Building character

I finally have a short break here while my weapon soaks in CLP (cleaner/lubricant) to get rid of the rust that has accumulated on it while in the field the last week. Yesterday was our last day at the rifle range and there was 90% chance of rain all day yesterday and today. Through some of act god, however, the ran held off until this morning. We hiked out there with our full packs (appr 70-80 lbs plus the gear we were wearing) and I was drenched with sweat from the humidity after 3 miles. We staged our gear in formation and then got rid of those things for the day as we moved into the classroom for some motivating classes from the range Sergeants. Listening to these guys talk is on of the most motivating things here and their jokes about killing people on the highway as a caveat to our 3-point slings are hilarious. We spent the day practicing moving while shooting, pivoting and shooting, double-taps and head shots and then moved to the Unknown Distance Range. This place was awesome; it was 400 yards long with a series of computer-controlled popup targets where we practiced taking cover and firing on whatever targets we felt like, using the information we've learned in the last two weeks. After this we hiked back to the range and were issued infrared sighting lasers and night vision goggles (NVGs). These things are awesome! If you want an idea of what it's like with the NVGs on, play any video game (CoD4 gets it the best) because that's exactly what it felt like. After playing around for a little while we moved back to the first range we were at and practiced the moving and shooting drills, but this time at night. Once we were done with this (and after some quick activities that are too boring to describe), we were ready for bed. We spent the night out at the range with our packs and our sleeping bags. The system basically goes; liner, sleeping bag and waterproof cover. It would have been absolutely awesome had there not been a fine mist that kept me from sleeping with my face out in the fresh air. After a good night's sleep (8-9 hours! what???), we got up and hiked 6 miles in the rain with full gear. It took us under 2 hours with a short break half way, just to give you an idea of the pace.

All that being said, range week has been a lot of fun. We're going to get chances to shoot some cooler weapons later in the POI, but nothing like this. As the title of this post implies, I think a lot can be said about character. I mulled this over during our hikes the last 2 weeks and I think that a lot of people miss out on this very important aspect and it shows in our society. Hardship builds character, plain and simple. All the uncomfortable times I spent up north camping, cold and wet, are in the back of my mind as I'm out here and I realize this isn't so bad, I can do this. All the sports practices and PT that I had to do at OCS are in the back of my mind when things suck and I think, "shit, I made it through that, I can make it through this". So many people I know or hear about have such comfortable lives that when hard times come, they crumble. Remember this kids when you're dad says "this builds character", in a sick way, he's right.

Moving on to current events, this story is unbelievable, and I'm incredibly happy that it happened on my birthday! Don't be scared by the length of side bar, most of the page is comments. Read and enjoy!
Marines Prevail in a Day of Battle

Off to clean my rifle, which apparently according to our student staff, I'm (we as a platoon) not mature enough to clean on my own time! Cheers!