BOLC Week 7, 8, and 9

I was able to see first hand just how small the Army is. My original roommate that I had when I began BOLC left just as week 5 was beginning from an injury. I had been enjoying the time on the weekends of being by myself. Sunday mid morning I had gotten up and started my bathroom routine...with the door open. I mean, when you live by yourself, what does it matter? You can imagine my shock when I heard someone slide their key into my door and the doorknob turning. Here I am in a somewhat compromising position and I'm getting visitors!! I tried to quickly recover and waddle around the corner of the bathroom to view the doorway. The whole time I called out to my intruder trying to figure out who on earth it was. I was COMPLETELY shocked to see who it was.... My new roommate was actually an old roommate. It was Soo Kim, my roommate from Olivet! She is part of the next BOLC class and was slotted in to my room. Neither of us had requested anything, it just worked out.

The next morning I headed out to the field for the last time. This final week of training was focused on Warrior Leader Tasks and Convoy training. We had some really cool training. We used something called the HEAT trainer which is essentially a HMMV that rotates 360 degrees to simulate a rollover. They leave you suspended in awkward positions and then you and your teammates must find the open door and get every soldier to that door to get out. It needs to be taken seriously, but I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. Another simulation we used was for convoy training. I got the lucky selection of being the convoy commander for the exercise. Your group is divided between 4 vehicles. There is a driver, obviously, the truck commander, a few passengers/gunners, and a gunner out of the top. We did the simulation indoors. Each vehicle was in a separate room with a video projected up on all of the walls. Similar to the racing games you'd find at an arcade we drove our vehicles through the scenario navigating around vehicles, people, and even IED situations. While it was a little stressful I maintained a calm and collected approach to the situation and managed to do pretty well. I was relieved. Later we went on to do a real convoy operation with our instructors as our drivers for real vehicles. You definitely gain a huge amount of respect for the soldiers who do convoys each day. There are so many variables to consider it is difficult to make decisions, especially when you are only receiving intel on the radio and not with your own eyes. It's sooooo much more than just "driving around" or whatever else people may think it's like.

We were gassed this week as well. It wasn't as bad as my first, but I don't have any intentions of putting it on my to do list any time soon. They brought us in to a small room with the CS tablets smoking in the middle. Due to the weather we only wore masks instead of all the rubberized gear that we wear. When your sweaty skin is exposed to the gas it begins to burn pretty intensely. I feels like the worst sunburn you've ever had. However, eventually your body gets tired of responding and you go numb to it. They had us jog around in a circle singing cadences before breaking the seal on our masks. Luckily all we had to do was say a few bits of information and we were out the door. Of course my eyes teared uncontrollably and I could barely open them for the next 10 minutes, but all in all, things went well.

Week 8 we began our tracks. Finally we were divided into our specialty groups to learn more about how you fit into the big Army. The highlight of this week was our TNCC training. I was pretty concerned about this considering the difficulty I had getting through nursing school, but things went really well. The instructors were clear and concise. They stuck to the important parts that we are going to need to know for our own practice. We spent two days receiving lectures and on the third day we took a written test as well as a skills test. Luckily I was able to pass everything on the first try...what a relief that was!!!

Week 9 has been slow. I think that's because I'm getting so excited to get home. I've enjoyed my time here and all the people I have met, but I'm ready to reconnect with my husband and get ready for the next phase in Fort Hood. We were able to meet our head nurse a few times this past week. Things seem good so far, I suppose that's because I don't really know what I should be asking yet. We've also met with what would be considered our branch managers, or hrc, to get the scoop for career planning. I have to admit I am more confused than ever before. I'm just going to have to leave everything in God's hands because I don't know what I should do. I guess everything will be revealed in time. I just don't want to come to a point in my life where I regret any decisions...maybe you can't avoid some of those once in a while. Perhaps it is only when you're truly following God's lead can you live without regret.

In the mean time I just can't wait to get home and spend time with Eric. I have missed him so much. I don't know how I'm going to do another 12 weeks apart after my leave at home. Whew! Praying for a good support system at Hood and a solid start to my Army nursing career.