Final Sprint

I have officially become the worst blogger ever. Just a total lack of care for writing one I guess. I see that my last post was March 31st so sorry for not keeping you up on the times.

I guess I'll just start at the beginning of the month. So we had Rapid Deployment which was at the shooting range. Doing room clearing and approach techniques with the M-16. On this day Squad Alpha Jaw was born. This stupid nickname I've been given was applied to our squad. All of my best friends here were in it. We are basically the group of people that everyone hates because we get "into" everything we do. Making fun of how easy the PT sessions are and being really tactical with our actions everywhere. I guess people find it annoying. As a class we have really grown apart and are dissolving fast. Good thing we are almost done here. People may start killing each other soon. Easter weekend was nothing special. Sucked being away from home and I didn't really do anything fun with the 4 day weekend.

After Easter we did the Field Sobriety Testing stuff. Easy if you ask me. Then after that we did our rifle qualification. We had to shoot reduced targets from the 50 yard line which simulates a 100 yard target. I shot 4 30/30 qualifiers which felt good.

The next week we did mainly Woodland Operations. Which is just like, navigating with a compass and playing in the woods. After that we had our patrol skills practicals. These are tough. Just really stressful couple of days. I did fine thanks to my friend Robert Toler. He is really good at them and helped me get through them successfully.

This week we had our courtroom testimony day. Basically had to take one of our Patrol Skills tickets and present it as a court case. I did fine with that but sitting on a wooden bench for the other 7.5 hours was pretty sucky. Yesterday was our last PT session. We had two groups. One did a 1.5 mile run (losers) and the rest of us (9) ran a 3.5 mile course that we call the winners circle. It has one of the longest and steepest hills I've ever seen. About 3 times the height of Reids Hill south of Frankfort for those that know where and what that is. We ran it at a faster pace than normal too and finished it with a 200yd sprint. Felt pretty good honestly. I am amazed that I could hardly run a mile without keeling over before all this and now I volunteer for a 3.5 mile run and tell the leader to sprint the last part. This place has at least let me know that I can do more than I think I can and that is a bonus I suppose.

Our 5th exam was cancelled for tomorrow and so now the only test I have left is the final. Super stressed about that one. Tomorrow we only have the 3rd PEB which is the one that counts. I found out today that the school here doesn't do the fitness award. So I've been killing myself with PT for no real reason. I really  wanted that sheet of paper which is stupid but I wanted to "show" my accomplishment. So we'll see how hard I try tomorrow since I can't bring any proof home.

After tomorrow we only have 2 class days left. Monday and Tuesday are our Park Practical days. Then just a final and once I complete the final, I will be so excited that I won't be able to sleep at all.

This will probably be my last blog since not much else will happen until I'm home. Thanks for those who read this and thanks for your thoughts throughout my whole ordeal here. It's been a long ride. I can't wait to tell the funny and sometimes sad or stressful stories.

See you all very soon!!!!
-Zach