E-Course

This last week has been fairly slow since it has been mostly classroom work. We had a 12 page Op Order given at 7 p.m. due at 7 a.m. the next morning which sucked, but otherwise nothing too big.

Then there was the Endurance Course yesterday. It is five miles through the 'Quantico highlands' which means the wooded terrain and all the hills that entails. There are some obstacles to go over, some of which include sewage (calling it water is a disrespect to water everywhere). It is all kicked off by running the Obstacle Course. To max it out, guys have to run it under 60 minutes and females have to do it in under 70 minutes. To pass the guys have to finish under 80 minutes and the females 90 minutes.

All of that isn't so bad though. I've ran the E-Course 4 times before yesterday; however, yesterday was the first time with the full load. We had our assault packs full to capacity, our FLC's had the usual items with full canteens, we had to wear our kevlar helmets during certain portions, and of course, we had to carry our rifles.

I ended up running it in 70 minutes flat. This wasn't a 70 minute stroll either. It was 70 minutes of physical and mental torture. The physical is obvious because we weren't used to running with that much weight on our bodies. The mental was the worst part because you end up walking for a large portion of the course. Now I'm not in the greatest shape of my life but I am in good shape and I consider myself mentally tough. When I had to stop and walk I was beating myself up in my head for being weak (much nicer than the thoughts actually going through my head but you get the idea).

I talked with others and, thankfully, this was the norm for the entire company. We had 13 failures out of 41 in the platoon and 90 failures out of 240 in the company. It was a gut check for everyone and highlighted some areas that need attention! I suppose I won't be able to say 'I'm better off resting tonight than getting some PT in,' anymore!

Congrats to Eddie and Kari on their good news of a baby on the way! There will be another congrats posted for someone else once I get the OK to start talking about it. ;) Take care and God bless all!

Mike~

Land Nav

The MCMAP package is done and now we are starting the Land Navigation package. MCMAP was pretty easy since I'm already a Brown Belt MAI (Martial Arts Instructor). Everyone got their Tan Belts so congrats to them. I'll be coming in on some Saturday's to help get everyone some extra hours. I'm going to start with the two Grey Belts who only need about 6 more hours for their Green Belts. Then I'll be working the Tan Belts up who only need about 14 hours for their Grey Belts. Sounds like fun right?

Land Nav has always been a pain in my butt and I'm not looking forward to these days! I'll be fine though and make it through like I always do. We also have the Endurance Course Initial next Wednesday. I haven't ran in a while and will probably pay the price for it.

The in-laws are coming this weekend as well. It is a regular weekend and there isn't much going on. I'm not sure what they want to do but it better involve going to watch the new Batman movie! :) They are actually releasing it in IMAX as well. Do I dare?

Take care all and God bless.
Mike~

Rifle Range Week

Range time is over finally! It consisted of me getting up at 0300 every day and being at 'mando chow' each morning by 0415. The days typically got me home around 1900 (7 p.m.) which was just enough time to toss the cammies in the laundry, eat, and go to sleep. I did get expert (5th award) on the rifle and sharpshooter (again) on the pistol. I haven't fired the rifle each year I've been in or the ladder would be a little bit higher of a number. :)




This is right after getting back from the 'movement' back to the BOQ. Keep in mind that I am not the type to sweat very much during physical activity. You should have seen my sun burn before!!

This is the gear we have to wear during the Table 2 and 3 shoots. Table 3 was actually pretty cool because we got to shoot at pop-up targets at unknown distances. Oh yeah, they were moving as well. It didn't count for score which added to the entertainment value. We were able to just get out there and shoot!

This next week is all about the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). The goal is to get the entire company to Tan Belt before the end of the week. I'm already a Brown Belt Martial Arts Instructor (MAI or just Instructor) so I'll probably just be assisting in the training of the others. The LT's with no belt only have to go through 3 days of training and then a test day and they are going to be given their Tan Belt's. I'm quite upset about that because it is no where near the prerequisite number of hours. When you start doing things like that, you cheapen the program. I guarantee those LT's are going to be the same ones that get to the fleet and expect to be allowed to cut corners for future belts. And you know what? I can't blame them after the initial experiences the will have had with MCMAP.

Oh well, such is life right? :) I hope everyone is doing well and I'll talk to you later! Take care and God bless.

Mike~

Zero Week

We enter the main phase of Zero Week with Echo Company tomorrow. I'm a Platoon Commander once again so I get the fun of the extra meetings, roster building, and accountability issues. Oh well, such is life right?

The PFT is Thursday and I am hoping to have a decent showing. 285 plus would be a decent showing for those that are interested. I've been running with a buddy pretty consistently so I am interested to see how well I do. Unfortunately I have neglected the pullups a bit.

Mario Kart Wii is awesome, did I mention that? Precious and I have a ball playing it. Of course we all know who comes in first though. ;)

Take care and God bless!

Mike~

Latest and Greatest

I was thinking about it: these posts could be a lot longer if I would post more often! I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

Zero Week starts Wednesday, again. It will be Echo Company instead of Delta. I'd tell you why I got dropped from Delta but it would probably make you upset and me reminded of my 'upsetness' so I'll skip it. Just know that I was 'screwed by the big green weenie again'. I'll be a Platoon Commander again which still sucks because the first billet holders have those billets for an extra two weeks. Not to mention that those two extra weeks are pretty stressful! I will survive though.

Precious got a job! She'll be working at a hospital in Fredricksburg. The pay is terrible in comparison with what she was making in New York City but we expected that. It is still a decent rate when all things are considered. Congrats baby!

We purchased Mario Kart for the Wii and LOVE IT! It's the next great installation in a great series. The battle game is only team which kinda sucks but I am hoping you can unlock a one-on-one mode just like on SNES. We have a Wii Fit pre-ordered already and it should be ready for pickup on Wednesday. I'll post more on that after we play with it.

Does anyone else hate the way the Pistons get away with all that contact??? Rich Hamilton should foul out of every single game yet he rarely gets called for his reach in fouls. He's a great rhythm shooter but I hate the way he gets away with murder on push-offs. Oh well, it's going to be another great series and we'll be treated to a great finals: Lakers vs Celtics. Talk about an orgasm in the making for David Stern. :)

Well, I think that's about it for now. Take care all and God bless!

Mike~

Howdy Folks!

Hello all! I'm just sitting back at our townhouse in VA enjoying some well earned Leave. It ends Sunday night and then it's back to the grind with the holding company, M Company at The Basic School (TBS).

We went to MN for a few days. It was a really good time but I ended up driving WAY more than I wanted to. Such is life. :) We had a get-together on my father's side of the family. Most of them haven't seen me in a decade or longer. I didn't really know them but that's why we had the little party. I was happy that my biological father could meet my wife finally. We'll see how that goes.

I'm deep into the triathlons again! Virginia has a triathlon circuit with a different triathlon each weekend. SWEET! Of course it'll be interesting to see how I perform after spending a week in the field and then going to run a tri. One of my buddies out here is a tri-geek as well so hopefully I can talk him into doing a few of them with me. I am going to a clinic this Sunday. I'm hoping it will be informative and fill in some dark spots in my tri knowledge. For those that don't know, I have quite a few of those dark spots!

I was going to buy the Trek Equinox 7, a triathlon specific bike, but decided we should probably wait till later to invest $2000 into a new bike. Instead I am paying $150 to give my bike a tune-up. It should carry me through TBS at the least. There's nothing wrong with my current road bike, a Specialized Alles, but it is a road bike and not a tri bike. I'm an expensive date too. :)

The next few days will be finalizing the house and getting everything in the correct place. BTW, our couches finally got here and we love them. Picture microfiber material that looks like leather. Best of both worlds. ^_^

Take care and God bless!

Mike~

Pictures...

I know the rank insignia is not placed properly on the collars. I was pinned by someone who had no reason to know how the placement went and he misunderstood me when I described it (he was thinking perpendicular instead of parallel). I am still honored he did it! :)

Mike~