Graduation - Basic Combat Training 

May 6, 2005

      Expert                                       Sharpshooter

The graduation ceremonies started on Thursday, May 5, at 10 am with a family brief.  It was held at Baker Theater.  One of the soldiers from Waylon's company was the narrator.  She first talked about the Army core values.  The drill sergeants then marched on stage.  Finally, we heard the sound of marching and the shout of a cadence in the background.  The soldiers then marched onto the stage.  It was very impressive, and loud.  They then marched down from the stage and took their seats on the right side of the theater.  The narrator continued with a brief description of the activities they completed during basic training.  Then the drill sergeants came on stage again, and one was awarded the Drill Sergeant of the Cycle - SFC William Ambrose.  He was chosen by the drill sergeants as being the "best" for the training period.  Then awards were given to individuals who had the best Physical Training scores, and the most improved change from civilian to soldier.  The commander in chief welcomed us and invited us to a reception at a park two blocks from the theater.  Then the soldiers stood up and marched out of the theater.  It was now 11 am.  We followed them out of the theater and into the park.  At that point, we were finally able to hug Waylon and be with him.  The above picture is at the reception.  Doesn't Waylon look fantastic?

I went down the hill  to get a cup of coffee, and noticed a big rectangular container.  I looked at the tag and it said "Kool Aid".  UGH, I thought.  How could they serve this stuff?  Waylon said it was an Army staple - cost effective I guess.  In any event, I passed up the opportunity to relive my youth, and found the coffee container.  Waylon, Mike and I chatted for about 10 minutes.  We then bought a CD with several hundred pictures from the various basic training exercises (a few of these photos were published on the Fort Leonard Wood web site for Charlie Company).  At that point, people started leaving, and we did too.  We went to the PX because Waylon needed a bigger suitcase for his items that didn't fit in his army duffle bag.  We then left the Fort, and Waylon said he was craving junk food.  We didn't know what was in the town of St. Robert, adjacent to the Fort, so we drove around.  We then told him that there was a Wendy's restaurant next to our hotel, and that sounded great to him.  With cheeseburgers, fries and Pepsis in hand, we went back to our Ramada Inn to enjoy lunch.  Needless to say, Waylon was in heaven.  He enjoyed his meal, and then relaxed on the bed.  While in basic training, they could not sit on their beds until it was time to go to sleep.  They had to sit on the floor.  So Waylon enjoyed the pleasure of sprawling on the bed.  His feet were sore from the new dress shoes he was wearing, and it felt great to take them off.  After a while, he donned his swim trunks, and we went to the hot tub and indoor pool.  Waylon said it was very soothing.  We then went back to the room, and got ready to go to dinner.  Mike suggested that maybe we could see a movie.  That really perked Waylon's interest.  He wanted to see Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Unfortunately, the show time would have interfered with our dinner plans, and the next one would not be over before 11 pm, when Waylon had to be back at the barracks.  So we decided to forego the movies.  We ate dinner at The Point, a steakhouse and seafood restaurant up in the Ozark mountains.  It was on a point overlooking a valley, and hawks were circling about.  It was a beautiful location.  The steaks were good, and Mike had the pleasure of ordering a bucket of three beers.  How Missouri is that?  After dinner, we went back to the hotel and watched TV.  We got back to the base around 10:30 pm, and Waylon gave us a brief tour of areas in which they conducted training.  We arrived at the barracks at 10:45 pm, and waited with all the other families for the drill sergeants to order the soldiers in at 11 pm.  What a great day!

The next morning, the graduation ceremony started at 9 am.  It was held at Gammon Field.  Charlie Company lined up in marching formation, and marched onto the field by platoon.  Waylon was in the first platoon of four, and was on the far left.  The military band played patriotic songs.  There was an invocation and then the National Anthem.  The soldiers stood at attention while special awards were given for overall military excellence, outstanding leadership, physical fitness, and highest marksmanship.  The Commanding Officer gave a speech about the success of the recruits, and then the soldiers marched in review.  They then went back to the barracks to retrieve their belongings.  Approximately 10:45 am, they returned to the parking lot at Baker Theater to wait for the busses.  The medics in their company were headed to Fort Sam Houston in Texas.  They were bussed the entire way and wore their camouflage uniforms.  Those headed to Fort Huachuca were bussed to the Saint Louis airport.  From there they would fly to Dallas, and then Tucson.  Their final step was a bus ride to Fort Huachuca.  Since they were flying, they had to remain in dress uniform.  Around 12 noon, the busses arrived.  It took about 40 minutes for everyone to load their gear and board the busses.  We said our goodbyes to Waylon, and watched him get on his bus.  While it was sad to see him go, we were happy to know the worst (hopefully) was behind him.  He was looking forward to the next training phase and leaving Fort Leonard Wood.

Some of the interesting things we talked about were:

Free Day Away - the company had a day away from basic training about 4 weeks ago.  They were bussed to Lebanon, Missouri, which took about an hour.  They were able to go bowling, buy junk food, and hang out with one another.  Then they were escorted to a Southern Baptist church to listen to a fire and brim stone sermon.  That part was not a highlight of Waylon's day away.

Sick Call - Waylon went to sick call twice.  Once was for a cough and stuffy nose, which he had from the start of basic training until 2 days before graduation.  The other was for pink eye, which spread throughout the company.

Worst Day - Waylon's worst day was the Thursday they arrived at basic training.  This was called Day Zero, since basic training would start the next day.  Everyone was loaded onto cattle cars from reception, and driven to the barracks at basic training.  When they arrived, the drill sergeants got out first, and then started yelling at everyone to get out and hurry into formation.  The person next to Waylon had not shaved that morning, since he didn't have a razor.  The drill sergeant asked Waylon for his razor.  Waylon opened his pad lock on his duffel bag and pulled out his razor.  He didn't relock his duffel bag, and a drill sergeant called him on that.  He dumped out the contents of Waylon's duffel bag, and yelled at him to hurry and repack his bag.  Another drill sergeant said he didn't have to hurry.  Well, the first drill sergeant came back and dumped Waylon's contents out again.  To add further insult, they dumped his bag 5 times in total.  Waylon was very frustrated by the process.  By keeping a low profile, Waylon's life got easier in the days and weeks to follow.

Wake-Up Call - the first few days, they were awakened by a drill sergeant screaming in a megaphone to get the ____ up.  Fill in the blanks for the four letter word beginning with "f".  Not very pleasant.

Pugil Sticks - these are the fighting tools that look like q-tips, but are much more deadly.  The soldiers pair off, and then walk away from each other for 5 steps.  They then turn and start fighting.  Waylon's opponent didn't move 5 steps, and immediately went after Waylon.  He hit him in the head, and Waylon was dizzy - he had a minor concussion,  He hit Waylon a second time, and Waylon fell to the ground.  Finally, the third hit while Waylon was on the ground designated him as the winner.  Waylon had no clue what happened to him.  In total, Waylon was hit 7 times in 3 rounds, according to those who told him what happened.  Waylon was lucky that he wasn't injured more severely.  He still has no recollection of what happened to him.

Company Attrition - Charlie Company started with almost 200 recruits.  Only 110 graduated.  Here are the reasons for the almost 50% attrition rate.  A few attempted suicide early in the training phase.  One in Waylon's platoon opened a disposable razor and slit his wrists.  After that happened, the guys had to do an hour of suicide watch in addition to night patrol (one hour during the sleep time to make sure the barracks are safe) on a rotational basis.  That really cut into their sleep time.  Others couldn't pass the Physical Training tests, and were sent back to another company for further training.  Others had personality clashes with the Drill Sergeants and were sent back to other companies.  Finally, some had injuries that precluded them from completing the training, and were sent back to other companies.  Finally, one soldier was caught kissing a female (after 8 weeks of training) and was sent back 3 weeks.  The female was sent back 1 week, so as not to be in the same company as the male.  Waylon also said that the attrition rate in intelligence training was 70%, which is very high.  The recruiters are to blame for this high level.  I asked Waylon about the overall intelligence level of his associates, and he said it left something to be desired.  This is not a college campus!

Battalion Motto - Waylon's basic training battalion has been in force since WWII.  Their motto is "by force and valor - dragoons".  I guess it's like a fraternity handshake.

Second Field Training Exercise - All of the recruits were in full MOPP chemical suits.  These are protective over garments that they wear in case of chemical warfare, and include a gas mask which eliminates peripheral vision.  They had to sit in foxholes in a fighting position.  They started about 7 pm.  Waylon had a bipod machine gun, and kept falling asleep on it.  They were supposed to be looking for the enemy.  Suddenly, a skunk walked in front of Waylon's gun.  He recognized it by the white color in its coat.  He realized that the skunk could do no harm, given his protective gear, so he just remained still.  About 20 seconds later, he heard a female scream "Oh my God", and she jumped out of her foxhole and ran to Waylon.  He consoled her by saying that the skunk could do no damage, given their MOPP suits.  He had a chuckle about the incident.

On a final note, Fort Huachuca is near the town of Sierra Vista.  It is a mountainous area about 4,500 feet above sea level.  One of the favored activities is hummingbird watching, with numerous species to enjoy.  There are a lot of hiking and camping sites.  They are close to the silver mining town of Bisbee, which is now an artist colony.  Waylon will be in training for 19 weeks (roughly mid-September).  After the first 4 weeks, he will be able to get weekend passes.  It sounds like a nice place to visit!  We can't wait.

Overall, Waylon's spirits are great, and he has taken basic training in stride.  Enjoy the pictures and let him know how proud you are of his accomplishments.  Take care!