Getting Ready for Phil... er, Fill...

So, we've got less than a week to go before I get the first full class in my experience as a drill sergeant. We’re the last company in battalion to get a class, so we’re pretty conspicuous walking around in PT uniform all day while everyone else is sporting ACU’s or their individual field gear.

The worst part of prepping to fill is getting ready for the pre-fill inspection. If you’ve ever been through a formal inspection before, you know that different leaders have different ways of inspecting. When we get our areas ready, it’s to prepare for THAT GUY. Yes, THAT GUY. You know the one I’m talking about. The guy who sticks his entire nose into the mouth of a canteen, sniffing for the slightest hint of mildew or sourness. The guy who licks his fingers, rubs them on the inside of a canteen cover, looking for dirt – and regardless of whether he finds dirt or not, LICKS HIS FINGERS AGAIN and continues with the next item.

So, needless to say, we go over everything with a fine-toothed comb to make sure the aforementioned “guy” has nothing negative to point out. As I mentioned before, we are the last company in the battalion to fill – so it goes to reason that everyone’s been through the inspection already. That’s a good thing, as we’ve been able to learn from their mistakes so far – the honest mistakes (“woops, forgot to remove that paint can from the back mop closet”) to the incredibly stupid ones (“damn, sir, I have NO IDEA whose live rounds those are…”). So, add those factors together with the fact that my first sergeant has an uncanny eye for the small shit, and you can understand why I’ve been working some STUPID long hours in the past two weeks.

Those of you out there who have been to basic probably recall some type of mural or painting in your bay or company area. I had one in the middle of my floor that I decided to pain over last cycle. I’m not sure whether it was the aesthetics of an 8^th-grade skill-level painting that made me want to get rid of it, or that fact that it depicted a drill sergeant on horseback, holding the dismembered head of an Arab, complete with burning mosque in the background – either way, it had to go. So we had another one laid out, courtesy of one of my drill sergeants’ wife – unfortunately, the motto at the bottom of the painting (BOOM – You’re Dead!) had a minor typo in it that made it look a little stupid. So, we went for number three during this extended break. I finally finished the painting of the goddamn thing yesterday, so I’m attaching it for your viewing pleasure. Pay no attention to the garbage behind the pillar... I hate the fact that I took the photo from my phone and didn't neaten up beforehand!

Cool, huh? I have to lay a few coats of floor-grade polyurethane on it to protect it from Joe’s big dumb feet. We can’t have off-limits areas (called ‘kill-zones’ in the vernacular) according to policy, but I damn sure make anyone who walks on it sorry for having done so.

I’m enjoying the weekend off prior to our fill – so I’ll sign off for now. Once we get into the full swing of the cycle, I may not update at all, but come back and check in anyway!