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PatrickKn



Registered: 07/10/11
Posts: 20,847
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MDC
#21625723 - 05/02/15 11:48 AM (9 years, 18 days ago) |
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Hello all, got out of basic training a week ago. I'm at AIT now and have a lot more freedoms comparatively. This base allows students to have phones and laptops and stuff, so it's a big difference. Was a long 10 weeks, an overall solid experience though.
The company I was with during basic was a bit stricter than most other companies from what I can gather being out for a week now. We were only allowed to use our phones once during the entire 10 week period, where other companies had phone usage once or twice a week. We also were the first basic training cycle ever to qualify on M4's with CCO attachments (red dot sights) rather than on M16's with iron sights. They said we were the guinea pig group for training with red dots and M4's and that they are going to slowly phase them in to all the basic training cycles soon.
Was a pretty cool time. I was a squad leader for most of basic training, during FTX and stuff. I enjoyed the tactical side of things quite a bit, want to get more in depth with field tactics while I'm in. Lost 25 pounds during basic - that was all healthy weight loss too. When I first arrived, my run time was 17:00 for a 2 mile. By the third and final APFT test I was running a 14:15 - not perfect, but a huge improvement for myself. I'm training for a 13:00 2 mile right now.
I have a really long AIT. It's supposed to be 28 weeks, but the first thing people who've been here for a while told me was that we are going to be here for a bit longer, closer to 35 weeks. It's not too bad though, it's been a pretty nice time. There is a group of 10 of us that came from the same company to this last weeks AIT class cycle - we start classes this Wednesday and have mostly been doing work details around the base for the last week.
I went to the briefing for ranger candidacy a few days ago. I'm not contracted into it, but it's something I'm considering going for. I have 30-35 weeks to get my PT way up there, and plenty of opportunity to hit the gym during the week and do ruck sack runs on the weekends, so I think I'll be solid on getting in. Fortunately the company I'm with for AIT is pretty gung-ho on PT. You're supposed to get 60's in each event to pass normally, but here they are requiring 70's or else you do remedial PT everyday.
Basically been doing this stuff for the last 10 weeks, haha. How's everyone, what have I missed?
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TopPmz
<No Title>


Registered: 01/13/13
Posts: 2,615
Loc: FL
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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I was literally wondering how your training was going. Glad you stopped in.
That sounds pretty awesome. I got a couple buddies in the Army, and I was in, but got out prior to BCT for a girl. What's your MOS, with 35 week AIT?
-------------------- "Freedom Isn't Free" is only half correct. True freedom doesn't exist in the society we exist in. What the saying really means is "The Illusion of Freedom Isn't Free"
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Connoisseur

Registered: 05/13/11
Posts: 34,686
Last seen: 5 years, 6 months
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what up everyone? very beautiful day outside in my neck on the woods just went to the gas station to buy a pack of turkish golds now im just chillin out on the couch drinkin some water
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PatrickKn



Registered: 07/10/11
Posts: 20,847
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Quote:
TopPmz said: I was literally wondering how your training was going. Glad you stopped in.
That sounds pretty awesome. I got a couple buddies in the Army, and I was in, but got out prior to BCT for a girl. What's your MOS, with 35 week AIT?
25S, Satellite Operator and Maintainer. It's the longest AIT out of all the 25 series MOS's, at least the entry level ones that I know of. Looking forward to starting classes though. They've said that the guys who do really well in class are able to do 1C training (signals coordinator training), which is an additional 18 weeks after the initial 30-35 weeks. That's set aside for the guys who do the best in class, don't have any counselings, solid PT scores etc. On the flip side, you can do tactical training instead. If I do the ranger stuff, that's what I'd be doing - but since it isn't in my contract I may try to do both tac training and 1C training as well, as I've heard there were a couple people who were able to do that.
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Adden

Registered: 06/04/03
Posts: 39,201
Loc:
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Brushing up on the Marvel Universe on Wikipedia in anticipation for a Sunday matinee of Age of Ultron. My mother threw all my comics away, I don't think I'd read them anyway and just get collector editions / compilations that I wouldn't mind being ruined. I have some gems of my old books still but not all 600 or whatever.
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TopPmz
<No Title>


Registered: 01/13/13
Posts: 2,615
Loc: FL
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Quote:
PatrickKn said:
Quote:
TopPmz said: I was literally wondering how your training was going. Glad you stopped in.
That sounds pretty awesome. I got a couple buddies in the Army, and I was in, but got out prior to BCT for a girl. What's your MOS, with 35 week AIT?
25S, Satellite Operator and Maintainer. It's the longest AIT out of all the 25 series MOS's, at least the entry level ones that I know of. Looking forward to starting classes though. They've said that the guys who do really well in class are able to do 1C training (signals coordinator training), which is an additional 18 weeks after the initial 30-35 weeks. That's set aside for the guys who do the best in class, don't have any counselings, solid PT scores etc. On the flip side, you can do tactical training instead. If I do the ranger stuff, that's what I'd be doing - but since it isn't in my contract I may try to do both tac training and 1C training as well, as I've heard there were a couple people who were able to do that.
That sounds pretty exciting. I had a high enough AFQT to do anything I wanted when I was joining, and for some reason I chose 68B (light-wheels mechanic).
Sounds like you'll potentially have a very interesting and rewarding military experience. Are you active duty or reserves?
-------------------- "Freedom Isn't Free" is only half correct. True freedom doesn't exist in the society we exist in. What the saying really means is "The Illusion of Freedom Isn't Free"
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PatrickKn



Registered: 07/10/11
Posts: 20,847
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I'm active. I'm planning on doing at least 20 years, but who knows. A lot of people with this MOS only do their 4 or 6 years because it's pretty easy to get a solid civilian or government job with the training. Plus all the school you do during AIT translates into actual college credits apparently. So a lot of people don't stay past their initial contracts. That means it's both easy to rank up fast, and that you'll have jobs lined up if I chose not to go that route. That would be on the strategy side of things.
If I do the ranger route (tactical side of things), and get stationed with a ranger unit, you can go from an PVT (E-1) to an NCO (E-5) in like 2 and a half years supposedly (which is less than half the time). Either route I take should have a lot of opportunities open to me. I'm definitely psyched for it all. I'm just going to suck it all in.
I just wanna do everything I can really. Take as much supplemental training as I can get. There's a lot out there, from combatives training (modified ju-jujitsu kind of stuff), to getting qualified on all the military vehicles, airborne training, language training, weapons qualification and all kinds of tactical field stuff. I just want to stay on top of my game so I'm eligible for all that extra training stuff. I'll just constantly do supplemental training and change MOS's as I learn everything in the previous one, haha.
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TopPmz
<No Title>


Registered: 01/13/13
Posts: 2,615
Loc: FL
Last seen: 1 year, 8 months
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Don't forget that after a couple years, you can get a secondary MOS, to make yourself even more marketable.
All the cool civilian jobs open up to you after like 10 years active, or like 3-4 years in combat.
-------------------- "Freedom Isn't Free" is only half correct. True freedom doesn't exist in the society we exist in. What the saying really means is "The Illusion of Freedom Isn't Free"
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Adden

Registered: 06/04/03
Posts: 39,201
Loc:
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We have some veterans on our crew for business and engineering stuff and those guys make three or four times as much as supervisors. They can look at a laid out map or schematic once and end up doing the work of 3-5 people twice as fast. Discipline and hands-on work are very hard to come by. I hate asking people about their service in case things hit the fan or they have ptsd, usually wait for them to say something first.. one of the guys was (I think?) army corps of engineers which would explain why he's ad good as four men. I guess if you can figure out how to pull a tank out of quicksand with quick math and applied practical methods then you can look at a schematic once and just know the entire task at hand.
A lot of respect for men, women and others who have served. It's admirable on top of being cool for literally being a real-life level 99 warrior protecting the kingdom.
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VivaLaMushie
RIP LS :(


Registered: 07/23/12
Posts: 15,711
Loc: Switzerland
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Re: MDC [Re: Adden]
#21626007 - 05/02/15 01:09 PM (9 years, 18 days ago) |
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Just took a shower. Doing some laundry. Will leave it in the dryer and put it away tomorrow LOL
i'm tired. I ended up sleeping in the recliner in our living room last night because of issues, but it was actually comfortable.
I want to watch the fight tonight, hopefully that firtrowssports website works. I gotta see who gets knocked out first!
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Adden

Registered: 06/04/03
Posts: 39,201
Loc:
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I had 500 units of Botox injected in my cervical and thoracic areas of my back. I'm like all sorts of messed up. I was awake at 3am sweating a drug test for work before I went off to the hospital, then went in for the procedure, didn't get to bed until 10:30pm, so like almost 20 hours. I had a brief hit of fentanyl/nitrous but nothing to take me down, just enough to get trigger point muscle knots the size of quarters plunged into and tore apart and injected with a killed virus.
I've had nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and really very weird headspace. It's a killed virus or whatever so it's like getting a flu shot and feeling crappy for a few days.
So naturally I'm smoking weed and watching cartoons, about to powerlevel a Diablo 3 level 70, but I've had two gallons of water already and haven't peed once.
Then again I smoked like 40 to 60 cigarettes yesterday, a dozen or more large Starbucks bottles, a Starbucks iced macchiato, comfort food.
The doctor put some time release opiate injection in to some trigger points which I've never had before. I was too out of it, maybe it was even a high percentage lidocaine, it's got me goofy.
I didn't prepare for having a 3 day weekend feeling fluish, especially after a procedure, but hey in a week I'll know if this worked.
Then right before we move to Oregon I have one more scheduled, so if this works for pain relief I want them done from the bottom of my scalp to top of my asscrack, and just pray it lasts until I can find another pain provider.
This is a lot better than being on 3x 80mg OxyContin a day, 12x 30mg oxycodone a day, 6x of any one of these three a day Norco/Vicoprofen/Zohydro. Some of the trigger point lidocaine injections are helping a lot, they changed the corticosteroids for my epidural and that helped.
At least my pain is getting better and this was a fast short taper 8 months ago and now an extended taper on a very low dose with real pain management techniques.
Tl;dr I can't wait for medical Marijuana, I've been on some weed forums and pain forums and there are some people who legitimately attest to strains knocking their pain out like opiates. I mean, even right now, I take two hits of a high THC sativa and my spasms are gone in ten minutes. Eight hits and my appetite is back, pack another bowl and I'm asleep.
@Viva, I'm still keeping you in my thoughts that you get better, we are both stuck in crummy medical circumstances. And please do thank your other half for texting me after your grand-mal seizures, I was worried.
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