Commandant's Challenge

Yay for Commandant’s Challenge.
Bring it on!
The first day was ok.
Had MREs for lunch in the SAR.
Afterwards we went down to Field Training Exercise (FTX).

For FTX,
We ran around with our rubber duckies and stuff.
Various combat scenarios.
We had to use a map and compass to find our way to the different event.
And we had to travel in tactical formations.

The first event was Self Aid and Buddy Care.
We navigated to the event and found several “injured” troops from a “terrorist” attack.
So,
We secured the perimeter,
And treated the wounded.
My “victim” had been “shot” through the lung.
And he was laying next to an “IED”
So I got some one to help move him a safe distance away.
It turned out that the guy that helped me move the “victim” knew him too.
So I had him start talking to the “victim” while I treated the wound.
Then a third person came to help.
I had her treat for shock.
Over all…
The grader said we had done the best he had seen.

The next event was base set up.
We had to use sand bags to create fortifications.
And then we had to set up three tents.
While guarding the base we were making.
After we finished the tents,
We had to take a test,
As we were doing that,
The sun set behind the mountains.
There was a noticeable drop in temperature.
It went from warm out,
To so cold we could see our breath in five minutes.

The last event was Chem Warfare.
Three people from our element had to get into Chem Gear in a certain amount of time.
It was really funny.
The one girl couldn’t get her combat boot into the chem suit boot.
The other two tried to help.
They eventually got it on.
Afterwards,
We had to help put the gear away.
That meant getting the chem. Boot off of her combat boot.
That proved interesting.
We eventually had three guys pulling her arms,
While I pulled on the boot.
It looked like tug o war.
After about ten minutes,
We finally got it off.

After that,
We had to go tear down the base we had made.
And it was really cold out by now.
After we finished,
We went to the road to get on the buses to go back to the Cadet Area.
But they were gone.
We waited for them to come back.
But it took forever.
And it was below freezing.
And we were all dressed for the warmer weather that was out when we started.
So we did the only thing we could to keep some heat in.
We all huddled together.
That helped,
ALOT.
While we were there,
Someone pointed out a satellite flying over heard.
We looked,
And the some one commented,
“I’ll bet they’re looking at us thought the Infrared right now.”
We all laughed at the thought of a black screen with a giant red dot in the middle.
Only after zooming in would it be noticed that that dot was in fact 20+ people trying to stay warm.

The next day we had a SAMI.
Good times.
I got a 95.
After that was an PAI.
I got 100 on that one.
Then we had a flight drill evaluation.
We ended up taking 2nd in the Wing for that.
Afterwards was the “PT Challenge”.
Challenge whatever.
It was a piece of cake.

The last day started with the Falcon Fued.
Similar to the AWANA Bible Quiz.
Only with military knowledge.
The first round was brutal.
The other team got all the questions.
And only one of their team was answering.
We thought we were done for.
But we made a comeback during the next three rounds.
We ended up beating them by 5 points.
Just barely,
But just enough to brag about.

Then we had a parade.
I ended up being the Unit Colors bearer.
I found that out when I got there.
Oh well.
We did well.