Day 40 (Friday May 8, 2009)

In the previous episode, we found our "hero" (quit laughing) thoroughly exhausted from a long day's shoot...

My quick nap lasted about 80 minutes before having to get up and head to a classroom where we needed to clean our weapons from last night's shooting extravaganza.  What began as an hour and a half instruction and practical on cleaning turned into an 8 hour cleansing of all things metal.  (Not so bad, but most of us had only a little over an hour of sleep in the past day and a half...felt like residency again.)  First, the weapons we shot the night before were, basically, dipped in a solvent tank to help remove or loosen up the carbon and copper deposits that build up over the course of firing.  While this helped, it's amazing how stingy some of these deposits are and where they accumulate...always in the smallest, most difficult places to get to.  Anywho, our Navy-Army teams trudged admirably and knocked out every weapon we used...and probably some we didn't.  I'm pretty sure our instructors added a few that needed to be done and figured our free labor was better than theirs.  

Our only real break in the day (from cleaning) was a trip to the EST (Engagement Skills Trainer).  Here, we shot our M4's (personal rifle) for the first time.  Well, let me clarify; we didn't actually shot them as much as we attached a laser to the end of them and dry-fired them at targets.  This simulator exercise was done in a building where we shot at targets on a screen about 10-15 meters away.  The screen simulated targets at distances from 50 to 300 meters (I think).  It was fun, however, one of the three positions we shot in was lying on our bellies with sand bags supporting the weapon (called "prone supported").  This, in itself, would not have been so bad had it not been for my helmet continually falling into my field of vision...my body armor was pushing on the back of the helmet forcing the front down.  But, after I took off my gloves and stuffed them into the inside of my helmet, it sat higher on my head and seemed to work just fine.  The other two positions we shot in were the "prone unsupported" where we lean on our elbows, and "kneeling unsupported".  I shot well enough to score a "Sharp Shooter" qualification, hitting 31/40 targets.

As the day ended, I was officially sapped.  In bed by 2030, asleep by 2031.

While I don't have any pictures for this day, I do have a picture my sister sent me, entitled...Your Care Package.  Cute, huh?  This is Isabella and I's nephew, Maddex.