make sure they don't over-immunize us, so I won't get so many shots. Yay. Gotta go get stabbled now....
5 shots, plus flu mist. The flu mist was worse than ALL FIVE SHOTS put together. GAG!!

Note: One of the cards Sam sent had this on the front cover: Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant. (Maya Angelou)

Here's A Funny

Someone who saw my post about the card from Sam, that had a little message from Kelly as well, got confused and thought that Kelly had joined up, too. I laughed so hard. The image of Kelly and Sam together at basic almost made me pee my pants. It pretty much instantly changed to an image of Kelly and Sam together behind bars.

Uh...not that y'all wouldn't whip the snot out of those little girls, but it's probably against the rules to pour chocolate syrup on a member of your platoon. Just sayin'.

Nov. 8

Things are moving now, and I'm feeling better. My duffle bag full of military stuff is lined up with Alpha Company's. As annoyed as I get with this group, part of me does not like shipping with another company. Alpha does seem to be more disciplined ... the privates were sitting in neat, quiet lines, and the DS was speaking clearly, calmly and quietly ... and the Privates were listening. What a concept!

Several batches of new kids come in yesterday and today. There was a group doing a shakedown outside while we were sitting. I feel like an old pro.

We had an awesome night. Everything (but tomorrow's clothes) is all packed away. We spent the afternoon sitting on our bags, popping up to "attention" or "at ease" whenever an officer or Sergeant came by, so my legs have had quite a workout. The DS let us go back into the barracks after dinner, though, and we had a helluva time. Remember the woman I had the fight with on my first night? The group decided to nickname her "Mama," and I became "Grandma" when they found out how much older I was. We sat around swapping stories about kids and playing around, and laughing our asses off. ...

[Tonight the following conversation took place]
"Please shut up, I'm trying to sleep."
"Hey Mc Donald, I'll help you go to sleep forever."
"No, you may not smother McDonald."
"OK, McDonald, you're safe for now but just 'cause Grandma asked me not to kill you."

"Some of our toughest, Airborne-bound little girls were crying today when it really hit that BCT starts tomorrow. My bunkmate is in great physical shape, except for having been a smoker (but she can still run a 9 minute mile), and she's scared about the push-ups, getting smoked [the term for disciplining], and running. Truth be told, I'm scared too. I'm so glad I got the repelling down, because that takes away so much fear. Now I can concentrate on the gas chamber."

Just Talked to Sam

I just had another 2 min. conversation with Sam. Her primary interest was in the results of Isaac's eeg. Then she did get to tell me that she is now REALLY training and in her assigned training unit. She said that she "kicked ass" on the obstacle course today. That doesn't surprise me at all -- and I'm not even sure she meant it figuratively.

Don

Gypsy Snippets ...

I got a couple letters from Sammie baby this week. Here are some excerpts:

There's a 40 year old woman here. I'm kinda disappointed not to be the oldest. I'm not the least physically fit, either. We're not doing any kind of PT in formation, so many of the girls started working out in the barracks on Saturday. My head was pounding, so I spent most of the afternoon on the floor between my locker and bunk, writing and napping. I felt better on Sunday, and jogged for ten minutes in laps around the bay, did a set of push-ups and started on sit-ups. Yay me.

It's Monday now. We were in formation by the light of the moon at 4:50. Hooah. You'll be up in a few hours. We are going to get our hot little uniforms today, start on shots, and do more personnel paperwork.

Overheard: "I never swore a day in my life. Two days here and I'm 'fucking' everything." And then somebody asked me if I'd ever cussed before I cam here. The general consensus is that I don't look like that kind of girl.

I'll pause while you wipe up whatever you just blew out of your nose. ;) A 29 year old woman has declared herself "Mama," I'm "Grandma" and the 40 year old is "Great-Grandma." They're real big into trying to tag everybody with a nickname. Our half of the bay played that Girl Scout/Youth Group ice breaker game, "I'm so and so, and I'm on a slow boat to China, and I'm taking with me a cheeseburger; she's what's her face, and she's taking marshmallows; and so on." Most of these crazy women "packed" food, cigarettes, or a pillow. I didn't play because of my headache, but I did ask why nobody packed a MAN (okay, okay, or a woman)! People are starting to get randy now, comparing notes on who's the sexier drill sergeant, and how nice the guys smell after they've showered.

Our laundry room is on the 2nd floor, and some of the girls could not control themselves and keep from flirting with the guys. NO I WAS NOT ONE OF THEM!!! Sheesh! I told the fools they could lose any rank they had,and was one of those guys really worth a couple hundred $ a month? The drill sergeant caught them, and smoked all the guys and the obnoxious 21st female platoon. We've only been smoked once, with the whole company, for talking too much in the cafeteria. The day is young, though.

P.S. I got another hot shower last night, two days in a row! I even shaved my legs - woo hoo, it was almost like being on vacion. :) Except not being allowed to sit on my bed. And standing in line. And getting yelled at. And not having anybody to kiss or hold ...

First Days in the Barracks

We received a couple of letters from Sam, so I'm posting them so everyone can enjoy.

Nov. 4

The woman on fireguard duty with me (*crying mommy) keeps staring dully, as if she's waiting for me to tell her to move. You know how loathe I am to boss anybody around. :) Actually, I am in this case. I want everybody to listen and follow the damn instructions like they're supposed to, and not to argue about it. Some woman is ranting and raving about me to the others on fireguard right now because I was "getting smart with her" when she was just trying to be "reasonable" and "use common sense." She doesn't think they are supposed to sweep and mop the bays where people are sleeping, and I was "all up in her face" because I kept reading the written instructions: "Sweep and mop ALL bay floors in your area," not "Sweep and mop any EMPTY bays in y our area." She told me she was 27 and I didn't need to read to her, she was right and the instructions weren't mean to be followed. I'm sure great things are in her future in the army. :<

I'm looking forward to my next 3-1/2 hours of sleep. We were put to bed sometime close to 1AM on our first night, but two or three groups came in after us, so the lights would come back on and lots of commotion left us w/o much sleep. I was dozing on my feel all day.

"Crying mommy" told us that she was forced to enlist by her mother, and she's here against her will. She's 24 and a mother herself. I'm trying to hold my tongue. I'm actually trying very hard to bite my tongue.

I'm not loving being in the barracks with all the women. I wish we'd be housed by platoon. There are always gonna be assholes, but they'd be easier to put up with if they were part of my unit. I'll be sure to fill out a suggestion card....


Nov. 5

I had my first hot shower since Wednesday last night. Mmmm. We have to wear shorts, T's and socks to sleep in. To add injury to insult, the shorts have a nylon panty built-in - gross! I'm so looking forward to nekkidness for Christmas. Hmmm - nude cookie baking? Talk about "Baked with Love" + "from our kitchen to your lips... "

Oh Lovely, now they've decided to hold an impromptu church service at the foot of my bunk. At least only one female is talking now, instead of all the yelling and whooping and hollering that usually goes on. On our first night a DS went through our records and called out everybody's stated religious preferences to be corrected. There are several who admitted to "none" or "Atheist". As a matter of fact, the CPT who administered our oath of enlistment told us that we didn't have to repeat the "So help me God" line at the end.

I had the chance to sleep from 21:00-05:30 last night. I didn't, of course. I noticed that the moon is waxing to nearly full. I'm going to try and track that and see if there's a correlation.

Tee hee, the praying is over and the cussing, bitching and threatening has resumed. "Blah blah fucking blah."...

Today is cleaning and marching to and from the chow hall. Some people sleep on top of their bunks so they don't have to remake their beds. Its too damn cold in here for me to be tempted for that. I could do hospital corners as a child. I don't know why it's so hard to make a bed!

Friday and yesterday, I kept hearing phantom "ploinks" from my cell phone. I miss being in touch with everybody. I hope you are all well and taking excellent care of each other. Hugs and kisses all around.

Much, much love,
Samantha

Because I promised

Sammie made me promise I would post my law firm profile when it hit the website. So here ya go, darlin'.

Got Mail

The kids and I got notes from Sam today. Here are some excerpts:

Nov. 4
"You might laugh if you could see me now. Mommy has to stand in lines and eat in a cafeteria, off a tray, just like you. We don't get yelled at a whole lot, but we have been in a little trouble. Not everybody follows the rules and that really annoys me.... I have to carry a canteen and a 'smart book' at all times, plus I have a hat and gloves stuffed in my pockets. Right now, the only uniform I have is a PT uniform -- shorts, t-shirts, sweat pants, sweatshirts.... Here are some of our 'cheers:'
Drill sergeant comes in, and we yell, "At east." DS: 'Carry on". Us: 'Warriors from the start, Drill Sergeant!' DS: 'Warriors never quit.' US: 'I am an American Soldier! Hooah!' And when the DS orders us 'At ease,' We yell, 'Ah, too smooth.'
PS: Tell Lane that not all the Sergeants are afraid to cuss in front of females!"


Nov. 3
"During personal time tonight there was barely enough time to take a shower. I relaxed and started labeling my clothes while everybody else stood in line, not rushing because I knew how much time we had - I didn't think about hot water capacity, so I had an icy shower. I'm barely to the point where I need it too (i.e. cold shower). ...
One girl had the temerity to ask if we could get our cellphones for use when we were in formation. She's a Kerry girl -- I was surprised she didn't have to do push ups. ...
I set one girl's watch for her, then everybody wanted me to fix theirs. So I made them all stand together and read them the same damn instructions I used to set mine."

Nov. 5
"Oh, the stories. There are women here bragging over assault charges and appearances in front of the judge.... Hey! One rumor I heard from a 26 yo who grew up as a military brat is that it is easy to get your first posting overseas, as most people don't want to go ... She spent 6 years in Italy and calls it home and wants to go back...
I've so enjoyed all this time to write, but I don't expect it to last. Tomorrow we should get a lot done: shots, full uniforms, ID cards ... hmmm, maybe that doesn't sound like much, but there are about 240 of us to process. The is SO MUCH BITCHING about how 'our' time is being wasted, and they should be processing us over the weekend. They don't quite grasp that we don't have any more time -- the next how-ever-many weeks are the Army's time, and we are merely itt bitty inconsequential parts of a very big machine. I do have to admit that I'm surprised that we're not getting any kind of PT. I'm really going to pay for myt inactivity in BCT -- but there are women here who can't do 1 push-up, or run a complete mile. My recruiting station is SO much more on the ball than most, if even half of the stories are true."

Samantha

What's Kickin' Chicken?

Well, Mizz PFC Top Goddess, I miss reading your thoughts. I think of you all the time, and aside from thinking that I miss you, I think about how easy my life is compared to yours right now. I feel like I should sleep only a few hours a night, eat lunch in the school cafeteria every day, and run around the block a few hundred times while someone yells random insults at me periodically. And that would be the easy part.

If you're allowed to receive care packages, let us know what you want and what is allowed. I hope you feel our love every moment of the day.

A picture of you in your BCG's would be most appreciated ;)

*mwah!*

Talked to Sam

04 November 2006
Talked to Sam

Yesterday, I went out for about 15 mins. and left my cell phone on the charger. During that time, Sam tried to call me. Her voice sounded awful on the message she left. She had no way of knowing when she could call again and her 5 mins. was up. The frustration of missing that call hit me harder than anything else this week.

This morning, however, my phone woke me up ringing. I couldn't find it and was afraid that I was going to miss another call. I got it just before it went to voice mail and it was Sam. She sounded MUCH better. She said she had been going well until she couldn't get through to me on the phone and that really hit her hard as well. They only have their PT uniforms (tee shirt and exercise shorts) so she has been a little cold. Also, the first night they didn't get into bed until after 1:00 and had to be up at 5:00. The next night she had to do 2 hours of "fire duty" in the middle of the night. So she hasn't gotten much sleep. But the good news is that she protected the barracks. They did not burn down the whole night.

She is anxious to get out of "reception" and into her training unit. That is scheduled to take place next Thursday if everything continues to go well.

She told me Thursday about two girls at MEPS who were drinking large amounts of water to try to meet the MINIMUM weight standard to enlist. She didn't have a lot of sympathy for them. Sam is going to do well. Can you imagine her sparring with one of those waifs?

More news as I have it.
Don

I miss her already. I talked to her last night on her way down to basic ... I cried like a baby when we got off the phone. I know everything will be okay, I know it's only temporary, I know this. BUT ... I talk to her pretty much every single day while I drive to and from school. So now instead of talking to her I'll just miss her. I feel like I'm being stupid and babyish and selfish. Ugh.