Am finishing up week one of 'NARMY' training here in SC. Title refers to my initial thought of coming to an Army base in the South... not only being in the South as in the movie but dealing with the Army, which generally is seen in the Navy as a more 'primitive' service. Turns out, like Joe Pesci in the movie, have learned to appreciate both - though I don't have Marisa Tomei to keep me company... sigh. Was a bit worried that we would be treated like boot camp, but it turns out the Army drill sergeants are a great bunch of guys who are focused on training us.
Has actually been a good experience so far. I live in a barracks with 36 other guys, and a bunch of them snore as I am experiencing now as I sit awake as security watch at 3:14 am. (upside is there is plenty of WiFi bandwidth at this time...). They gave us a bunch of gear, including full body armor /helmet and weapons - I am owner / operator of an M16-A2 rifle and an M9 9mm pistol, which I have to have with me 24/7 (they are hanging on my bunk right now). Every morning we suit up in our gear and go to training, and if you have never worn the body armor, it is a pain in the butt. The full suite weighs upwards of 50 pounds, then tack on a full Camelback water pack, ammo, assorted gear, two weapons, the helmet... after three days of that, have plenty of aches and pains. Spent all of Thursday at the firing range getting acquainted with my new weapons.
Picture is of me and my bunk buddy heading to chow - the 'light' uniform of cammies, Camelback, eye gear (around neck), gloves, and the weapons. Am also wearing issue black fleece simply because it was chilly. We have to carry the M16 in the 'low ready' position at all times - except when in the dining facility, where we can sling it on my back. An M16 gets pretty heavy by the end of the day... For those who know weapons, we are 'locked and loaded' with blanks as we are outside; to enter a building you have to 'clear' the weapon prior to going in, EVERY time. The blanks just add some fun to it... part of the clearing process is pointing the weapon into a sand-filled barrel and taking safety off and pulling trigger - if you forget to remove a round, you will know.
Looking forward to having Sunday off - need to catch up on reading and rest. Today is going to be long - woke up at 2am for security watch and will be up until 9pm with a long day at the rifle range. Weather has warmed up, and even in the 70s, body armor gets hot quickly - cannot fathom wearing it non-stop in 110+ Iraq - developing even more appreciation for our soldiers / Marines.
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