January 8, 2013- Today, I woke up at the hotel and got a surprise. I had spontaneously woken up at 0315 instead of 0400 from the hotel's wake up call service. I took the extra time to make sure I got a quick shave in (damn you, aggressive facial hair) and hustled downstairs after making sure not to leave anything in the room, as I am famous for doing just that sort of thing. I got downstairs and saw the epic line for the breakfast buffet and had just enough time to grab a bite and get in line and on the bus and off to MEPS. On the way there, we passed Fort Sam Houston's cemetery where my father was laid to rest over two years ago. I happened to look up at the precise moment that we were passing the giant flagpole in the middle of the site. Even with rain coming down and it being a very dark 5 in the morning, the flood lights at the base lit up our nation's colors and, for a brief moment, I felt a surge of emotion swell over me. It was as if I felt a connection to my father in that I was following in his footsteps as well as pride in myself for doing the right thing for my family. A deepening patriotism also pounded like a drum in my heart as I felt the sense of duty and sacrifice that cost the lives of many of those who lie next to my father in eternal peace. I also felt that I was setting a good example for my son, and that combined with a sudden sense that my father would approve of my actions, really encouraged me to move forward with my head held high.
When I got to MEPS, there were the usual occurrences. Waiting in a cold room, stripped down to the underwear only, for a height and weight check. Of course, I was overweight like every other time I had been to MEPS and had to do a tape test. This was the only part I was nervous about as Christmas had been full of cookies and delicious, yet fattening foods.Thanks to my wife being the Diet Diva though, I had lost 7 pounds in 7 days without having to resort to starvation, and passed the tape test without any problems. After that, it was alot of waiting for other people to finish their MEPS process in order to have a group of people large enough to swear in and ship off to the airport. Funny thing happened as I was officially swearing in though. Everyone had been marched into the swearing in room and I happened to be in the very back of the group all by myself in a row. At that point, the families of soldiers who were there were invited to come and witness the oath of enlistment. As we were brought to attention, a little girl around the age of 4 or 5 fell into formation right next to me and began to not only switch back and forth from Parade Rest to Attention, but actually raise her little hand and recite the oath of enlistment. I had a vague sense of what was going on from what I could gather from my peripheral and just hoped it was a little person up to no good, lol. I wonder if she'll go Airborne?
After the swear in, there was time for a few pics with the family and then some teary eyes goodbyes to my brother, his adorable son (shout out to Little Man!), my uncle (who has been my mentor through this attempt to enlist), and my mom (who just in the last few days accepted that I wanted to do this and that it was a good thing.) That just left my amazing wife to part ways with. As we walked downstairs so I could get on the bus to head off to the airport, I knew I wouldn't know what to say. So we let a long, tightly held hug say it all. As the bus drove away and I waved at her out the window, my eyes welled up and it struck me how much she truly means to me. It was another lesson learned through hardship. Cherish those close to you before they aren't close anymore. I had to remind myself that it's only temporary and to, literally, soldier on. But damn, I missed her from the moment she was out of my sight.
Before we had left MEPS, I was made the group leader for all of the Army guys shipping to Fort Jackson that day. This meant I had to get all their contact info and keep them from getting lost. I was also responsible for making sure that they all had their information packets with required documents to turn into MEPS and was the only person in our group that was appointed to converse with transportation officials and airport personnel aside from security checks. It was kind of like babysitting adults, but I really did my best to take it seriously and convey a sense of leadership. The flight from San Antonio to Atlanta was fine and when we got off the plane, hauled ass faster through the airport than the family from Home Alone. We JUST made it to our connecting flight and were boarding the plane when they made us de-plane. So after about 45 minutes of sitting and waiting for news, they said the plane had a mechanical error and we would have to wait for another plane to be brought in, which would make our arrival time into Columbia (where Ft Jackson is located) to be more than an hour later than originally planned. The plane finally landed (TWO hours later than scheduled) in Columbia, South Carolina.We lined up in the lobby, got on a bus and headed to Fort Jackson. While on the way, I got in one last call to Kat and to my mom. Then, we arrived at reception, and that's when the fun began.At 2:00 AM, we got into formation for the first time and were taking into a room to discuss basic Army policies and our last chance to anonymously ditch any contraband items in our possession. After getting issued our soldier's handbook, we were then issued out bedding and laundry bag (which has become like a glorified purse) as well as our PT uniforms. We got both the standard summer and the super comfy winter versions as well as wet and cold weather outerwear. We got out dental x-rays and vision exams too (I'm getting ap airo f the cool new Buddy Holly-esque BCGs in a couple of days!) We also got wait in lines. And more lines. And even more lines! I never knew it, but the Army runs on lines and formations. But mostly lines, lol. It's crazy how inefficiently it seems that things are done here, but I'm still a peon here and don't really know about the finer points of how difficult it may be to organize so many people and get them where they need to be. But it's hard to remember that when you've been up for 45 straight hours and waiting two hours in accountability formation hoping to just lay your head down and crash out. We started our first Fire Guard shifts too. Fire Guard is a one hour shift that we rotate through the bay where two people walk up and down the bay with a flashlight and make sure that everyone is accounted for in their bunks and report back at the end of their shift to the Drill Seargant on duty. They also wake everyone up in the event of a real fire to evacuate. I start my first Fire Guard shift at 0300-0330 when it;s time to wake everyone up for 0400 formation. The best Fire Guard shifts are the first and last shifts because they don't interfere with your sleep too much, so I lucked out this time and only get up a half an hour early. Tomorrow we get our ACUs (with the digital camo print on them) and start to look like real soldiers! I can't wait to take our pictures in them too! We just heard that we should be shipping out to BCT on Monday the 14th. I feel that I am ready and mentally prepared for what lies ahead but I think a lot of the guys here are in for a culture shock. I know it will be crazy, but I've done my research so I'm not scared.
Funny moments-
When at MEPS, one of the doctors (who was prior military and happily married)
had us strip to our underwear only and then left the room. Five minutes later, he waltzed back in, stomped his foot on the ground, did 3 snaps in a "Z" shape above his head, and in the gayest voice ever, yelled out "I'm ready for you boys!! It's a WHOLE new Army now!!"
Our platoon seems to be the gassiest one around, even at this early point. About five different guys kept farting right after the other like it was a contest when a Drill Seargent walked up from behind us and says to the last guy, "Now I KNOW you just shit yourself now!"
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