Phone call 2-19 and Letter received 2-24

I got a phone call from Andrew on Sunday, February 19, 2012.  It was amazing to hear from him! He said all the guys are still sick all the time, you just can't shake it since you never really get to rest.  He said they have "iron watch" all night long; six men at a time iron and then come wake up the next 6 and so on in 30 minute rotations.  He usually gets only about 5 hours of sleep a night. Please be praying for his right leg and groin, they are hurting. I found out he will not be performing with other graduations, just his own. They practice on Saturdays in the drill hall where graduation will be (map to come). He gets another shot this week, will be learning damage control, and will get his next phone call on 7-2 (March 6th, 3 days before graduation) when I will find out his graduation schedule. Now here is the letter....

Happy Valentine's Day!
14Feb2012
Dear Dearest,
       Hell week has begun! So far so good. Monday was my PFA. I passed! I'm so thankful. I did 51 situps, 45 pushups and best of all I ran my 1.5 mile in 11:40. Wow did I feel awesome. If you remember, my first time was 15:20. I was sick though.
       We then had our uniform and weapons turn over inspection. I got a 4.5 out of 5 on my uniform inspection because i missed my question. Silly mistake. I scored a 5.0 on my WTI. So a great Monday overall. 


16Feb2012
Dear Wifey,
       So week 4 is just about over. Drill inspection and test #2 tomorrow. Life has been busy this week. It flew by though. Week 5 is coming and I get my second set of shots. Another peanut butter too, the one in my butt.  Firefighting and damage control is next week as well. 
       I got your letters and loved them all. I miss you more and more with every letter.  Everyday when I get mail, I hope your letters come most of all. I have received mail from my mom, Aunt Onie, Amanda, Grandma Millie, Drew/Becky, your mom, and my dad. Please contact them and let them know.
       I hope by now you have my gift and you love it. I wanted to give you my heart but since I'm here you can use it to read and warm your heart. I think about you often so when you hold it think about me.
       Week four was eventful and this was a defining week for division score. Right now, we are shooting for Hall of Fame. To qualify, you need a division average of 4.5 (out of 5). It's super hard. But we are on track. It's an average of test, PFA, Inspections, and street hits. Street hits are like secret shoppers. We have had 0 so far which is amazing. With us being 2/3 the way through boot, we are at 4.8! It's awesome! Very few divisions ever make Hall of Fame so we still have to see how far we can go.
       Also, put whatever you want on the blog. I write you so much because I can't write others that write me. 


19Feb2012
       It's Sunday and hell week is over! It wasn't so bad but unfortunately Hall of Fame may be out of reach.  We were doing great until Friday. We had our drill inspection and test #2. After drill, which was sub-par, we now sat at a 4.62, down from 4.88. Time for test #2. This one was the easiest and as EPO I have had the guys studying like crazy. It didn't matter though because we scored a 4.1 average. So now we're even lower. Moral is down and RDC's are pissed.
       I'm glad it's Sunday. We are on holiday routine right now. Every Sunday from 0700 to 1300 we can relax but no sleep which sucks. 
       Some more bad news, we lost our phone call because people talk too much. These kids are killing me. So our next phone call isn't til 7-2.  So a couple weeks. (Though Andrew said this, he did receive the call somehow, he explained it to me but I didn't understand through the static.) By the way, I got a 4.5 on the test so I am happy.
       A fellow SR (seaman recruit) asked me the other night, "Do you hate this place?" The only way I could answer was, "No, but if I were single it would be a whole lot easier!" See Hun, my mind is only about 50% in boot camp. The other half of the time it's on you. I see you in everything I do here. When it gets hard I think of you. It pushes me, makes me stronger, and motivates me.
       You see, boot camp has a "jail-like" feel to it.  You don't see the outside that much, only when marching. You can't really do or think much for yourself. They make things a lot harder than they have to be.
       So, we have been going to practices for graduation. I'm on Honor Guard and we'll be throwing rifles and you see me front and center! On the back of this page I will draw a diagram of the drill hall and my position(s). Then show you where the best places are to sit!

      Please keep writing, about anything, I care about all you do. The more the better. I love hearing about your journeys with school, weekends, and your friends.
     
I love you so much, 
miss you a lot,
3 more weeks and I can hug you. 
I miss that!
Love, Andrew S. Muhs   
(Had to change my signature because they need to read it)
P.S. I got a brownie this week and it was delicious!