I awoke at 0500 this morning. After a quick shit & shave and brushing of my teeth, I donned my uniform, strapped on my rucksack and we were off for a five mile morning hike. All went well, and plenty of good PT was had by all. Once we got back to the barracks we did fifty ‘clean & jerks’ with our 65 pound rucks and then we were free to spend the rest of the day as we saw fit. For those who don’t know what a clean & jerk is, starting with our rucksack at our feet we grab it by the frame and the lift it up over our heads with our arms fully extended. It’s good exercise, and leaves you hurting.

After I showered and spent 20 minutes laying in my bunk staring at the bunk above me, I got dressed and I went to do my laundry. While one of my team-mates and I were doing our laundry we were speaking to one of the young privates who was currently going through the training for the newly recruited Special Forces guys. I didn’t feel so bad after talking to him, he’d been up since 0400 and had to do 300 push-ups in a slurry of sand and water. And that my friends is no fun at all. He was very excited and motivated as all the young guys usually are. There is something magical in the hearts and minds of the young that age seems to have a very effective method of stripping away.

After my laundry was complete, I went and had some chow (lunch, I skipped breakfast in favor of lying in my bunk for 20 minutes). Cheeseburgers, not bad at all, with some carrots and string beans, and some baked beans. I have had baked beans with nearly every hot meal I have had since I have been here, including several breakfasts. The U.S. Army just seems to love baked beans. The chow is good, and overall I have no real complaints.

Once I was done with chow I decided I would take a walk, and head to the mini-mall on base. Fort Bragg is by far and away the largest military installation I have ever seen in my life. They tell me that it is substantially larger than Fayetteville, which is the town that Fort Bragg is supposedly ‘in’. But I had a map and the weather was nice. I had been to the mini-mall before and I was fairly certain that it was no more than five miles away, an easy distance, especially when you aren’t carrying 65 pounds on your back. I set off.

14 miles, and 3.5 hours later I made my way to the mini-mall. It was not actually that far away, but it turns out that I had started off in the wrong direction, had to back track a few times, and over shot it by nearly 2 miles at the end. To say the very least, I had taken an overly circuitous route. Needless to say, I have not yet graduated from the land navigation course.

In any case I am at the mini-mall now, I am utilizing the cyber-cafe to make this post, and I picked up a few goodies for some of my friends. I can’t wait to get to Fort Dix. I miss Yasmeen, and can’t wait to see her again.