You would think that after our little shameful march, that my platoon would get it together. WRONG!! As we marched to chow today for lunch, some of the guys at the back of formation were laughing and joking. Another DS just happened to see us, but he informed our DS about the goof-offs, so he could deal out the punishment. Punishment? We got SMOKED! The push-ups were not down-up. They were down--hold for 20 seconds--up! My arms felt like jello by the time it was over. We were angels the next few days. We started working on our platoon motto and studying for Superbowl during our time (mainly on the weekends when we are doing laundry and shining our boots). Superbowl is what they call everythihng we will be tested over before we graduate. Basically, eveything in our little 'smart' books. We also got to attend a concert and eat pizza, candy bars, and have some drinks (Dr. Pepper for me!) and dance. It was fun, but we had a shakedown when we got back. Amazing we didn't get smoked for anything!

Hooah!!! Our Guidon has been un-foiled and our platoon has risen from disgrace. We have now moved on to the WHITE PHASE. Gosh, I pulled my quadricep muscle during PT and does it ever hurt! I had to go to TMC (the medical clinic) to get some medicine for the pain. Hopefully this will not last. Wind sprints just aren't my thing, but DS Thrine says they can make or break your time. I am starting to enjoy PT more and more. Singing cadence makes it even more fun. I run in group D--which is slowest group.

It's time to learn Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM). We had to learn the four fundamentals of firing: steady position (keep a firm grip on your rifle), aiming (make sure your front sight post and the rear aperture are lined up), breathing (control your breathing), trigger squeeze (don't just pull the trigger, but squeeze the tip of the trigger as you exhale). So far, all we had done with our weapons is march and do D & C. Today we practiced our breathing and trigger squeeze. I will be happy when we get to fire live rounds. Fort Jackson has many rifle ranges and they are all different and we have to march to each and every one of them. The road marches can be exhausting and the only thing that keeps me going is knowing chow is at the end! We first started out on a simulator called the weaponeer. That was pretty neat. I fired nine shots, trying to make them in the circle. I didn't do too well according to my printout. It took me four times to qualify, but I finally did it!

Back to the firing range. A group of us went ahead of our platoon for range detail. That involved getting all the targets set up and making sure all of the lister bags were full of water. Water is a big deal here. Drink even when you are not thirsty. By the time you get thirsty, dehydration is starting to set in. I sliced my hand on a couple of staples while removing a target. Nothing bad. But it looks like it will scar. Next, we got to zero our weapons. It took a while to get mine zeroed, but within a few hours, I was firing all my shots inside my 4cm circle. We learned how to fire our weapon from a foxhole and the prone position (lying down). Seems like I could fire better in the prone. Firing the M16 was exciting! Before we are allowed on any rifle range, we all have to sit in the bleachers and listen to the range NCO explain the safety precautions. Always keep your weapon pointed up and down range. One of the males got chewed out for resting his head on his M16 while we were listening to one of the speeches. There have been so many accidental shootings because of stupidity. Our weapons are also checked for rounds before we are allowed on the range and when we are leaving. I learned real quick to make sure all my rounds were shot, my magazine was empty, and nothing was in my rifle chamber. The M16 is easy to break down and clean and you have to make sure it is spotless! Sometimes that is hard to do because of all the sand. It is not exactly easy to keep from getting sand all inside your weapon when you are low/high crawling and kicking sand in all directions. *smile* The march back was exhausting and all I wanted to do was fall into bed. No training tomorrow.

We have KP again. That can be more tiring than training because you have to be at the chow hall at 0500 and get everything ready for breakfast. We don't get to sit down at all, except to eat, and that is--what--a whole 15 minutes? Ugh! Then we get to clean everything up and start preparing for lunch, and then dinner repeating the cleaning process. Talk about tired!! We finally got another DS who is staying! DS Miller has arrived to make my platoon into something. Will he succeed? It is so nice to get back to the barricks and take a nice shower--even this late. I have fireguard--again--but from 2100 to 2300. Maybe I can get some letters written too. Weapons qualifications are coming up and we have to hit 23 out of 40 targets to qualify with our M16A2 rifle.

I qualified with my weapon today and made "marksman", only hitting 24 targets. I was hoping to do better, but a bee decided to pick today of all days to pester me while I was firing from my foxhole. I do not care for bees and I know I could have done better if it had pestered someone else. I fired better from the prone position. Mel made "sharpshooter". I felt so good when I got my marksman badge though. I had never in my life fired any type of weapon before joining the military. It felt great! Poor Tyler. He wanted to make it so bad, but he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn! DS Miller even tried to help him out a bit by letting him try again, but to no avail. Anyone who did not qualify will get a few more chances before graduation, but if you cannot pass BRM and qualify with the M16, you cannot graduate. We also got to run through an obstacle course to test our endurance. I think I did okay, but my leg was bothering me a bit. We worked as a team and didn't start the next obstacle until our squad was finished. It was truly motivating and this is where I started to realize my platoon was coming together and we would all make it.

I went to TMC today, since we had KP-again. I was there almost all day and I have to go to therapy. I was put on profile for a week. Profile means no running, etc. Hopefully my quadricep will heal quickly with therapy. The next day, we all loaded up on a bus in our PT uniforms and went back to Reception to get our Class A uniforms. The uniforms are not that bad. At least the females get to wear their shirts tucked in now. I think that looks better. It was a long day. I didn't know trying on uniforms could be so tiring. We had to try this and that on and show the female DS what our uniforms fit like. We also got our pictures back. Oh my gosh! I look horrible! My hair is so short and I look like I am on something. LOL! I ordered an Army ring, too. Its silver and has the US Army crest on one side and my MOS crest on the other. Maybe I will get that in time for graduation. The weeks are moving by fast.