Cool Couple of Days

The last few days have been pretty cool. The Sergeant Major told us in formation yesterday that we were pretty much done with our training. Just a few more classes. Our ship date has been pushed back a little and he said once we were done they'd try to get us some leave before we ship out. That would be pretty cool. It's been a few months since I've seen my kids. It'll be hard to leave them again but worth it.

Yesterday we went through the gas chamber. It's a little different from basic training. In basic you had to go in with your gas mask on and stand under a number on the wall. The guy in charge would tell you to do some stuff like jumping jacks or something. Then you'd take a deep breath and close your eyes while you lifted your mask away from your chin. This let the gas into your mask. Then you put your hand over the input part of your filter and blow out to clear your mask. At this point your face is on fire and your eyes are tearing up. If you're lucky you clear most of it out but there's always a little left. Instinctively you take a breath and your lungs start burning and your nose starts running. After a few minutes they tell you to take your mask all the way off and do it again. OK, no problem so far. After that's done they tell you that you have to take your mask off and when everybody has theirs off you can leave the room. So, you take a big breath, close your eyes , take your mask off and wait, and wait, and wait. Just about the time I couldn't hold my breath anymore the drill sergeant says as soon as number ten takes his mask off we can leave. At this point I can't hold my breath anymore so I turn and look at the guy in the number ten spot. This knucklehead has his hands over his mask and isn't moving. By now you've already taken a few small breaths of CS gas and your eyes are on fire. All the guys in the room rush the number ten guy and try to pull his mask off. He's holding on for dear life and doesn't care what happens. As if we were telepathically connected we all decide the best way to get him to part with his mask is to beat the snot out of him. So we all start pounding him and eventually he lets go. Finally we got his mask off and threw it across the room. He bolts for the door but the drill sergeant won't let him out. By now we've all taken a few deep breathes of it and are hacking up lungs while this guy tries to get out. We're all collected at the door, stomping up and down doing a rendition of what they call the kickin' chicken. You're taking breaths but you don't fell like your getting any air. Now the Drill Sergeant says we can't leave until number ten gets his mask back. Well, he decided he's not leaving from the door for anything, no matter how hard we pound him, so we have to go get his mask and bring it to him. Finally we're out the door, snot running all the way to the ground, some guys are tossing their breakfast and we're all running around waving our arms trying to get the gas out of our clothes. Nobody can see a thing because our eyes are burning and one guy runs smack into a tree and knocks himself almost unconscious.

Man, Good Times.

Well, this time around you just had to break the seal and clear your mask. No problem. After that, the guy in charge asked if anyone wanted to take their mask off. He said it was completely optional. That's kind of like saying, "Hey, you won the lottery. Would you like to pay taxes on that? It's completely optional." If something I don't want to do in the first place is optional I'm not doing it. Well, of course there are a few "high speed" guys that have something to prove and they take theirs off. That's fine. If we ever get chemically attacked I hope I'm standing next to them. It'd be nice to know if it's safe to take my mask off or not. Besides, I'd like to see if those atrapine injectors they give us really work. What better way to try it than on someone else. This gas chamber wasn't too bad though. A little burning on the skin but it only lasted ten minutes or so.

Today went well. We got a few classes out of the way and I got promoted. For pay purposes it was effective on the 13th of October. In the Army the stupid stuff rolls down hill just like anywhere else. Now I'm just one step further from the accumulation at the bottom of the hill. Now, instead of wallowing in it I'm merely wading.

I know I've complained about the weapons and the body armor a few times and some of my family has voiced serious concerns. I would like to put those concerns to rest. I fully expect to get body armor in Kuwait. It's just fun to complain about it some times. And they have confirmed that this is the weapon I'm taking over seas. They say I may trade it over there for a new one, but not for sure. That's alright though, the problem is with the front sight post and can be fixed. If it is the weapon I end up with it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to fix it and re zero.