Advanced Training

Sorry I haven't been able to add much to the blog lately, but since the start of my advanced training I haven't gotten too close to a computer (and after tomorrow I won't be around for another 3 weeks).



I'm a little bit more than a month into the advanced training and there really isn't too much to report. Our first week we were doing guard duty on the base, which is usually a week when there isn't much time to sleep. We guard at 9 different stations around the base in two hour shifts. Fortunately, now that there was a new draft class in August, that will be our last week of guard duty on the base. Other than that we have been learning how to storm hills in bigger and bigger groups, with more and more firepower. The week coming up we will be learning how to storm a hill as a team of 20.

Last week was fairly tough. We were out in the field all week and spent most of our time carrying people on stretchers and on our backs. It was so hot that we actually had to stop in the middle of the afternoon several times. We also started practicing with gas masks, in the event that there is some sort of gas grenade. Unfortunately, for one of the guys on my team he lost his mask and had to choke his way through the training for 20 minutes.

At the end of the week we had a 27 kilometer hike back to the base, the last five kilometers carrying someone on a stretcher. It actually would not have been sooo difficult if it had been at the beginning of the week. However, because it came after such an intense week everyone was already dead before it started.

The three weeks coming up are going to be pretty tough, and the last one is the culmination of our training until this point. It translates roughly to "War Week". It is supposed to simulate what it would be like in war time conditions...a lot of walking with heavy gear, not a lot of food, not a lot of sleep...

Next time I get back I'm sure I'll have some stories to fill you in a little better.