The Army divides Basic Combat Training (BCT) into three phases. Red Phase, White Phase and Blue Phase. How patriotic, right? I've been away from home for 3 weeks now, but we've only completed 2 weeks of Basic Training. The first week when we got here was called "0 Week" or "Reception". We spent that week being issued everything under the sun. From ACUs to boots, to socks and underwear, we were given it all in the first couple of days. We basically spent the other time that week finalizing any paperwork that is needed, and patiently waiting for all of the other guys in your platoon to finish what they need to be done. This had to be one of the worst weeks of my life! It was exercise in futility, because I have never had to wait so long and sit patiently for anything. When we arrived at Fort Benning, it was about 2200. After getting up at 0400 that morning, we didn't sleep again until 2100 the next night! I had been up for 41 straight hours! Something I had never done before in my life, and it was absolutely miserable. The drill sergeants were hard on us, but they weren't overly harsh, because we weren't officially in BCT yet. We got smoked a few times at "Reception", but it was NOTHING compared to what we'd experience once we got to Sand Hill!
Our platoon shipped downrange to Sand Hill Basic Training Station on October 19th. The buses picked us up with our duffel bags, that weighed well over 100 pounds, strapped to the front of us, with our heavy laundry bag in our right hand. We arrived at Sand Hill and had to endure the "shark tank". The "shark tank" is where a bunch of drill sergeants basically try to make you pee your pants by scaring you half to death! They yelled at us getting off the bus, made us run with our duffel bags and laundry bags strapped to us, and made us do PT drills with our duffel bags on. Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted by day 1. We got smoked every day for like a week. This is when the drill sergeants make you do push ups, V-ups and half jacks until your arms fall off. If one person does something wrong, usually the whole platoon gets smoked for it. Week 1 was pretty much like "Reception", in that we did the same things every day, and was absolutely boring! We got smoked like crazy and did PT all the time!
At this point, we have completed week 2, and we are about to start week 3, which is the completion of Red Phase. Week 2 was a lot better than Week 1! Week 2, we did Land Navigation, the Confidence Course, the gas chamber and started combatives. Land Navigation was very interesting. The drill sergeants give you a map, a compass and a flashlight to navigate your way through the woods. You have to correctly identify 5 points during the day, and 2 points at night. You are looking for an orange and white triangular sign mounted in a tree. It's not as bad as finding a needle in a haystack, but close! Haha! MY team successfully found all 7 points, which is great, because Land Navigation is a HUGE part of OCS. It was really hard to find at night because you can barely see your hands in front of you. On the Confidence Course, we had to climb obstacles up to 40 feet high, without the help of safety equipment. It was quite possibly one of the scariest things I've ever done! There was one obstacle where I had to climb a rope to about 15 feet to another level. You walk across the balance beams to another ladder, which takes you another 20 or 30 feet off the ground. Then you have to ascent a 40 foot cargo net to the ground. Very scary stuff! We are also learning ju-jitsu, because it is the Army's preferred hand to hand combat style. We are about to head into Week 3 of Red Phase, which is the last week. After this, it's on to White Phase for another 3 weeks...
