Sink or Swim.........

`I think I will start giving wake-up times and times I get home in each post from now on so...Wake-up(0445)  Return Home(2100).  Another long day, we spent the bulk of the morning getting our packs and gear that we will use in the field for the next six months.  It was strange to actually receive NICE gear instead of the CRAP that supply normally gives you.  Most of my gear is either brand new will tags still attached, or looks very close to brand new.  My arch enemy when it comes to gear is the helmet.  It never seems to fit right, is uncomfortable, and is broken in some way...not this time.  Perfect fit, is equipped with a new age head harness that feels great, and is completely functional.  Overall gear issues went fine, although 150 lieutenants doing there own thing leads to a lot of wasted time. Sometimes yelling a direction come in handy.

In the afternoon was swim qualification.  The Marine Corps has 4 quals and Officers are required to get the next to highest qual level which is cws 2.  Someone must have told the base that electricity and water does not go togeather and decided to turn off the electricity to the pool.  This delayed our training for 2.5 hours so we were unable to finish thus only getting cws 3 qualified. We will continue tomorrow. For those that are wondering, cws 1 is the highest level.  Each lever requires different things, but basically envolves some form of jumping in water from a platform with pack, cammies, and weapon and then performing some task such as combat survival strokes, gear removal, buddy rescues, improvised inflation devices such as using your pants as a life vest, etc...

The day ending with a class of how to utilize the Chaplin while in command and a field day(super cleaning the barracks)