OBLC experience week 1

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Hello Everyone, I am currently attending OBLC and let me tell you it is sooo hot. Last week we had 19 ppl go out with heat and just as we got back to base friday evening we lost someone right off the bus.. The temp reached 103 and the heat index was a level 5. They do not stop training as you have a very busy schedule and alot of skills to accomplish.I am not prior service so all this is new to me. The tasks are not hard but exhausting plus with the heat index makes is hard on everyone. Attitudes are positive. A couple time I was indoubt if I could make it due to the heat and all the gear you have to carry around. PPL are having a hard time remembering their M16 as stated in other posts your M16 becomes your battle buddy and you end up giving it a name. If someone does something like use their cell phone prior to 1800 you all pay and there is no cell phone use. If you smoke and someone smokes prior to 1800 you all pay and there is no smoking until the next day at 1800.If someone forgets their M16 you all pay and all privliedges are taken away. The field is hard work and I suggest you get into shape prior to attending it will help you alot. They are giving us these hydration pks to add to our canteens to help with the heat some ppl choose not to take their advice and some do. I listen and take the hydration pak everyday. It is hot and will only get hotter. I am hoping to be more acclimated next week. Next week we do convoy opperations which I have been told is a bear. If anyone has completed the whole course let me know and also let me know what to expect over the next two weeks. I am a reservists and we stay at a hotel when we come into town. A piece of advice when you leave the field the first week pack all your stuff in your duffle and only put your dirty clothes in your ruck sak it will make life easier if you dont have to get your duffle off the truck. I did and now today all I have to worry about is packing my ruck with clean clothes. You will get back from the field late friday and will have class all day saturday with sunday free. If you take your duffle off the truck you have to be back to the hotel to turn it in at 1700 on sunday which breaks up your day if you want to do something. If you live close enough bring your car. The hotel has a shuttle but let me tell you we waited at walmart for an hour just to catch a ride back. Use the packing lists posted and also take the advice about breaking in your boots and the moleskin it works. I used blister baindaids and moleskin with covering it all up with sports tape. My blisters never broke open and the sports tape stayed in place all week. I have seen some pretty nasty blisters so if you take the advice you will save yourself alot of pain.Remember when you pack your ruk sak you are stuck carring it so think light.Dont schedule in the summer it is way to hot !!!!!! and if you do go in the summer listen to what they tell you to do !!!! Good Luck and I will update next week when we come back from field.

Specializes in NICU,Cardiac Progressive Care.

Hello and Sorry I didnt post week 2 or 3 things got busy. The weeks went pretty much the same and you do complete 2 4 mile ruk marches so be in shape. The first 4 mile march we had about 35lbs in our ruk sak so if you have a back pack I suggest you walk with weight or books inside to get you use to the weight on your back. They dont line ppl up to size and if your short you could end up all the way in the back like I did and I am only 5feet tall. On the day of the march they have you get up at 4am and it will be completed on a friday of week 2 and week 3 out in the field. I noticed the prior service ppl and the guys practically ran the 4miles to get it over with so be in shape. I know alot of you have noticed I wrote be in shape quite alot and the reason is that to me is the key to success when attending OBLC. On the third week attitudes began to surface but if you keep to yourself and your battle buddy things will be fine. Our tent was awesome and everyone got along great now other tents tempers flew like bats. A few things I forgot to write. The PFT is diagnostic but if you dont pass then on the 2nd and 3rd week you will go to PT while the others do combatives. Dont stress but try your best prior to going and do your best. I had to do the PT due to my run time and am glad I did it helped me decrease my run time. The down side is you do 30 mins of cardio plus you will run 2miles and no way to shower but you can be creative at the end of the day we used our old canteen water to wash up instead of just dumping it on the ground. Baby wipes are great but if you have sensitive skin I would suggest to rinse off at the end of the day with your canteen water the baby wipes do leave a film and it will dry your skin really bad. If you are allergic to bees make sure you take a few epi pens the bees are bad and when I say bad I mean really bad. I got stung right by my right eye. Also remember no food in the tent. We ended up with a scorpian in our tent one night it was inside someones kevlar. You do go to the range for the M16 and 9M but on the M16 you dont get qualified but can on the 9M. Just remember to be respectful of others and listen. They will tell you when you can change at the end of the day which will be at 1800 or earlier and the dress is the PT uniform. They will also tell you when you can use your cell phones and smoke which is at 1800. Smoking and Cell phone use is over at first formation in the AM which can be anywhere from 0450 to 0830. Bring a flash light that has a red lens and if you dont the clothing store sells one for under 9dollars. Make sure you bring the reflective belt for the PT you have to wear it every night with your PT uniform and also put it on your ruk sak when you do the 4mile marches. Meal times are okay but the lines are long so remember you are attending with close to 500 other ppl. You will have a meal for breakfast and dinner and for lunch you will be issued an MRE. Remember you will carry your ruk sak on the bus and off the bus so think light. Your ruk sak stays in your lap on the bus and they fit 52ppl on each bus. Some ppl had a hard time filing from the back to the front which made life hard for others but be respectful and do it the right way.Try to keep your weapon clean they will inspect it on your last turn in so when they tell you to clean it make sure you do as your told everyone will get out on friday alot faster. The reservist go first as we had class on saturday but the long course has saturday and sunday off. Get with someone who is prior service they will help you so much. I learned alot from the prior service. Remember to ask questions dont be shy now is not the time and the last thing you need is to do something wrong or be late. I always went 15mins early so if they say be at the bus at 0600 I was at the bus at 0545. If they said formation at 0830 I was there at 0815. I dont know how hot oct is but I will tell you we were told that next year the whole course will take place at camp bolllis and they will not go into town on the weekends. I am thankful we got to go into Ft Sam houston on the weekends and got to sleep in a real bed for 3nights and shower it was wonderful plus to be able to wash our clothes I can only imagine what it would have been like to have the same clothes for weeks without cleaning them or taking a shower. They are installing showers but to be honest I just dont see how they would get the go ahead they have tight water restrictions. Good Luck everyone and remember it is what you make of it and I suggest you take it all and make the most of it !!!!!!!

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Specializes in NICU,Cardiac Progressive Care.

Forgot a few things. 1) bring some form of rope so you can string it up in the tent to hang your clothes on at the end of the day. They can air out or dry if you sweat. I also used it to put my next days clothes on so in theam my next change of clothes were ready. The tents have to be dress on dress meaning uniform. Nothing can be on the floor and your duffle bag and ruk sak has to be under your cot. During the week I used my ruk sak for my daily hygiene stuff and clean underclothes so I did not have to keep digging into my duffle bag. bring clothes pins so you can pin your clothes to your line. Some ppl brought clothes hangers.Fabreeze works great but just dont get the aresol that will bother your neighbors and dont go overboard on the spraying. Use Zip Loc bags they will be your friend and you can put your dirty underclothes in them plus they help keep things together. I would put my hygiene stuff in one and when I went to brush my teeth everything I needed was right there. You can also seperate a weeks worth and only bring one weeks worth out to the field at a time. Also get locks for your duffle bag. Pack as much as it u can in your duffle bag your life will be easier. You dont have to carry your duffle bag far but you do your ruk sak. Okay I think I got everything out. I know that the information I have posted it long but dont stress if you get there and forgot something you can go to the store or get it on base.

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I did Ground Combat school at Camp Bullis Military Reservation when I was in the Air Force. Many of my instructors were actually Army jump qualified back when the AF let cops do that sort of thing.

Be glad - be so very, very glad - that you're at Fort Sam.

Pick up your boots and Kevlar and shake them upside down nice and hard before you put them on. Having no food helps keep the critters out, but it doesn't guarantee they won't come in!

The "rope" she's talking about is possibly parachute cord - it's strong and takes up next to no room. You can buy it at military surplus stores before you go. Double hang it in the tent and I promise you you'll be able to hang your stuff on it.

Tip on baby wipes - if you're female, don't use them to clean (ahem) certain areas. They're not made for us as adults. You can buy packs of personal wipes for that (and oh, do I recommend them; they're the smartest thing I had during GCS - once people found out I had them, I could have sold them for large amounts of money - seriously) - and guys, you can use those too; get the ones made for the bathroom (they're basically baby wipes for grownups), though, not the girl ones!

As an AF cop, I was on a 44-person deployment team (I'm actually the individual that made it a 44 PERSON team and not a 44 MAN team, which I thought was ridiculous) and those Summer's Eve wipes were my BEST FRIENDS when we'd go out and play war games. (I LOVED war games; when I'm an RN I'm going to find out if I can go play with the cops and be the enemy!)

You could also try the baby wipes that are a bit more expensive but that are for sensitive skin and/or have aloe for what we used to call your "field showers".

(I'm glad you reminded me of this stuff - reminds me of a couple of things to buy - yes, even in COT you go out in the field, though admittedly not for very long!)

And when it comes to your clothes stinking - take heart from the fact that everyone else reeks as bad as you do - poor consolation but some days that's all ya got! Seriously, eventually you really don't even notice it; hard to believe but true. (I was at Bullis in July!)

(And as for MREs, I highly, highly recommend the au gratin potatoes - MAN were those things good - and AVOID THE OMELET, it's totally vile. Has the consistency of a hockey puck and I suspect tastes exactly the same. The orange pound cake, though, is literally worth trading an entire MRE for - it ROCKS. I'd eat some now if I had it!)

Keep your posts coming as you can Littlesiss - I'm Air Force but I'm enjoying your descriptions of your experience. It's good to know what the sister services experience - especially Army, because as I've said, I admire anyone who chooses the military, but I literally have a special admiration for soldiers. Ya'll are hard core.

Keep up the good work; in the Air Force we say "Check your attitude at the door" and "Shut up and color" - and it sounds as though you've gotten that figured out. Any sort of basic training (and this is officer basic training) is at least thirty percent a mind game. You're getting that - I dare to say you've gotten it - and it will serve you well for the rest of your training.

CAMMY UP and HUA ARMY!!

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