White Phase, teary eyes

I got a call from our soldier Sunday evening. It was the first time she has sounded discouraged on the phone and she even cried a little. She said she felt like quitting for the first time since she's been there.

Her ankle has been giving her a lot of problems. She turned it badly toward the end of the third week. They were running and she hit a clump of grass or something and went down hard. She's been trying hard to deal with it and having moderate success. But now it has swollen so much that she's unable to put on her boot. She finally relented and went to sick call. They gave her some anti-inflammatory meds and cut out some major blisters on her heals. (She had blisters on top of blisters, on top of blisters.) I'm really not sure what her prognosis is. It's hard to talk about very much in 5 minutes.

She has more PT testing this week and is very concerned that her ankle will keep her from passing the running portion.

On a more positive note, she passed her first range test, grouping 5 of 5 shots in a 4 cm circle at 25m.

I may not have another update until next week, as I am out of town and won't have access to any letters from Dela.

Blessings to all!

Dela takes charge...

...of this blog.

Unhappy after I reported that I haven't been updated her blog much, she decided to write it out for me and have me post it. I've been demoted from Blog Caretaker to Blog transcriber. *sigh*

Here it is:

So, my husband says he doesn't know what to write on my blog. I am surprised since my letters to him have been long and detailed. [Editor's note: Not as long or detailed as she thinks. Lots of repetition.] That's all right [sic], I will catch you up.

Aug. 10th was a d difficult day -- saying goodbye to my very best friend [Editor's note: She means me.] and knowing there were going to be long pauses between talking and hearing from each other. [Editor's note: Talking is her job, hearing is supposed to be my job.]

Aug. 11th I was at MEPS bright and early. My body fat ended up being 37% so I had to do the ARMS test. It basically tests your cardio endurance. I had to step up and down on a 12" box for 5 minutes at the pace of a metronome. Then I had 60 seconds to rest before I had to do pushups [sic]. I only had to do 4 but I did five just in case. :)

I then proceeded to go thru the rest of my processing, even swearing in again. We left for the airport at 1pm and proceeded to sit there for 6 hours waiting for the buses that would take us to Basic Training.

Aug. 12 -- We arrived at Ft. Jackson around midnight. We were marched all over the reception area where they issued linens (for beds we didn't to sleep in for 42 hours...), physical training uniforms, canteens, etc. It was an incredibly LONG DAY!

Aug. 13-18 -- We spent a week marching, standing, sitting, standing, marching, sitting, etc. There was paperwork to be done, information to be processed, and all that stuff that takes forever even when NOT in the Army.

Aug. 19 -- Today is the bus to Basic Training. After having us drink down a quart of water they loaded us on buses. They had us put our heads down on our bags. It was a REALLY long ride -- especially because I had to pee SO BAD! Fortunately for me, several kind souls let me cut in line to the latrine. If they hadn't let me I would have peed myself. [Editor's note: I wouldn't have been this graphic.] It was an auspicious start. One of the Drill Sergeants immediately came up to me, two inches from my face and started yelling -- telling me to "go home grandma -- you should be headed for retirement not this adventure. You'll never make it." I just grinned and said, "I'll make it, Drill Sergeant!" He said, "We will see." And that gave me just that much more motivation to push myself farther than I thought I could go. And then I would push some more.

Aug. 20-Sept. 9 -- Red Phase -- this is the hardest part of Basic Training. Adjusting to a strict military life is not even the hardest. A typical day starts at 4:30 am or so. We do some kind of PT, and military movement drills, agility group runds, and 30/60's. This is followed by stretching (not near enough -- I have to do a lot on my own).

Then we usually have 10=15 minutes to change into our ACU's and form up on the Drill Pad for chow. Breakfast! After breakfast, we have classes and drills and marching practice and standing practice and waiting practice. There there is chow again. And more of the same in the afternoon.

Then chow again.

Then briefings by the Drill Sergeants -- mail call and any other business.

Personal time starts at 19:40 and we have to be back on the drill pad for hydration formation at 20:30.

We do hip flexor exercises and then it is lights out at 21:00.

Drill Sergeants are constantly yelling and the stress is high. Lots of adrenaline rushes though. :)

While some platoons were not allowed a phone call during Red Phase, our platoon was -- fortunately! Overall, I don't think it was that bad mentally. However, I have never done anything this physical, for this long of a time in my life.

Highlights of the Red Phase include:

• Victory Tower (see David's letter for details). [Editor's note: Um... I guess I'll post Victory Tower details next week when I'm back home and can find the letter.]
• The road march to the field training exercise. All the tactical and then the road march home.
• The road march to the Fit to Win obstacle course -- which my platoon won and took the banner for.
• The road march to the gas chamber (pretty bad, but not as bad as I had hyped it up to be -- just a nasty snotty nose. :) ) And the march home. The barracks never looked SO GOOD!

I accomplished these things mostly with a rolled ankle. But I am pushing through it.

We are now in White Phase. And we are getting ready to qualify with our weapon, the M16A2 rifle. SWEET!!

I made it through the first 3 weeks!! :)

ROCK FORCE!

News from the Front

Hi All, just a quick update.

Dela is doing really well. Last Friday they had to march 3 miles with about 60 lbs of gear to the Victory Tower. She made it just fine, and that's one of her graduation requirements. She has to work on her push ups because the way she's been doing them don't count. She's been working after hours with some of the other girls so she can do them right and have them count. She needs to keep working on her PT to meet the requirements: a few more sit ups, a little faster run time, etc. But she has time and is confident she can do it. She's lost a lot of weight and the pants they issued her the first day don't fit anymore. (She said she can put an arm down each side -- inside the waist band -- while wearing them.)

That's all for now. Please keep sending letters and pictures!

Finally an address!

Hi Everyone,

Dela finished reception last Tuesday and shipped across base Wednesday for the actual basic training. I was able to speak with her for a few minutes on Sunday and got a letter from her yesterday with her mailing address. I'll list that below.

There's not much new to report except she said that she's lost so much weight that the pants they issued her when she first arrived are now too baggy. She has to cinch her belt all the way just to keep them up.

Other than that, she's worried but determined!

I'll post more when I have more!

Blessings to everyone!

PVT HAYESCOWARD, DELA

C COMPANY 3/34 INF RGMT - 2ND PLT

FORT JACKSON, SC 29207

*she also said to "always put the #2 on the back of the envelope" ... I'm not really sure why, but that's what I did. Now you know. :)

David

News (from the one left behind)

Hi Everyone!

This is Dela's husband, David, writing. I don't have much in the way of news yet, but thought I'd share with you what I do have.

As you know, Dela left Monday night for the hotel. She didn't sleep much and had to get up at 0400 Tuesday for processing. She didn't make tape, so they had her do a step test and pushups. She sailed through those and they passed her. (There were several others who had to do the same thing. Among them were a couple of 18-year-old girls who did not pass.)

She and the other recruits spent all day Monday at the Atlanta airport waiting for the bus to take them to Fort Jackson (hereafter referred to as FJ). For whatever reason, they pet her in charge of all the other FJ recruits. She had to keep their paperwork and keep track of them all.

Around 2000 (8:00pm) they finally got underway. After four hours of driving, they arrived at FJ. Evidently they were kept busy all night and not allowed to sleep. At some point yesterday morning, the recruits were asked, "Who here has four children?" Only Dela raised her hand. "Good. You're in charge!" So again she was put in charge of the recruits, though I'm not exactly sure what that means. She was able to sleep for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. The last time I spoke with her was just before 2100 hours last night. It was almost lights out and we only had a couple of minutes to talk. She was very tired but her spirits were high!

We've been able to talk a little here and there because they let the recruits keep their cell phones during induction/processing. No doubt that will end very soon, if it hasn't already. I haven't heard from her today.

When I have more news, I'll post it here for everyone to see. And as soon as I have her official mailing address, I'll post that as well.

Thanks to everyone for your constant love and support for Dela. Your encouragement has meant more to her than she can express. You're all truly a blessing!

David

P.S. The new picture above is one that was taken at the reccruiter's office a couple of weeks ago. Her hair is MUCH shorter now...

Like Summer Camp...

...Only with lots of screaming.

While working at Honda there was a young woman who would come into the office a couple times a week to have lunch with her mom. She always had something Army on. I asked her if she was in the Army - yes, she was. She completed Basic Training and started her job training when they found a tumor in her brain. She has been under treatment ever since with varying degrees of success. She now has ambitious plans - to be married, to have children, to live a full life. I pray she does these things. Mostly she just wants to be back in the Army. I pray she attains her goals.

I asked her about basic training once... she said, "It was great fun, like summer camp, only there was a lot of screaming." I was not sure if she meant that the drill sergeants were screaming, or the recruits were screaming... but for some reason I tend to think it was the latter.

I am sitting here tonight with my stomach in knots and my chest feels like I am toting around a hundred pound weight. The weight is representative of the responsibility I feel in making it through this training. There are so many people praying for me, rooting for me, encouraging me and they have so much confidence in me. I will have to complete so many tasks over the next five months, physically and mentally. I really don't want to let anyone down.

This journey has the potential to set my husband and me on the path to a debt free existence. We would like to get to the point of actually progressing financially - rather than just surviving as we have always done in the past. It is important to us to have something to pass down to our children and grand children.

A summer camp would be nice... on a lake, in the mountains,.. one without any screaming...

Fitness Findings

I have spent the better part of the last 20 years raising 4 kids, tending house and holding down various jobs. Mostly it was a couch potato existence with a few stints of spelunking (caving) and a few "I've got to lose some of this weight" diet attempts. Nothing. I mean nothing up to this time in my life led me to believe I would be preparing to enter into Army Basic Training at the ripe ol' age of 40.

For the last year and a half I have tried every diet program imaginable. I have had some success, overall I have lost oh, about 35 lbs, the last 10 of which I have repeatedly lost over the past 6 months. It never stays off completely. The problem is I want it off yesterday and I get tired of eating healthy... I love food. Honestly there were times when I thought that all I had to do was look at food and I would gain weight. Truly.

The other half of the problem is that while I am a woman - I build muscle like a man. I think my dad actually cursed me when he wished I was a boy...

I have tried just about every exercise regimen available. All of which helped me to put on more weight, rather than take it off. I have repeatedly told trainer after trainer the problem and I have repeatedly been assured that "their program will help rid those pounds for good!"

HA. I am proof that you can be a super freak in the exercise department and still GAIN weight.

Now I know what you are saying... "you are building muscle (yay!) and so of course you are gaining weight! But you ARE losing inches right?" Well, sorta. My nice addition of muscle, while very exciting and great for the burning of calories... has actually forced my fat to push further out and has INCREASED my measurements in my waist and hips while simultaneously reducing the size of my neck. Nice.

There is a reason this is not good.

For those of you who don't know much about Army Standards, I will give a brief explanation of them. While the Army does have a weight chart they use (which streamlines the process for many recruits) they also allow for BMI or Body Mass Index. In my case, being female, they will measure my neck, waist and hips. This coupled with my height and weight in some crazy algebraic formula is supposed to compute my BMI. As a 40 year old female I am allowed a fat percentage of 36.

My neck measurement needs to be higher to help offset the waist and hip measurements. All my life I have had a small neck. I haven't had a tiny waist since my first child and I have never had small hips. That being said - I now measure out at 37% BMI. A mere 1% over what I need to be to ship out next week.

*insert the sound of extreme frustration here*

My fitness finding is this:

It matters not what size you are. It matters not what type of exercise you do or what diet you follow. Your body will do what it wants. It will find a way to stay at the status quo. Because that is what it is used to. I spent 20 years in more or less the same condition. My body does not want to let go. It does not want to change...

What I need to do is change its perspective. I need to convince it that it wants to be more lean, that it wants to do all those crazy obstacles at Ft Jackson and that it will enjoy it. I must convince it that this is for its own good.

Fitness is a matter of perspective... because my 22 year old daughter and I found out in kickboxing class that we were pretty much in the same shape. And she is at least 50 lbs lighter than I am.

:o)