KILO-182,

The reality set in of what we were about to endure as we sat nervously on the charter bus from Philadelphia, mostly quiet conversations and a few small giggles could be heard. Only 02 hours prior we had met each other for the first time in the Coast Guard Recruit lobby of the Philadelphia Airport, where laughter and jokes could be heard from all the way down the hallway. It was a good start to something that we had all excepted as going to be hard, quite possibly the hardest thing we would endure, both physically and mentally. We all knew our fate and our contract was signed, literally.

Then there we were, at the front gate. "Bring on the pain" whispered from someone sitting nearby. Who would be singled out first? Who would get their ego stomped on before we even got inside the building? Who would go home first? No one comes to Basic Training hoping to go home, but we all know it happens. The next 03 days were a blur of yelling and running and confusion and sitting as still as a statue (no matter how much you wanted to itch that nose, you better not if you know what's good for you.) Actually, all of those things are still happening; we're all still yelling as loud as we can, still running around like crazy people, still sitting as still as a statue and are still pretty confused about most things going on around us. None of us anticipate that feeling going away anytime soon.

The medical exams ensued for days; we were stabbed, poked, prodded, interrogated and herded like cattle to make sure that we were fit for the pain that our Company Commanders were about to rain down on us. Then the day came where we were to take our final oath and meet the men or women that were to rule our lives for the next 08 weeks. A tornado of yelling blue uniforms with Smokey the Bear hats on was on us before we could blink. We now belonged to them and they made sure we didn't forget it. Week 01 was gone before we realized, even though our brains were bursting with a ton of knowledge that we HAD to retain...or else I.T. (Incentive Training, aka lots of pushups, sit ups, crunches and squats) would be in your future. Week 02 was halfway done and the company, now known as Kilo-182, had more responsibility and pressure placed on each person, individually and as a unit, than we had ever expected.

We are now into week 03, watching some people leave the company for various reasons. Some had medical issues that held them back, others had attitude issues that would hold the company back and others that say they can't make it another day are finding themselves still in their rack each night pushing themselves to their new limits. Our teamwork is slowly improving, but getting everyone on the same page is the most trying part. You can only control what you do with your own body and that's all you can do and controlling yourself is the only way to make it through to the next day. We have seen three shipmates leave so far (Discharged), because they wouldn’t push their self to a new level even if it was for the greater good of their family, or them self. We have to pull it together if we want to get through this.

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