Marine Reserve Drill - Day 1
PART ONE
The windshield wipers struggle to keep up with the rain as the Tracker speeds down the dark interstate. Slower traffic slips past as the man quickly looks to his directions, then the clock...the road...his speed...then back to the road.
It's cold, and I'm going to be late for my first formation. Not good.
Thankfully, I arrive at the strange park with 10 minutes to spare. I find a space in the crowded parking lot and turn off the engine. Looking outside the windshield, I see the dark shadows of people milling around. With a deep breath in, I step outside...to the freezing rain.
I check my uniform and go to the back of my car. With cold weather like this, I'm going to need to put my sweater on under my cammies. Before I get a chance to reach for it, I hear a loud voice in the distance call out, "If you're not in formation you're LATE! Move it Marines!"
Shit! I slam my door shut and run off to the first group of people. They are already calling out last names. Remembering what the First Sergeant told me, I am to find the Fourth Platoon. I tap the random stranger's shoulder next to me. "Hey, where's Fourth Platoon at?"
"Up there." he replies as he points to another random group of camo-clad Marines.
"Thanks!" I say as I jog over to the other formation. The rain is soaking through my clothes. It's at this point, I realize that it's not only raining, but windy as well. This is going well...I'm late and lost.
I jump at the back of poorly organized formation. The guys are all having their own conversations. It's hard to hear anything. I start to shiver. Damn it's cold! It's so dark I can barely make out facial features. There are no street lights on. Everyone has morphed into faceless masses with varying height and voices. I hear something faintly from the front, "If you didn't hear your name called, come up here and let me know."
I step out and push my way through the people mobbing the sides of our formation. By the time I reach the front, the people that were walking around have disappeared. Goddammit! I scan around and see nobody that looks official. I sigh and walk to the back of the formation. When I find a nice spot, I stand there. A tall Marine looks down at me quizzically.
Yeah buddy, I know what you're thinking..."who the fuck are you?!"
I just keep my eyes forward. There will be plenty of time to give a damn about these people later. Right now, I just need to focus on staying warm. I relax into the cold as the shivering starts to rack my body. Don't think about it...just relax...it'll be over soon.
A moving dark mass in the front starts to talk...it's hard to make out what he's saying...
"...alright... get going... fall out and...make sure you...then we'll...after that...good to go?!"
"Ooh-Rah" the Marines in the first squad, closest to him yell.
Oh now what the fuck was that all about? I guess I'll just follow along wi-
"BATTALION Ayeuh-ten-hoo!" I snap to attention. "When I give you the command to fall out, fall out and form up on your designated areas! FALL OUT!"
The mob of cammies start moving toward the soccer field in front of us. A small generator powered light comes on and the grass is dimly illuminated. I stick to my platoon like glue.
In the dark, I'm just another faceless member of the mob. Nice and safe.
Everyone separates and goes in different directions. I pick a group of guys that look they know what they're doing. We start forming into lines in front of a WM (female Marine) with a very warm looking Gore-Tex on. She starts talking in a soft voice. Apparently giving instructions on what we're doing.
"What's this called officially again?" I ask the nearest person.
"CFT, the Combat Fitness Test. Some stupid shit if you ask me.." Noticing my collar, "Corporal."
I nod my head and turn my attention back to the WM. She's taken the first poor soul in line and is walking him slowly through the course.
A quick run down about 20 yards...then running around a small cone backwards. He drops to his face and starts low crawling.
"Ay-YUT! GET SOME!" a loud Marine in the front bellows. He turns to his friend and snickers, "What a dumbass." His friends start laughing.
I look closer at these guys in the dim light...they are all Sergeants. Oh great, THESE are my NCOs! I sigh a little and tighten my arms to my sides a little harder. The pressure keeps the warmth a little more. The wind whips around us, cutting straight through my cammies. Wish I had my sweater right now...
"Oh fuck this, I'm not going next!" the loud Sgt proclaims, then falls out to the back of the line. His three buddies follow. Now I'm third from the front.
I look down to the other side of the field. The Marine is running a weaving pattern from small cone to small cone. In the dim light, I see another line of Marines on the other side. Hmmm...when did they get there?
The first one in that line drops to the ground. The running Marine goes up to him and picks him up under his arms and starts to drag him around the cones. When he reaches the halfway point, he stops, reaches down and picks up his casualty. He "fireman carries" the guy at a slow run back to our line.
I hear him breathing hard as he reaches down and picks up two small ammo cans. The WM instructs him to start running down the course again.
"Oh fuck this..." the Marine up front shakes his head and walks back to the end of the line.
"Hang on dude, I'm coming with you! No way I'm fucking doing this next!" The second Marine leaves.
Now I'm first in line.
...shit...fucking cowards....
I shake my arms out, twist my neck a little, and take a deep breath in...
The Marine arrives back to our line, panting. He drops the ammo cans. I feel my heart beating a little faster. Oh shit...my turn!
"Next one, you're up!" the WM calls out to me.
With a slow jog, I make my way to the first cone.
"Now J-hook around the cone and start low crawling" she instructs.
I drop to the ground and start crawling quickly.
"OOH-RAH MOTIVATOR! GET SOME RAMBO!" The loud Sgt in my line yells.
Yeah fuck you, you fucking coward...at least I'm out here you big pussy!
"Now modified high crawl" the WM reminds. I comply and move forward. "On your feet. Now dodge and weave around the cones."
I feel kinda silly as I run around the staggered cones. What the fuck is this supposed to test?! As I reach the end of course I see my casualty drop. Good, looks like a light-weight.
I pick him up under his arms and start dragging him. "So far so good" my mind tells me. One cone, turn...pull, next cone, turn...pull....next cone...turn...pull...
"Now Fireman's Carry." she says.
"Which shoulder you want me on?" my casualty asks.
Mustering all the bravado I can, I smile at him and smack my right shoulder. "This one should do" I reach down and pull him up. "All comfy?"
"Yeah, let's do it!" he laughs back.
I run back to my original line. The loud fuckers are laughing and having a good ol time. Hope they enjoy the fucking show.
"Okay, now grab your ammo cans-" she starts.
"ALRIGHT MARINES, TIME TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STATION!" a loud voice from nowhere yells.
We start to mob toward the street. After a brief rest, we are told to run down to the end of the street, then run back. Very simple.
"GO!"
I take a slow pace. Immediately I notice how tired carrying that other dude has made me. Running is a little harder than I thought. Yet, somehow, I'm still in the middle of the pack...
Reaching the turn-around point I'm greeted with the wind that was with us as it blasts me in the face. Shit! My nose starts to run a little. Gotta keep my pace!
I start to pass everyone in front of me. Are you fucking kidding me?! It's just a half mile! We get to the end and I'm third out of about 20 Marines. They finish the run panting and gasping. One even stands off to the side and pukes! I take a deep breath and start to get pissed. We're Marines, a small-assed run like that shouldn't take them out!
I keep my eyes focused on a distant point of light and turn my back to the wind. Goddammit, gotta keep warm, gotta keep strong. Looking to the left, I notice a Staff Sergeant chevron. YES! My fuggin Platoon Sergeant!
I introduce myself to him and explain that I didn't have my name called in formation. He understood and wrote my name on the roster. Good, now I don't have to worry about being UA. A few minutes later, it was time to switch stations.
The next station was four small ammo cans lined up next to each other. We lined up single file behind each one. I figured they'd all chicken out, so I picked a spot up front.
The large Sgt. running the station gave a quick briefing on what to do. Grab the ammo can by it's sides, with the top handle facing away from you. Extend your arms out at around a 45 degree angle above your head, then lower it to below your chin. Since we were just being introduced to it, they only had us do twenty of them.
I reached down and picked up the can. It was then I realized how cold and slippery my hands had become. They were numb. Quickly I pumped out all twenty. My arms screaming at me with each heft. The guy behind me counted, and as soon as I finished, I dropped them down and went to the staging area.
As I waited for everyone to finish, my body realized that it was indeed cold...very, very cold. I looked up and saw the rain had switched to sleet. Goddammit it's cold... About twenty minutes later, they called the formation again.
I stood in the front as our Platoon Sgt instructed us to fall out, go to our cars, and head back to the center.
"Platoon AH-TEN-HOO!" We snapped to attention. "When I give you the command to fall out, fall out and head back! Platoon FALL OUT!" My body instantly relaxed and a shiver rocked my body.
I made my way back to the car, opened the door and plopped down in my seat. I started the engine. The heater was on and a wave of heat passed over my face. I sat there and stared out my water covered windshield, trying to absorb what had just happened. A small smile crept across my face...
Damn it feels good to be back!
To be continued...
posted by Silentwarrior @ 8:56 PM
1 Comments:
I've read this a few times, and I can't help but grin. And feel a bit jealous.
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