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

Getting an MRI today

Tomorrow I go in for an MRI of my left knee after work, then I go back to my orthopedic doctor with the results to get feedback on what's up next Monday.  As I've said before, healing has really come along and the pain has gone away as it's been a month since I hurt my knee.  But I'm going to spend the remainder of May on rest.  I'd rather not risk re-injury.  I've always believed it to be a mild sprain or overuse injury of some sort.  And up until now I've done NO major physical activity that involved my knees and have been on strict rest.  Smartly, I've taken preventative measures to avoid another overuse injury by purchasing proper running shoes and supportive insoles to reduce the shock of running on flat surfaces.

I gather that soldiers have to be deeply aware and knowledgeable about what it takes to care for their feet and leg joints.  In fact, I've become acutely aware of my physical health in recent months a whole lot more than I've ever been before.

Ouch!

Had Future Soldier Training yesterday and started having pain on the outer left side of my left knee. Actually, the pain started around Tuesday of this week and I have no IDEA what the cause is. I just woke up and I had pain. I would think that it's from the intense running that I had to do last weekend at my first drill weekend with my reserve unit, but I'm not really sure that's the cause. Although on second thought I ran 5 miles total in a two-day period without having done any running that intense prior to that weekend. So it's plausible given that this weekend is the only strenuous physical activity I've engaged in prior to Tuesday--just Saturday and Sunday. I cannot recall any point in time since last Sunday that would cause my leg to hurt like it does.

Anyway, I felt better all day Thursday (yesterday) until we started doing PT at the park by the track. When we started doing lunges the pain felt like an intense sharp soreness or aching. It's located near my knee, but the source isn't from the joint. It feels like some sort of connective tissue, either a tendon, muscle or both. I felt along the joint line, moved my knee joint with my arms without flexing any leg muscles and there is no pain. But when I use my muscles to bend my knee an incredible sharp ache kicks in. After a while into PT the pain subsided and I thought, "okay maybe it's nothing." Got to the run and it came back.

I arrived home after training and the pain was incredible. So I did some online research and based on what I found it's likely that I did some minor but over extensive training and just maxed on some sort of connective tissue on the lateral side of my left knee. I can walk, there's no visible swelling, but running, kneeling, squatting and the like are out of the question for at least a week. I iced the side of my knee, took an Ibuprofun elevated it and passed out, even though I really had a lot of work to do. I just needed to rest--even forgot to brush my teeth before bed (gross). And I NEVER, EVER forget to brush my teeth before bed!! I was truly beat.

Should be back up and running, literally, in at least a week--two weeks max. If it exceeds two weeks then I will be going to an orthopedist.