When the Smoke Clears

Sergeants think they can shock me with their language. I shock them back.
Standing at a urinal during a routine, monitored drug test:
Sergeant: You having trouble, sir? You a little pee-shy?
Me: It’s not that, sergeant. I… uh… Look, I don’t do drugs, but on my way out here I killed a hooker and I know [...]

So lots has happened.
Back to work to say goodbye for now. Then back in uniform. I’m activated like my good friend… only I am turning into a little education machine. Learn, LT, learn, and learn some more.
Through several mix-ups in a computer system (and a little firm talking-to from a Lieutenant Colonel who [...]

FADE IN:
INT. BARRACKS ROOM – AFTERNOON
Sitting on his bed, RSM works on some basic paperwork for the next day’s training. Across from him in a chair sits Roommate, intently staring at his laptop screen, headphones on.
ROOMMATE
Dang it!
RSM
What’s up?
ROOMMATE
(pulling off his headphones)
I hate that crap.
RSM
Okay… wanna explain so I can be sure I don’t do it?
ROOMMATE
It’s [...]

Walking up to the training area I heard the yelling. Lots of it. There is a purpose even if outsiders think it’s cruel. It’s not.
Among that cacophony, that chaos, I heard a voice calling out for another trainee to retie the knots, redo his own work and do it right this time. Then I [...]

The order of the day at an accelerated Officer Candidate School is utter chaos. Confuse, humiliate, exhaust, apply as much pressure as possible. They can’t shoot at us, so to measure how we will be under pressure, they do everything else they can.
Attention to detail is the key. Every flippin’ little detail. Everything you [...]

Taking a few moments to breathe and bring a few folks up to date:
Once again, I say, “One weekend a month my @$$.”
In our last episode we encountered buxomly women at the grocery store. In the meantime I’ve had my annual visit to the Lumberjack competition in West Virginia with my friend the [...]

“What is it with you?” Adam asked me as we were leaving the Burger King a few weeks ago.
“Explain,” I ordered.
“That little girl came right up to you, out of all of us.”
“I have a way with kids?”
He countered, “You look like a psycho. Seriously. Pathological killer with that look on [...]

alright,
I snuck on a computer. I graduate tomorrow. This has been an amazingly long, painful, interesting, fatiguing experience. I chose the hardest route apparently to becoming an officer. It will happen in less than 24 hours.
More soon.

Ready to loose a little faith in your Army?
Here I am, back at home after a few days of holiday madness. There is a message on my phone from someone working in an office to let me know to check my email. I should have scans of some official paperwork.
And there was. Paperwork [...]

Forget about me, today is a day I’m filled with pride for my friends. Today, in a regular cycle that happens three times a year, I saw a number of my young ones commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army. Today was special because most of this latest crop are some whose lives I have [...]

I believe it was Nietzche who once said, “Weekends were made for Michelobe.”
Well, he was wrong, at least in my case.
Weekends have been made for being in the field or at drill or drilling in the field. (oh, and by the way, the site was hacked and had a few other issues, part [...]

just saying… I might have found a temporary barrier, but in today’s episode of “What In the Hell Was I Thinking?” I may have made a little mistake.
See, I’m running fast for my age, but one of my elites challenged me. Now I know better but I decided to try to shave a little [...]

One would think with a few decreased responsibilities that there would be a little more free time around the place. Not so.
I’ve cut back on the amount of time I am willing to spend at my regular job. Events prior to and after Basic have demotivated me from working the 60+ hours per week. [...]

Well, the first weekend of drill has come and gone. Interesting.
Actually I was also handed off to my real unit at the end of the weekend and I’m looking forward to meeting up with them and spending time learning about our mission, along with getting prepared to go at a moment’s notice.
But, heh, [...]

Here’s what I miss from the resort I was just at:
* daily motivational runs
* a sense of tidiness
* my battle buddy
* some really great people even if most of them were from foreign places like Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas and Illinois.
* All you can eat (within 7 minutes) and knowing you’ll work it off [...]