Okay so before diving into this true story here are some terms you need to know:
QRF: Quick Reaction Forces-Basically a suped up swat team
FOB: Forward Operating Base-The kind of base you would find on the front lines of war
ECP: Entry Control Point-Entrance to a base...is controlled by security
BDU: Battle Dress Uniform-Typical camo uniform
September 27th, 2009
National Guard Training Base
Field Training Exercises carried out by Detachment 195, Cadet Wing
Piling into a van with 14 other cadets and a bunch of gear is just great when it means not hiking up a hill in boots that don't fit. But anyway we get up there and see that we're going to be staying in massive tents. These tents are resting on wooden platforms to keep them elevated slightly off the ground. The bathroom are portable ones that haven't been cleaned in probably a year, the stench was so bad that you tried your hardest to not go to the bathroom and stay upwind of them. Setting up cots was a chore. That's because you have to figure out how to unfold it and then stretch the actual cloth all the way so that you don't fold up in it when you lie down. So we get everything up there and go down to the mess tent, now mind we're all in BDU's so we kinda blend in and it's really fun to walk around in them xD.
But anyway, back to FTX. We get down there and have to eat with flashlights because there's no electricity 0_o. Sucked majorly. But they rigged some lights to a car and we got lights. It was cool. Well we eat and have a few briefings, get the rest of our gear-canteens and such. Go up and have to change into our work out gear and i throw my BDU's on over them because I don't wanna freeze to death. Okay so next day, Saturday, we all get woken up at like 1 because a male cadet in the tent next to ours wakes up with an officer shining a flash light in his face, and said cadet starts screaming "Intruder!"
Waking up to the officers laughing at the other end of our tent we all woke up wondering if it was time to get up and get ready, it wasn't and we all had difficulty falling back asleep. The next day we went through various training sessions which involved crawling through the soaking wet grass, running up a hill, learning how to force someone away from an ECP, how to deal with threatening persons and protestors, and the various FPCON levels involved with the military. After this training we were assigned to our jobs for the first rotation and discovered that we were jipped on the weapons. A handful of them didn't even work.
So, we ended up having to change the rotations. QRF was next. Walking up a hill in the pouring rain with a paintball gun, mask, helmet, soaked boots, soaked clothes, and a pack for canteens isn't very fun. But when you know there are enemies hidden in the trees you don't mind so much if it means you don't get shot. Finally arriving at the 'town' we were confronted by 2 men, taking them captive we began searching the buildings for the injured civilians we had been ordered to locate and rescue. From behind we were ambushed, all but me a medic, and another cadet were shot and killed. The medic was shot in the leg and as I laid down suppressive fire we darted into a building we had already cleared. Just then exercise was called to a close and we started back down the hill.
Half way down the hill we ran into more insurgents and took heavy fire, where i got shot 3 times in the right thigh...still have 2 bruises to show for it. But anyway lying in a ditch soaked to the skin and not yet cold wasn't so bad. When we got back however we switched to Security Forces and I was stationed in a watchtower, where yes, i got to stand and watch. That's when it got cold and I had to change my shirt because I was shivering so hard. After eating nothing but trail mix for lunch because the MRE I had was too gross to eat we were besieged with enemy troops.
Charging up the hill to our right they surged up and over where I proceeded to get shot in the right hip, medic healed me and I was able to get up and try to be ready for the next wave. Coming up over the wall of the watchtower itself the medic was killed and then me. Having some hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup topped off the day by warming us up so we could go freeze to death in our sleeping bags.
And that is my field training experience...it was a blast even though i could hardly move Sunday.
CyTheConqueror Community Member 
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