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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Friday, 27 MAY 88

EOCT/PT tests tomorrow.
We're off total control. Whoopee.
No phone time. Very little
difference to us. In time
we may gain phone use
as we earn it. Will get to
use phone Sunday for a few
minutes. Last call 15th.
Letter from [fiance] today.
Happy to get it.[Fiance]
planning wedding and honeymoon.
BRM today. Fucked up the
pop-up targets. High grass obscured
targets so much that I shot high.
I figured it out late (too late).
Redeemed myself on another
firing point by blowing away targets.
Got no-go but saved me from
remedial classes. I'll burn the
range Tuesday. Feet healing.
Back still hurts. Ran 1-1/4 miles
today. Hope to get 6 hours sleep.

The end of cycle test and physical training test were upon us. And the close supervision we were subject to ended in theory. I guess it didn't seem very different.

The isolation from the world was still pretty weird. it had been a couple weeks since I'd been able to call out. There was no news available. For a news junkie like myself who is continually thankful that I live in an age when news from around the world is a click away, I can't imagine living in such an information vacuum.

But I didn't get to dwell on it much. My world was reduced to making sure my buttons were all buttoned, by bunk was made, and--at that moment--that I could hit those damn targets with my M-16.

The pop-up targets screwed me up. And even before going to basic, I knew that green shooters tend to shoot high. And I still did it! Since I didn't do it on simple target practice, I guess I didn't know why people shoot high. I found out that high grass that obscures the target pushes you to aim high.

I did better the next round, but in the world of "go" or "no go" on your evaluation sheet, I got a "no go." Still, avoiding remedial training in the evening during what little free time we had (not that it was for anything more than doing laundry, cleaning up our own stuff, or reading or writing letters) was something. And I did feel confident that I'd do fine when tested.

The general hurting continued, though I felt my feet were throbbing less--so that was progress. I'm not sure what was going on with my back.

I do remember that the prospect of 6 hours of sleep seemed pretty good.