FTX

This last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in FTX with ROTC. FTX stands for Field Training Exercises. Basically, we went up to Camp Williams and chilled there, quite literally, for a few days while working on tactics and land navigation. I love the other cadets, they're so cool. Well, there was a chap from Dixie State who smelled ridiculously of alcohol the whole time, but besides that everyone was way cool. FTX officially started on Thursday with Rubilar, Densley, Friar, and me cramming into Fryer's little truck and rushing over to Uncle Sam's to get dog tags, because ROTC failed to order them for everyone. So we got them, were late to first formation, and then checked out a bunch of equipment. We were supposed to see General Patreas, however, we had to go to overflow rooms because there wasn't enough room in the inn, so we watched Little House on the Prairie for an hour, which was quite the experience, as the army guys were all getting into it, and then a show that was about 10 minutes about llamas. My favorite line from that was "The llamas are so elegant as they run..." Wow. Really?! Anyway, I took a nice nap during the little devotional/conference thing. Then we headed out to Camp Williams. For now I'm just going to say that I hate standing around in the cold. Anyway, the highlights of FTX involve riding in a helicopter, land navigation (I worked with Beckh, Marks, and Gross--good times!!!), and...chilling in the tent. Well, STX lanes and patrol lanes were fine, too, but the problem with them was that our leader lacked some skills, which was frustrating for all involved. In any case...FTX is not a terrible experience! The worst part is definitely the cold...and waking up to the cold...