LET THE TRAINING BEGIN! Monday, June 28th

Well....where do I begin.....

Needless to say BCT (Basic Combat Training) started off with a bang, literally. The DS were firing blank artillery shells as we got off the bus. We got off the bus with all of the gear we accumulate over the past 9/10 days and carry it up a very, very, very large hill. Once on top of the hill, which led to a sidewalk, we had to carry our laundry bags over our heads for about 20 minutes, then push ups, then the bag again, etc., etc. Supposedly 5 or 6 people quit that night. Also that first night, we found out that our platoon is supposedly the hardest working PT wise of the company. Tonight, I can say that I believe that with all my heart.

For the most part, the days have been going by pretty quickly. We get about 45 minutes to eat each meal, and we've begun to know around what time the DS will smoke us (PT the shit out of us). I was lucky enough to have a lot of the guys that I liked from reception, who were in my platoon there, in my BCT platoon. There are however a few that I can't stand. Some are just assholes and others were smacked by God's stupid stick. People have been messing up turning right .... and Left.... Either way, it's 3 weeks of hell and I'm still here right??

Now I will get some of the "cooler" things. I have been issued my full battle rattle. I have my bullet-proof vest, Kevlar helmet, and my M-4 Riffle with a Red Dot Sight. It's bad ass to say the least. Last night I had fire watch and had to wear the complete uniform and patrol with my riffle. For the first time, I was able to look into a mirror and envision my life in the infantry. We will be doing some more things this week like Eagle Tower. This is where we repel down a
45 ft wall with a harness we tie ourselves. Lets hope I don't screw that up.......
Thursday of this week we will go into the gas chamber and I'm totally psyched for it............And then starting week 4, we will start going to the range everyday for 3 weeks! I know that will be fun.

Other than that, I'm just tying to get by the best I can. They PT us hard about 2 - 3 times a day with maybe another 2 - 3 time at smaller 5 - 10 minutes sessions. Most of this takes place in a rock covered area that symbolizes and feels like sand. I hate that damn pit and the other hill thy make us run. It accounted for 3 heat drop-outs today and 2 pukers.(Bradford knows exactly what I'm talking about). Please add those to the total so far. I've honestly last count on heat casualties, because it just happens every day. Oh and we also had 2 guys "try" to quit today, but the boat has sailed. In the middle of PT, one guy just stopped and stared flailing, saying "I know my rights, I Quit!" When about 4 DS surrounded him, he refused to do anything they told him. So he literally just layed on the ground and had 4 of his platoon members carry him back into their bay which is on the second floor. Personally, I would have dropped him....... The other guy tried to quit when we were running the Hill. He started towards it and then turned around and said "F**K this, I quit!" Every one's chance to quit is over.

Oh, since I started.... You cannot just "quit" the Army people. If you want to, the Army may discharge you, but at their own convenience. So if you quit your first day at reception, you will most likely spend the next 3 to 4 months at reception helping out with duties such as ... yard work, Facility maintenance, paperwork, or dining facility. You will spend more time doing that crap work then it would have taken to graduate BCT. You signed a contract, now hold up your end!! It's NOT that hard!!
I'll get off off my soapbox.......

Anyhow, personal time has been very hard to come by. I'm writing this letter as I do laundry almost 2 hours past lights out. Good new is though that I now officially have an address!!!! So start sending letters, and Mom you can send my phone charger!
Just remember to write my address exactly as it is written here.

SPC Martin, Matthew, E RN # 228
B Co., 1-50th IN, 198th IN BDE
9899 Second Armored Division Rd. BLDG 3570
Ft. Benning, GA 31905

(form letter said to put his RN# 228 in the left and right hand corner of the envelope.