It has been almost a week since I returned from my 8 day FTX. It took me that long to recover *just kidding*. This time, the weather cooperated (mid 60’s to low 80’s!!!) and we seemed to have a bit more time to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, I will tell you that I don’t miss sleeping with Jason…my M16A2 that I was assigned. I named it after my favorite action star Jason Statham (I was not the only one that named my weapon…I was in a tent full of chicks, so we all decided to have fun with it). You have to understand that you don’t go anywhere without your weapon. Eating chow - have your weapon. Washing your face - have your weapon. Using the port-a-john - have your weapon. I was all too happy to turn Jason in when it was over.

So what was the most "memorable" moment of this FTX? Other than getting a shower day (you don’t realize how much you miss soap until you can’t use it regularly…), we had the dreaded gas chamber.

I cannot fully describe to you how much it sucked. It is something that one must experience to fully understand. Once I was instructed to remove my mask, I was barely able to say where I was from and my social before the choking fit set in. Someone got a photo of me coming out and it will be just a matter of time before I end up on someone’s blog out there with snot coming out of my nose and tears in my eyes. There were 2 psychos in my class that went through 5 times! Crazy thing about all this is that the gas was only at 40% strength! Needless to say, I was happy when that was over.

After 9 years of work, I decided to retire my boots that I was issued in Basic Combat Training. These boots got me through BCT, AIT, PLDC, BNCOC and numerous field related training classes at WRAIR. They were very comfy, but also very worn. They didn’t attempt to shine anymore nor did they accept Kiwi. Someone referred to it as a Hershey bar because of all the brown showing. I’m not really sure if I could throw them away just yet, but I do know that I can’t wear them outside of paintball anymore.

Will I ever get used to the field? Doubt it. Will I put up with it to get the job done? Absolutely. As I learn more about my new role in the military, there will be more playing in the dirt in my future.