What a week so far! This week we have begun shooting our M-16 rifles. The drill sargents have been taking it easy to keep the stress off us so we can qualify for the basic rifle marksmanship testing that we have in a couple weeks. Lately I have been thinking a lot about being home for Christmas and how so many soldiers don't have that luxury. I can't begin to understand what they must be feeling today while their families pray and feast thousands of miles away. I say prayers for those soldiers more than I've said prayers for anything else. I'm beginning to believe this experience is equally spiritual to many people. In my platoon there are quite a few people from Georgia. In my squad alone there are 3 people that live in Georgia! One guy's name is "S" and he lives in Macon. "S" and I went through processing for 5 or 6 days here at Ft. Benning before we made it here to basic. He constantly competes with me as hard as he can. The kid is mentally tough for the young age of 19 and I have a fair amount of respect for him. Another guy in my squad that lives in Georgia is "W" who is a country boy..drill sgt. "C" calls him "Walker Texas Ranger". I know you have seen King of the Hill, so compare "W" with Bobby at the age of 22. Our squad is growing tighter here of late. We are lead by a Bolivian guy named "R". We are still sleeping in body armor, pistol belts, helmets and rucksacks. If you don't know , rucksacks are backpacks with metal frames made for long distance travel. Talk about waking up STIFF! We also have 2 guys named "T" and "M" that cause a lot of shit for us. "T" is 17 and "suicidal" so when he sleeps we need at least 4 people watching him and "M" has already gone AWOL once, so we need 4 more people watching him when we sleep. Finally, we figured out that by putting them on the same bunk would save all of us sleep so the same 4 people could watch them both! Also, a lot of people have gotten sick and injured. I have been fortunate not to get injured. If there is one thing I miss most when it comes to luxuries, it's SLEEP. Spread out, dreaming, uninterrupted....SLEEP. Since today is Thanksgiving, the drill sargents serve US today at chow. I hope they wear those little sailor caps like the rest of the kitchen staff. That will give me a good, hardy laugh. I received the pictures you sent Mom and they really make me feel like I'm home when I have my wall locker open. During my birthday and Christmas dinners I am not going to be picky on food, so just make everything! Lastly, I love and miss you all...Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Anthony
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