G.I. Jules

Mailed blog – written by Julian

15 Jan 11

In all things I try to find the good and take pleasure in the small things in life.  One of the benefits of such long days is that I get to see the sunrise and set.  The colors have been very beautiful.    Never mind that the sun rises while I’m doing the front leaning rest for 5 minutes (that’s the “up” position of the push up), or that it sets as I’m marching in formation for the kabillionth time that day.  It’s still pretty and I’m thankful for that. 

Today we did PT for two hours before breakfast.  It wasn’t terrible.  I made it.  This was the first day it was actually nice out.  We spent most of it outdoors marching, practicing our movements (left face, right face, present arms), and learning land navigation.  It was a great day.  Good weather, fresh air, learned some cool stuff, and we didn’t get smoked.

Mailed blog – written by Julian

14 Jan 11

I’m so tired right now.  It’s 2122, I’ve been up since 0430 and I have fire guard at 0300.  Today we had our first PT assessment.  I did pretty okay.  I did 17 push-ups in 1 minute.  They were so perfect that every rep counted.  AND the DS said “good form”.   Many people  had no reps count due to bad form.  My sit ups were at 26 in one minute and my run was a 9:10 mile, putting me in the B running category.  I’m glad to not be in C (there’s A, B, and C depending on your speed).  All of us older privates kicked butt and generally did much better than the youngsters.   There are only a hand full of young girls in our bay, we range 18-31 years old.  There’s also a lot of moms here, which I can appreciate because moms know everything.  also, I have never seen a crew of such tatted up ladies.  We ALL have tattoos, only 2 or 3 don’t, it’s pretty funny because every shower time we chat it up about our ink.

My battle buddy is great.   Her name is Vanessa Gomez.   She is 26, from Austin Texas, and has a six-year old cutie pie daughter named Felicity.  We are both really low-key and chill, which is so nice to have in a battle buddy.  We already have a lot of inside jokes.  She is a huge fan of cowboy boots, being from Texas, and we both have a pair of ARIAT boots, which are the best.   She lot the key to her wall locker and while we wait for the bolt cutter to arrive, she’s wearing a pair of my underwear.  So, yeah, we’re close.  Put 30 women together in one room and after 2 weeks, nothing is off-limits.

That’s enough, I’m off to sleep!

Mailed blog – written by Julian

12 Jan 11

It’s a steep hill and we started climbing it today.  Today was full of some challenges.  The PT really was stepped up.  We got “smoked” a lot.   That’s when they punish us for….well, pretty much everything by having us do push-up, arm claps, roof raisers.  yeah, lots of that today.  Also, it’s still really cold out.  I mean really, like 35 degrees.   We spent ALL day outside, with the exception of two classes and chow time.  And, they yelled at me for my hair.   Apparently it looks like crap.   I try really really hard to keep it neat.   You should see me… I look like Elvis.   It’s all slicked and pinned back.  Not sure what else I can do, considering I can’t get it cut or cut it myself.  But tomorrow I’ll try a new technique so at least they see I’m making an effort.   Saturday we can go to the PX.   I’m gonna buy a gallon of hair gel.  So yeah, it was a low day.   But it went by fast and I’m thankful for that.

Todays events:   We marched way over to the other side of the base to take some computerized tests to made sure we’re all still doing okay mentally.   I got the green light, I haven’t lost it yet 🙂  Also, we learned how to take apart our M-16’s and put them back together.   That was fun and surprisingly easy.   Lastly, we learned to cadence formation for chow.   You really have to see it, it’s cool.   The drill sergeants are really competitive with other companies, so they came up with this sweet new way we enter the DFAC (dining facility).  Their competitiveness is also why they’re so  hard on us.   I can appreciate and understand that.   And, wait for it….we FINALLY got a briefing on mail,  I’m sure my folks will post a separate blog on where to write.   I have heard I will have to do push ups for every letter, so consolidate envelopes when you can!

LOVE YA!

Mailed blog – written by Julian

UPDATED

 4, Feb, 2011

We just got word Julian’s address HAS CHANGED!    She craves to hear from everyone and anyone about what’s going on outside Ft. Jackson walls.  

LET’S RALLY FAMILY & FRIENDS – Please write her and write her often!

Please note her address MUST BE EXACTLY LIKE THIS:

      SPC PLAMANN, JULIAN

      A Co. 3/34 Inf. Reg, 165th BDE

      3rd Platoon, Death Dealers

     10788 Hampton Parkway

      Ft. Jackson, SC  29207

Mailed blog – written by Julian

09 Jan 11

Day two at the Trailer Park was again surprisingly manageable.   More briefings and chow.  Chow is getting better.   We only get 90 seconds at the most to eat our food.  That’s pretty hard.   You learn fast to get foods that “go down easy.”  It’s kinda gross.  You have to drink and eat in the same mouthful.   I’ve never been a fan of that.  Chow, while it’s the best times of the day, it’s also a bit stressful.  It’s the one time of day the drill sergeants can get a real good look at you.   Man, they’ll yell at you for anything.  But if the worse thing I’ve been  yelled at for so far is not keeping my feet together at the salad bar.  Well then I can live with that.   Now, to the drill sergeants.  I’m glad I got the ones I did.  They’re mean, but not as psycho scary as some of the others.  We have DS Happy Smiley.   I’ve yet to see him get mad, but I’m sure I will.   He has this perma smile on whenever he is talking and is always glad to answer any qquestions you have.  Then there’s DS Holy Crap.  She’s not so smiley.   Here’s a sampling of her daily lingo…”Holy crap, privates, holy crap.  You all are a buncha re-re’s that just looked like a buncha do-do.  I already know which one of y’alls are goin home” (said in a southern accent)  I’m glad we got those two because there are some that yell a heck of a lot more.  Like DS Ham Sandwich, for instance.   He always says, “Good NIGHT!  Y’all lookin like a ham sandwich out there.”  Not sure what that means, but it’s funny.  So, I guess we’re still at day zero and it’s all supposed to start tomorrow.  Things have been just fine so far and the first week really flew by.  If they all go that fast, this’ll be just fine.   Tiredness and pain come and go in waves.  Whenever my feet don’t hurt, I thank God and think it must be all of you cheering for me back home that’s taking the pain away.

Mailed blog – written by Julian

08 Jan 11

Well, we made it to the basic training at 0700 we formed up in formation and watched as the sun came up behind the American flag.  On front of the flag was a sign that read “Through these gates pass the worlds greatest soldiers.”   It was a pretty cool moment.  And then the cattle trucks pulled up and we stood and stared at them as the engines ran for about an hour.  We all felt like we had eaten a bag of rocks for breakfast and we were sure they were going to load us onto the trucks.  Thankfully, after much dramatic suspense, they made us load up just our heavy duffles.  Then buses came and loaded us up.  We had to carry our civilian bags and our laundry bags.   I was so glad we didn’t have to carry the duffles.  They weighed at least 100 pounds and were about 3 1/2 feet tall.  I almost tipped over carrying it!  Once we got onto the buses, DS “Scary” (I’ll get more into the Drill Sergeants later) told us to put our faces in our bags.   I love how all drill sergeants feel the need to say everything at least three times.  “Put your faces in your bags.  Put your faces in your BAGS! PUT YOUR FACE IN YOUR BAGS!!!”  So guess what we did?   We put our faces in our bags!  Once we made it to the trailer park I realized they weren’t kidding, it really is a trailer park.  First things first, they had to give us a shake down.   So all those neatly packed bags got dumped out on the drill pad.   All 175 Alpha Company soldiers had their stuff all in a mess.  We tried to keep things separate, but it was super windy, sand was blowing in our faces and we were a panicked mess.  The drills sergeants would yell, “Three ACU pants!”  And we’d have two seconds to find those pants and hold them up.   All this was to be sure we all had our issued clothing and nothing else.  It was so cold outside during all this.   Our ACU’s (Army Combat Uniforms) are really not that warm.  At one point we had to take our boots off and stand on the concrete in just socks.  Luckily, I was standing right in the front so they checked my boots first and I was able to put them on fairly quickly.   The others in the back row couldn’t feel their toes by the end though.  The downside but good side of the shake down was that I was able to find my things pretty fast but that meant I had to hold them over my head longer.   Man, my arms were sore by the end of that!  After that – the day was surprisingly easy.  We got issued more gear for our field exercise and got our Kevlar (sp?) armor vests and helmets.  The upside is that they have to take us to chow three times a day and put us to bed by 2100.  If you break it up in small parts, it’s not that bad.

Mailed blog – written by Julian

07 Jan 11

So, the time is almost here.  Our cushy style of Reception is ending soon and we’re about to get thrown into the chaos of BCT at any moment.  While we’re glad the waiting is over, we’re all so scared!  Those drill sergeants are nasty and they’ve been building the tension all week.  They said they’re taking us to the “Trailer Park” on Saturday morning.   However, they just had us pack our bags and line them up downstairs.   Man, they are good at this “scare the crap out of you” business.  Considering it’s only 1310 on Friday, I doubt they’ll keep all our stuff outside until 0900 Saturday.   Now we’re just waiting to get an announcement of what’s happening next.  Oh the anticipation.   But we’re all ready to get the show on the road.  It’s time.  Cool thing is that one week is almost done and then we’re down to 9 weeks!  Graduation is expected to be 17 Mar 11.   But I’m just taking it one meal at a time.

Today’s event (so far):   getting our Dog Tags.  Pretty cool. It’s kinda of a weird feeling though, putting them around your neck for the first time.  It’s the crown of the soldier’s uniform.  The purpose is sobering.  We all put our tags on today for the purpose that should someday we die for our country, they’ll be able to identify us.   NO doubt with the current events, some of us will make that ultimate sacrifice.  It’s part of being a soldier.  But many people have died for every freedom we now enjoy and thank God those before us made that decision.

Mailed blog – written by Julian

06 Jan 11

Wow, we all look like soldiers now.  It’s a sea of camouflage.  When we stand in formation, we are heel to toe, and with our hats just above our eyebrows, really all we can see is camo….three inches from our faces.  You all know how in love I am with America, and I haven’t lost that.   It’s so cool to see a platoon in formation. 

People have been defending their nation since the beginning of time.  It seems like basic  human instinct.  And we’re doing it.  Regardless of why each of us made this decision, we all are going to be formed into warriors and fight for freedom!

Todays events; lots of shots!  No, not the fun ones, big bad needle ones.   They sent us through the line so fast. BOOM, boom, boom!  About four in each arm.  By the time we got out – blood was trickling down our arms.  Other than that, more sitting and waiting.  There will be about 250 in our whole company and they have to in-process all soldiers before sending us down range.  That’ll be interesting….

Mailed blog – written by Julian

04 Jan 11

Felt like we never slept at all.  Went to chow after standing in formation for a good amount of time.  The weather is slightly chilly, but these southerners must think its crazy cold cause we have to wear our winter covers (hats ) and get this….2 pairs of gloves.   They say it’s inserts and leather outers, but really… I say they make us wear them because it’s incredibly hard to use your hands while wearing them.   Like for instance, they had us go outside wearing our gloves and then told us to stencil some letters onto our bags.   Um, everyone knows you can’t stencil with gloves on, much less 2 pair!

I digress, back to the fascinating events of 04 Jan 11.   After chow, of which I ate but three bites before my table started to clear out, we began our never-ending day of processing.   It takes a really long time for 53 soldiers to go to the dentist, get our eyes and ears checked, get TB tested, get blood drawn, get military ID’s, and settle our military pay.   LOTS of waiting.  No sleeping, slouching, or crossing of the legs.  This is really hard to do after only 1 1/2 hours of sleep.  We were all zombies.  It was pretty funny to take a look at all of us.  Expressionless and wide-eyed.  I called this blog entry (“I’m Still Standing”) such because I try to keep things light in my head. 

Getting our gear at the PX is shopping with all my new friends because we all like each other so much that we want to look all alike.  It’s “Army shirt day” 7 days a week!  I used to think it was a big deal to share one meal out per week with my friends,  Now I get to eat out 3X’s a day with a humongous crew!  Today we’re going out for shots after lunch!  Okay, it’s vaccinations, but saying I’m going out for shots with my new friends makes me chuckle.   And golly, guess what?!  I got FOUR pairs of new shoes.  Okay, so all my new friends have them too, but they’re actually really nice and comfortable.  AND, I got a ridiculously awesome winter jacket ($250 fancy, fancy one).  You all know how much I love shoes and jackets!  Okay, gonna close my eyes before going to chow with my friends.  Wonder what’ll be on the menu?…. Hopefully I don’t choke trying to eat it so fast (5 mins timed).

Mailed blog – written by Julian

03 Jan 11

Wow, it seems like I’ve been here a year already.  I have to admit on the bus ride from the airport to Fort Jackson, I was pretty nervous.  As soon as we got here though, I knew exactly what I was doing.   I was making the greatest decision of my life.  We arrived at Ft. Jackson around 2200 and did some really, really slow paperwork and briefings.  Then we got a snack (they feed us very good here).  They went through our bags, made us throw out any contraband, and gave us the final “moment of truth.”  I swear sometime they process us so slow just to stretch out our days even longer.   Honestly though, they do a pretty good job.  There are 53 soldiers in my platoon, 29 females and 24 males.   That’s a ton of paperwork.  

So, back to that first night.  Around 0030 (that’s 12:30 a.m. for your civilian folks), they took us to get some PT clothes to sleep in.  0100 we got bedding and 0130 we were shown our barracks and told lights out at 0200, up at 0400, in formation at 0430.