The wonderful thing about training is that training’s a wonderful thing!
We trained in the heat and the rain. It was a lot of the same training as last time.
The one cool training was the vehicle roll-over training. It’s kind of like a carnival ride without the clowns. They roll you over a few times and stop you upside down. Then you have to get out with all your gear and “secure the crash site.”
The food is good. I’m trying to stay healthy by eating mainly salad, fruit and cottage cheese. I think it is working. No “tire” around my stomach yet.
We have much more body armor this time. Shoulder pads, side plates and everything. You feel much more like a Knight but no horse and no Squire to help you put things on or pick you up if you tip over.
It seems like we are training all the time. We are up around 0515 every morning and back at the barracks by 2000 or 2100 (8pm or 9pm) each night.
Cellular and internet connectivity is awful. You get no bars in the buildings. Maybe one or two bars outside.
The barracks have free internet but you definitely get what you pay for. If you can connect, it is so slow, you almost wish you hadn’t connected at all.
The facilities at Ft. Dix are a lot better than at Ft. Bragg. We even have air conditioning in our rooms. I sleep in a room with only 2 other people.
I got promoted last week to Sergeant First Class! I have the same responsibilities but I make enough for one more case of beer each month. If I could drink beer. We are under the “no drinking and no fun” rules here.
I will write more soon.
Cheers,
SFC Ted Hilliard