The relentless heat that I wrote about last week continues to persist - today D said that it had been between 105 and 110 (F) all week. Add the soupy Oklahoma humidity to that, and misery is guaranteed. As a precaution for heat-related injuries, D's platoon has been transported by vehicle to most of their training sessions this week.
Also from last week, D found out for certain that some range activities have been canceled - like NIC-at-Night. But, he did get to throw two live grenades this week, which I know he enjoyed. They qualified on Saturday with hand grenades, but D wasn't sure of his level since their session was cut short with only 6 tosses instead of 7. Regardless, he hit all 6!
The last PT test is in two weeks, and D still has to cut about 40 seconds from his run, although he's been scoring well on sit-ups and push-ups in the practice runs. The physical expectations have been D's challenge from the beginning - he did lose about 50 pounds to get in, remember - but he's been doing great at gradually progressing. Today when I told him, "You can do it, honey - run like the wind!" He replied, "I'm running home to you, baby."
This coming week will involve more Advanced Marksman activities, including a rush simulation where the soldiers will carry their weapons (in full battle armor) through an "under-fire" scenario, running from cover to cover with others covering. It should be interesting, since the last run is done with live ammunition in their rifles (although no ammo is fired - theoretically - as long as everyone remembers to keep the safety on!) for the weight.
We're getting so close to graduation, I can hardly stand it. I thought that the last half of the summer would be easier to handle since I've (we've) muscled through 6+ week like champs, but it being so close and yet so far is rough. The days are flowing like molasses - or that could just be me in the 100+ degree heat.
We're almost there!
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