Letter No. 2

Dear Everyone, 07/10/10

Good News! We moved most of our stuff to the Burke today. We’re sleeping in the reception ship, USS Pearl Harbor, but we make the permanent move soon. Also two (2) RDC’s have half days on the weekends. Normally that means we’re alone with the beast that’s beginning to haunt our nightmares. That is PO (Petty Officer) Torrez. But for now we just got chaperoned by two other RDC’s that went real easy. No dropping (push-ups)and easy instruction on making racks (beds)/folding clothes that don’t evolve into slay sessions. All in all, it was a good day. We even got to wear our boots instead of tennis shoes. We were put to bed at 2100 and aren’t waking up until 0530. Tomorrow though will be more of the same. Our initial PT (physical training) test for Special Contracts (Seals, SWCC, Rescue, etc.) is either Monday or Tuesday and I get the feeling the other shoe is going to drop after that. I am actually looking forward to it.

Chief rides us hard, but everything is different with him. He’s an excellent instructor and the differences are apparent. We’re falling in and marching and getting our “stuff” squared away when every other division is still messing up standing at attention or mixing up Petty Officers and Chiefs (biggest mistake one can make here). “Demoting” a Chief is considered the most disrespectful thing you can do here short of spitting in the face. The Chief even said PT won’t be the same BS it ends up being with every other division. He said he will get in the pool with us (Chief: ”You’ll all try to beat me and you WILL fail”). Or, as he put it “we’ll get in here crank some heavy metal on the stereo and put out. But you guys will love it.”

FYI, PT is different from dropping us. PT makes us stronger. Dropping, slaying, IT-ing, trashing is for when we mess up and is solely for the pain (making us a little stronger or mentally taking that pain is a happy bonus). Good stuff is ahead.
I still don’t know when I can send these letters out but hopefully it is soon.

Met some great guys already: Hill, Eric (last name, first name), Gilligan (not real name but sounds like it), Butts (real name, but Chief calls him Seymour), Montaro , all great bunch of dudes. We have some turds and some guys who are too cocky for their own good, but that should smooth out as guys drop out of the program or get knocked down a few pegs. We will be the best here. Hell, this is a group that PT’d ourselves tonight after lights out

Love, Al

RDC quote of the Day: “Chief, I don’t know how the three of us got the nickname the ‘Trifecta of Hate’. We’re the “Trifecta of Love’.”