This was indeed one of the most physically gruelling weekends I’ve been involved in. Not only did I sleep too late, but I woke up at 5:30 to get ready to go to the drill by 6:30, extra early because we were going out to the field this time. I was part of the advanced party, and we had lots to do by the time we got there. We set up TOC and ALOC, a couple tents that are probably one of the bigger ones I’ve seen. The problem was that it rained here in the bay area for about a week or two before we arrived. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining when we were there, so we didn’t have to wear raincoats or anything while we worked. But damn, those 2.5 tons and 5 ton trucks… are so freaken big, it just tore the field apart. That’s all fine and dandy, except that we had to at least show to the park ranger that we were at least trying to fill them back up. So there we were, all of us in camo, just filling up dirt. It was crazy. It took us about 3 hours to fill them back up. I was so freaken tired after all of it. But I still had some energy left over, though, enough to run a couple miles. I had this picket that looked real crazy. After a while, I was so good at it people called me over to fill up a lot of dirt. It just so happened I had a pretty good swing, too. This sergeant tried to take over but she kind of gave up after a couple swings cuz it was so heavy. Especially since the wet mud stuck to it all the time and made it even heavier. During the night, we had MREs. It was an awesome experience. Then there we were, sitting in a tent, in the darkness of the night, can’t see a thing except whose around us. Blank faces looking down or at each other within a tent, all trying to keep warm and wishing they had bought a gortex. It was so freaken cold. Then CW4 Love comes in, telling us we got coffee. We didn’t have any sugar and cream or anything, but that was one of the best coffee’s I’ve ever had. I filled some up in my metal canteen cup, and drank my miseries and cold away. For at least 15 minutes, I was the happiest man on earth, realizing once again why I had joined the army. It was a memorable experience, that night. We went to sleep at 1 in the barracks, woke up at 5 to have breakfast. We came back home to our unit, and we got done cleaning up faster than I had anticipated. Instead of leaving at 5:30 like we had originally planned on doing, we left by 4:30. We had worked that fast and efficiently. During this drill, I learned how lucky I am to be in the S-3. Not only are there no one but officers there, 1 chief warrant officer, 2 majors, 2 captains, I have no NCOs to report to. But at the same time, I feel pressured to do more than what’s expected of me everytime I’m handed a task. And I don’t know when to be in attention or at ease. And sometimes, while walking down the hallways or outside on the streets with an officer, it’s weird having people salute to the officer next to me and just walk past. It’s kind of weird, but I’m enjoying it. I feel like the most powerful specialist in the army.
After all that hell was over, the digging, setting up, breaking down, and cleaning up, I found a ride back home with a 97B, a counterintelligence S-2 PFC. It was then that it started to rain a lot. I talked to him about my plans to go 97E, and he gave me a lot of tips on what I should do and expect for Intelligence Interrogation. After a dozen minutes or so, he dropped me off at the First Presbyterian Church. I was late: 5:15, full 30 minutes. But I hadn’t missed out on the sermon. Since there was only one service this day, 4:45, I couldn’t get back home, get dressed, and come back. I was in my early BDUs, dirty boots, and my trusty bag with me, looking for some time to sit and worship. It was nice, but I could tell people were eyeying me. It was one of the most awkward experiences I’ve had, but nevertheless, it was also one of the most memorable. I always feel like I belong in a church whenever I come back from a tiring drill and sit down and sing or listen to sermons. There is someone, something out there, afterall, it feels like, who is always watching out for me.