Basic Training Journal: Monday, September 8th

We got up at 0300 today for a motivational battalion run. That involves a lot of people...240 per company and 5 companies total. We ran 3 miles in 27 minutes, it was a piece of cake.

After the run, we got our M16s, LCEs, helmets, and got on a bus to the BRM range which was close to the airborne towers. We shot at 75, 175, and 300 meter targets. They had people hold the targets up, but they were safely behind a mound. The people holding the targets up would mark them with white for a hit, black for a miss. You could use binoculars to see where you hit.

We didn't use foxholes today, just prone supported and unsupported. Everyone seemed to struggle with unsupported, it does get rough on your elbows. I got 24 out of 40 which is barely passing. I knew I was doing bad, I couldnt get comfortable at the 175 meter target and I wasn't concentrating enough. I still passed though even when I knew I could do better. We were done first so we basically sat around for 2 hours before lunch.

We then went back to the barracks and cleaned our weapons, had dinner, you know the story.