Walk in My Boots: Journals of a National Guard Soldier in Iraq

By Ronald Pruitt

A Calculus two exam at 7:30 a.m. is insane was my thought as I sat down to breakfast in the LSU Union hall. I looked up at one of the TVs just in time to see the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. My heart sank to my toes. I thought, as a truck driver in the Louisiana National Guard, active duty consisted of dealing with hurricanes and floods, not war. That is what the Army is for. I'm still in school. Perhaps my contract will be up in time. National Guard truck drivers are not war heroes. Little did I know that a phone call in the middle of a blind date would prove me so wrong. Now that an active-duty deployment to Iraq is in my future, my concern is, Will I be the same person when I come back? From the Journals I kept daily, this is a "Walk in My Boots".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647018443

Book preview

Journal One

[Training in Fort Hood Texas]

2004 May 21

TIRED! I will just make a list of things to write about when I have time… Today’s drive and the drive before on the 20th /

Fort Polk RR load Fort Hood RR load

Mbeing left behind Chain of Command issue

the trying to survive before they kill me

before the problem is not solved, it is just forgotten about.

They are killing me and my counterpart. We don’t even get scrapes from the dogs we are so far down. Lots to write… Must sleep…

We are currently in Fort Hood, Texas, to begin training for our deployment in Iraq. Once we are trained, we will go to a training center in California to test our training and further prepare us for the deployment. We have three weeks to work out the bugs in California, then it is time to get on the plane to Kuwait. There we will stage our equipment to get ready for the move into Iraq.

2004 May 22

Oh my God, I’ve lost my keys. My keys are my world, my life, my survival. I have ALL my stuff locked. I will have to take a pair of bolt cutters and cut almost 15 locks. Today I spent the day chasing down keys for my people. I spent the day explaining to my guys that they are to keep up with their own keys. It does not matter who asks for them. If God himself asks you for your keys, you do not give them up. Your keys unlock your vehicle. Your vehicle is how you are going to survive. The Army couldn’t give a crap less about you, because you are expendable. Army trucks cost money to replace. So if you want to maintain a value in the Army Do Not Lose Your Keys!!!!!… FUCK!!!!!!

Now I feel dumb, because I now have to go and ask everybody if they have seen my keys. I have 6 locks on the outside of my Army truck, 2 for the doors and 4 for the four boxes. Two boxes have all my chains. One box has my tool bag and all my binders. The other box has all my recovery gear; jacks, road triangles, spare air lines, jumper cables, lug wrench, etc… Once the doors are unlocked, the steering wheel has a lock on it. That is a lot of keys. That is just for my Army truck. Now I have a key for my room here in the barracks, the door key. If I am in the room, I have a lock on my computer box and camera, so I can’t open it. My chest with all my clothes has a lock. My bag with all my Army gear has a lock. One key was passed down to me by the guy who trained me. This key has been in the Unit for 20 years… It was passed onto me kind of like passing the torch… Oh My God!! I’m Freaking out!!!! On my last ring were my personal keys. I have a key to my Little Red Truck, a house key, and a P38 (Army-issue can opener). These are the things that remind me of home right now.

I am not doing well. The guys just tell me not to worry. I misplaced another set of keys yesterday, but they were found. I think they got left somewhere on the truck in the motor pool. So I will wait and see if I can find them in the morning. Right now I am doing laundry…

I’VE LOST MY DAMN KEYS!

Little thing about our 1st SGT, he had some trouble in the BN formation. He had trouble with the accountability formation and had his 2nd in Command do all the marching. This is just basic marching stuff they teach you back in boot camp and sergeant school. Perhaps I am reading more into this than there is… I hope so… Maybe tomorrow will be better.

2004 May 23

I found my keys… I can breathe. The day was bad. I was extremely stressed all day about my keys being gone. I found them in another room. We had a Platoon meeting in that room, and I must have set them down. Christ, 3rd day into the deployment and I am having this kind of trouble. Not starting off well…

Now I have another concern. My counterpart seems to be pulling away. He seems to have rebelled in some cases. They are small, little things, but the rest of the group notices him not wearing a Kevlar or playing a movie during the Platoon meeting. I don’t care if it’s just us, but not in front of the other guys. They really look up to him. He has a way with them, and they respond really well.

Today we found out that we got bumped up one. Our Acting Platoon SGT is now our Acting Platoon Leader. So that moves us lower-enlisted up one, not in pay, just in responsibility. I just hope this does not upset my counterpart. He made a comment like, I will try to get moved to a line Platoon and you all can run A&O how you want.

I need, him and I’m worried he feels either left out or behind. He does not really like the guy in charge now, but he won’t tell me why. I am not looking forward to 15 shots tomorrow … I hope things will get better.

2004 May 24

Today went better. I got 4 shots. Right now I am okay. I freaked myself out earlier today. I felt as if I was going to pass out. They just laid me down for a couple of minutes. Then I was okay. I hate shots. There is just something about them that freaks me out.

As far as people go, our 1st SGT is not building a lot of confidence. He has his #2 man doing what I believe is his job. All the other 1st SGT’s are marching their Companies and doing accountability formations. I feel good about my guys. There are a few little details that have to be ironed out, but we are making great progress. My counterpart, I believe his mind is in the right place, but his heart is in Infantry. I don’t care. I don’t have a doubt he is a team player. My heart, of course, is my Jeep … Driving, … So my job fits me a lot better than Infantry.

I want to see what my paycheck will look like so I can get my Jeep truck running for July. It is a 91 Jeep Comanche that I bought from a family friend in Ohio. Mom drove it down from Ohio. I spent the night with it twice at Desiree’s apartment. I was seeing the roommate… The next morning, the Little Red Truck, as mom calls it, would not start. So Eddie had to come get me. It was a fuel pump, so no big deal, I replaced it and was back in business. About a week or so later, I spent the night again. The next morning, the Little Red Truck started but it sounded like it was only running on two cylinders. Which sucks, because it is only a 4 cylinder. I babied it home which was 45 minutes away, and as I pulled up into the driveway of the house, the truck died. Never started again. The motor was blown… The roommate Karma finished the truck that time. I then proceeded to put a 6 cylinder in it and up-grade the transmission to a 5 speed manual, etc. This required a completely new computer, new wiring switching from manual gauges to digital gauges, and finally turned into a huge can of worms… I stripped the truck down to the core, just a bare shell. Of course, Dad never missed a moment to let me know that truck will never run again. Hmmmm, now that I think about it, I think he ends every conversation with, By the way that truck will never run again. He drives me crazy sometimes… He needs a different hobby than harassing me all the time… Anyway, I should have the 1st through the 8th of July off. I have to have parts and money ready.

I just found out that we have a mission for our trucks, BUT THEY ARE BROKE!!!! They are dead-lined, BROKEN! They keep telling us to give them a report on vehicles. I will turn in the next report in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, English, and any other language I can find. I will not send my guys out in a broke dick truck to fend for themselves. The mission just won’t happen.

I don’t know how to explain to these people the condition and status of this equipment. It is BROKE. The best truck we got has a flat on the trailer. I say if HHC (motor pool) can’t fix my truck they don’t need it.

[HHC is the support for the companies. They have the mechanics, supply people, cooks, etc.]

2004 May 25

The thing with HHC fell through. My guys just came with us. So when we showed up, we were already late. Half the guys were at In Processing so that left the other guys to do the job. We finished all our paperwork (PMCS).

After lunch, I had a mission. My A-driver and I went to drop off our truck at the shop to get it fixed. I stripped it. I took everything out. I knew as soon as I did that I would lose something, and I did, my tool bag. It only has a few wrenches, but it has my locks for my gear. We don’t have enough locks to go around, so I am worried about it. I will look for it tomorrow.

1st Platoon finished their work before lunch; they even PMCS’ed our two Tracks b/c we had no people. They were told to come help us unload one of our trucks. Our leadership told us nothing about it b/c they did not know the higher-ups already tasked us out to do that same job and told us nothing of the guys waiting to help us unload our truck. When our guys finished and were leaving, they walked up to the motor pool gate and asked the 1st Platoon guys, What are you doing here? They told us they were here to help us unload it. We told them we did not know they were waiting for us (2 hours in the hot sun) and we didn’t even have a place to put everything. We talked about it, and without a doubt, the higher-ups completely dropped the ball. We weren’t even looking for help to unload the truck, b/c we usually don’t get help even when we ask.

1st Platoon worked their ass off so they could come help us after lunch. I was at the shop, turning in my truck, and spent about an hour showing the head mechanics what was wrong with it. Back home, our guys and 1st Platoon took the issue to the higher-ups to let them know they were really screwing up. I am sure the higher-ups really cared. I guess it made 1st Platoon feel better.

A soldier that talked to me and my counterpart told us that she had a talk with her Chain of Command and whoever she talked to wanted to know what the problem was. He let her know they were going to try to fix it. So she was all happy b/c she had a good day. She wanted to buy me a hamburger. I told her to just tell my counterpart what happened and that would be all that was needed. She does not know my counterpart called her Chain of Command on the floor and had a heart-to-heart, you might say.

Also, another soldier came to talk to me. My counterpart said he was a discipline problem before. I remember hearing the same conversation. He seems to be okay to me. His Chain of Command (COC) is left to be desired. I don’t know what to do about the guys in charge of him. Not the best, from what I can tell. I did the best I could. I put in a good word. I did not see a reason not to. I hope he does not prove me wrong. There might still be a chance of losing my counterpart. Talk about having your legs cut out from under you. Losing him will be a big loss.

2004 May 26

Today, all I did was class. I was an instructor for an Ml6. This morning we had to do PT. We were very late, almost 30 minutes. In formation, I was called out to lead the formation. Surprise, I had the time it took for me to walk from the back of the formation to the front of the formation to figure out what to do. So I conducted PT right there on the spot. I just had a few little screw-ups, but I got through it really well. Not bad for about 30 seconds’ worth of prep. It is easy to tell someone their mistakes when you are not the one up there making the mistakes. Now, I want to know how they are going to do PT.

After PT, we had an hour to change, eat, and make it back for company formation. We were told we had to go to weapons classes. No problem; it’s just that I am teaching one of the classes. Surprise again. My class starts in 15 minutes, I have to go find an empty room, and put an Ml6 class together in about 5 minutes. The OC is the guy that reports to the General and lets him know how trained we are. He told me the class was too long and cut it down. So I took a 30 minute class and turned it into a 15 minute class. So I got no classes for myself done that day; I just taught all day… However, according to the attendance sheets, I took all the required classes for that day.

When the day was over, I found out they did not like my class at all; it was poorly put together and too short. The other classes were also poorly organized. I found out later that the guys giving the other classes were told a day in advance, and this is what they did in prior service. They were instructors on these weapons and shot in special teams for the Army. I think it is funny that they instructed me to fill out a PMCS sheet and they don’t even know how to fill one out. Oh-well, if they don’t like my class, they can pick someone else.

The key leaders, including me, of A&O took a Humvee to the main PX, leaving no one in charge of the Platoon. We met all our guys there and gave them a ride home.

I was able to find a cute medic to come look at my guys. I think they liked that.

2004 May 27

Just to know we have to dig masks out at 21:13 (9:13 pm) for gas mask training. What a bitch!

2004 May 28

I am a day behind. It was midnight when we finished. It is becoming harder and harder to keep track of each day. The days are blending all into one long day that never ends.

This day… It was a big sick-call issue where a soldier had to get a cab back to the barracks. The planning was so poor I don’t know if he was forgotten about or what happened. I just know he had to come out of pocket to get back to the barracks, and nobody knew where he was.

Today, PMI class all morning. Went to the connex and got our stuff out of it. SFC Davis is back as Platoon SGT. That helps a whole lot.

I wrote all over my door a couple of days ago. I had requested tape and a board to write on. They said we will see. So I got out a marker and wrote all the information for my Platoon on my door. The Readiness NCO flipped out. He told me I will have my door painted by the end of the day before the 1st SGT sees it. I told him sure I’ll get right on. I had no paint. A day later, the 1st SGT saw my door. He said something and the OC said they are going to tear the buildings down anyway. The 1st SGT then said, Hell, I want to paint my door red. Ha! Small win for me.

Sick-call logistics still an issue. Talked to 1st SGT Roche. Problem is fixed.

Commander and XO sat in on PT with us. I smoked the platoon, YCP-style (the mile). I was later told that was a, good, good PT session.

Dropped off a SEE truck at the 199th.

Class on PMCS radios. Our class for our Platoon was 10 minutes. The class given to us last night lasted an hour. This is because A&O knows how to fill out PMCS forms.

We may trade a guy out. Feels like we are giving up one of our kids to go to an abusive foster family, and we are NOT HAPPY about that.

Supposed to be off at 6:00 p.m. All of a sudden, there was a class we had to be at, 7:30 p.m. Everybody was gone because we dismissed them at 6:00 p.m. so no class.

There is an un-stated rule that after you are dismissed, to disappear for about an hour. Don’t go to your room or anything, just be gone. Just so you are not called back in 30 minutes. Otherwise, these guys would never have any down time…

Then the 9:30 p.m. mission came.

2004 May 29

What a BS day! We got up to go to a class. This is an M16. This is how you load it. We did not even use the masks that we dug out. We wore them clipped to our LBE and did not use them. We got 2 Companies through the range… I have lost a day… Took the 1st part of class, came back, turned in weapons and masks. After lunch, redrew weapons and masks and sat in the hot sun for 3 hours doing nothing but waiting in line. My Platoon found the roster, signed it, and went back to the barracks. The Platoon figured out real quick, if you sign the roster, that is all that matters. Screw that class. Tomorrow is Sunday, holiday weekend. Sunday off, no more busy work. Now we must do Platoon classes.

Today I went to Wal-Mart and got a cake for a guy who is supposed to ETS today. ETS, I don’t know what it stands for, means your last day in the Army. Now because of the deployment, he has to stay until a further release date. If you did not ETS by May 31, you were deemed Stop Loss, meaning you can’t leave the Army until the Army says you can go. That contract you signed now means the Army legally owns you until 2031, before they even have to decide to take any further action. So I gave him a reenlistment party as a joke. I think he liked it.

I got a movie theater set up in the day-room. Just like at the movies, the Unit bought a projector to do it’s classes and presentations, so I borrowed it for the party, once they knew what I was doing. The Unit also got a six speaker surround sound system to go with the projector. I took everything up to my room to get everything hooked up for the party. I did not have a movie, so I used one of my roommate’s movies… It turned out to be a prono. I backed the projector up so it filled the entire back wall…

Talk about larger-than-life! I got the CD to play through the projector, so one wall in my room was a naked woman doing her thing. I got my flash light out, trying to hook up the speaker wires, because all the lights were out, trying to get the movie to play. I was not paying attention to the movie because I was hooking up the speakers. My door was open…Let’s see this wire goes here, that one goes there and I think I’ve got it… I pushed the button, and this girl started moaning so loud I thought you could have heard it six rooms down the hall… Volume was turned up too high. Scared the crap out of me. I watched the screen, and the sound seemed to match.

So now that the Chinese kung fu movie issue is fixed, the voices now match what is being said, I went to turn the lights on. About this time, the porno was really getting to the hard stuff… Hmmmmm… I need to shut this down… When I turned the lights on to my room, I must have had 2 Platoons in my room watching that video. I ran everybody out and went to go set up the video in the main meeting room. I took a king-size bed-sheet and taped it to the wall. I played The Lord of the Rings first, and it was awesome. The projector filled the entire wall, and with the speakers, it was just like the movies. I had the guys sign an Iron Horse flag, one of the wives made a while back, and gave that to him as a thanks for re-enlisting… I almost could not keep a straight face… He really liked the flag…

2004 May 30

Nothing big today. Cleaned my room. I now have a desk with a small light. Now I can write and not keep my roommate up. We just did some PT and gave a few classes. Some good gossip news. Our first General Order here is, No Drinking. So far, they have caught 140 something people drinking. Of that 140, the CSM (Command SGT Major), was caught drinking. He also was giving rides to female privates to clubs off-post and buying them drinks. He meets with the General today. So now we are going to wait and see what happens.

I have a little problem child that I am having troubles with. I am going to learn a lot with this kid.

2004 May 31

PT @ 5:15 a.m. Wow, that sucked. Just wind sprints. I am so out of shape. We have not settled down into any kind of schedule yet, so I can’t make time for the gym or personal time, etc.

Found out today from a wife in another Company (her husband is in my Platoon) and his sister (a medic) that they were offered a ride that night in question by the CSM. Today, all the females in the Brigade went to a meeting, some kind of Sexual Harassment briefing. This will be interesting.

Today, we had to empty the connex. Half of us put two tires on an M916 tractor, and the other half emptied the connex. Meanwhile, 1st and 2nd Platoon did classes in the shade. Since we were already working with the connex, Supply told us to empty their stuff as well. Once again, we got bent over. We emptied a 5-ton & a Humvee. Nothing like standing in a huge parking lot, working in a metal box, and the only shade is the brim of your hat. We busted ass and still finished before noon. After that, we got the rest of the day off.

The Commander came to talk to the NCOs of A&O. He wanted to know what is going on, how we are doing; bitches, moans, groans, etc. We let him know that our Humvee got its lock cut and left over-night with no lock. The thing was full of trash as well. He did not seem too happy. Then we brought up rank. About how A&O has no NCO with less than 7 years in service yet we are still the lowest-ranking NCOs in the Company. He said he will see what he can do. He told us he felt that he had the support of A&O, that we had his back, which is right. He will see what he can do.

2004 June 1

Once again, no breakfast. We had a 06:00 formation. We got our smallpox checked and then stood in line for weapons draw. Chow opens from 05:30 to 07:30, so by the time we got our weapons and masks, it was well into the 08:00 hour. So no breakfast.

At 08:00, I had to take one of our guys to sick call. It was left up to us on how to get him there and back. Our man then had to walk back b/c he could not get to a phone. He did not bring his cell phone b/c it was put out that cell phones were not allowed during training times. I told him to carry it and just turn it off so this kind of thing will not happen again.

After he got back, we started a class. Before the class even got started, SFC Dumas pulled me out. There was a key issue. Policy is, the TOC is supposed to have all the keys. In my Platoon the TOC has a key and the operator has a key. I was just about to get my ass jumped about not turning in keys when it was stated the TOC had their keys and lost them. My driver has his key, thus the only reason a key still exists… So far, the TOC has proven it can’t keep up with its own keys…

He then told me to go to the motor pool and move what needed to be moved. So I walked down to the motor pool. That walk is like walking to the Myrtles from my house back home (about 3/4 of a mile). They wanted me to drop a trailer in some other motor pool so they could use it like a loading ramp. 2 hours later, I walked back. I was just in time to get a few leftovers at the chow hall. Most of it was raw…

A note about the chow hall. Because the barracks are scheduled to be torn down in 3 months, this included the adjoining chow hall. So instead of bringing this facility up to a usable condition, the Army is simply having all the meals catered. 600 people, 3 meals a day, 7 days a week… Yeah, the food is barely eatable at times. According to rumor, the staff made most of their money selling drugs, because half of them were hauled off to jail one day… Of course, just a rumor … although a lot of new faces are in the serving line…

Found out the guys that were going out to the range got half-way there when they realized perhaps it would have been a good idea to bring some MREs.

Found out what happened to the TOC’s keys. The person that got them for the mechanics threw them in their desk drawer at the shop. I told them my drivers will give up no key until they straighten that mess out. The TOC is trying. I also told my guys to get copies made of their keys to turn in, and once turned in, they are to say nothing about their keys. So now if the TOC does not have keys,… So no mission…

At the range, it was hot. We all had to wear flak jackets. It was so hot it took a minute to put your face to the weapon b/c it would burn a little. I sweat so much I could feel and see beads rolling off on the outside of my uniform. I zeroed in my gun and got back into the shade. Then I had to go out there and be range-safety guy. However, I have already loaned out my Kevlar and LBE out so a guy could zero. Now I have to find a Kevlar because I just got put on range detail. As I’m walking out a CSM of the 75th Army told me about the lack of discipline that is rampant in the National Guard. Pointing at me said, You and the National Guard as a whole can’t even wear the right uniform. I told him my uniform was loaned out b/c one was not issued to one of the guys.

The CSM let me know that is a big part why the National Guard fails so much, b/c NCOs can’t even get in the correct uniform, so how do they expect someone to follow? Great, I got out of that detail, so I left the range and sat by the truck in some shade… My guy did zero. So now he does not have to come back. We stayed there until 8:00 p.m. They stopped us b/c of weather, and not everyone was finished. We got home about 21:00. Everybody missed dinner. One meal a day… After the Platoon meeting, SFC Davis said that is the last meal we miss. We will shut shop to eat. It might be MREs, but we will eat. Oh, by the way, SGT Pruitt you have CQ tonight. After the meeting, I walked over to the CQ place and sat down. It just so happened someone did not eat their Popeye’s chicken. I scarfed it down.

2004 June 2

06:00 I got relieved. I was so tired I could hardly walk. Made 1st formation, then ate breakfast. I was told to go lie down.

Not quite an hour, later they came and got me. Apparently, I and one other guy are the only two people in the Company, other than the Supply Guy, with a 5-ton license. The Supply Guy had something else to do, the other guy had mandatory briefings, and I was the only one left. So I had to drive the 5-ton to the range. I was told I had to do nothing once I got there… Yeah … I have heard that line of bull-shit before.

They needed an ammo detail. There are nothing but officers here. I told them no, because I do not have my LBE, and I was instructed to sit in this truck all day. I have no guys here that I am over. Today, I am just the truck driver. However, I did not sleep b/c the two E-4s that were there, I kind of kept an eye on to make sure the officers did not just break their backs. The lower-enlisted guys tend to get the shit end of the deal if there is no one looking out for them.

Got home around 16:00. Still could not lie down. Everybody needed something. I am going to bed now. Side note: Found out today a guy passed out. He had to be medevaced out. The only reason we were able to get in touch with the medevac chopper was because the NCOIC of the range SSG Oeaux called 911 on his cell phone. Now the BN said we did not go through the proper channels to call a medevac correctly. The NCOIC of range control should have those procedures… Still waiting for those procedures. Things are getting worse, not better. Week number two and still going backward.

2004 Jun 3

Today was not bad, an easy day. It was cool this morning, just a slight drip. Roads were wet. We did PT, a short run, and ate breakfast. Another guy got promoted today to E-7. I swear I remember this kid as an E-3 not too long ago. I could be mistaken. I think it is funny b/c I am making about the same as some of these E-6s b/c I have so many years in service. I will make a big move in pay, if I move.

I went to the motor pool and screwed off for a while, then gave a class on how to PMCS a weapon. We are going to the gas chamber tomorrow. Fun. I think I will have to put a kid of mine back into the YCP mode. Otherwise, I am afraid the other guys will beat the crap out of him. We will see tomorrow. Last thing I wanted was to have to deal with any of these YCP kids… Never would have dreamed one of them would end up in my Unit let alone in my Squad…

YCP stands for Youth Challenge Program.

I applied to work at the Youth Challenge Program as a result of talking to the guys when I was in Germany. I could apply because I was in the National Guard. They were Drill Instructors and explained how the program worked. I could work the night shift and go to school during the day. The program even had on-post housing available that was rent-free. I took all the notes I could before we parted ways. I had a new goal when I got back to the states.

* * *

The Youth Challenge Program is a program that the State of Louisiana developed to assist troubled teens in getting their high school diploma through a GED. The course is a six-month military-type school. I went to go apply for the job and found out that a bunch of guys quit, so they had some spots open. I wanted to work part-time on the night shift so I could go to school during the day. I then began the interview process, which led to on-post housing and a job. They gave me the room because one of the full-timers moved out and the room was open. If a full-time guy wanted the room, I would have to move out, which did not bother me at all, because it was rent-free in the first place. I was getting a great deal. I now had dinner, a shower, and a place to spend the night in the few hours that I worked. I walked away doing pretty good, I thought, and I was looking forward to starting work. I would also be able to wear the "brown round" once I finished my drill sergeant school. It is the same hat the Drill Sergeant wears in the Army in boot camp. I did not care about wearing the hat, mostly because it was eighty dollars for a hat that I did not have. Besides my beret worked just fine.

I got to sit in on the last two weeks of the cycle, and then we were off for two weeks. So I moved in over the break and got ready to go to CPIC, Challenge Program Instructor Course. This is a school to learn how to be a drill sergeant. This school is two weeks long and only focuses on marching and physical training. The school is structured as the real deal, as if I were training to be a drill sergeant in the regular Army. The program itself trained me for two weeks before I went to the school, so I had a good start. I received my schedule for the school, and I was off to become a drill sergeant.

I arrived very late that night, some people might say that is my trademark, and was greeted with a You need a haircut by the guy that was giving me directions to the barracks. However, I found out the next day that being late proved to my advantage, because the instructors smoked the group into the ground when they first showed up, just like boot camp. I found my name on my room, and I moved in. I got my uniform ready, which was our physical fitness uniform, or PT uniform. That meant I would not be able to hide my hair under my hat. Hmmmmm… That meant I was going to have to break the gel out and do the ol’ slick-back trick. This was not going to be too bad. It was going to be a nine-to-five-type job. School was going to start in the morning about six o’clock, and we would be off no later than four thirty. However, when we are off, we are off. We can go off-post and do whatever we want; we just have to make first formation. I was beginning to look forward to doing this school because I thought it would greatly improve my Army skills.

The first day of class, we picked our seats. There were only a few left, and I was waved to sit down quick next to a girl in the back row. She was not bad-looking, and I was thinking… This is a great start.

Oh, good, I did not want to sit next to that guy, she said as I was sitting down. I looked over and then looked back.

I had to ride down with him, and he would not shut up. I think I was going to choke him if he sat next to me, she said, seeming to relax some when she saw the guy looking for a seat and found the one next to her taken. He then took a different seat. I had just walked through the door, and already I was involved in tension between classmates.

The instructor began to call out our names. With the mention of our name, we would say where we worked and for how long. The instructors would ask us questions that would range from our military career to how much we could bench-press. My question was when I was going to get a haircut, which ended up in a long discussion about standards. We were told that we were the first class to go through, so bear with them because they were not really sure themselves as to how this course was supposed to pan out. With that, the class began.

The Drill Instructor course focused mostly on marching and physical training. We had to learn how to teach these positions as well as perform them. There is a big difference between the guy in front of the formation and the guy that is just part of the group. We all must have marched and ran about a hundred miles in our military careers as part of the main group. Now that we were in front of the group, calling out the commands, it was a whole different story. It became very difficult, and my mind would go blank. Wow, I thought I had issues speaking in public. This was way worse. During the two weeks, each person in the class would take turns marching the group, leading PT (physical training), and making sure the barracks were squared away.

This course was not like the other military schools that I had attended before, because we were done at 4:30 p.m. It was like a real workday, not the constant 24/7 like boot camp. We could leave the post; the only requirement was that we had to be back for first formation. I asked a couple of the guys if they wanted to go out to eat and study anywhere except on this post. One guy agreed to go, so we ended up going to Applebee’s. Turned out to be two-for-one drinks that night. I figured that I would have a margarita and give the second one to Leleu. I am very much a light-weight when it comes to drinking. I have to wait about an hour before I can even attempt to drive home after one beer. I proceeded to give the waitress hell once I reached the half-way mark on my first drink. Of course, I don’t have to be drinking to give a good-looking waitress a hard time. Now that I think about it, I wonder how many times my food has been spit in… Finally, our food came, and by the time I was finishing up, I could see again. I had asked if our waitress knew of any good places to go out on the town around here. She knew of a place and agreed to bring a friend and meet us at the shopping mall the next night. That was a good night. Now we have something to do in this one-horse town. So now the bet was on, if she was really going to show…

The next day in class, there was a break so we could study and practice marching in a formation. I did not believe it when I first heard about it. There was a guy in our class that sounded like a turkey calling when he laughed, most bizarre thing I have ever heard. We were worried that he might not make it, since he was having so much trouble with marching the group. I was asked if I could help the guy out by one of the other classmates. He would try to help the guy, but he needed help himself. I am not sure why they asked me, but I did not have any problems with helping the guy. I think it is funny; being a gun-ho soldier was the furthest thing from my mind. The little formation was assembled, and I had him walk behind me for a couple of movements. I then handed the group over to him to see how he would do, so I knew where to start. He was having trouble with his feet and the timing like everyone else. I told him some dumb little song, and he looked at me like I was stupid, as did the rest of the group. It is no different than learning to dance. It is a lead-and-follow. The guy running the formation leads, and the formation follows… Yeah, the looks I got were that I had gone insane or was really gay. I could not tell. While he marched the group, I followed behind him, chanting a timing only he could hear. I would tap him on the shoulder of the foot that the command was prepped. We got into a good rhythm. He was really picking it up. As he was getting better, I let up on my coaching. When I was done, he could march the group as good or better than most people in the group. Later, I had one of the other guys pull me to the side and asked if I could help him. I ended up teaching a few of the guys, b/c they were mostly impressed with how well I was able to show Sgt. Busche the marching part.

Chow was a pain. The way we were marched to the chow hall, one group always ended up eating last. The world was not coming to an end, but it did suck standing in the sun for 45 minutes, waiting to get in to eat. If you were standing in line, that also meant the instructors would screw with you while you were waiting. If the answer to the questions was unknown, it usually resulted in push-ups. The same group always went first because they were simply following what the guy in charge did before them. So I, of course, had to go against the grain. I marched the group past the normal stopping point and turned them around so the group would file in a different way. The instructors were about to fail me because they thought I was screwing up. They did not realize I was doing this on purpose. When they asked what the hell I was doing, I told them that I was tired of eating last so I sent my side in first. I did it almost right, so they could not get me on that part of it. What I did was not a 100% correct, and they said I lost points because of it. I said true, but the points I earned by letting those guys finally eat first out-weighed any lost points by the instructors. The instructors nodded in agreement, but they smoked me anyway for being a smartass. All it means, when a soldier gets to eat first, is he has a little more time to sit and enjoy his food rather than be harassed in line then trying to swallow everything whole when he finally sits down. That is something the solider always remembered.

Class was over for the day. It was now time to get ready for our date. We decided to leave as soon as we were ready. Leleu wanted to get a shirt anyway, and I borrowed a shirt from my roommate, so we set out to go to the mall. There was a kid in the mall parking lot that looked as if he was in his late teens. He could not have been driving long, and the hood was up on the truck. I looked at the clock and decided we had plenty of time to give the kid a hand. Leleu asked, What can we do? I do not have a clue about cars???

I told him, No worries. All I know is, I can give it my best guess. We walked up and asked the kid what was the problem.

It won’t start, he said, very distressed.

Turn it over, I said as I was looking around to see if there was something plain as day. When he turned the key, it just clicked. I told him, Your starter is going bad. You need to get a new one. But for now, we are going to try something. Since I just took a shower, you are going to do all the work.

What am I looking for? he asked as he crawled under the truck.

It looks like a black coffee can. That is the starter.

He began to tap on the exhaust pipe, and I told him that was not it, that was the exhaust pipe. It should be a short and stubby coffee can. The tapping I heard the next time sounded right.

Watch your hands, I called to him.

I tried to turn the truck over, and I had the same click noise.

Hit it harder, I called to him.

No, harder!

Finally, he got a good couple of whacks on it. I told him to watch his hands. Once he let me know he was clear, I turned the truck over and it fired off. The kid was so excited. He said he had been sitting in that parking lot for almost an hour and had no idea if someone was coming for him or not. He jumped in the driver seat and took off. The whole thing did not take thirty minutes. Leleu was staring at me while we were walking to the mall entrance.

What? I said.

How did you know to do that? he asked, quite impressed.

I told you, it was a guess. I just happened to get lucky, I told him. I really did take a chance. If it was not that, I did not know what else to do.

Is there anything you can’t do? he asked me with that same look in his eye.

Sometimes I just get lucky. The one thing I knew just happened to be the right thing, I responded, feeling pretty good because I did my good deed for the day.

She showed. I really believed she would blow us off. I think the only reason I lost our little bet was because I bet on it. Oh well. We ended up at a pool hall later that night. Leleu got a chance first-hand to see that, yes, there are some things in this world that I cannot do. I am not a pool player. Oh well, they had fun kicking my ass the rest of the night.

Toward the end of the course, it was time for the testing. We had six chances to pass our marching test and our physical training test. Busche was a first-time go, as well as the other guy I helped. He got it on the third try. This was all good news because it looked like all the guys anybody was worried about passing were making the cut. I do not take tests well, never have, so I did not expect a first-time go. If I could not make it in the six times that were provided, I would have to come back and retake the course. Once I failed for the fourth time, I was starting to get a little nervous. The instructors could not believe it. The one that tested me last asked what was my problem. I damn nearly trained all the guys here, and they passed no problem. You have failed more than anybody, and I am not sure if you are going to make it. The group was in shock. I was the least of their concern about people passing. I walked away and let someone take and pass their test before I returned. I got up there and I was ready. I was in trouble the first couple of moves, but I ended up doing what I do best and cheat my ass off. I moved fast enough to where the instructor could not physically see if I was not in the correct position or not before I was on the next move. The guys could see what was happening and then began to laugh. The instructor also caught on to what I was doing, and since he did not physically able to see me screw up, he let me slide. When I finally got the thing passed, he asked me why I had so much trouble when I trained most of the people in the group. I told him I am just not a test-taker. I guess that would make the people around me a little nervous if they took this as how I would react under pressure. I have that same problem with needles. I freak myself out to the point of passing out, which is not a good thing in the Army…Seems to be getting worse as I get older. I felt really good with the completion of this course, because I believed it helped improve some of my leadership skills. However, most important is the new friends I had made. It is always nice to have a good friend sitting just under the General, even if he is just the secretary.

2004 Jun 4

Today was a good day. We got gassed. The 1st SGT told us we had to take our mask off before they would let us out. My mask leaks. I was having trouble before I even started. It burned real good for about 20 minutes after I got out. There was a breeze, so that helped a lot. After we got back, a couple of guys did not go through due to sick call or manning the phones. So I took them out.

After I got back, we had the day off for the most part. Around 20:00 (8:00 p.m.), they needed all the 240B fires (belt-fed machine gun) with weapons in a class. After we checked the third place and found no class, we just turned the weapons back in.

The days are starting to run all together. It is hard to tell what day it is. Got word the goal is to have us ready for June 30th. We will see.

2004 Jun 5

Circuit training is not my favorite training. The 1st SGT was supposed to show up, but he did not. We had a bad storm last night, knocked the power out of the building. We had our Platoon meeting by candle-light. That is when we got word about June 30th. The power was back on this morning.

Back to the motor pool we went. We painted the bumper numbers on the drip pans and chock blocks. The other guys helped fix a SEE truck tire. The 5-ton tire and HEMTT tire jobs were put on hold b/c we did not have the parts. So around noon after lunch, we were off. At about 18:00, the 240B had to go to BN for inspection. Found out in the candle-light meeting that one of us would have to drive back to New Roads to get BII for the weapons. They are going to try to FedEx them first and I guess just reorder it if it does not come in.

Trying to deal with this YCP kid is tough. I have a lot on my plate, and he requires a lot of attention. He has no respect for other people’s property. He just was not taught. I don’t think he has had the manners and proper custom and courtesies taught. I went to the bowling alley to see what it was all about. Man!! I can’t bowl.

2004 Jun 6

The manning roster is out. Now we know where everyone is going and the vehicle assignments. Our YCP kid has been carried as an extra. The Commander will not sign off on his license. This YCP kid thinks he has been trained on the equipment; therefore he believes he is licensed. I don’t think he understands that he failed the operating part of the tests. We advised the Commander to not sign his license until we feel he has the experience to safely operate the equipment.

Had to wake up my counterpart 3 times. He had to go to the 240B range. I explained to him he had to get up to wake up his guys. I think Supply was late, so that helped.

Joe got his E-7 this morning. Nobody knew it was coming. We again went to the motor pool. Joe did not stay long b/c the CSM called the 1st SGT and said we needed an NCOIC for the range. Joe had planned to finish by noon, which meant we would get the rest of the day off. The guys worked hard to make it happen. The NCOIC of a range has to be an E-7 or higher. Before we even got started, he got called to go to the 240B range and run it. We can’t win.

Found out our guys have not been promoted to E-4 b/c there is no rank insignias, the little pins that pin to the collar of the uniform, to give them at the BN level. What crap! Tomorrow I will go buy what is needed to get my guys promoted.

The CAM came to the motor pool and started to quiz us on different crap. Like what is Arabic for good-bye and some different hand signals. He then told us he is trying to get us some more privileges. Bottom line, if we can die for our country, we should be able to drink… I’m so tired of hearing that… I had more freedom in high school than I do here. I had more freedom active duty in California Language School… I don’t drink it is the principle of the thing. I think the 3 of us picked up on that message. E-6, E-5 rumor has it that something will happen in two weeks after he meets with the General. I wonder if I finally get my E-6, if things might change? Tomorrow starts the 2nd week, so things might get interesting. The General said automatic court-martial for drinking. We shall see. Anyway, he left and we went back to have the rest of the day