Private Pete's Prose

(Look at this picture and play where's Pete? I promise he's there!)

I have finally received enough info from Pete about his experience at basic to warrant a blog entry. First of all he really LOVES mail, and apparently I'm the only one who has been writing so please if you have 5 min, write him!! It's his only connection to reality and home. Here's his address:

PFC Brian Monson

3rd Platoon, A Co. 3-34 "Wolfpack"

Ft. Jackson, SC 29207

And if you write a large 3 in blue marker on the back of the envelope it gets to him faster.

Onto the good stuff:

Pete's first letter sounded like he was really struggling. They train from 5:30 am until @ 9:30 at night, and then they have fire guard where everyone takes turns in the middle of the night to do a head count and be on guard for an hour, so in all he gets 4-5 hrs of sleep a night. (trust me, he doesn't do well with not very much sleep) They do PT (physical training) for about 2 hrs when they first get up, and then eat and train, eat and train, march, eat and train. sounds fun... Randomness from this letter:

It is sandy here with ants all over. I have sand everywhere on me and sweat all the time. Sometimes I will be sitting in class soaked in my own sweat after we have been smoked ( disciplined by the DS) and I will feel beads of sweat, then look down and see ants crawling in between the beads. It is fun to squish them but they hurt when they bite.

Next letter:

I think a lot of the guys here won't last. Most of the guys in my platton have it together but about 1/4 are so undisciplined and it messes things up for everyone. I try to tell them that they need to shut up and pay attention and so do the other good guys, but they don't understand. Ignorance is a disability.

He reported also being sick, but being around so many others it's to be expected. Thankfully he hasn't had to miss any training because of it. He is starting to feel stronger and passed his first PT test, but is lacking in the push-up category a bit for graduation. Good thing he has plenty of time to work on that, I'm sure he'll be fine. He did say that he was able to baptize someone on Sunday which was a really good experience and helped remind him how the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ keeps us grounded and hopeful. His letters already show maturity and growth, reading them I keep thinking is this the same person that left me a month ago? It's incredible to see the changes. As an example:

I am really enjoying basic to be totally honest. It's dirty, sweaty and hurts like nothing I have ever felt, but I love being a soldier and learning and pushing myself. I take pride in the things I do and I have gained a ton of confidence in myself. It was a rough few weeks but I adjusted and it is cool.

Also a specific note to Beverly and Lora:

Tell my mom's I love them. Tell them I am working my butt off so they can hang their heads high. Let them know that I am grateful to them for raising me right with al the knowledge and abilities to be successful. I love them and miss them. tell them their baby boy is a soldier. Also.. he specifically asked if I had given you his address yet... so please write!!

And his last letter:

Things are good here. We have land navigation exercises tomorrow then gas on Wed. or Thurs. and a campout Fri. or Sat. The only thing that is hard now is the teamwork aspect. All the hood boys are getting restless. Fights break out a lot and are only stopped within an inch of blows... Tell everyone that I miss them and that I'm ok. It is hard but I m not giving up.

So in all, Pete is doing well. He is set to graduate on Oct. 30, so he has about 7 weeks left. If you want to follow the battalion he is in you can do so here. I'll keep letting you know how he's doing.

And for those of you who have been asking how I'm doing. I really am ok. School keeps me super busy, and I just had my doctoral defense on wednesday which I PASSED!! so... I can now focus on all my classes and assignments I have been neglecting. sigh...