Letter No. 1

7/9/10

Dear everyone,
Holy crap, we got hammered today and yesterday. We’re technically in procession day 2since we got no sleep and pulled an all nighter Wednesday and Thursday which count as one super day. We also met our RDC's Chief Medina, an Air Rescue swimmer and “total guy in charge” as he would say. Makes the guy in Full Metal Jacket look easy. He’s dropped us (ie made us do PT till we’re drenched in sweat) about a dozen times, something no other division CAN do at P-days. Two recruit have quit their special contracts to go back to “normal” divisions. The Chief reduced one recruit to tears. The 2nd Petty Officer is PO1 Maudsley, a 5’6” 200 lb. solid muscle beast who looks to be 75% upper body. The other one, PO Torrez we haven’t even met because he’s with another division graduating this week. Torrez is the stuff of legend around here. As Chief said, “if Zeus and Thor had a kid and Hades and Poseidon had a kid AND those two kids mated, the result would be Torrez. He has gone to Sunday chapel (a no RDC zone) and dropped people. He straight up does not care.
I should mention thought that this team, which forms for the special contracts divisions, over the 10 or so times they’ve led divisions, Five (5) have been Hall of Fame divisions (meaning the division has outscored every other division in every evaluation, from day 1 to week 8). It is exceedingly rare for any division to EVER get Hall of Fame. Chief switches between beating our butts and mentoring WHY we got dropped. He gets real laid back and honest with us, then hammers the fear of God into us over anything less than absolute perfection. The last special division finished with around 70/90 though, so I got a feeling they’re just warming up. We move from reception “ship” (our name for barracks) to our permanent ship, The Arleigh Burke, this Monday hopefully. Then we start actually training and get to wear real uniforms instead of this PT gear and sweats that make us look like we’re the dorkiest idiots on the planet. But the move definitely promises more pain.
Still don’t regret my decision. I love and miss you all. Hopefully, mail will start up soon since this letter’s going to sit in my bunk awhile until I can mail it.
Dad and Christine, please don’t edit these letters. You want people to know what it’s like and so do i. This is literally going to pound us into successful spec-ops candidates like a chisel or break us.
RDC quote of the day:
“Petty officer Maudsley, Chief wants to know what you would do to me if hugged you.”
Answer: “I WILL ANNIHILATE YOUR SOUL!”

Love,
Al