Day 1, Week 1

Day 1, Week 1 26 Jul 09
04:36

Hey Everyone. I finally got to the training site. Reception absolutely sucked. When we got here we got off the bus in a hurry, while carrying a 60 lbs. duffle bag in front, a 30 lbs. laundry bag, and our personal bags. What they didn’t tell us was that there was a 1.5 foot diameter x 1 foot deep hole right outside the bus door. Everyone went down in it. We ran up a hill to the front of the barracks and had a shakedown. For you civilian types, they went through our stuff and checked for contraband and made sure we had all items. For you CAP types, it was EXACTLY like the BCS Shakedown.
Our Drill Sergeant (DS), DS Moore, is really cool. He is chill with anything till you do something wrong. He’ll crack jokes left and right; however, yesterday people wouldn’t shut up so he made us drink 2 quarts of water, then smoke us for 45 – 60 minutes. Good for the fat guys, not so much for those of us trying to gain weight. They haven’t selected the double rations people yet. I hope I’m on their list because I would like to gain 20-30 lbs while I’m here.
Tomorrow, we get our rifles. I’m pretty excited for that. We qualify next week sometime, I think. However, on the flip side, PT with a rifle sucks because you have to control the rifle, and your body, and lift the rifle. Oh well, I’ll be in shape when I get home.
I also finally have an address. You MUST write it exactly as I have below or I may not get the letter.

PVT Fiddes, Stephen
2nd Platoon
Troop D, 5th Sqdn, 15th Cav
3576 Wilson Rd
Ft Knox, KY 40121-3728

I look forward to reading letters
Stephen Fiddes
D-Troop 5-15 CAV, 2PLT