20SEP
We took pictures today with dress uniforms. It was kind of surreal seeing ourselves in those fancy uniforms knowing we still have to earn the right to wear them. We were at the range for the whole day before that. We actually got to shoot this time with a simulated range. It was really fun. The class averaged an 87%. We must have an 80% to receive the Marksmanship Pennant so hopefully the other half of our company does well tomorrow! The Admiral stopped by the range while we were there and shot some rounds with our two expert males in the class. They scored worse because they were so nervous when he came in.
21SEP
Today was horrible! Everyone acted so stupid for some reason. It's like we forgot everything we've learned up until now! We were in trouble the whole day and I'm not talking about just Zulu. Alpha, Yankee, and X-ray have been acted bad too. Chief Ruchser had to lecture the entire Healy Hall while we held our pieces in the sniper position. He said we were the worst recruits he has seen in a long time and that we are all out of minds! He also told us that our graduation is on hold until we start acting like a team and stop being stupid. Hopefully we'll all pull together sometime soon because too many people just aren't getting it.
22SEP
We passed our physical fitness test! Well, most of us did but 46 out of 50 isn't too bad and we all passed the mile and a half run. Petty Officer Bailey said we were his first company to pass the run the first time around and his first company to receive the Marksmanship Pennant on the first try! We were so proud of ourselves today. We also learned the proper way to climb a rope so we are ready for the confidence course on Saturday. So, Zulu has almost completed the first half of boot camp and we are thrilled that the worst part is over. We do have new challenges now such as Drill Team and Colors Team. Hopefully those will be fun! One of our RAMP shipmates had a breakdown today so we are all praying for him to pull through and come back stronger.
23SEP
We picked the districts for or dream sheet today! Now everyone is all nervous to find out where they're going to be stationed. So we have an entire week for our anxiety to build up before we find out where we are going. Tonight we also had our first Drill/Colors team practice. I've never sweat so much in my life! Throwing pieces around is a good workout! I know I'm going to be really sore from catching it the wrong way and dropping it on my knees and elbows. I'm going to have so many bruises in the morning. Another cool thing that happened today was that the four people that didn't pass the physical fitness test passed this morning! Our CC said it's the first time he has ever seen a company pass the whole PF Test in two days. He even said he was proud of us! SHOCKING! Now we are allowed to drink coffee. Thank god for that because now nobody will fall asleep in class anymore. Hopefully!
24SEP
So there was no graduation today as there usually is on Friday. We did some sniper position today. We also took our mid-term today. It was very easy considering it was open book. Almost everyone got an "A", so we got our midterm pennant! After that we practiced some marching and intensive training and then we went to the blood drive after chow. It was really nerve racking having a needle stuck in your arm but the Red Cross volunteers were super nice. They gave us cookies and skittles when we finished! We have a lot more freedom now that we passed our physical fitness test and our midterm. We actually have time to press our uniforms and shine our boots! It's hard to believe we're halfway done with boot camp.
25SEP
Today we learned the moves we're allowed to use for the pugil stick fights on Monday. It looks like a ton of recruits are getting their butts whooped soon! Every single person in this company has a ton of rage to let out with the rush of adrenaline we'll experience on Monday. I can't wait to see the results! I'll be making videos too so be on the lookout for them. We had choir practice and colors team practice again today, and our Chief warned us about the week five nose dive. Apparently every single company that comes through here acts all jacked up in week five for some reason. They lose their military bearing, their motivation, their marching skills, etc. Nobody knows why this happens but Zulu is hoping to break the record and stay strong for the entire week, keep climbing until we reach our goal...Graduation. Hopefully we get our colors soon. We're actually coming closer together as a team by working through our problems and encouraging each other to stay on track and in line with the company. We all really want to make our CC's proud this week and show them that we're not a nose dive week five company.
26SEP
Today we went on our company run. It was so cool! We got to go off base and we sang a bunch of awesome songs for cadence. We went around the block and there were people watching us from the sidewalks and holding up signs that say "thank you for serving". It felt so liberating to be a part of that. It gave us even more pride to be in the Coast Guard. But the greatest part was on the way back it started pouring rain! We looked pretty tough singing cadence together in a storm! It was so fun! Besides the run we had divine hours and drill team practice today. We had to practice new moves at drill team practice that were very complicated. Well we officially start week five tomorrow. I'll let you know if we get past the week five nose dive.
