ECRC * Week 2 Day 8-14

Day 8 - Recovery Techniques
28JAN08

Monday was actually a short day. We did PT (physical training) @0600 in the morning and followed up on medical screenings after. The medical screenings were only to ensure you were up to date with all your vaccinations (i.e. smallpox, anthrax). After the screenings we went to lunch at the DFAC and mustered for class on recovery techniques. This class was given to teach you how to bring an injured person into a safe area or building.

Day 9 - M16 Qualification
29JAN08

This qualification course was on a similar range to the one we used on Day 5. The only difference was that we were able to see the targets a lot better. The targets were white instead of green, making it much easier to spot at a distance. After the qualification course we were taken to a location in the woods and given a map and compass. They told us to go find plots on the map, and find our way back in 2 hours. Some of us got lost...most of us didn't make it to all of our points on the map...and some of us just gave up.

Day 10 - Death by PP
30 JAN08

In the morning we had PT, followed with DEATH by power point! The topic was recovery of isolated personnel. In other words, how to make it through a situation where you might be taken hostage, detained, kidnapped, or you were just separated from your unit and how to recover from it. After lunch we had two more classes regarding IED (innovated explosive device), and cultural awareness. In the cultural awareness class we were given information on what to do and not to do in the country you would be deploying to.

Day 11 - Heavy Weapons!
31JAN08

On heavy weapons day we were trained on the M240, MARK19, SAW, and 50 CAL. After the heavy weapons range we went to another M16 range for a stress shoot and reflexive fire. The stress shoot was the same as the PWC for the M9.

Day 12 - Convoy training
01FEB08

PT was at 0500 today, followed by chow at 0700 and class at 0800. The training was on convoys, and close quarters combat training. The close quarters combat training was to teach us how to clear a building with the quickness. After lunch we were taken to EST (electronic simulations training) building. After EST we were given a liberty call brief and released to the world for a weekend.

Day 13-14
02-03FEB08
Liberty call, liberty call!