I am alive

Ok so I have sucked so horrible the last three weeks keeping this thing updated, so I am going to catch everyone up in the next three or 4 posts.

The end of week 3.

On Wednesday of week 3 we had PT at 6 am and the moved out to basic rifle marksmanship familiarization training. Basically, we went to a firing range and aimed at a 75M, 150M and 300M pop-up targets. When a firer hits one of the targets a computer tells you where on the target the round hit. The purpose of this is to help a firer understand where on the target they are most likely to hit during qualification. I seem to aim high ( I like head shots). I hit all 36 of the pop up targets, which generally means I will fire well at qualification. We will find out tomorrow.

It was at this time where my training went on the back burner, to a family issue. I received a call at 11:21 PM from my brother that informed me that my Grandfather had died. I had known for a week that he was really sick, so the news wasn't horrible unexpected, but it shook me. In an already sleep deprived environment, I didnt sleep at all that night. I spent most of the night contemplating why my Grandfather and I were not that close, and remembering the time we did spend together. BAD NIGHT TO SAY THE LEAST

So the next day, I went to formation at 5:50 thinking that I should tell my platoon mentor what had happened and take a day off. LOL, I actually thought that could happen for just a second! Then I came to my senses and thought " This is the Army, there are no days off" So I went to PT, and attended all training for that day. I was told I needed a emergency call from the Red Cross in order to go home, so I began getting that lined up. If you remember from the paragraph above, this is rifle qualification day. Each firer gets to fire twice and I shot 31 and 34 (out of 40). This means that I shot "Sharpshooter" I have been firing "Expert" over the last few years (hitting 36 or better) but under the circumstances, I cant complain. From there we came back to the barracks area and began to do more reflexive firing drills. We seem to do these drills anytime we have a free moment. Reflexive firing and Advanced Rifle Marksmanship is practicing firing from the standing position, around buildings, walls, and barriers, as well as firing on the move. We practice it a lot because we will be doing these drills with live rounds at the beginning of the next week, and if these drills are done incorrectly, a person could easily kill the man standing next to you. It is very important to do this right!