Hey everyone,
First off, thanks for all the letters! I wish I could write everyone back individually but I can't. We only have maybe an hour and a half a week to read and write letters or just chill. Every other time we are training. That's why I don't write very much. I wish I could write more to tell everyone what I'm doing. I guess I'll just have to have a party when I get back and I can tell stories and answer everyone's questions. So, funny story... :) This week is firing week, k. And so we go to the range everyday and shoot for half a day then come back and do other training. Well yesterday we came back to the squad bay and our DI found out we were locked out. So he called the smallest guy in our platoon over and put him through a wind so we could get in our squad bay. we literally had to break into our own squad bay. Our DI was looking around making sure no one was coming and while the buy was getting through the window, half the platoon was singing the mission impossible theme quietly.It was SOOOO funny!
So we qualified on our rifle today. The highest rank you can get is expert. It's based on a point scale. Marksman (lowest rank) is from 186-190, sharpshooter (middle) is 191-219, and Expert (highest rank) is from 220-250. You shoot from 200 meters. 5 rounds sitting, kneeling, and standing all in 20 minutes. Then also from 200 m 10 rounds sitting in 1 minute. From 300 m 5 rounds in 5 min and 10 rounds prone [laying down] in 1 minute. Then from 500 m 10 rounds in 10 minutes. Each shot is worth, at best, 5 points. The average for our platoon was 192. I got a ... 233! :) Surprising my favorite one to shoot was the 500 m.
Also, this week we've been getting up at 4 instead of 5 and I like it! A LOT! I wish we could get it like that but no. I like partially because we get to go to bed at 2000 instead of 2100.
The letters I'm getting are great. I can read everything fine. No, pencil doesn't smear. Write about whatever. If you could send the letters in smaller envelopes that would be nice.
Thanks for the letters and prayers. I'm feeling great. Can't wait to be a US Marine!
See everyone soon!- Rec. Chipman
P.S. Chhuth says hi to those who wrote him and tells Natalie good luck with her senior year. "It's the best year of school."
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
20120712
Hey Everyone!
Sorry for not writing, we haven't had square away time since the beginning of July. We have been really busy.
I'm feeling great and doing well. No problems with my body. :)
Well Phase 1 of training is OVER!!! This past Saturday we left MCRD and came up here to Edson Range, Champ Pendleton, CA. This whole week of training is called "grass week." All we do is dry fire our MIG A4 Service Rifle in different positions. It may sound boring but it really helps when you're shooting. I know that because we fired our weapons for the first time yesterday to zero in our RCO's (Rifle Combat Optic-A-Cog Scope). We were told the day before that we would take 15 shots to zero in our scopes. "Your first 15 rounds of the Marine Corps" is what they kept saying. Well it was my turn to shoot and I got up there, got into position, and took my first 5 shots. (We had 3 magazines of 5 rounds.) My RCO was off and my shooting coach fixed it. I took my 2nd mag and fired, all grouped and centered on the black. :) My shooting comes up, looks at it and says "Perfect, get out." So I only got to shoot 10 rounds. I feel good about my shooting but there is always something to improve on. Oh, we shot at a 12 in diameter target from 100 yrds. All 5 shots in the center :) Next week is firing week rifle qualification. We shoot from 500 yrds then. I'm excited for it.
Thanks for all the letters and prayers,
Bryson
Sorry for not writing, we haven't had square away time since the beginning of July. We have been really busy.
I'm feeling great and doing well. No problems with my body. :)
Well Phase 1 of training is OVER!!! This past Saturday we left MCRD and came up here to Edson Range, Champ Pendleton, CA. This whole week of training is called "grass week." All we do is dry fire our MIG A4 Service Rifle in different positions. It may sound boring but it really helps when you're shooting. I know that because we fired our weapons for the first time yesterday to zero in our RCO's (Rifle Combat Optic-A-Cog Scope). We were told the day before that we would take 15 shots to zero in our scopes. "Your first 15 rounds of the Marine Corps" is what they kept saying. Well it was my turn to shoot and I got up there, got into position, and took my first 5 shots. (We had 3 magazines of 5 rounds.) My RCO was off and my shooting coach fixed it. I took my 2nd mag and fired, all grouped and centered on the black. :) My shooting comes up, looks at it and says "Perfect, get out." So I only got to shoot 10 rounds. I feel good about my shooting but there is always something to improve on. Oh, we shot at a 12 in diameter target from 100 yrds. All 5 shots in the center :) Next week is firing week rifle qualification. We shoot from 500 yrds then. I'm excited for it.
Thanks for all the letters and prayers,
Bryson
Monday, July 9, 2012
20120702-03
Hey everyone,
Well things are going well. Well, as well as can be expected. :) One third of the way through!
I'm going to try to do better at letting you know what I'm doing. So I'll tell you what we do everyday. First, morning and evenings area almost always the same. Mornings we get up, use the head, get dressed in the attire for the day (normally desert cami's and boots), then we make our racks and go to chow. At night we come in, get undressed into our sleeping clothes (PT gear- green t-shirts and green shorts), to hygiene, have some square away time, then do some nightly lock checks on weapons and foot lockers, drink a full cantine then get into the rack.
So, on Monday July 2nd, after morning chow we went to the swim tank and did swim qualifications. You are dressed in boots, trousers, and a blouse. They are not yours so my trousers and blouse were a little big and my left boot sole was a little messed up. To pass swim qual you had to do 5 things. 1st swim 25 meters in the shallow end of the pool without touching the bottom. It was a little harder than I thought it would be but I made it. 2nd you had to jump off a 15 ft platform and swim 25 meters in the deep end. That was a little hard but again I made it. 3rd you had to float for 4 minutes. I was really nervous about this one in the beginning but after they showed us some techniques I felt a little better. When it was my turn, I got in and did really well. 4th you and to put on a flax (?) jacket, a helmet, and sling a rifle on your arm then jump in the pool and in 1 breath go under and take everything off in 10 seconds. It was really easy. 5th you had a pack that you threw in the water and had to swim 25 meters with it. It might sound hard but the pack floats.
After swim qual we went back to the squad bay and changed and for the rest of the day we worked on drill except for a short MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) that dealt with knife strikes, chokes, and counter to chokes.
Today, July 3rd, we got up did our morning thing, went to chow, came back and took 2 practice tests in the squad bay. I felt pretty good about both. After that we drilled until we lunch chow. After that we changed into woodland cami's and went to the confidence course. We had already done the low obstacles so today we did the high ones.
There were 3 high ones that we did . 1st was one that was basically a ladder going 30 ft in the air, but the further up you got, the further the rungs got. You had to go up one side and down the other. [Bryson drew a pic but I'm not sure how to show it. But it looks like there was a pad at the bottom.]
The next one you had to climb up a rope 20 ft until you could pull yourself onto logs that were in the air. You had to walk across then climb down some other logs that were at an angle then reach out and grab a rope and slide down 30 ft to the ground.
The last one you climbed a ladder onto a platform that was 30 ft up. Then you had to get on a rope and slide down on your chest, the half way through they told me to flip over. Then a little farther they told me to dead hang on the rope, then re-wrap your feet and continue. If you lost your grip you fell into a pool of water. That was considered disrespectful to your SDI. I didn't fall in.
After that we had chow and I got to go to church for the prayer leader training for the rest of the night. :) Church is great. We talked about Helaman.
After that I came back to the house and did the nightly routine.
Well hope you all have a good 4th of July! Thanks for the letters and prayers!
-Bryson
Well things are going well. Well, as well as can be expected. :) One third of the way through!
I'm going to try to do better at letting you know what I'm doing. So I'll tell you what we do everyday. First, morning and evenings area almost always the same. Mornings we get up, use the head, get dressed in the attire for the day (normally desert cami's and boots), then we make our racks and go to chow. At night we come in, get undressed into our sleeping clothes (PT gear- green t-shirts and green shorts), to hygiene, have some square away time, then do some nightly lock checks on weapons and foot lockers, drink a full cantine then get into the rack.
So, on Monday July 2nd, after morning chow we went to the swim tank and did swim qualifications. You are dressed in boots, trousers, and a blouse. They are not yours so my trousers and blouse were a little big and my left boot sole was a little messed up. To pass swim qual you had to do 5 things. 1st swim 25 meters in the shallow end of the pool without touching the bottom. It was a little harder than I thought it would be but I made it. 2nd you had to jump off a 15 ft platform and swim 25 meters in the deep end. That was a little hard but again I made it. 3rd you had to float for 4 minutes. I was really nervous about this one in the beginning but after they showed us some techniques I felt a little better. When it was my turn, I got in and did really well. 4th you and to put on a flax (?) jacket, a helmet, and sling a rifle on your arm then jump in the pool and in 1 breath go under and take everything off in 10 seconds. It was really easy. 5th you had a pack that you threw in the water and had to swim 25 meters with it. It might sound hard but the pack floats.
After swim qual we went back to the squad bay and changed and for the rest of the day we worked on drill except for a short MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) that dealt with knife strikes, chokes, and counter to chokes.
Today, July 3rd, we got up did our morning thing, went to chow, came back and took 2 practice tests in the squad bay. I felt pretty good about both. After that we drilled until we lunch chow. After that we changed into woodland cami's and went to the confidence course. We had already done the low obstacles so today we did the high ones.
There were 3 high ones that we did . 1st was one that was basically a ladder going 30 ft in the air, but the further up you got, the further the rungs got. You had to go up one side and down the other. [Bryson drew a pic but I'm not sure how to show it. But it looks like there was a pad at the bottom.]
The next one you had to climb up a rope 20 ft until you could pull yourself onto logs that were in the air. You had to walk across then climb down some other logs that were at an angle then reach out and grab a rope and slide down 30 ft to the ground.
The last one you climbed a ladder onto a platform that was 30 ft up. Then you had to get on a rope and slide down on your chest, the half way through they told me to flip over. Then a little farther they told me to dead hang on the rope, then re-wrap your feet and continue. If you lost your grip you fell into a pool of water. That was considered disrespectful to your SDI. I didn't fall in.
After that we had chow and I got to go to church for the prayer leader training for the rest of the night. :) Church is great. We talked about Helaman.
After that I came back to the house and did the nightly routine.
Well hope you all have a good 4th of July! Thanks for the letters and prayers!
-Bryson
Thursday, July 5, 2012
120626-120630
Hey Everyone,
Well I've had some questions that I think I have time to answer. So we get our first hair cut during receiving. What it is they get a buzz cutter (or whatever you want to call it) and completely shave your head. Now most of you will probably think that that's not too bad but when the people shaving your head are pushing as hard as they can, or at least that's what it feels like. We also get haircuts every Tuesday. Same thing, it still sucks.
When we got here to receiving, we got to wear the trousers and green shirt. After receiving, we got to wear the blouse, not with our names stitched in or US MARINES stitched either. We also had to button up the top button of the blouse. We got to wear boots about half way through the 2nd week.
2012 06 30
Well today was initial drill, one of they few things there is a trophy for. We've spent the last 4 weeks prepping for this. If we won our senior drill instructor, Sgt. Flores, said he would let us hygiene on our own as well as let us blouse our boots and un-button the top button of our blouses, making us look more like Marines. Initial Drill is where all the platoon's compete one at a time on the parade deck. For all you marching band people, it's a lot like a competition. There are 4 drill cards your platoon can be assigned. 3 and 4 are the hardest in my opinion, 4 being harder than 3. It's graded by about 5 DI's, 1 of which is a Drill Master. To put that in perspective, at MCRD there are about 300 total DI's but only 4 Drill Masters.
So we got up, went to chow and got ready for Initial Drill. We were the 3rd platoon to compete out of 6. Also Initial Drill is scored out of 100 points. The record for Initial Drill is held by our Senior Drill Instructor's (SDI) last platoon with a score of 68. The score that platoons get that decide who are 1st and 2nd are normally between 1 point. To make that clearer, 1st and 2nd are normally separated by less than a point.
So we competed and I did really well I thought. I also thought the platoon did well.
Well after we competed, we went back to the squad bay and tightened things up while we waited for the other platoons in our company to compete. Well, we were squaring stuff away when our SDI came in and yelled at us. It went something like this "Last Place! You guys just wasted 4 weeks of our time! And you guys thought you did good! Pathetic! Last Place!"
The silence after that sucked. All our hearts dropped. After about 30 seconds, one of our DI's, Sgt Haly, the one who taught us the drill walked in with the first place trophy in hand. The squad bay erupted. We saw the SDI and the other two DI's smile, even if it was only for a few seconds.
Things are going better. Thanks for the prayers and letters.
- Bryson
Well I've had some questions that I think I have time to answer. So we get our first hair cut during receiving. What it is they get a buzz cutter (or whatever you want to call it) and completely shave your head. Now most of you will probably think that that's not too bad but when the people shaving your head are pushing as hard as they can, or at least that's what it feels like. We also get haircuts every Tuesday. Same thing, it still sucks.
When we got here to receiving, we got to wear the trousers and green shirt. After receiving, we got to wear the blouse, not with our names stitched in or US MARINES stitched either. We also had to button up the top button of the blouse. We got to wear boots about half way through the 2nd week.
2012 06 30
Well today was initial drill, one of they few things there is a trophy for. We've spent the last 4 weeks prepping for this. If we won our senior drill instructor, Sgt. Flores, said he would let us hygiene on our own as well as let us blouse our boots and un-button the top button of our blouses, making us look more like Marines. Initial Drill is where all the platoon's compete one at a time on the parade deck. For all you marching band people, it's a lot like a competition. There are 4 drill cards your platoon can be assigned. 3 and 4 are the hardest in my opinion, 4 being harder than 3. It's graded by about 5 DI's, 1 of which is a Drill Master. To put that in perspective, at MCRD there are about 300 total DI's but only 4 Drill Masters.
So we got up, went to chow and got ready for Initial Drill. We were the 3rd platoon to compete out of 6. Also Initial Drill is scored out of 100 points. The record for Initial Drill is held by our Senior Drill Instructor's (SDI) last platoon with a score of 68. The score that platoons get that decide who are 1st and 2nd are normally between 1 point. To make that clearer, 1st and 2nd are normally separated by less than a point.
So we competed and I did really well I thought. I also thought the platoon did well.
Well after we competed, we went back to the squad bay and tightened things up while we waited for the other platoons in our company to compete. Well, we were squaring stuff away when our SDI came in and yelled at us. It went something like this "Last Place! You guys just wasted 4 weeks of our time! And you guys thought you did good! Pathetic! Last Place!"
The silence after that sucked. All our hearts dropped. After about 30 seconds, one of our DI's, Sgt Haly, the one who taught us the drill walked in with the first place trophy in hand. The squad bay erupted. We saw the SDI and the other two DI's smile, even if it was only for a few seconds.
Things are going better. Thanks for the prayers and letters.
- Bryson
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