Weds, Thurs, Fri

This week has been a lot of random events, by the time the day is done I have no desire to get close to the computer. However, today we were done really early with EST (range simulator where you hold actually M16 or M4s and shoot) so they let us go til class this afternoon. unfortunately I wish we old have gotten done early this afternoon instead of this morning!

Back to Weds...we did PMI (pre-marksmenship instruction). They taught us how to take apart and reassemble the M16, They also taught us how to shoot, how to position the body, pull the trigger, etc. It was a good time even though it was nothing new. That afternoon was immunizations. Make sue you bring a copy of your immunization record when you come. If you don't, you'll have to get all the shots. I think the most someone got was 8. They also draw blood for DNA, HIV, and titer tests. I actually had to get 3. My vaccination record had been entered wrong, my Hep A shots on paper were only 2 days apart instead of 6 months like I had actually done. So they made me get another one. I also got the polio shot since you have to have one after the age of 13. The third shot was H1N1 which I had hoped to avoid, but when the army says to do something you have no choice.

After immunizations we had the CG reception. Officers from different bases people were going to were available to answer questions about the jobs or places of interest. They did not have any Guard people available to talk to so it was a waste of time. The food was not bad, lots of finger foods and drinks. Cash bar for those interested.

Thursday was a full day of classes. I was instructed to go get my ID taken care of during lunch and to take as long as it took. While we were there the officer in charge of BOLC happened to show up and yelled at us for missing class. We explained that we were instructed to be there. He left to go yell at someone else and we continued to wait for our IDs. Mine is still not taken care of, There is a problem with the ID, no one knows how it happened, and no one seems to know how to fix it. So I have to go back again. I missed the whole afternoon of classes. Oh well...

This afternoon is more classes, then RODEO!!!

Tests, tests, more tests

This morning was our midterm, not something to stress about. Straight from the slides and we had been given the slides to study from. I looked over the review and I did fine. Then we had CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive devices) from 8am to 7pm. Then we had an exam on the topic. Again, not a hard exam, the answers were given throughout the day.

Went on a run with a friend then to the commissary to get some fresh fruit and veggies.

Tomorrow is SRP which is a day of physicals, immunizations, etc. We also have basic marksmenship training all afternoon.

So far so good....long days of nothing but powerpoint classes, but we will be in the field soon!

President's Day

Spent the day at the San Antonio Zoo. They have over 3500 animals and 600 species so it takes hours to get through the zoo. It is set up to be very educational and animal friendly. Today was "enrichment" day for the animals which meant the staff was doing special events with the animals to keep their minds sharp. For the bears and fishing cats they threw live fish into their ponds. They fed the sharks, gave new toys to the monkeys, etc. Lots of fun to watch.

I went back to the apartment after a long day at the zoo and now need to study for the midterm tomorrow at 7am. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Places I Have Been

So far I have been to some interesting places that I highly recommend. Been here only a few weeks and I already have a list of great places to go!

-Central Market: interesting store with lots of different kinds of organic and imported foods. Expensive though
-Botanical gardens: Very pretty and only a few minutes from Ft. Sam
-Rodeo! So much fun! at the ATT center
-Cowboya: great dancehall, everyone is there to have fun, very relaxed setting! Dont have to dance to have a good time, they have a free bull ride
-Riverwalk: a must see, very different setting depending on the time of day. Would recommend going during the day, evening, and night to understand the different sides of the Riverwalk
-The Quarry Mall: interesting building, the theater is in an old quarry and is only 6.50 for a movie
La Madeliene: good french food and very reasonable prices
-Gristmill: amazing little place with great food
-Sushi Zushi: If you like sushi its a great place, tons of different types to choose from
Outlet mall: both Tanger and Prime are right next to each other, over 300 stores to pick from depending on style and budget

Lots of places I still want to go and see, but this is a good start!

RODEO!

Friday night I ended up going to a rodeo with some friends. It was a great time! After the rodeo was a Foreigner concert which was not that exciting. Then we went dancing at the Cowboy dance hall. It is a great place to go dancing and watch people dance the 2-step and square dancing. Great atmosphere.

Saturday Morning I went to the Botanical Gardens to another Chocolate festival. They had demonstration on how to cook ganache and a lot of different samples. That afternoon I went shopping at the Outlet mall and then out to eat at the Gristmill which is a quaint little restaurant in the small town of Gruene (pronounced Greene). Great food and atmosphere, I really want to go back!

Today I have been lounging around and relaxing. Got some french food from La Madeleine which is a great little place that has amazing crepes and tiramisu!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Chocolate, Chocolate, and more Chocolate!

Last night we went out for hibachi dinner and a midnight showing of Valentine's Day. It was a late night after a very long day and I fell asleep as soon as I fell asleep. Went to the ID card office this morning since my card had stopped working. They said that my paperwork has been erased and I have been kicked out of the system, but they don't know why! I have to go back next week to re-enter all my paperwork. Should be lots of fun!

I decided to go to the chocolate festival at Central Market, they had chocolate from all over the world. They had some very unique types of chocolate, including chocolate covered bacon! I wanted to try it, but it was over $7 a bar, and I didn't think it was worth it.

Sweat and Blood

I passed!! Not only did I pass, but I got a good enough score that I only have to do PT 3 days a week and I can do combatives!!! After the PT test was more classes, our first midterm is on Tuesday.

At lunch yesterday I was able to sit and eat with an Officer from the Colombian Army! It was great to see him and to talk to him in "real" Spanish! There are a lot of international soldiers here learning about how the US army handles the medical department.

Yesterday evening I went out to see some of San Antonio and find a grocery store that I had heard a lot about. It is called the Central Market, but locals know it as the Gucci HEB. HEB is the Kroger of Texas. Everyone in the store shopping was wearing designer clothes. Every organic product imaginable was in this store. International food, Cheese imported from all the major countries, wine and beer aisles that went on forever. Crackers and amazing types of bread and fruit and many interesting products and imported foods I had never seen before. They are doing a chocolate festival this weekend that I am definitely going too!! Unfortunately the prices on everything in the store are a little out of my range, Or a lot...but it was interesting to walk around.

Donated blood this morning!! The blood I donated goes to American Military only. I was able to help a brother or sister in arms this morning!

Then more death by PowerPoint. The first few weeks are PowerPoint classes from 8-9am til 5-6pm. It makes for a very very long day and by the end of the day the PowerPoint's all run together and no one pays any attention! Hands on will be the last 3 weeks here. I can't wait!

No more classes until Tuesday! A group of us are going out for dinner and a movie tonight then I am taking a friend to the airport. Most of the class if flying home for the 4-day weekend. I decided to stay here and see some of the sites her in San Antonio and the surrounding areas.

Week 2

more boring classes....Equal Opportunity, Prevention of Sexual Harrassment, and a class on how to write that lasted a full day on Monday. This morning we had to meet at dental to get records and xrays put into the system. Formation was at 450 even though the office didnt open til 6. We stood around in 40 degree weather til they opened, then waited another 4 hours to get xrays. I missed the first part of our Battlemind class, but it was a class I have had before so it was not a big loss.

Tomorrow is our PT test, to pass we need a 60% in each event, to be able to go to PT only 3 days instead of 5 we need a 70% in each event. The weather should be interesting, rain and 36 degree weather. Hopefully wont be as windy as this morning.

AMEDD museum

Yesterday we went to the Amedd museum and learned about the history of medicine in the military. It was quite interesting even though I had been there last year. I learned quite a bit about the history of nursing as well. We had a few classes as well, learned about branches of the army and equipment used by the army. Those weren't as interesting...

Things I learned:
About 70% of all vaccinations were created by the military first then transferred to civilians.
George Washington was the first one to practice preventative medicine by vaccinating his troops for small pox.

Texas does have sun!

So the last few days have been a busy blur! We were finally broken up into platoons and squads. I am in 6th platoon, 4th squad...which means I go last for everything...Oh well, there is no hurry around here, things get done when they get done. My platoon is going to be a lot of fun, we have 51 people total, 27 of which are prior service so we have a lot of experience. We only have 3 DCs! We also have one international soldier in our platoon, a nurse from Greece! It should be fun to get to know her and learn about her experiences in the Greek army.

Today I got up early and got together with some friends to do p90X. It was a good workout, we did it in the living area on the first floor of the building we are staying in. However, they do breakfast in the morning in the same room. So as we were finishing people starting filtering in to eat. I guess we were the morning entertainment.

I got to go out for the first time since arriving, we went down to the riverwalk to walk around and check it off the list. We went to a bbq place that was really good. A little on the pricey side, but tons of good food and homemade bread. I would highly recommend it, I think the name was county line or something like that..

Tomorrow we head to the AMEDD museum...fun stuff. I was there last year, so I will be going for the second time.

Things I learned:
Make sure you get all the finance stuff done on the one day, its a pain to try and figure out a time you can go to the finance office.
We have to get a 70 in each event on the PT test to be able to do combatives and not have to do remedial PT.

Rain Rain Go AWAY!

So PT was cancelled this morning because of the rain, so we were able to go back to our room until 630! We went to breakfast and then headed over to one of the buildings we have been in for more classes. Each day we have been in at least 3 different buildings and its confusing trying to figure out what building to be at at what time! Its a hike from the dining hall to the classrooms. It rained all day and everyone got soaked walking to and from the dining facility to the classrooms. But there was no time to change, so we sat for hours in wet clothes freezing! I honestly don't remember all the briefings they did today, we had guest speakers from blood bank,we had a briefing about how to take a PT test, and other small random classes that were mostly for the DCs. Long and tedious..

At 1500 everyone but the nurses were dismissed, we had to stay to pick up our course books for the Trauma Nurse Certification Course. We have a test in the last week to be certified in Trauma Nursing. We also got a couple other hw assignments, like writing a letter to our chief nurse (which I don't have) and different forms to turn in so that our liason knows something about us. A lot of it did not apply since I am National Guard, but it was still interesting. There are a few parties planned just for the nurses, so it should be fun to get to know other Army Nurses.

We still don't have a schedule, but we were finally split up into platoons. Unfortunately I am in 6th platoon so I will be last for everything! Oh well, I have some interesting people in my platoon, we have nurses, doctors, pharmacists, administrators, etc. There are people that have been in the military for years, others joined a couple days before showing up at this course. It will definitely be an interesting time.

PT was cancelled for tomorrow since the rain is supposed to continue. I have heard that we might do D&C, and we will be transferred over to the cadre who will be teaching our classes and finally get a schedule. Or so I hope...

Day 1

Today was more chaos and confusion. Formation was bright and early just so that we could get a signature on a checklist saying we were in height/weight standards. We went to breakfast and then sat around in random classes learning the army values and how to salute...which I have been doing for the last 4 years! It was amazing to hear some of the questions the DCs (Direct Commissionees) had. We then did all our finance paperwork. The room had about 400 people filling out the forms at the same time, but each person was a different scenario: married, divorced, single, dependants or not, spouse in the military or not, National Guard, Active Duty, Reserves, going overseas, coming from their active duty station or on their way...etc. You can imagine the confusion trying to fill out forms with acronyms for everything!

We were dismissed after dinner and I have no idea what were doing tomorrow. First formation isnt til 445 and I think were doing PT, so it should be a good morning. At least something will be accomplished!

I do have a great roommate, she actually graduated from Hampton University! She moved to NewYork soon after, she direct commissioned and is clueless about everything military. I will be teaching her how to put her uniform together an shaving her beret tonight.

What I learned:
-Patience! DCs have no idea about the military. I know this was said yesterday, but it is even more true today. Ranks range from 2LT to Major and they know little to nothing.
-People like to ask stupid questions, and ask the same questions over and over
-Be prepared to be left in the dark about what is going on and what will happen. You won't know anything until it starts. I hope it improves!

Day 0 completed!

So the rest of the day was hurry up and wait. We did height and weight, D&C and picked up our assault packs. Then we went over to the dining hall for dinner. However, over 200 showed up all at the same time for dinner..so it was a long line and very little time to eat. The food wasn't bad. But Day 1 starts bright and early, formation is at 345 so it's an early night tonight! It sounds like paperwork all day tomorrow.

Things I learned:
Be patient with direct commissionees!! Its hard to realize that what I take for granted, like falling into formation, is not second nature for them, they have never even put on the uniform before.

Always have 2 copies of your orders on you, if someone wants a copy, they always want 2 and they ask for them in places you would never expect.

Day 0

I got to the main bldg where we had to get our room key and sign in. I headed over to my room to unpack my car and thankfully didnt get lost. The fist place to sign in is on the right side of the street near the main entrance, its a big building and you can't miss it. I decided to see what other paperwork I needed to get done so I headed over to Willis Hall. I hadn't realized they were right next to each other! This stop took a bit longer, they took 2 copies of my orders and I had to verify that my information was correct. This afternoon we meet up at 1600 to do more paperwork and get our height and weight checked. I believe we will only be there for a few hours and then free time, but first formation tomorrow is at 0400!!! What for, I have no idea.

Things I have learned:
It's not like LDAC: we had to find out by ourselves what we need to do and when and where. There is very little direction.
Try to get in early! Lines started forming at 10am this morning and its taking hours for people to get through, it took me about 2 hours to figure things out and get around, and that was without lines.

Traveling

The drive really wasn't as bad as I had been expecting. I left Norfolk, VA at 9am on thursday morning and headed south since I had heard bad weather was headed through TN. I drove until the border of Mississippi and stopped for the night at about 11pm. It was a very long day, but I was looking forward to a shorter day on Friday. I was able to leave the hotel pretty early and made it to Austin, TX by 5pm. The drive was great, I had clear skies and beautiful weather til I hit Texas and then his a storm for about an hour. Other than that it was smooth sailing, but 1500 miles later I was glad to finally stop in Austin for a few days! I spent the weekend with my grandparents and family, walking around the mall and playing on the trampoline with my cousins. I left early this morning to report at Ft. Sam.

What I learned:
Don't speed! I counted 64 cop cars and 1 border patrol car on the trip from Norfolk to Austin!
Be careful driving through Alabama at night: 26 deer along the road!
Don't try and stop for bbq in South Carolina, you wont find a place.
I recommend arriving the day before to check in to your room, otherwise its a mess trying to get it all done.