Sitrep

0721 Hours.

Malone 16 Range

Today we learn & shoot the M240 & the M249 “SAW” (Squad Automatic Weapon).

When we got out here the full moon, just a couple inches above the horizon, was a giant golden orb.  By the time we had formed up & grounded our gear, only a hazy ring was left on top of the tree line.

Fog filled the low ground out past the 200 meter marker, just this side of the berm.  If no for the 160 chattering soldiers, this would be a peaceful morning.

Days like today make me want to go camping.  Solitude and silence with the unchanging landscape, watching the night sky spin then burn away into the bright blue daylight.  Covering ground at your own pace, moving silently with the wind.

It has been over a month since I could look around and see nothing but trees.  Here there are always People. Noise. Equipment. Drill Sergeants.  I enjoy the training, but I am anticipating graduation more and more every day.

We are finding out about our duty stations this week or next, which means that fairly soon I will know where I will  spend the next few years.  I have a small list of places I’d prefer, but the Army doesn’t generally give a flying hoot about what the privates want.  In the words of Drill Sergeant Ard, “Some days you’re the baseball, some day’s you’re the bat.”

I hate sports.

Rock & Mischief

T