Drivel...

Forget everything else...

My goal for this cycle is now to figure out the rhythm I need to call "Folsom Prison Blues" as a running cadence.

I called it once and the Privates liked it... but I can make it better.

Oh yeah...

and have 5 experts in my platoon...

Oh yeah...

and 100% pass the PT test the first time...

but Folsom Prison Blues as a running cadence is a high priority.



The PVTs are actually doing very well. They shoot RM7 and 8 on Monday and Qualify on Thursday. They're shooting well so far. Better than the War Pigs were at this point last cycle... but that isn't saying much lol.

One Drill from each platoon is going to pick up a weapon from a PVT and qualify before RM9. It's a competition between the Drills but also a confidence booster for the soldiers if we can pick up a weapon we didn't zero and qualify with it. I will win of course :) The real challenge will be to shoot expert. Anyway, the worst loser has to buy the winners lunch, so that'll be worthwhile.

I watched the debate the other day. Since it really hasn't been analyzed by anyone yet (dripping sarcasm) here's my take on it...

President Bush is not a great public speaker. He is adequate at best, but his strong point is not his style or technique, but his sincerity. It almost does my heart good to see a President stumble a little as he tells you what he really believes. There are entirely too many smooth operaters in politics who could sell snow to eskimos and probably wouldn't hesitate to do so.

Kerry on the other hand is a Master Debater. He is a well oiled verbal machine. He rarely makes a mistake in a straight one on one debate. He does all the research he needs to do to sound bite the President to pieces... and I really couldn't care less. He comes across as condescending and prideful and I've had enough of that.

Overall, as a lot of the analysts have already said, Kerry probably did win on "points" but I don't think he really changed anyone's mind about anything.

I did think it was odd that he would take a position favoring bilateral talks with North Korea as opposed to the Presidents six party position. After all his talk about coalitions and alliances and approval and what a world player he was, I would expect Kerry to jump at the chance to agree with the President on that one point in order to emphasize his differences elsewhere. You'll notice that I work with the assumption that Kerry doesn't really hold a strong position one way or the other, but only wants to score votes. You never know, I guess he could have some real reason for feeling that way. I'm at a loss trying to figure out what it might be though.

Blah...

I just want the election to be over with so we can get back to business. Screw the election year politics. It's a distraction from the things that are really important. We would be better served rolling all the campaign costs into some of the programs that people complain about not being funded enough. If people will spend millions of dollars trying to elect their choice of president, why not just toss that money into education or medical research? Of course, if by some chance the President isn't reelected (God forbid), I will probably wish someone had spent more lol.

Combatives...

Anybody interested in Martial Arts or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or Army Combatives can check out the new link to the United States Combatives Arts Association. I found this today while looking for a t shirt I saw one of my buddies wearing. ("US Army Combatives- Most sports require one ball... some require two." or something like that lol)

Pretty cool site. It has a history and summary and and a bunch of other things related to the Army Combatives system. SFC Larsen is the guy who taught us several years ago down at Benning. I believe he is still there, or at least he was a few months ago. Good guy.

We had our third period of instruction in Unarmed Combat yesterday. It went pretty well. I am pretty confident that when we have the final competition my platoon will do very well. I have been trying to keep them focused on technique and theory rather than letting them get caught up in the excitement of choking people out and arm bars etc. While the other platoons were teaching all the submissions, I still had mine fighting bouts for dominant body position only. We'll see if it pays off in 2 weeks when they fight against other platoons. I know a few of the other Drills really want to beat my platoon since they know Combatives is one of my favorite things.

I fought a couple of the soldiers yesterday. I think they must have a plan to incrementally kick my ass. I haven't even broken a sweat beating them yet, but each time I fight em they "accidentally"; 1. headbutt me in the mouth, 2. punch me in the mouth, or 3. headbutt me in the forehead. I guess if I fight enough of them they will wear me down lol. (They really were accidents. Just like I tell them... "big boy rules". If you're not bleeding you're probably not training hard enough.)

I've got a good bunch of soldiers again. I really don't have any hardcases who would be unsalvageable. I had a few in the beginning who started off rough, but they have made a big turnaround in recent days. Friday I think we "turned the corner" (I think I talked about that concept in a way earlier post last cycle). Turning the corner is what I call it when you can smell success like rain in the distance. The platoon starts to think like a team instead of individuals, and they start to work together toward a common goal. They start taking pride in group achievements and the discipline of the entire platoon instead of just themselves.

[I just reread the first paragraph. I am sure that in today's PC world, somebody will take offense at the statement on that T shirt. They will probably say that it implies that women are inferior to men and it degrades the ball-less gender and eventually somebody will need months of therapy because of it lol. Let me just say that I believe in true equality for women. This means that I try not to treat them ANY differently than men. This means that I don't baby them or make special considerations for them that in my opinion would do more than imply that they were weak. The enemy will not afford them any special treatment in combat (hopefully), so they had better get used to the idea now. If you read about last cycle you will remember PVT P. (who I would rather have watching my back in combat than many of the males in my platoons). I have several females in this platoon who are the same type of soldier, although they may or may not achieve the things P. did. I will occasionally have females fight males in Unarmed Combat and I have occasionally seen them kick the males ass lol. In essence, not all males have em, and some females have big brass ones. It's just a figure of speech. If you don't like it, send me an email and cuss me out. :) ]

Anyway, we moved to White Phase, which means that we start BRM on Monday. I love BRM, because even though it is frustrating and time consuming, it makes time go by really fast. Before you know it, it's Qual Day and you're about to enter Blue phase. Blue phase sucks in its own special way, but it's only a step away from Graduation... which is only a step away from pickup day... which is Red Phase... now I'm depressed. (just kidding lol)