Day 9: Finally woke up at 4:30am

Day 9: Last week I set two alarms two begin waking me at 4:30am. Today I finally woke up when the alarm sounded. Prior to this morning, I was sleeping soundly through the alarm blaring in my room until I'd finally awake some time after 6:00am sometimes 8 or 9:00am even. Suffice it to say, the whole point is to get used to being jarred from my sleep at 4:30am.

Shoutout: Future Soldier iLuna and Future Airman JcruzUSAF

About two weeks ago Ilka Luna posted a great video with some helpful Army tips and suggestions from her experiences so far and I find her to be very motivating.  It's for this reason that I chose to share my story in video and blog too.  Also, below her video is Jonathan Cruz who has some great knowledge to share with other future Airman wanting to join or are waiting to ship to Air Force BMT.  Check'em out!

iLUNATV

jcruzUSAF

Going away meetup with friends, best wishes - GDS Vlog 011

Yesterday I went out to dinner with some of my close friends at Cheddars for dinner.  It was nice to have them there as well as my mom and brother.  I was not in charge of the camera.  My friend Lisette took over and made it happen.  I just edited the footage together when I got home is all.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun hanging out and those of you that are preparing to ship off to basic training, no matter what branch of the military, should share your time with your friends and family too.

Changes to Basic Combat Training

Some of the changes to Basic Combat Training were recently reported on army.mil on July 19, 2010.  It's not entirely new news, but I think it's worth mentioning here.

Here is a quick outline of what was said in the article:

1. Contrary to what some believe, BCT is allegedly tougher rather than softer.  
2. Training has been extended from nine weeks to ten weeks.
3. Rifle marksmanship is more extensive.  Soldiers fire 500 rounds during basic combat training and certify as part of the Combat Field Fire phase.
4. New instruction has been added to teach soldiers to fight from their feet, rather than wrestle and grip on the ground.  The time spent in combatives is now 22 hours.
5. There is no longer an IV "stick" any more.  Soldier's used to learn to literally insert an IV into a human being (personally I had issues with the thought of this.  I'm glad to see it go.  I'm NOT afraid of blood nor needles, I'm afraid of the amateur sticking me with the needle and vice versa.  Hello!).  In general, Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and Combat Lifesaver (CLS) have been updated.
6. Physical training has been updated and standardized.  It has been suggested by soldiers in the combat that long runs, repetitive sets of pushups and sit-ups, and volleyball games aren't' really releven to "training the right muscles and energy systems needed in a fight."  So the FM 21-20 is being replaced by the TC 3.22-20 and will be available as an app (I'm assuming iPhone and Android app) in August of this year.  Sweet, but too bad I won't be able to utilize the app, as I'll be in BCT receiving this this very new training.
7. No more bayonet assault courses against rubber tires, but lots more pugil and combatives against a thinking opponent. Bayonets haven't been put to use was 1951.  If I recall correctly that was shortly after the start of the Korean war.  Wowza!  I didn't even EXIST. lol
8. Expanded values and culture training.  What that means is more time and instruction will be devoted to the seven Army Values in combat, garrison and off-duty time.  The Army has really been pro-active about keeping up with tech and social media trends and has created a "Soldier Blue Book" iPhone and Android app for soldiers before and after BCT.  Every soldier, however, gets a physical copy of the book at BCT of course.  But the great thing about the app is that you can download it now for free and begin learning.  You can download the iPhone app here or the Android app here. 
9. Training soldiers as "tactical athletes" where training will be supplemented with physical therapists and athletic trainers to prevent injuries and ensure better conditioning.  Also a new program called "Soldier Refueling" will be initiated to teach soldiers to develop good nutritional habits.
10. Drill Sergeants have been training in Resiliency Training and new soldiers will be taking the  Global Assessment Tool to help build a support base for promoting soldier's mental health. 
11. And as mentioned before, the Army has jumped head-long into the social media area and has already begun utilizing it to connect and get feedback from soldiers and soldier's families.

via www.army.mil

Handling finances, time with friends, ASVAB, few shoutouts - GDS Vlog 010

Lately I've been intensely focused on getting all of my financial affairs taken care of so that I can have total peace of mind. So as you can imagine I've been a bit anxiety-ridden over the matter. I'll be having a "going away" dinner with some friends on the 23rd and at some point this week or the next I'll post the last major video, I guess, that will be on the ASVAB. As of late a lot of the questions I've been receiving have been about the ASVAB, so why not cover it too.

Oh, I almost forgot. My recruiter had me come in to get my paperwork together that I'll need to take with me to MEPS and the reception. My time to leave is so close now. :)

Few shoutouts for the following:

crazyiowaboy
JeramyG22
SGTolson

All the bes to all three of you!

-David

Cool Straight from Basic Training Slideshow

One month to go until Basic Combat Training

It is 12:27am as I start writing this and I'm about to go to bed because I'm yawning to no end. So this will be brief and to the point.

Counting today now that it's passed midnight, I have 34 days remaining of freedom (lol) before I have to report back to the MEPS station to ship off to basic combat training, followed by advanced individual training. I most certainly will not lie nor hold back in saying that I am a bit nervous and hope that I will be successful. I have heard seemingly countless stories from soldiers at my unit during drill weekends, and have been given an overwhelming amount of advice, almost strictly in the form of "Do's" and "Don'ts". Every soldier has been absolutely encouraging to me, in word and deed. I feel that I am in the right place and honestly cannot wait to complete my initial entry training to get back to my unit to be and do what a soldier does.

All in all, I am very excited!

David

Last Drill Weekend and Update

So I am in the middle of finishing up some final steps in preparations for drill tomorrow aka battle assembly. Honestly I am nervous about the APFT tomorrow morning because my doctor had me on rest from running for like a month and half while we awaited approval of my MRI that I took a little while back. Since my results came back with no major issues, apart form needing to do some special stretches and exercises regularly, I have been slowly getting back into the habit of running to re-condition my body. I have to admit that it's been difficult this time around because May and June is the busiest time of year for Broward teachers, as were finishing up the school year with a seemingly endless list of things to complete before summer vacation. So no, the APFT won't count against me or anything like that, but it just really bothers my ego that I have been set back so far in my Future Soldier Training. My pushups and situps have plateaued where they were last time--I'm still squeezing out the minimum counts for passing.

Anyway I will remain positive and do my best as after all I am hearing more and more often that a lot of the challenge to being a soldier is getting out of your own head and just giving it your all. Make sense? And besides, I am still a civilian and not a soldier. Speaking of...

Current Enlistment Status:
Here is the news about my reserve enlistment, and my switch-over process to active duty. It has been an excruciatingly slow process that I have been recently informed will take months just for my packet to be reviewed. Furthermore, I was given word from the brigade level that the likelihood of approval without having any training or at least having started basic training is slim-to-none. The Plan:
So the next plan of action is to do a (fill in new acronym that I don't know) that basically allows me to ship off to basic training earlier than my contract stipulates, meanwhile a course of action will be taken to send me to active duty.

All of this was discussed and explained to me by the active duty recruiter two days ago, who told me he'd get back to me on this. There has been no feedback as of yet. I'll see what news I next week...HOPEFULLY next week. More importantly, I hope it's good news!

So that's the update. Otherwise, I'm still schedule to report to back to MEPS as an 88N (Transportation Management Coordinator) on 2010 Aug 4 for basic combat training.

As an aside, I have to get out of the Reserve Army and into Active Duty. I'm at half-time or unemployed next year, while the former is indeed favorable, it still leaves me in very dire financial straits that I won't have time to deal with until I get back from BCT and AIT. I can't hang my livelihood on a gamble.

God I need a miracle!

I am David

My friend told me this weekend that I am too meek and mild, and that is his main concern about me having joined the Army. He thinks I'll get chewed up, and spit out, as well as brainwashed. For the record I am by no means bashing my friend here, but I find the conversation we had interesting.

Let's do a character study.

Statements like his have been said to me in various situations throughout my life, and yet I rise to the occasion. I am David and I have a friend in the highest place. A lot of people know OF Him, but don't KNOW Him. And in as much as they don't know Him, or should I say, dismiss His very existence and involvement in human affairs, they therefore miss out on a major aspect of my being. In fact, a whole part of me goes unnoticed and untapped by many people, even friends because they don't know, nor understand Him. My point is, folks just see the physical reality of me, but don't know one iota about my spiritual being and the power therein. I'm not saying I can dodge bullets and I'm impervious to IED's (LOL). I'm just saying that He's been my number one advocate since before I was born. All my joys, my fears, my ups and my downs He has known and understood. And every time, I mean EVERY time there was a gargantuan, Goliath of an obstacle in my way--an obstacle that I viewed with my human limitations as insurmountable--He took me through it and I succeeded. I have had naysayers and "Debbie Downers" speak the worst tripe in the worst times of my life, and yet I rise. I'm not as naive as my disposition tends to convey and I make it common habit to play innocent, yet I know more than I let on. Additionally, I don't trust people with certain aspects of my character. More on this latter point later. In short, I practice being wise as a serpent and innocent as dove. I like to call it the Lion-Lamb persona--they're one in the same.

Next, I have found that if people shutup more than they talk, they will learn more about their surroundings. In fact, in a short span of time and quiet, one can learn people's strengths and weaknesses, who truly holds power or control in a given situation, and can better plan to fight or flight, both literally and figuratively speaking where applicable. Suffice it to say, I'm extremely quiet and I've been told A LOT by friends, family, peers, and coworkers that my quietness can seem unsettling to them, to sum up their statements. My stillness is often misinterpreted and I'm commonly asked, "Are you okay?" Frankly, this question has gotten annoying, as I am now serving customer number 1,295,398.  And this "customer" will walk up to me and inevitably ask me, "Are you okay?" at which point, I roll my eyes and ask God to forgive the expletive that slipped from the lips of my  mind's voice.

Ever heard the Bible verse that unctions that one shouldn't cast his pearls before swine? Well hear me out on this because it's important. Our minds are precious and this is true because they are amazingly capable of remembering everything, so don't fill it with junk. Having said that, I've spent years treasuring my innermost being, thoughts and feelings. I like refining myself to be a person of very high integrity--though I have monumental flaws...MON-U-MEN-TAL. But this takes me to my next point. I dislike this age of over-share to some extent.  But by over-share I mean, for example, this strange obsession as of late where people share in the most disgusting, unabashed way, very personal and otherwise sacrosanct details of their lives. Furthermore, I find it difficult to understand how people can so callously talk about sex, how they did it, with whom they did it and how many times.  Then these intimate details are shared with not only their unfaithful, loose-lipped friends, but the world as if it were a badge of honor. I am not that kind of person and I dislike it! Only God and maybe the government (LOL) knows the details of what happens in my bedroom behind closed doors. Not even my best friend knows. I'm so tight-lipped that my mother has to ask if I date at all. As an aside, I don't outwardly judge people like this with my words, but in my mind... that's a secret. ;)

In short, I'm like a room with a single locked door and no windows. If one wants to know what's inside, I'm not going to let you in. You have to knock, wait, and I'll consider you. And I don't make promises...never. THIS is why I'm often misinterpreted. But I don't see myself changing anytime soon. Deal! Remember this, what you see is only what I'm allowing one to think of me based on what I willingly reveal about myself. Anything else one may think or concoct about me is their own creation, and something I have no control over, nor do I care to manage.

Yes. I know the army won't be a walk in the park and I'll cope. Do I have a choice? Technically yes, but generally speaking, I don't. Besides I'm not looking for a way out, I'm trying to get into the army. I like what I've seen so far and I want more. I want to end this entry by saying that I detect an air of condescension in my friends alleged concern. I sense, "He doesn't know what he's getting himself into." In truth, statements like this actually have no baring on the wrong or right-ness of a choice that has been made. But for arguments sake and to close, I'll list my "flaws" that I think brought about his statement: "The army will chew you up and spit you out." "They are going to brainwash you."

I/am...

• Very idealistic
• See a lot of life in black and white
• Too quiet
• Cautious 
• Overly analytical 
• Black 
• Overly professional
• Conservative 
• Extremist 
• Rigidly logical, dare I say Vulcan-esque (LOL!!)
• Selfish 
• Highly moral
• Fickle
• Extremely spontaneous
• Random
• Short-tempered
• Argumentative
• Cantankerous
• Stubborn

I will revisit this matter after basic training, and then after a few years in the army. We'll see what still stands and what remains.

MRI scans were good, it was all in my head

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.  I feel like such a psycho because I'm fretting over nothing.  I got my MRI scans back and the doctor had this look of "What the french fry is wrong with this dude!" lol  I kid you not. Nothing is wrong. I was instructed to do some rehabilitation exercises and stretches one hour a day for the next two months, and return for a check-up appointment in July.

Ultimately the severity of the issue was all in my head.  I have concluded that in the Army my worst enemy can be my own mind.  Positivity and sheer will are CRUCIAL!  Enough said.