Life in the OKARNG

So I am now attached to the 1345th Transportation Company. Thankfully it is also Matt's unit. :-)
My first drill was at Camp Gruber for crew serve weapons qualifications. It made it hard to learn what all goes on, but I found I really like my fellow 92Y. I got lucky and have two awesome battle buddies. We guarded weapons the whole weekend and made sure they got cleaned properly. I found it hard to adapt to the more laid back feel of the unit, but it was also nice to not be paranoid all the time when higher rank was around. My supply sergeant was not there, so I did not meet him right away. But I did get to start knowing everyone else.
Matt and I got married on June 22, 2013. Happiest day ever. :-)
Right after our honeymoon I found out I was supposed to make up Annual Training by working out the armory. So I spent three weeks working with my supply sergeant along with one of the other 92Ys. It was actually really good. I learned how things work, we got things organized better, and I was able to build relationships with our AGR staff. And most exciting is that I actually get to do my job with the unit every month!
Each month is different, but I really don't mind going to drill. I do lots of paperwork and chasing down people to get them to sign things. But my position allows me to get to know the whole unit and I get a lot of insider information that typically just goes to leadership. I feel bad for my husband. His job as a truck driver, 88M, means he spends most drills just checking trucks. Pretty boring for him.
In October I found out I was expecting our first baby! Due June 24. :-)
So that means I can't really attend our scheduled Annual Training the first two weeks of June. Thankfully my hard work has put me in a position of favor with my sergeant and my commander and they have allowed me AND my husband to make up our AT early. We helped with the change of command inventory when we got our new commander in January and we helped with a big inspection our unit had in February.
Overall I'm still very glad I decided to join the National Guard. I was a little bummed when two major tornadoes hit Oklahoma and our unit did not get called up to serve. I really want to be able to help in those times. It could still happen though. Our unit helped during Hurricane Katrina.
At this time we are not scheduled for a deployment, but that can always change. So for now I'm just doing my best at my job every month and trying to stay a squared away soldier!

RSP Battle Hand Off

My last drill with RSP was a full weekend out at Camp Gruber. Of course! Being a Battle Hand Off, it was easy for me though. They brought all the RSP units across the state together for a mock Basic Training kind of drill and to compete against each other. I ended up being assigned to help "baby-sit" the soldiers that were injured and couldn't participate. I also ended up having to monitor half of all the females in the barracks. Not hard, but annoying that I had to do a room chart of who slept where. I also got to help pack up and clean the port-a-potties. Good times. When we had the final ceremony, we all got our patches. I should have gotten a coin for being a Distinguished Honor Graduate, but somehow my name wasn't on the list. I was super bummed and let me company 1SG know. They made it up to me and I got my coin. I worked hard for that honor!
Next drill is with my new unit! Woohoo! No longer a Soldier In Training. I'm now the real deal. :-)

AIT Week 9

Day 61
Snow! School is delayed and no PT. We covered the M240B. Pretty easy. We then had our gear turn in at CIF. No problems. And then lots of final paperwork before some personal time. Things are getting closer to being done!

Day 62
Our last day of school. Hooray!! PT was a run day. I totally skipped it. The one and only time I skipped without a good reason. Ha! We did the .50 Cal machine gun today. It is more complicated with a lot of small pieces. I started to run a low grade fever and was not feeling great. I took meds and was fine later. Just made for a long day. We had a Rites of Passage ceremony with our company commander after dinner. Nothing too fancy. No personal time. :-(

Day 63
Headed to school for graduation practice. This is getting real! It didn't go too smoothly, so we have to go back this afternoon. We got bussed around today. No more marching with the company! Sweet! We had out processing at 1300. I almost got held up over something financial, but they managed to fix it. Whew! I started to run a fever again and ended up sleeping through chow. Somehow I wasn't missed among our huge company. Lol.

Day 64
Graduation Day!! It finally got here! Woke up at 0200. I freaked out that my phone had been taken since I left it out on the charger. Turns out my awesome roommates had tucked it away while I slept. I showered and packed and moved my bags downstairs. Got my room checked and then had to help all the females get their pins on their uniforms. Of course they waited until the last minute! Had breakfast. Last meal here! Then went to the school house for one last practice. We relaxed in the classroom, took pics, and had a last talk from the Command Sergeant Major. And I got a coin from him for being a Distinguished Honor Graduate. Our ceremony was from 0800-0830. Since I had the highest grade of both classes, I had to give the speech at our ceremony. It was basically pre-written, so it wasn't too bad. But I was nervous! We bussed back to the company where we had to have our rooms checked again before being allowed to leave. Ugh! Got out as fast as I could and met a taxi along with two guys from my platoon. Finally headed to the airport! Yay!! Got to the airport at 1000 and was able to get my flight changed to an earlier flight. Thank goodness! Had a layover in Chicago and ate one last lunch with one of my favorite battles before heading to OKC. Got in about 1630. No welcome home party this time though. Kind of a bummer. Matt was still at work. Mom and Dad were headed to get a new puppy and picked me up at baggage. We went and ate and ran by Walmart before they dropped me off at Matt's house to wait for him to get off work. It was so nice to finally see him again. 10 weeks was way too long!

It ended up being a much better experience than Basic, but I know I don't want to ever be Active Duty. I'm happy with my MOS and my decision to not go officer. Now to get to my unit and get settled in with my job!

AIT Week 8

Day 54
It's a cold raining day. Had early chow and then bussed over to the PT field where our whole Brigade was set to load up. We stood in the rain for hours before they moved us in the gym to wait. I guess we were going on the 2nd trip so we had to wait for the buses to come back. We ate MREs in the gym before finally leaving on the 2ish hour trip to Fort AP Hill. It's a small training fort. It's up in the hills and there was snow on the ground. We did hip pocket training before being sent to our tents for the night. Thankfully they are heated! But we were all freezing cold.

Day 55
Long day of training. We started at 0400. We rode LMTVs to the range where we shot to group and zero, then did an Advance Rifle Marksmanship range. I was horrible at both. My helmet was not adjust right and kept pushing over my eyes making it impossible to aim. Very frustrating, but it doesn't count for anything so I wasn't worried. We then went back to the FOB (camp) and started doing the Medical training. There was then a change of plans and we were moved over to complete our STIX lanes. The first was running a gate/checkpoint. I was in the tower so it was easy. Next we worked with two 2LTs as they were completing their training and they led us through a full operation. We drove to a village, made our way through, came under attack, moved out, suffered from a roadside bomb, and then had a debriefing. It was kind of fun and we did fairly well. The day then ended with a steak dinner cooked by the soldiers training to be Army cooks. It was the best meal I've had here at AIT. It was just miserably cold and windy eating outside.

Day 56
Easier day today. Did a review of all the training we've had for our MOS. Very relaxed setting in a heated tent. MREs for lunch again. Our PS made us do a formation every hour as punishment for being late for formation this morning. I lucked out and did not have to do guard duty in the middle of the night. Most of our platoon did. I was tired enough that I slept a little better. Ready to be done with the field.

Day 57
It's very cold and snowing. We lined up to leave only to learn we would be waiting for the second trip back just like before. So we sat in tents and ate MREs before finally leaving at 1300. We got back and unloaded and then started cleaning our weapons before they would let us go shower. So glad to be out of the field! Thankfully we had personal time after chow.

Day 58
Today we got to stay in our PTs all day and just work on cleaning our weapons and gear for turn-in. We took our weapons to the armory at 1000. Thankfully they passed inspection. We then worked all afternoon on cleaning our gear.

Day 59
A regular Saturday. Went on pass in the afternoon. Finally got paired with a couple of good battle buddies that I fit with better. We had a lot of fun. Shopping. Fast food. Lots of laughs.

Day 60
Had Waffle House for the first time ever. Awesome breakfast! Went to Walmart, the mall, and then enjoyed a super yummy Mexican lunch before heading back to post. Normal Sunday evening. No more weekends here!

AIT Week 7

Day 47
Not a great Monday. Back to PT. Run day, but I had stomach issues and they let me just walk. I got in trouble for not having my laundry done when they did tow the line. Thankfully he backed off after I reminded him we had no personal time last night. School was really slow and boring. We were going over regulations for our final test. After dinner we had a drug abuse briefing so we had no personal time.

Day 48
PT today was circuit training. It rained the whole time and I was exhausted. School was another boring day of regulations. Our PS had lots to cover, so little personal time. One more day down.

Day 49
Early school day. We finished covering the regulations and then had our final test. I had the highest score of 97. I'm hoping that means I managed to get the highest overall average! If I pass my PT test tomorrow, I should get Distinguished Honor Graduate! That has been my goal this whole time. After being the loser soldier at Basic who couldn't pass the PT test, I want to graduate on top this time around! We left school at 1500 and had to get in full battle rattle to start practicing for our upcoming Field Training Exercise (FTX). We ran two drills. How to handle indirect fire and identifying an IED. I was wore out from running around in full gear. Not used to it. We then got to march to chow as just our platoon. So much better than having to march with the whole company! Got setup for the PT test in the morning. I'm super nervous!

Day 50
0350 wakeup for the PT test. We had to do the run portion on the track instead of the 1 mile stretch of road. I was nervous I wouldn't pass! But I did!! 19 pushups, 62 situps, and 18:54 run time. So glad to have it over with. Now I just have to survive FTX and the final two weeks and I'll be out of here! I ended up helping a battle go to sick call. She had a knee injury with the PT test and we ended up being gone all day. I wasn't too thrilled to be missing class. Missed lunch too. I didn't get to learn the two sniper rifles. :-(

Day 51
Had to go for a women's welness check. But since I was still on my period, they couldn't do it. Oh, well. Went to class where we learned the MK19 Grenade Launcher. It is big and heavy but few pieces. Our evening was spent packing for the field.

Day 52
Spent all morning doing drills indoors to prep for the field. At least we didn't have to clean! No pass this weekend since we are leaving for the field Monday. Enjoyed an afternoon of personal time though and finished packing.

Day 53
Slept in until 1000. Walked to brunch and then relaxed until 1600. Had personal time after chow. Got everything all set to go to the field. So ready to get it over with!

AIT Week 6

Day 40
Picked up our weapons from the armory today. Carrying an M16 all day is exhausting! My wrists were sore by the end of the day. School was more of the same. I spend most of the day in the break room. Looking forward to moving on from PBUSE!

Day 41
Had to get up early and be at school by 0530 to make up school we missed yesterday. Turns out we didn't have to be there. So we all ended up getting a bit of a nap before the instructors started to arrive. We had our last lesson in PBUSE. Easy peasy. Spent the day in the break room again. At evening chow the PS finally gave an about face command so that the tall people (like me!) got to be in the front of the chow line. Totally made the day. :-)

Day 42
It started snowing today. Enough that we got out of school for the afternoon. We took our final PBUSE test in the morning. I didn't quite get 100...98%. :-( We had to do barracks maintenance all afternoon but we did get personal time after dinner and an indoor bedcheck. Yay!

Day 43
Long day! Had bayguard from 0100-0300. Yuck. But got to sleep in until 0600. No PT and delayed start to school, even though the roads were fine. Today we started Weapons! Love, love, love our instructor! He's very cool. We spent the afternoon learning to disassemble and reassemble the M9 Beretta. Then he timed us. I was the fasted to reassemble in my class. Sweet! Things were crazy at the company with tons of mail and linen turn-in and a Major there to see active duty soldiers. Made for a noisy intercom, but at least I had mail from Matt. :-)

Day 44
4th Platoon graduates today. So ready for my turn! It was finally warm enough to have outdoor PT again. Had a company run. It was killer. My roommate (who is super short!) was up front and set pace. She said we did about 2 1/2 miles at a 7:30-8:00 min per mile pace. My knees were aching afterwards. I stayed with the group until the last 1/2 mile or so, but caught up by the time they were back to the PT field. School was fun. Learned the M249 SAW today. I did really well again with the timed disassemble/reassemble. The afternoon was laid back and we got out of school early. Had room and locker inspections to determine if we got our off-post civilian passes this weekend. Our room did good. :-) Had to find someone to take my bayguard shift tomorrow, but now I'm set to get off post with two battles for some good food and shopping!

Day 45
Typical Saturday morning. Had to clean all morning with a picky SGT. Lol. After lunch they finally released us to change for pass. After our civilian clothes were approved, we could sign out. We went to the PX first and ate lunch. Took some food back to people not on pass, and found out the bayguard shifts were changed and now I have it from 0300-0500. Yuck! We then got a taxi and headed off post to the mall. It's about the only place we are approved to go. Our freedom is pretty limited. I really missed Matt being off post and in civilians! We shopped until around 1830 and then went back. My battles wanted to go to the "club" on post that we're allowed to go to. I didn't want to, but since we all have to stay together I went. It was super loud and lots of dancing I don't do. No alcohol, of course. Not really my cup of tea, but it was fine. We stayed until 2100 before heading back to change for final formation.

Day 46
Daylight savings hit right as I had to start bayguard. So not cool. Thankfully I could sleep in! We left post around 1030 and went back to the mall. At lunch at BW3. Yum. We roamed the mall before heading back at 1500. It was a great day until we got back to the company. The cadre were not happy. They found the dayroom trashed. I guess those not on pass did not keep the trash taken out all weekend. :-( Changed clothes and went to chow and then a long evening of barracks maintenance until bedcheck. Not much time to talk to Matt. :-(

AIT Week 5

It has taken me a year to finish posting, but here is the continuation of my AIT experience:

Day 33
Over the halfway mark! Yay! 0400 wake up. Had a release run. I pushed myself. My knees hate me for it. Very sore. Personal hygiene after double timing to the company. I hate double timing! I'm finding PBUSE is too easy. She showed us one thing the entire day. Did a practical exercise. Then off to the breakroom while the rest of the class figured it out.
Left early for chow with one of my battle buddies, then sat at the company until 1SG talked to us about the meeting we were going to. Basically making sure we didn't complain about anything to battalion before giving our company a chance to fix it first. Our PS walked us over, only to find out the meeting was tomorrow. So back to school. To do the same practical exercises again. I really hate spending so much time in the break room doing nothing. Really makes me miss Matt.
Our company picked up a new platoon today. They are much bigger than ours, so it makes for a huge company formation. Not much personal time tonight which is always a bummer. I miss talking to Matt!

Day 34
Downhill slide! It will soon be over. Indoors PT today. I really hate doing situps on the floor. Makes a sore spot on my tailbone every time. School was more of the same. Lots of time in the breakroom waiting. I went to chow early again with my battle so we could go to the meeting at battalion. It ended up being two soldiers from each company talking with the BN Commander and CSM. They basically wanted to know what we thought of everything. We then were taken over to the Brigade Headquarters and did the same thing with soldiers from the whole brigade. Kind of a cool experience and the brigade commander was a very neat lady.  Rough ending to the day though...our platoon got in trouble with our PS over a miscommunication. Oh well. I got a letter from Matt. :-)

Day 35
A rude awakening at 0255 saying I had bayguard since someone went to the ER. Not a happy camper. Spent the whole day fighting sleep. School was a breeze again. Did my exercises and spent the whole time in the breakroom. After school our platoon went to do EST 2000 (indoor electronic shooting). The first set was standing. I got 0. The next two were much better and I actually had fun. Good end to the day with lots of personal time and two pieces of mail.

Day 36
Another rude awakening at 0100. Really not happy. After getting dressed and complaining to the SSG on duty, I got to wake up someone else and once they were up I was relieved of duty. PT was muscle strengthening with push up and sit up drills. I achieved a personal best of 73 situps in 2 minutes. Woot woot! School was more of the same except in the afternoon our instructor let me stay and help people instead of sitting all day in the breakroom.

Day 37
Took the chance and asked to not do the company run this morning. Thankfully they let me walk the track. My knees are pretty sore and swollen and final PT test is only two weeks away! School was boring again in the morning, but in the afternoon we got the chance to ask questions of our instructor about what it was really like to be in supply. The march to chow ended up with lots of chaos. Our company is so huge and someone said "doubletime" and half the company took off. The PS marching us was not happy! After chow my roommates and I got the crazy idea to unstack the bunk beds and rearrange our room. We had to get help to get everything cleaned up before a room inspection. I didn't get to talk with Matt any since he's stuck at Camp Gruber for drill all weekend.

Day 38
Saturday! Enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. Cleaned in the morning and took platoon picture. It seemed to take forever for us to get to go on pass, but finally got to go at 1430. Went to both PXs, Burger King, and then back to the barracks to chill. Talked with my family and Matt for a little bit.

Day 39
Enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning. Slept in, did laundry, and relaxed! Left on pass around 1000. Had CQ duty in the afternoon. After chow we had to sign for our weapons which we'll pick up tomorrow. Not at all excited to carry an M16 around all the time.