I am 12081DO050; at least until Thursday.
Three days in, five left in reception; each day is a whirlwind moving in slow motion. We line up, (or try to), then stand for hours, sweating our butts off in silence. March, line up, sit down, stand up, parade rest, 'atten' hut!'
Then wait.
And wait.
And wait.
We have our PT gear, hygiene items, rank insignias, running shoes, BCG's ('birth control goggles' = army issue glasses), ACU's (advanced combat uniform), laundry items, camelback and duffel bag. On Monday we get the rest of our gear, from combat boots to dress uniforms.
Honestly, the most interesting part has been chow. We line up and all 160 of us (all tankers, by the way) file into the chow line in groups of 10; 2 lines, side-by-side. You grab your tray, state your preference to the servers, "Green, Ma'am," or "Red, Ma'am," then file out through the fruit & bread line. Then out and to our tables, past the privates handing out silverware and our two required liquids. A Drill Sgt yells directions; "OVER THERE, TO THE BACK, PUT YOUR DUFFEL UNDER YOUR SEAT, SIT DOWN, FEET FLAT ON THE FLOOR, HEELS TOGETHER, ELBOWS OFF THE TABLE, NO TALKING!"
We shovel down chow in four minutes, line up in the queue to off-load our trays and jog back out for formation (no small feat, with a suddenly full stomach), where we either stand for half an hour, or get dismissed to the latrines.
Lather, rinse (sometimes), repeat.
Today, actually, we had religious services (apparently it's Sunday), and joined a number of my guys at a Buddhist meditation. The service was slightly disappointing, involving some frantic chanting and soldiers reading essays the service leader had downloaded off the internet. Though an hour spent sitting down was a kick in the pants compared to a day on hard concrete in the Georgia heat, the content was ultimately unsatisfying.
Thankfully, our reception battalion drill sergeants are just as interested in teaching classes today as we are in taking them, so besides chow, all we have today is letter writing.
Funny side-note; today somebody stole my pillow. A few of the boys from the other side of the bay are pissed at me because I took the lead on getting the DS involved in an ongoing issue we've been having with PFC Latte, a particularly clueless, socially inept and soft-spoken Nevada boy. He is always late, never listens and so always has to be told things at least twice, and asks the most dumb-assed questions we have ever heard; asking a private, "do you have a watch?," shortly after the private checked the time on his wrist, and by shortly after, I mean right after.
Long story short, after myself and three others tried to help him get his crap together, he freaked out and ran off. We looked for him in a panic (here in basic, you never go anywhere without a battle buddy and your full uniform; he left without both).
When we found him, he and I went to the DS, who heard both of us out. I told the DS about the flack Latte had been catching. But also detailed the major problems we had been having with him. Latte, in turn, expressed that he felt threatened in the bay & was being physically intimidated by other privates. DS Hernandes listened quietly, told him to man-up and engage, then returned to the bay and chewed us out for half an hour. He ended saying that whoever kept that stuff up would find themselves kicked out of the army. Immediately.
Making Latte off Limits.
As we were heading to bed tonight, the far side of the bay started.
"Snitches get stitches."
"Don't talk too loud, the guys over there will report you!"
Flat-out high school shit.
I laughed and passed out.
And woke up without my pillow.
This place teaches you to lock up your stuff. The kids here have not yet realized they are in the army. All of that will change, come Thursday. Shark attack: the first time we meet our official Drill Sergeants and they scream, scream, scream. It is coming and though the very thought makes me feel guilty, sometimes I hope that a few of these guys aren't here when we head down range.
Perceive the world as a bubble
Perceive the world as a mirage.
If you see the world in this way
You render the Lord of Death powerless
Dhammadada ch13 v4
Being mindful, compassionate, or even tolerant of people who piss me off is easy when I can avoid them or walk away; when I spend every minute of every day around them, it is actually a challenge. The upside to the wide variety of people seems to be finding an awesome smattering of opinions, humors and drives.
I am truly lucky. Good friends, laughs and mental strain.
Love it.
I will write later.
If I can.
Rock and mischief
Tristan
TANKER TOUGH!
Hooah!
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