And so it begins...

The Gunnery and Fire Support phase of BOLC has finally begun.  Tuesday of this week, we met our new instructors.  I was fortunate enough to get some very squared away USMC Captains, and I think that they will work out great in the long run.  Initially, I was worried about having Marine instructors, but only because of the potential of some rough PT on a daily basis, but after reevaluating the situation, I remembered that one of my BOLC goals was to graduate in great shape.  Well, my friends, it looks like that will happen.  These Marines don't mess around when it comes to PT.  On Wednesday morning, Captain Cooley wanted to find out who could hang, and who needed a little work.  I am sorry to say that I could not keep up with the 23-24 year old LTs.....yet.  Hopefully, that will all change in 3 or 4 weeks.  If I don't finish BOLC with a 300 on my APFT, I should be drawn and quartered!

As far as classes are concerned, imagine yourself standing in front of a ladder truck with the fire hose pointed straight at your face....then turn the water on.  If the water were information, you would be in Field Artillery BOLC.  Yes, it comes at you that fast.  The information is not that difficult yet, but the speed at which it comes is what gets you.  You spend the entire lecture hoping that you can go back to your room and understand what has been taught.  We had a test on Thursday over parts of a howitzer and ammunition terms.  It was pretty easy, although there were some tricky questions. 

Thursday afternoon, we learned about Ballistics, and on Friday, we spent the entire day on Call for Fires and the Duties of a Forward Observer.  They are kind of mixing the Fire Support and Gunnery stuff up right now, but I think as we get into it, these topics will be separated a little more. 

As of now, I am feeling about 50/50 on understanding Calls for Fire, which is where you are given a target, and then are required to plot the location and direction of said target, and then call for fire on that target.  You call for the initial shot round, and then walk the round into the target through a process called bracketing.  If the first shot is long, you would drop enough distance on the subsequent shot so that it is short of the target.  The following shots are spent closing in on the target until you are close enough to FIRE FOR EFFECT, and essentially obliterate it. 

The concept of Calling for Fire is not difficult, it is the time frame in which we are required to set up our Observer Fire fans and locate the target on the map, and then to call for the fire in the correct way.  If you say something out of sequence, or use the wrong phonetics while on comms, then points are taken from you.  It is pretty intense.  Luckily, we will spend a lot of Monday practicing our techniques.  In the meantime, I will spend this weekend going over notes and practicing scenarios on my own until I get it straight.  Wish me luck. 

Sorry I've only been updating once a week, but I really don't have much time after classes to think about my blog.  We have quite a bit of homework, and by the time I finish, I am exhausted.  I'm sure you guys can go 6 days at a time without hearing from your trusty scribe.  If not, then let me know, and I will try to accommodate.  I can send you individual emails or something so you can get your Stevie fix.  ;-)

Paulson out.....