Shoup Airlines

Andersonville

One of the more educational things we got to do during WOCS was what is called a staff ride. Unit commanders will take their officers on a trip somewhere educational that can reflect on lessons learned and basic leadership skills. Ours was to Andersonville, GA. Ever heard of it? Nor had I.

Real quick recap: during the Civil War both the North and South had POW camps in which the living conditions were extremely sub standard and over crowding was the norm. The South’s was located in Andersonville and had nearly 45,000 Northern soldiers enter its gates. Only 75% of those ever exited the gates. There are many stories to be told at this historical site and none that I can do justice with on the blog.

It was a 3 hour bus trip to the site so we watched the 1996 made for tv movie by the same name. I slept through most of the movie knowing it would be bastardized by Hollywood. It was. But I have to admit it was sobering to watch scenes in the movie and then step off the bus and see the exact same scenes in real life.

It was unfortunate that we didn’t have much time to explore the actual POW museum at Andersonville. They had quite an extensive display echoing from the Civil War all the way up to the present day war. Several of us recognized the poignancy of walking through those halls and knowing where we would be in just a few short weeks. But in usual military fashion, we had somewhere else to be and not enough time to get there.

On the ride back we stopped in Americus, GA for a real home cooked Southern meal. Or so they told us. I still refuse to call it a real Southern meal simply because they didn’t have fried okra on the buffet. I have NEVER had a Southern meal without fried okra. But I shouldn’t complain, the sweet tea, mashed potatoes and fried chicken were some of the best I or anyone else had ever had. Of course, that is 5 weeks of DFAC food getting in the way, but it was still pretty damn good.

The rest of the photos are up in the Gallery.

Things That Make You Think

We’re sitting in the grove on one of our many “breaks” during WOCS. It’s humid as usual, but there’s a nice breeze blowing through every couple minutes that just staves off the sweat from being uncomfortable.

I notice a small bug land on my arm and plod around exploring the hairs and occasional mole. Yes, I’m that bored. Anyway, the bug has the structure of a medfly but is a bit smaller with wings about twice the size of his body. When I felt the breeze step up again, I thought for sure the fly wouldn’t be able to hold on and fly away. I thought wrong.

It was actually really cool to watch. He would turn himself into the wind and then raise both wings to complete vertical until they were touching. I assume this would kill all lift created by his wings as he’d just bear down every time the breeze came up. As soon as the breeze would die he’d start exploring again as if nothing had happened.

It will always be the small things in life that count.

Uphill…Both Ways!

The last day of our FLX. We finally get to head back into garrison and escape the heat and humidity of Hades, enjoy a real shower and eat some real, albeit crappy food but still better than MREs at the DFAC. But first we have to ruck march the 6 miles back to garrison with 45 lb. packs through Hades. In less than 2 hours. And there’s the rub.

Up at a quarter to four, no one cares because we know it’s the last day of this horrible mess. It’s already 80° by the time we form up in two columns and get ready to step. Of course, we have to stand around for another 20 minutes with no explanation because you just always do that in the military. I’m not complaining, it gives me some extra time to do some more stretching. This one’s going to hurt.

With the sun still down, we’re able to keep a pretty good stride going for what I think is the first two miles. It’s still relatively cool but some of that is due to the fact that you’re completely drenched in sweat. Water is drunk like it is going out of style but there is always more to be supplied if you’re out.

As the sun finally arrives, a light overcast persists and continues to keep it just cool enough as we hit “the hill.” The photo doesn’t do it justice of course and I don’t know what the grade is. It’s steep, that’s all you need to know. Head down and lean into it, that’s about all I can do. I really feel for the road guards who had to run it! That had to suck. We break for a couple minutes as we crest the hill and then get a motivational boost as we realize the primary TAC is sucking wind and hurting. And he’s not a slouch by any means.

We finally round the corner and can just make out 1st WOC as we hear the other classes begin to cheer and welcome us back in. Bodies aching, blisters long since popped and muscles starting to cramp as we enter the company with a time of 1 hour and 52 minutes. You can see the physical drain in our faces, but it was our minds that kept us going. One candidate’s body completely shut down as she crossed the line and had to be carried to the staging area. Paramedics were called, IVs were stuck and she was carted off. Another heat casualty, but she bounced back amazingly the very next day.

It took nearly two days for most everyone to recover. My calves ached no matter how much I stretched them, occasionally waking in the middle of the night to fight off a cramp. But hey, it’s not like we have our final physical fitness test in 4 days! Oh wait, yes we do.