Half Right Face.

HALF RIGHT FACE! FRONT LEANING REST POSITION MOVE! the shuffling of people moving into position,the burn of the one hundred and thirty degree asphalt burning your hands,the stray rock digging into your hand. It was just what we expected there was no more groaning, no more complaining. We just accept that someone messed up and everyone gets punished. It feels like we held it for hours. During the time, I was holding the front leaning rest I had some time to think. Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the middle of summer, it was not fun the sun was harsh. It felt like I just started my day  normal waking up at four thirty AM. As soon as I feel the harsh unforgiving light turn on, I knew it was going to be a long day. Sleep deprived for weeks on end, I felt like a zombie crawling out of bed as quick as I could to get to a sink to do morning hygiene first so I didn’t have to wait.  After that I rushed to my locker to get my neatly folded uniform and quickly threw it on me and my bunk mate always finish around the same time. Over the course of my time there we learned to look out for each other. We quickly inspect each others uniform to make sure patches are centered and on the correct side we had our patrol cap in our pocket and odds and ends we needed. This process that seemed second nature was the process of mistakes. Getting in trouble for your uniform not being right or being late. I had to rely on people and they relied on me that concept seemed so foreign. I snap out of the day dream with that command I was all to used too.

 IN CADENCE! EXERCISE! we were happy to finally be able to at least move even if we did flop on the ground just to push ourselves up again. DOWN!….UP! Everyone is starting to feel the pain. “Embrace the suck, it could always be worse it might be the worst day of your life but I can guarantee that I can make it worse don’t let me hear you crying”. A drill sergeant bellowed while laughing.The sound of boots echos, Drill Sargent’s are walking around looking for people showing weakness to single them out. “Just keep going you can do it ” everyone is trying to motivate each other to keep going. After what felt like doing a thousand, those sweet words “POSITION OF ATTENTION! MOVE!”.The smell of of sweat and uncertainty fill the air. ” is that it are we done? what else are they gonna make us do”.No one quite knows who to be mad at, the Drill Sergeant who loves to punish us for what seems like just merely existing or was it that one guy who can never do anything right. Soon the anxiety sets in if that’s it or the start to a very long corrective punishment. Anytime I experience any hardship or tough spot I wont get mad I wont get sad I will just embrace it, embrace the suck. Life gets a lot easier when you wont let it get you down. When ever anything bad happens to have a giant smile on your face and just think “this is it ?”

Photo by KoiQuestion on Foter.com / CC BY-SA