Training days 26-34: Basic Warrior Training

How does two weeks pass without much to say about them? Maybe that means I’ve settled into the routine?

The only real thing of note was BWT last week, which translated to a few days “in the field” smeared in cami paint and charging around the woods like a bunch of ROTC pinheads on a field trip. I can’t speak for the non-combat arms Marines in the class, but those of us who live less comfortably in the sandbox chalked the whole experience up as one that could have been effectively compressed into two easy days with plenty of time left over for pizza and beer back at the barracks in between. My one decent takeaway was terrain familiarization with Page Field, where all of BWT takes place as well as the Crucible.

Page Field…
an old airfield with plenty of tricks hiding in the tree line.

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I’ve always gotten more sleep in the field than anywhere else, when I’m stateside that is, and BWT was no exception. It’s kind of like camping. Once the sun goes down and there’s nothing else to do, everyone just goes to sleep. I was in the rack, passed the hell out and sawing logs, by 1930. Four times that night I was awoken, twice by hand by the Marine sleeping on the deck next to me, and twice by the fire watch, for snoring too loudly. I even woke myself up a few times, but I don’t count those because it happens quite a bit.

But let it be known I wasn’t the only one. With about sixty Marines in one hooch, there were plenty of others rattling the rafters as well. I guess I’ve just slept alone for so long I don’t even realize I do it anymore. Apparently, I still do.

All in all I can’t say BWT was an entirely unpleasant experience, but I definitely saw room for streamlining. Regardless, I believe we all learned something out there. I learned that 150 yards of buddy team bounding will make your legs feel like too many drunken rounds on “the bull” in Tijuana. I learned that enough high and low crawling through sand will eventually chew multiple layers of skin off knees and elbows (and yet, somehow, I’ve never had to high or low crawl in actual combat). And I learned that MREs still taste like crap unless you heat them up.

YUT!