Physical Ability and Stamina Test: 03

“If you aren’t trying to cheat, you ain’t trying!”

     -MSgt. Greg “Waldo” Waldheim, Combat Controller of the United States Air Force.

Waiting was agony. It was the longest three weeks I think I’ve ever experienced. Every day I would call or text my recruiter and inquire as to my status. Every time he would declare that he didn’t know and hadn’t heard anything. The reason I was stressed was because since I failed the last test I was in jeopardy of not physically having enough time to retest. If I couldn’t retake the test then the USAF would kindly give away my contract to another lucky individual and I would be forced back into rotation waiting for another date. This is what I feared.

Luckily, my recruiter was able to coordinate a retest in Harrisburg, PA. We knew where it would be and we knew that it would be MSgt. Waldo administering the test but we didn’t know when. For three weeks I didn’t hear anything. It wasn’t until the week of the test that I was informed. My recruiter told me it would be at a YMCA in Harrisburg and it would begin at 1100 on 12/09.

Fortunately, my father had made it clear to me that he would drive up with me if it became a situation where booking a plane flight would be too expensive. That’s exactly what we did. We departed the house at around 0530 and began our cross-country journey through all of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland all the way to Pennsylvania. It was a long trip. In hindsight though coming back seemed to take twice as long. Once in Pennsylvania we even drove through some snow! We went from high 70-degree weather to a low of 31 degrees in one day. We arrived in Harrisburg at 2330 and promptly checked into the hotel we had reserved and subsequently shed our clothes, dropped our bags, and fell asleep in what felt like seconds.

Our plan from the beginning was to get there a day early so that we could relax, get the lay of the land, and figure out where I would be testing and whatnot. Both my father and I slept in a bit and took advantage of the nice breakfast the hotel offered every morning until 1000. We weren’t in any rush to climb back into the car so we took our time eating and messed around on our computers. Eventually we decided to go about our day.

After cleaning ourselves up and driving through the town we discovered that we had a flat tire! Thank god there was a Tires Plus right around the corner from where we were. So we sputtered along and dropped off the car. The funny thing was that two days before this point in time my dad had just purchased 4 new tires for his Nissan Maxima and here one of them was just obliterated beyond repair. Apparently, we must’ve driven on it a lot the night before without even realizing it. The snow, we had driven through must have masked the mushy feeling the flat tire had. Oh, well.

For the rest of the morning my father and I walked around town, since the car was being worked on. We got haircuts, and walked around the mall and mainly just killed time. At some point we received a call that the car was fixed and a new tire was being put installed so we went back to Tires Plus. Shortly after we were on our way heading towards the local YMCA where my test was to be held the following morning.

A nice gentleman behind the desk happily gave us the grand tour. I’ve always found that I perform better in events if I have an idea or image of what it is to expect. In this case I got to see the pool area and the indoor track, which much to my chagrin, required 16 laps for the distance of a mile. Anybody familiar with running distance should cringe at hearing that. That meant for my mile and a half run I would have to run 24 laps of the track, which on its longest side I could run in 8 strides. Terrible.

For the remainder of that afternoon my father and I would go for a light two-mile jog, and I would only do about 100 push-ups just to stay loose. Later that night we would go out to dinner and be back in bed by 2000. A pretty boring day, but just what I needed. During the day, I received a text from my recruiter that the test was moved up an hour to 1000, which didn’t bother me in the slightest. The sooner it was over, the sooner I would pass and be back home in my own bed. For my first PAST I was entirely anxious and my performance was okay but not optimal by any means. For my second PAST I was nervous, and the whole time was hearing from my recruiter that I should hit the ironman standard for the test. So for this test I decided to remain indifferent as to what my scores were and how good they could be. I just decided to go out and do my best with each and every event and that was it. I would pass. End of story.

That night I slept well, I woke up a few times to use the bathroom but other than that I slept quite soundly. I didn’t wake up to the distress from nightmares or from a nervous anxiety. I was calm and collected and woke up when the alarm went off. I rolled out of bed hit the breakfast and feasted on two slices of peanut butter toast and three hardboiled eggs. I then went to the shower, changed into my gear, and popped my headphones in beginning my zoning out/amping up process. We arrived at the YMCA at 0900 and I warmed up Rocky style. I executed jumping jacks, shadow boxing, light resistance on a pull down machine, and a few push-ups. All the while jamming to Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Godsmack, and Slipknot. I ran four or five laps on the ridiculously small track and then met with my recruiter downstairs in the lobby.

Immediately, I wanted to calm down so I changed my music to some Rebelution, SOJA, Collie Buddz, and Slightly Stoopid. I was amply warmed up but now needed to relax and mentally focus knowing that I would perform well. My recruiter brought with him another PJ wannabe who was interested in the field and wanted to take the test as a practice. I never spoke much to him. I was zoned out.

Soon enough, a couple other recruiters and two other wannabe’s later we had everyone so we went to the locker room to change and met out on the pool deck. We were informed that MSgt. Waldo was running late and were told to get into the pool and prepare ourselves. Soon enough MSgt. Waldo showed up and I knew it was time for business.

“Haven’t I seen you before?” he asked me, as he walked over to the four of us.

“Yes Sergeant, I tested with you last month,” I replied.

“What happened?” he asked.

I answered, “I failed the pull-ups Sergeant.”

“Well don’t suck this time!” He declared. Without missing a beat he began his lecture and told us what to expect and to just put out.

MSgt. Waldo didn’t demonstrate the swim component this time as three out of four of us had already taken the test and were all trying to pass our final PAST so we could all ship on 01/03/12. That means if the three of us passed we would all be in basic together and subsequently in indoctrination together. Kind of cool.

During this time I introduced myself to the other testers. The two who could potentially be at basic with me were named Will and Briyan. (I spell Briyan with both an “I” and a “y” because I don’t know how he spells it, so why not do both.) I honestly forget the fourth kids name, who my recruiter had brought up. He didn’t look like much and unsurprisingly enough he wasn’t. Without any adieu we began the test. Underwaters (as you know by now,) came first.

After completing two of them MSgt. Waldo spoke up, “Get with this guy,” he said, pointing to me. “I don’t say this often but your underwater swim stroke is perfect. All of your guys’ strokes are good but his is perfect. Get with him.”

I must say it is nice being complemented like that. The 500-meter swim was next and boy did it hurt. I hadn’t been swimming at the Masters program as much as I had prior to my second PAST so my time wasn’t great. I honestly forget exactly what it was because frankly I didn’t care. It was passing and that was all that mattered. Next up, the run. Luckily for us there was a track not too far away and we decided to drive to it to do the run, as the small one the YMCA provided would’ve been terrible. Due to its small size it would be incredibly difficult to maintain a fast pace and long stride, as you would be turning every 10 steps. In addition to that is the hazard of dodging other pedestrians who were there walking or jogging for their own fitness.

I did a lap to warm up and some feet drills to get my legs going. It was cold outside so a beanie, gloves, cold weather underarmor and my knee-high soccer socks were a must. My time probably something around 9:20 if I recall correctly. Again not great, probably due to the cold weather shock my muscles felt. Sometimes it isn’t good being a Floridian. But hey, it was passing which is all that mattered. Unfortunately, Briyan failed to pick up and maintain a good pace for the run and failed. A failure on one event is a failure for the whole PAST. He wouldn’t be going to basic with Will and I on the third of January. It sucks but he still stayed for the rest of the test to finish strong with us.

My nemesis was next, pull-ups. This was the deciding factor in my failure last test and was what I considered to be the "X" factor for this test. After my failure of the last PAST I really focused hard on pull-ups. One day in particular, every fifteen minutes I would do a set of pull-ups (6 reps), followed by a set of chin-ups (6 reps), with maybe a minute break in between. That day specifically, I must have done at least 200 reps of pull-ups/chin-ups. It payed off.

As MSgt. Waldo demonstrated the proper form of a pull-up he told us, "I am stickler for form. Make sure you come all the way up and go all the way down. You know your good if you touch your chest to the bar. I want you to do these perfectly. Dare me not to count one! Don't waste energy on a rep that won't even count." This time I busted out 12 flat and none were taken away due to improper form.

Sit-ups followed next. I have no excuse for why my number was so low, I need to work on it or something. But 57 sit-ups is passing so shit I'll take it.

"Kyle what's wrong with you man?" Asked Waldo. "You are killing yourself man! You are more in shape than you think you are Kyle. You hit like a mental wall or something. You make it harder on yourself than it actually is. You'll break that wall though and then you will be pounding out sit-ups like crazy."

Last but certainly not least came push-ups. I wasn't a beast when it came to push-ups but I wasn't incapable either, I knew I could pass. Normally I get around the high 50's for this evolution. But today was a different day. I punded out 35 flat before I paused for a breath but made sure to continue doing push-ups until my full two minutes were up. The way I figured it, If I just kept going for the whole time there was no way I wouldn't pass. When time was called I was slightly worried. MSgt. Waldo took away five of my push-ups for improper form. 

I knew my push-ups number wasn't high. Shoot, all of my numbers haven't been high anymore. I focus too much on one aspect and kill that one event but my other areas suffer. Initially, I was out of shape and was worried about my run time so I ran everyday at least 2-3 miles. The result was running 8:40 mile and a half, but my swimming suffered. So I turned to that as it is probably the most emphasized aspect of Indoctrination and so I attacked it, swimming 2 miles 2-3 times a week, ensuring that I perfected my form. The result was swimming an 8:40. BEAST. Still haven't been able to replicate that. But do you know what happened? When I focused so heavily on swimming a different evolution in my training failed to get the attention it needed: Pull-ups, which lead to the failure. So this time around I tried to do everything and maintain every aspect, but it is hard. And would you know it I still didn't do enough push-ups to prepare. I did great for my pull-ups but my push-ups suffered.

As time was called I dropped to my knees and sat up slowly, panting heavily with exhaustion. It is done. PAST test complete. MSgt. Waldo looks at me and doesn't say a word. He then looks to my dad and gives him a poker face look before turning to the recruiters in attendance.

"What's your count?" asked Waldo.

I couldn't hear the recruiter's response, they mumbled a bit. Apparently my recruter didn't even count as he was nervous for me and just looked away the whole time.

"I don't even know what the minimum is, what is it?" asked Waldo.

One of the recruiter's answered.

MSgt. Waldo drops his head and sighs deeply, "Damn Kyle. If you had just gotten a few more reps I would've been able to give you an early christmas present."

I was confused, zoned out from the effort. It took me a minute to come to the realization of what his words implied. Did I really just fail push-ups... F!@#

Without saying anything else Waldo leans over and shoves the counter in my face. The number on the display: 52. The minimum required amount. Damn him. I hate him. I love this guy. I immediately jumped up and gave a "Whoop" of elation. I did it. I did it. I passed my PAST. I was on my way to Basic Military Training and then Indoctrination. HOOYAH!

As we watched Briyan perform his two minutes of push-ups, MSgt. Waldo who was in front of me, without even looking behind him reaches back and extends his fist towards me. He gave me daps, LOL.

A few minutes later and the test is over. Four candidates tested. Two passed. Briyan, who was testing for his final time to leave with Will and I for Basic, immediately left. He was heartbroken. I know the feeling. I can't blame him. I know he will come back and tear it up next time. He was one pull-up short and was too slow on the run. The cruel thing with this test is no matter how you perform you know that you can do better, or that some aspect of your training wasn't good enough. It may be passing but you know there is always more you can do.

MSgt. Waldo had this workout that you do while watching television throughout the day. Fifteen past the hour on a commercial break do 25-30 push-ups and then just maintain the push-up position for the remaining duration of the commercial. Half past the hour do sit-ups for the full commercial break. Fifteen before the hour do negative pull-ups. When the hour strikes grab yourself a drink or a beer and sit your "fat ass on the couch." It's a good workout and gets your calisthenics in while drinking beer and watching tv. I hadn't been doing it though.

"Kyle, have you been watching tv?" asked Waldo.

"No Sergeant, I play video games."

"Dammit, did I say to play video games?"

"No Sergeant."

"No! So quit being a little bitch and watch television like a man!"

At the mention of video games MSgt. Waldo related a story of a kid he tested in the past, "I had this kid who tested one time, and he failed. The kid couldn't believe it and he started flipping out saying, 'Do you know who I am?' I was like, 'No.' Then the kid boasted, 'I'm Internationally ranked in Call of Duty! I've done your job 200 times over. You don't even know!' I couldn't believe this kid."

That story proved to be quite the laugh. Waldo had many stories like that, too many to relate. I feel privileged to have met him and am kind of glad I failed my second PAST. It really put it in perspective how important my fitness is and how fast it can deteriorate if not maintained.

I leave you with something Waldo related to me as he began telling one of his numerous stories. Some kid had come up to him dropping the name of a book and asking him if he had heard of it or read it. Waldo didn't say this, but thought to himself, "I don't read books. I live 'em."

Physical Ability and Stamina Test: 02

“You got to be stupid enough not to quit,”

- MSgt. Greg “Waldo” Waldheim, Combat Controller of the United States Air Force.

From the beginning I felt… for lack of a better word, off.

I was nervous. Not anxious as I was during the first PAST, but nervous. I still don’t know why. Looking back I think I just mentally defeated myself. I built the test up into this big thing. I made it a big deal. When in reality I had done it all before many times. I knew I could pass, but something was wrong. My confidence wasn’t there.

I had to fly up to Pittsburgh and take my final PAST since by this time I had relocated back to Florida. I flew out on the 15^th of November relatively early in the morning. I had a layover in Atlanta for a couple of hours before continuing on to Pittsburgh. My mom was there waiting for me, as she wanted to be there with me when I tested and we were going to make it a point to visit family in the area after my test. My recruiter would later make the claim that my Mom was bad luck.

I arrived in Pitt late in the afternoon and immediately realized I didn’t miss it. The weather was cloudy with plenty of rain. Cold too. So we drove the hour to our hotel and checked in for the night. My test wasn’t until the 17^th so the following day we had time to kill and did so. We went out to eat, went to the movies and killed time. The whole time my thoughts would drift to the upcoming PAST, my head was “in the game,” but I couldn’t shake that feeling of unease.

Before I knew it I was laying on my bed in the hotel room cloaked in the darkness more tightly than the sheet that clung to me, counting sheep or trying to at least. I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned all night and eventually did find solace in examining the back of my eyelids. But like any athlete before the “big game” I was restless. I continued to wake up every hour, mostly due to my hydration. I would wake from a nightmare then make my way to the bathroom to dehydrate only to find myself back in my bed struggling to find sleep. This repeated itself what felt like every hour.

I woke up one final time 10 minutes before my alarm (I hate it when that happens). My mother and I promptly got dressed and packed our bags as we wouldn’t be returning to Pittsburgh following my test. Two slices of peanut butter toast and three hardboiled eggs later we were at my recruiter’s office with two other PJ wannabes who would be taking the test with me as practice. Both of them would fail. One was a prior service marine, the other a kid in his final year of high school.

Eventually we caravanned it to Wheeling, West Virginia, where the actual test would be conducted at.  This was the same location where I had taken the first PAST, so it was familiar to me. Unfortunately, after returning home to Florida I had become acclimated to the 80-degree weather and wasn’t used to the mid 40’s that Wheeling was experiencing at the time. I did plan ahead though as I brought my cold-weather underarmor as well as some adidas shorts and old knee high soccer socks I used to keep my legs warm.

This time around we were running late to the test, due to the fact that my recruiter was late in getting to his office. Fortunately for me the test administrator was late as well. When he did show up though he wasn’t quite what I expected. It wasn’t the PJ from last time but a pretty solidly built man who stood at about 6’0” with a grizzled appearance and deep raspy voice. He introduced himself as a Master Sergeant Greg Waldheim, Combat Controller, but told us we could refer to him as MSgt. Waldo.

By the time MSgt. Waldo arrived the entire lot of testers and myself (14 of us total) had already changed and were standing by on the pool deck. Before we knew it he had changed and was standing before us briefing us on the order and expectations of the PAST. The man was quite the hairy dude with tattoos covering portions of his chest and arms he must’ve been in his early 40’s but still looked super fit and still rocked a six- pack. The man was a beast!

“I know what you’re thinking,” said MSgt. Waldo, “You are thinking, ‘Shit! If this guy can make it than I’m going to have no problem.’ If you are not thinking that, then start! I’m not special. I was just too stupid to quit.”

As he briefed us on the PAST test he explained a bit about the different strokes and encouraging us to put out during the duration of the test. He even demonstrated the strokes we are allowed to use for the underwater swim and regular swim portions of the test. The PJ administrator for the first test never took off his BDU’s, he never explained or demonstrated strokes, as I said in a previous post he was pretty much stone faced the whole time.

“So this is the freestyle stroke,” MSgt. Waldo explained, “Now my freestyle sucks. I don’t know how to freestyle, my sidestroke is better and faster than my freestyle. I guess I’m just retarded like that.”

The demonstration continued, it was cool seeing a different approach to the test and someone actually get in the water and try to impart knowledge to us even if it was right before the test. Seeing the proper form of the sidestroke in no way means I will be able to execute it properly immediately after. But I made a mental note to practice it in the future and observed silently.

Soon enough we were told to enter the water and were divided up into 1’s, 2’s, or 3’s. On the command “1’s Go!” Every single 1 would take a breath and dive under the water swimming the full length of 25 yards in one breath without breaking the surface. I was a 3.

“2’s Go!” Waldo shouted.

“Okay, deep breath Kyle. Just look down at the big black line until you run into the wall.” I said to myself. 25 yard underwater swims are easy but when dealing with evolutions that involve holding your breath you have to remember to calm yourself and think about other things, otherwise even a short underwater can and will put you in distress.

“3’s Go!”

Immediately I swallowed a huge breath of air and dove for the bottom of the pool as I simultaneously kicked off the wall for a good push.

The stroke for an underwater is kind of tricky. In theory it is simple but timing is important, but the mechanics and form even more so. Often times most testers I’ve seen will do a modified breaststroke repeatedly as fast as they can. However, speed isn’t the key when it comes to this evolution. Efficiency is.

You must execute what is called a keystroke. As you push off the wall make sure your body is straight and your hands out in front of you. You must glide as far as possible and just as you are about to slow down you stroke with your hands bringing them out and down like the head of a key and then thrust them down by your legs to really get a good thrust. PJ “Bobby” even gave me the tip to try and slap your legs. You should shoot through the water quite nicely, be sure to glide it out and not to move or kick too soon as you will only slow yourself down. As you start to slow then you frog kick as you bring your hands up to recover. Again make sure to glide.

It’s all about moving as little as possible. The more you move the more oxygen your body uses and needs. By minimizing the amount of movement required and making each stroke as efficient as possible you severely decrease the difficulty of the underwater evolution.

I popped up as I touched the other wall signaling to SMSgt. Waldo giving him an “OK” signal and telling him that “I feel fine, Sergeant.” A big fear with underwater evolutions is what is known as shallow water blackouts and by making us speak he can ensure we are not suffering from it.

We swam back to the other side of the pool just doing a freestyle stroke slowly to recover and breath before we attempted a second underwater. The PAST dictates that two underwater swims must be completed if you fail one you fail the entire test. A few minutes later we were back at the shallow end and exiting the pool preparing for our 500-meter swim.

As I exited the pool SMSgt. Waldo came over to me and yelled at everyone telling them that if anyone lived near me to get with me and train because I had the underwater stroke down perfectly. It was an unexpected compliment. I appreciated it.

‘Thanks “Bobby,” those few workouts we did were priceless.”

Like clockwork, 10 minutes later we began our swim. You’ve read my previous posts so I’m not going to get too detailed. There isn’t too much to describe about 14 guys swimming 22 lengths of a pool. I started out too fast though. I blew up. I had to ease up by the sixth length. I nailed my flip turns for these first lengths but quickly switched to just doing touch-and-go’s, I don’t know why. I ended up losing count of my laps and just as I felt like I was about to cramp I switched to a sidestroke halfway through a lap. Little did I know that it was my last lap. It was pretty frustrating.

I would’ve asked what lap I was on but MSgt. Waldo made it clear. “If you ask me how many laps you have left, I’m going to tell you 10! So don’t ask. Keep freaking swimming until we tell you to stop.”

My swim time 8:40. I was pleasantly surprised, ecstatic really. I dropped a full minute off of my swim. It hurt, but boy did I feel good afterwards. I showered, changed and met up with everyone outside. It was fairly cold so I made sure to do a couple of laps before hand. This time around every guy who was taking his last test to ship out was told to stack up on the inside lane, so I didn’t have to worry about getting in front as quickly, but hell old habits die hard. On the command of go I bolted and got in front. I nearly stayed there the entire time again but I was passed which MSgt. Waldo noticed.

“RIP HIS SOUL OUT AS YOU PASS HIM!!! LAUGH IN HIS FACE AS YOU STOMP ON HIS SOUL!!!” he yelled.

The kid who passed me was too out of breath to do so which was fine by me because I probably would’ve laughed too. I still laugh at it now when I look back on it. I ran a 9:06. Decent considering it was cold as S!@#. Not my best but it works. As you know by now calisthenics are what follows: pull-ups, sit-ups, and push-ups in that order. I was on track to pass, or so I thought.

MSgt. Waldo had the three guys who were on deck to ship out go first. That included me. I was the second of the three of us. Sure enough, I’m told to mount the bar and prepare to do pull-ups, I do so. My repetitions: 13. How many actually counted: 9. My form was wrong apparently. Waldo even silently mouthed the number as he held up the same amount of fingers. I guess he thought I wasn’t paying attention. My heart sank. I needed 10. I failed. That easily I failed, the rest of the test didn’t matter at that point. I could’ve done 123,456,789 pushups it wouldn’t have mattered. I crushed my run and swim in vain.

I still did the rest of the test. But even then I failed to achieve the right number of sit-ups, my form was wrong and because of it my abdominals stayed contracted the whole time and I wasn’t utilizing the full range of motion I could’ve and because of that I came up short. At that point I had given up I guess, I mentally defeated myself and forgot to focus on the task at hand. A mistake I can’t afford to make in the future, a mistake that will never happen again.

For my push-ups I think I got something like 57. Passing… YAY! I still failed.

I can’t describe the feeling. Most everyone is familiar with it in one way, shape or form. It’s just to what degree they’ve experienced it. The feeling in my gut was painful, I really wanted this but I failed. Waldo didn’t I fail me. I failed me.

Despite it all I kept my chin up and shook his hand and picked his brain for the rest of the afternoon as we all stood around saying goodbyes before parting ways. I still remember every word he said to me.

“Don’t worry about it man. You put out. You did well. You are right there and almost got it. You will kill the test next time.”

***As I sit here writing this, those words still echo in my head. He was right. I would go on to retest a few weeks later and pass. There will be more detail on that and great quotes from MSgt. Greg “Waldo” Waldheim in my next post.

Shooting With A Recon Scout Sniper

"One Shot,

From An Unknown Spot,

One Kill,

Because Of My Skill."

-Sniper Motto

Going in to the Special Forces community is practically a guarantee that you will see combat. That is what makes the job so dangerous and is what initially separates the men from the boys. With that being said you will be trained extensively in the use of firearms and some of the best technology the military has to offer.

As I grew up I rarely was ever around firearms. My stepdad had some at one time but never took me shooting. My dad had a sidearm when I was a baby but got rid of it for that reason exactly. This coupled with growing up in Palm Beach Gardens Florida prevented me from really going shooting like some kids did out in the farms on the weekends.

When I was younger I don’t think I was ever really interested in the hobby either. My only experience with any type of weapon was my Tippmann 98 custom paintball gun which I used quite frequently back in my high school NJROTC days.

It wasn’t until I decided to embark on this path of becoming a PJ that I realized my lack of experience with any sort of actual weapon! I needed to rectify this.

Now I wasn’t expecting to become a marksman, far from it. I just wanted to have some experience and knowledge as to what to expect once I got into basic and an M-16 was thrust in my hands.

Luckily enough for me I just so happened to stop into my parents’ office one afternoon and meet an outstanding individual. My stepmother’s client was a man named “Danny.” Who my dad immediately revealed to me is a Veteran Marine Recon Sniper.

My immediate thoughts: “HOOYAH!”

I was in awe at meeting this man, and didn’t rightly know what to say or what questions to ask. After all, I wasn’t expecting to meet someone like this in my parents’ office. But I shook his hand and we talked briefly and then we said our goodbyes and he wished me luck.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I had the epiphany to ask my stepmom for his contact information to see if I couldn’t get in touch with him again. Eventually, I did so and he told me that about twice a week he goes out shooting with his friends and unloads enough ammo to supply a small army. I made plans to meet up with him one weekend and learn how to shoot.

I mean come on! If you are going to learn how to shoot, you might as well learn from the best!

So one Saturday morning I met up with him and several of his friends at a retreat that was being conducted to promote gun knowledge and experience for Women. “Danny” was an instructor at the retreat along with his friends. One such friend was actually a prior service Air Force Combat Controller!

What luck!

After the women left for the day, I was finally able to shoot. And boy did I shoot. They had every handgun of every single caliber you could list. Everything from a .22 to .357 magnum, they even had black powder guns as well. That day I mainly fired a .357 Colt Python and a .45 Beretta. It was awesome.

My shots weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible. My groupings were inconsistent but I could hit the targets. The hardest part for me was changing the side I fired from. I’m left handed and during my paintball days I played with the stock of my gun resting on my left shoulder and the sights lined up with my left eye. Unfortunately, “Danny” told me that they don’t make special weapons for “leftys” in the service. So I may as well develop my skills with my right side. Therein making each and every shot feel awkward and off, but I started getting used to it… eventually.

Before I knew it the day was over and I was headed home with a sense of euphoria. Shooting is quite exhilarating, at least for the first time. However, it was only going to get better.

The following day, Sunday, I returned to the retreat and met with “Danny” and the other instructors on the firing range but there weren’t any handguns. Not one. But, there were plenty of rifles. There was an AK-47, M-4, AR-15, FAL and several others I can’t recall. Boy was this what I really wanted. Handguns are good and all but standard issue for a PJ is an M-4. So I made it a point to get familiar with the M-4 and AR-15. I fired the others but I must say I did favor the M-4, it felt good. In contrast, I actually shot more accurately with the AK-47. I must note the AK had standard iron sights where as, the M-4 and AR-14 both had red dot sights. How I was more accurate with the AK-47 I do not know.

“Danny” even commented saying that I should go fight for the terrorists instead being that I’m a better shot with their weapons. LOL! I told him, “Not a chance, they don’t have a PJ program!”

“Nowadays, with things being the way they are its hard for the military to recruit. I’m just glad there are still guys like you who are willing to carry on the torch of the United States Special Forces,”

-       -"Danny”, Prior Service Marine Recon Sniper and mentor.

***I realize this isn’t a very interesting or insightful post but it was fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At this point in time I’m almost caught up to the current events. I have been writing about these events that have already occurred months ago purely from memory. So a reminder that when I quote someone it may or may not be verbatim but it is important to note that the message and events are accurate and embody the original tone.

Today as I’m writing this (12/5/11), I have only two more planned posts. The first is about my most recent PAST and the unfortunate turn of events that followed and the second is about the PAST test I’m about to take this week (12/9/11). I will do my best to get the first of the two up this week and next week I will detail the most recent test with some good news entailed. After those posts you may notice that my posts may lack the substance of previous posts as not many events remain before my ship date (1/3/12), we shall cross that bridge when we get there.

Again thank you for the viewership and if you are reading this I would appreciate it if you actually subscribed! Thanks for the love!

HOOYAH!