One Day at a Time

So, that's my new motto. Just take it one day at a time.

We're out of the classroom and doing more field work, and I admit that in basic training my weak area was the class room, because I was prone to the zzz monster there. Here I've gained enough discipline not to conk out into a full blown coma every day so now that we're out of the classroom, well, we're doing ranges now. Ranges is what I like, heck, this is why I wanted to become a drill sergeant.

Yesterday was a not so good day, and I was frustrated with myself and just grumpy and overall not a happy ball of sunshine. I've noticed that PT in the mornings generally start the mood off right. If I stay out of the drill sergeant's radar for pt, I usually do ok. Often times, even if I think I'm doing the right thing, and I get yelled at, it just puts me in a freakin' grump fest for the rest of the day. Like yesterday.

Today was different. One, well, PT went nice and smoothly. And two, bayonet.

The bayonet course is one of those things in the army that they really don't use anymore. I mean seriously, can you imagine soldiers fixing bayonets and fighting with them in Iraq? If you have to fix bayonets, then you're screwed. The whole reason for the bayonet course in basic is to motivate soldiers, because it's an army thing and it's fun!

The Bayonet course was one of my favorite things about basic training initially, and its partly the mood of the course, where you yell 'kill' at random and growl, hiss, spit and make menacing gestures to your opponent (another soldier or a figure made out of old tires). Its a course that is purely about motivation.

When you go through these courses as a Drill Sergeant rather then a private, I notice they go a lot faster though.

Anyway, for the next couple weeks I'll probably be saying 'kill' at random moments. I let off a lot of steam and just felt good after ramming a bayonet into a tire a few dozen times while screaming myself hoarse. One of the drill sergeants got a picture of me in full bayonet i wanna kill somebody mode and I kind of want to get a copy of that picture (or pictures, depending on how many she took) but it was a freakin' fun course! One of those things that gets you motivated to be a drill sergeant again and to do this job.

So I'm motivated again. And I'm just going to focus on this one day at a time. Some days are going to be awesome, other days are just going to suck. Fortunately, we have maybe five more days in the class room before the end of the class so I just have to behave myself, say 'yes drill sergeant' and 'no drill sergeant' and all questions that are asked of me that are not able to be answered by a simple yes or no are purely rhetorical and therefore I just need to remain silent. (unless they genuinely want an answer)

We are getting to mingle more and more with the privates. The privates are kind of fun, in a panicky snap to parade rest because they have a deep fear of you sort of way.