What I have learned

Ok guys I am going to mix things up a bit in this post. Instead of the usual update on what Im doing, I am going to tell you a few of the things I have learned since I have been in the Army. The posts have been getting a little repetative I thing and its about time to shake things up a bit. Its been 6+ months now so there have been a few changes to my outlook on life and how I approach situations. Here are a few things I have learned and been taught by the Army.

Friends. I had friends before the Army, but the group of guys I call my battles have changed my perception of what a true friend is. Everyday I see them, heck I sleep in the same room with two of them, and evrything I have done, they have been right next to me doing the same thing, going through the same pain and feelings. They have never let me down and have always been there to pick me up when I get knocked down or having a bad day. We go out and have fun on the weekends together and then we all get smoked together whe we get back on Sunday. How do you describe the bond that we share? How do you put into words that we have a job that means we put our lives litterally in each other hands? I have 4 guys that will take a bullet for me and I know, if put in the situation, I would do the same. They would never leave me behind, be it in a combat zone or a bar or a class or a run. This was one of the things I was looking foward to when I joined. I had heard stories of guys still talking to Army buddies years later and now I know why.

Family. The Army has taught me the importance of my family. Before I joined, I had gone off on my own and kinda left my family behind. I can remember not calling Mom or Dad for 3 months straight one time andnot really thinking twice about it. I thought I could do things on my own. I was naive and selfish but now its like they are my main supporters. I guess it had to do with the fact that I was not doing much with my life and I was more embarassed than anything. But being in the Army has given me something to be proud about and something for my family to be proud about. Now if I more than a week without a call home, I feel like I missed something. Everytime I get a chance to see them, I savor every moment because I dont know when the next time will be. The Amry has shown me that not every family is as strong and as close as mine and it makes me happy knowing I have someone rooting for me back home and a bed to sleep in whenever I come back. I love you guys and thanks for being there for me all the time, not just when it was easy or convienent.

Organization. A strange concept of a 23 year old to be learning but as my family can atest to, I have never been what you may call a "neat" person. haha far fromit really. The Army gives you limited space for living so it makes you learn how to organize your crap. My wall locker my not always be inspection ready but everything has a place and for the most part it stays that way. My bed is always made and my clothes are always clean. I have alot more person pride in my uniform and the way I look. I get ticked off when someone is out of uniform or wearing it wrong. Major difference from my previous life. Example: In high school, I wore pajama pants to class. Now I make my bed everyday so tight you can bounce a quarter off of it. Before, it was a rare occasion that my bed got made. Things have changed.

Excercise. I get plenty of it. 5 days a week at 0800 I either run 3+ miles or do push ups, sit ups, and over head hand claps untill muscle failure. I am close to the best shape I have ever been in. Heck, I just took my end of cycle PT test and ran my 2 mile in 15:18. Before the Army, I had to stop to walk on the second lap, less than a half mile. While I dont love doing it, I have still learned the importance of being in good shape and how it gives you energy to accomplish the mission. I used to sleep 12+ hours a day and still not have the energy like I do now. Plus I got biceps again and you know how the ladies love the guns :)

Respect. I have always been respectful towards other people and my elders, teachers and coaches but now I have a solid reason. Life is tough and brutal if you are not prepared for it. The people who have gone through it before me have learned alot and if they are willing to pass along knowledge that will make my time easier then I am gonna open an ear and listen. I have a newfound respect towards veterns now that only the Army could instill. The men and women that have given their lives for this counrty have done the ultimate deed. Its just one of those things I took for granted before that I look at completely different now.

Self Defense. I know how to operate and maintain numerous weapon systems including my left and right fists. I pity the poor sap that tries to jump me in an alley now. I can protect myself and those around me with force if necessary but I also know when that level of protection is needed.

First Aid. I can start a IV. I know how to treat burns, wounds and bone fractures in a combat zone or out of one. I know how to treat a tension pneumothorax (needle chest decompression) and a sucking chest wound. I found out the hard way about personal hygene and what a miracle foot powder is.

Patience. Hurry up and wait. The Army's unwritten motto. Things arent always going to be done right away for you so sometimes you have to just do them yourself. I have stood in lines for inprocessing for 10 hours for a week straight. As my drill sergent told us, either you learn it on your own or it will be taught by blunt force trauma. That week was an example of the latter. Some people will not grasp concepts right away and sometimes you have to teach them and wait for them to catch up. Basic training was alot of that. Everybody had to be the same page every step of the way and if they fell behind you had to wait for them to catch up.

Puncuality. I have never been on time for much in my life. Senior year of high school I think I had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 tardies and college wasnt any better. Im not what you call a morning person. But since I have been in the Army, 0445 formations are nothing new and I have yet to be late. I have never been late to class or any formation for that matter. I even shock myself sometimes with the ease of getting up in the morning now.

Thats all I can think of right now. I am sure there are some I am forgetting but I will add them in a later "themed" post. Hope you enjoyed.

Pvt. Warnock out.

Yeah I know it been awile...

Ah ok here it is. The long awaited update. have really been slacking on this blog thing. Sorry to all you guys for the length of time inbetween these posts but as you read this lastest installment, maybe you will get an idea why it has taken so long.

Where to begin? Well I have only 3 more weeks of class left and then a week of Capstone which is a 4 day long FTX that is an accumulation of all that we have learned and put into a real world environment. The class I am now is really boring. We are learning how to send emails in the Army way and through a special program. So far we have learned how to install Windows XP, how to write and understand the basics of binary code, install routers and switches, basic operation of the SINCGARS radio, basic operation of the TACSAT radio that communicates via satellite instead of conventional line of sight, set up the OE 254 attenna, the FBCB2 navagational system and now we are on super easy email class. I still got the highest grade in the class so thats good. Hopefully that will translate into a promotion at graduation time. Speaking of promotions, I will be a E2 PV2 on July 1. No biggie there, its a mandatory promotion that everyone gets after 6 months service but the bump in pay will be nice and i will actually be able to wear sme rak on my uniform. Just the first step towards much more hopefully.

Now for the explanation as to why it has been awhile since my last post. Actually I think there was a blue moon durning my last post. Basically in a nut shell, Saturday was the first time in 6 days I got more than 4 hours of consecutive sleep. Last weekend, there was 6 people that got arrested so needless to say our sergents werent too happy about that. Instead of doing the logical thing and punishing the 6 jailbaits, they said it was our fault for not looking out for our battle buddies. I can say that no one in my group that i hang with on the weekends got in ay trouble but it was still my fault for the 6. Ah I love mass punishment. So because of the trouble makers, we got put on lockdown for the weekend and our sergents were screwing with us all week. PT got pushed up, because of the heat, to 0800. My class doesnt get back till 0100 and sleep just isnt possible untill about 0200 anyways so thats just 6 hours anyways. the sergents get this great joy of waking up at 0300 or 0400 for no apparent reason to clear the barracks and make us stand in formation on the basketball court to yell at us for the idiocracy of one or two individuals that want to do something retarded like smoke in the barracks or miss bedcheck. Here was how my sleep went for the week. Mon night: 0245-0340 for a missed bedcheck, Tues night: 0430-0445 cause first shift didnt want to come down for their morning formation, Wed night 0300-0415 for a UA (urine analysis ie drug test for 20% of the company), Thurs night 0200-0400 Zupo, Woo and I had hall guard/CQ and Fri night at 0500 my class had to get up to get our phase 5+ badges. A silver lining on a cloudy week, I am now a phase 5+ which means after class gets out Fri night/Sat morning we can leave for the weekend and dont have to report back untill recall on Sun which is usually 1800. So back to the crazy schedule, third shift has been getting the short straw all week and hs been filling up any free time with pillow time. I slept more during sunlight than i did at night. We have all been walking zombies this week. I really dont know how i stayed awake in my classes. We have been slamming energy drinks just to keep a slit open between the eyelids. I was so drained this weekend all i did was lay around the hotel room and sleep and watch tv. I only went outside to get fast food and then back to rehibernate. The time I wasnt sleeping I was spending time with this amazing girl I met a few weeks ago. More on her later folks.

Now for the usual weather update. You know that song by the Charlie Daniels Band "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"? You know why he came here? Becasue it reminded him of hell. Its hot as hell here! We have been in heat category 5 for 3 straight weeks now. In heat cat 5 technnically we are only allowed to do 10 minutes of work and then they are susposed to give us 50 minutes rest. Susposed to. haha thats laughable. No really they havent been pushing ttoo hard. Too many heat casualities, heat stoke heat exhaustion stuff like that. Seriously you walk 300 feet and you kiss the clothes you are wearing away, they will be drenched in sweat. I have done more laundry in the past few weeks than Mom did during football season. Be thankful you guys live in Ohio. It may be hot but you dont have the humidity like it is here. So drink water, stay hydrated and tell your parents a quick thanks for settling in Ohio.

Ah my favorite part of this update. I get to brag about the girl I met. Her name in L'erin (she white Mom, you can pick yourself off the floor now, her mom just has some style and flair haha) and she is a civilian that grew up in Georgia so she talks with a southern accent. Zupo who grew up in Georgia before moving to Oklahoma told me about the southern belle accent and what it does to guys. He could of never been more true. I could listen to her talk for hours because of the accent. Its just so freaking cute. She has a little sister that she watches durning the week that I got to meet last weekend and she is just full of energy. Its like someone gave her a pound of chocolate and let her loose. But she is a cutie and a sweetheart so she can get away with it. I have really gotten something to look foward to all week now and it is really helping the weeks go by faster. I wasnt so sure of how it would be seeing someone after Kim and how I would feel about it but L'erin is the medicine I have been looking for. I just really enjoy spending time with her and getting to know her. She is down to earth and grounded. Her past relationships havent been what you would call healthy ones. She always saya that she has never been treated right before so thanks Mom and Dad for the raising me right. It makes it easy to know how to conduct yourself in a relationship when you have a great model to learn from. Im sure youll be hearing much more about L'erin in future posts so untill then Ill just leave you in suspense...

Thats all for now guys. I got a movie that i want to finish and the thumbs got their workout so keep your eyes open for a future post. It will be here sooner tha you think.

Your Soldier-in-Heat Cat 5
Frank