The Lull before the Storm

27 Jul 10  5-3 Day

Mom and Dad,

Apparently last night I was talking in my sleep.  To the Officer on Deck!  They come in to our compartment at various times of the night to intimidate the watch and check the deck log.  Apparently he came in and asked the watch how many Sick in Quarters we had (SIQ).  Since my bunk is near the watch, I must have heard it in my sleep and apparently responded “one or two”.  I had no recollection of this, but when I woke up everyone thought it was pretty funny.  Yeah, boot camp haunts our dreams.

We are doing better though, thus I’m really enjoying my time.  Today we had Basic Damage Control and our last “long” run.  Long for them is 25 minutes, which I scoff at (secretly).  Wow, I just got 6 letters!  I’m seriously thrilled that my friends keep in touch with me.  Even if it’s just a card, it helps to make me feel connected.

Later this week we have a ton more DC and basic firefighting training, but I don’t think we work on live fires until next Monday.  Oh, and I’m looking forward to the “confidence” chamber later this week!  They stick us in a room and gas us with military/riot grade tear gas.  In the words of James T. Kirk, “sounds like fun”!

Only 1 week until battle stations!  I’m pumped to be on that last lap of boot camp.  We’re finally becoming a confident division, so hopefully we can finish strong.  Saturday is the Captain’s Cup, an athletic competition between the battle group divisions, and the last flag we can earn.  I’m signed up for the seabag relay, where apparently you have to run around with a full seabag on.  Yeah, we’ll see how that goes.  My bunkmate now has pneumonia and bronchitis, but I’m feeling healthy and happy knowing my trials here are almost over.  With the hardest part yet to come!  Bring it!

Love, Jackson