Too Easy

I woke up today at 5:00am today after a lousy night of sleep thanks to the snorer above me. Our platoon named bravo 3 reveled at 0520 on the grinder. The grinder is merely a parking lot in the middle of the base, and so I have no earthly idea why the military calls a parking lot the grinder except for perhaps that is where the troops use to get grinded to the ground.

First Sergeant Conklin the head hauncho was in chipper mood after that he told the group that he just gargled bong water. First Sergeant Taylor is the head enlisted trainer for our group. He is a healthy 6'4 230 lbs with a lively personality and a filthy tongue. Every other word out of his mouth starts with the letter "f". He gives the Sailors instructions such as chow is going to be at 1200 and follows it up with a question, "too easy?" Yes Sgt is is just too easy.

We got some instruction on stress in a combat zone, and how to deal with it. I also ate my first MRE An MRE is short for meal ready to eat. There are 28 different kinds of MRE's you can eat ranging from Omelets to Steaks. In 1992, a Flameless Ration Heater (FRH), a water-activated exothermic reaction product that emits heat, allowed a servicemember in the field to enjoy a hot meal. Basically you pour water into the box and your food is miraculously heated. Today I stuck to the crackers and fig bar. I will fiddle with the hot meal provided by the FRH at a later date.

The ultimate highlight of the day was the issuing of the gear. I received three bags worth of equipment. We got our Kevlar vests. After trying this on, my friend Bryan asked me how I liked carrying a midget around with me. Walking around with Kevlar on is pretty much like lugging a midget around. It is that heavy. Thank the lord it is not too hot in Columbia. I got a helmet, a gerber knife, sleeping bags, mosquito net, cold weather gear (ski pants, pullovers, heavy winter jackets), a shovel, a first aide kit. All this costs approximately $6,200 per person. Of course probably three-fourths of the stuff the military issued to us will never be used by me or any of the other Navy folks with me, but someone is getting rich off this endeavor.

Love you all!