Day 30

Thirtieth Day:

I wanted to be up by 0430 so I would have time to eat, daven and be ready to help “shlep” water to the activity sites by 0525 – activities began at 0545.  But I didn’t have an alarm clock.  I have an analog, unlit watch. So one of my flightmates assured me he would set his watch for 0430.  I heard an alarm go off, and knowing how critical every minute was, I quickly sat up and started groping in the dark for all my things – I needed to dress, get my toiletries, etc.  And I didn’t want to wake up those who were still sleeping. I did an incredible job. I had laid things out well the night before, and within three minutes I was dressed and standing outside of my tent. Where I looked at my watch, which read 0103.  It was the chime on his watch that I heard. Grrrrr.

His alarm did go off, but at 0445. I was in a rush, and I had to get to the latrine to perform my morning ablutions. We had been warned about the “Battle Buddy” system, wherein no one is to go about alone. But no one from my flight was ready to go. I figured, “Last week – who cares?” I got 50 feet when the Officer On Duty turned the corner and caught me! “Why are you walking alone? Did you not hear us say over and over again…” Whatever.

This picture does not do it justice AT ALL! The tower is 45 feet high...

Ready to climb

I davened, ate, and proceeded to the ropes course.  This may have been one of the greatest experiences of my life. The course consisted of two parts; the tower, and the course. The tower was a 45 foot high wooden tower, with a rock-climbing wall on one side, and a rappelling rope on the other. On top was a platform, with two logs jutting out (45 feet above ground). You would climb the one side, come down, then go up the inside of the tower to the top, walk out on the logs for about 15 feet and then back, and then rappel down the side. I have rock-climbed before (indoors) and I thought this would be a breeze.  However, I am older.  About 10 feet up I pulled a groin muscle and had to come down. I was so depressed – once again, I found myself unable to do something because of physical limitations.

Epic fail...

 I went up the tower and waited for my turn. It looked so easy to walk out in that log… until it was my turn to walk out in the log! Obviously, there was a safety wire above to which we were attached – but that means little when you are walking over little ants that you know are people WAY down there! 

The pole - no, that's not me, but I DID IT!!

But I did it… and it was amazing! I rappelled down… and decided I was not going to let that rock wall beat me. I walked back around and asked if I could try again.  This time I stretched out well, and then did it. So THERE, you wall!

DID IT!

 There is no way to adequately describe the ropes course and do it justice. There was a “shimmy across on one rope” part, a “shimmy across on two ropes” part, walk up a single wire bridge (at this point you are 35+ feet up), cross a wire leaning FOREWORD on a rope, then doing the same thing with the ropes switching in the middle, then crossing a wooden bridge with 3-foot gaps between each slat, then hanging and shimmying upside down like a sloth across a rope bridge, then swinging down a rope on to a cargo net, and climbing up to the platform from where you ride the zip line back to the ground. I would do it all day every day if I could.  I can’t believe they paid us to do this.

Crossing the wire - you have no idea how much those ropes and wires moved!

The bridge - no hands allowed

Waiting to zip down - as I went down, I yelled, "Who's your daddy??"

 

That afternoon, we were supposed to do “Litter Obstacle Course” - the idea is to negotiate the obstacle course (yes, the one I didn’t do two weeks earlier because of my back) but with a team of four people carrying a stretcher. That means climbing over and under obstacles without allowing the “patient” to fall.  However, much to our chagrin (NOT!) it was decided that, due to the ridiculous heat, it was unsafe to do something that strenuous.  Rather, we learned all the carry techniques under a large covered area in the shade. Aw, shucks!

It was SO hot waiting for dinner - I threw up a sunshade using my poncho, and my roommate Lt Bruce Coombs and I "chilled" (it was close to 100 degrees) 

When it was done, everyone was marginally excited at the fact they would have a hot meal.  The food service people came with food from the DFAC and set up a chow line in the “DFAC Tent” and they all got a non-MRE meal. All, that is, except for me! Once again, it was “My Own Meals” for Friedman… Shower, and in bed by 2030…

Day 29

Twenty Ninth Day:

Excitement is in the air! This afternoon we head off for our “Overnight”! This really IS Camp COT now! But first, we spent the morning back out on the parade ground practicing for Graduation.  It is SO hot. The “parade” consists of about 15 minutes of standing at attention (with sweat pouring down your face, but – seeing as you are at attention – you cannot wipe it away) and then “pass and review” where we march before the reviewing party, re-form up on the parade ground, march forward again, take the oath of office (which I did in December – why again?), throw our hats in the air, and that’s it. Not much “parading” in this parade!

At 1100, we had an address by Brig Gen Budzik, who is the base commander.  I actually like her presentation, but most of my classmates were suffering from general/heat exhaustion, and way too many people were sleeping during her speech. Not a great reflection on COT  Class 10-04!

After lunch, each functional specialty (chaplains, medical, legal) met as a group with representatives of the function. The chaplains and chaplain candidates met with Chaplain Col  Guin, the Base Chaplain for Maxwell Air Force base. I had spoken with Ch Guin before my arrival and he is a wonderful man. We have a mutual friend. Rabbi Abie Weschler was an Air Force chaplain (he has since made Aliyah and teaches at a Yeshiva in Israel) and was with him at the Academy in Colorado, and he was with me in Norfolk when he was a chaplain at Langley Air Force base in VA.  As for the meeting, there was little said that I didn’t know – after all, I have already been serving as a chaplain, albeit for a short while, while 90% of the people in the room were chaplain candidates – they have not been ordained and don’t even know if they will pursue this as a career. There was only one exciting moment – when one of the candidates kept questioning why the military will not allow him to pray in the name of Jesus. He said, “There is only one truth and one way, and that that truth and way is Jesus. If I cannot witness to everyone I speak to I am not helping them. I don’t want to “touch” people’s lives – I want to change them.”  Guys like that, for the most part, are weeded out before they get in…

We then had a lecture on Field Sanitation, in preparation of our “deployment,” followed by a lecture on our upcoming MRIC (I have NO idea what it stands for, but it is a field hospital) exercise.  It was then time to leave. Our bags (which we packed the night before) had to have EXACTLY what we were instructed to pack. That meant NO SNACKS! We loaded on to the buses and were transported to Blue Thunder.  For those of you who may remember, Blue Thunder was the area where the obstacle course was held the second week, the one I couldn’t do because my back was out. In any event, besides the obstacle course, there is also an AMAZING ropes course, as well as an entire encampment – rows and rows of hootches (12-man tent structures, in our case) and latrines and showers.  There was also the MRIC complex of three connected tent/huts – exactly like in M*A*S*H, but updated.

The male members of the flight in our "tent" sans cots

Rows of tents - there were four rows like this

Setting up the tent

We got off the buses, and the first thing we had to do was, by flight, empty our entire well-packed bag onto the floor and show that we packed what we were told.  

Showing what we brought...

Part of my pile - note all the "My Own Meals" kosher MREs...

And then repack. Then go to the toasty hot tent, turn on the ridiculously meaningless A/C unit, put down our bags, get in line at the warehouse for our cot, go back and set up out cot, and then realize that one item that was NOT on the packing list was a PILLOW! And they did not SUPPLY A PILLOW! And I cannot sleep WITHOUT A PILLOW! More on that later.

Dinner - some of my kosher MRE can be seen at the front left of the table. That's Lt Hakala, our FOIC (flight officer in charge - student leader) ripping open a pouch with his teeth! 

Everyone was issued their MRE’s before departure, and we all showered before dinner (remember, we are still wearing the same clothes from this morning’s parade practice!), changed into our PT gear, set up our folding tables and chairs, and enjoyed a wonderful MRE dinner. I was exhausted, and by 2000 I was ready for bed.  My bed providentially ended up under the AC unit (!) and I took the sleeping bag, folded it flat, put it in my extra T-shirt, and slept, without a blanket, like that. The only problem was that by 0400 it was freezing! That’s okay, the alternative was worse…