Leader's Training Course (LTC), pt 1

I finally got together all of the pictures from Danny's time at LTC.  It'll mostly be pictures with some captions from the blog that LTC posted, since Danny doesn't really care to say anything (I may be able to convince him to add captions later, we'll see).  Also, he's not actually in a lot of these pictures.  Danny was in Alpha Company (out of four companies total), which had 198 cadets; Third Platoon (four platoons per company), about 50 cadets; and Fourth Squad (five squads per platoon), about 10 cadets.  For some events, platoons switched off days, so the photographer (each company had one) could only be with one platoon at a time (and he tended to favor first and fourth platoon).  So, I put all of the pictures with Danny I could, but the rest I'm posting to get a better idea of all that Danny did this summer.

ARRIVAL

Danny left for Ft. Knox on Sunday, June 12 ... at 4:00 am.  ugh.  driving him to the airport early in the morning in the dark through Austin's crazy construction-filled highways that I'd never been on before while being really anxious at him leaving for so long already made for an un-fun morning, to say the least... didn't help that on my way back I nearly ran over a porcupine in the middle of the road at the highway intersection.  Anyway, aside from my adventures, Danny got there safely and they got right to work, spending the first day getting yelled at orders from the drill sergeants who were waiting for them as they got off the buses, as well as getting signed in and getting all their stuff together.

In-Processing

The next day was spent getting records together, getting IDs, filling out paperwork, getting barracks assignments, and learning what they would be learning and doing for the next month.

Physical Training and First PT Test

They also had their first PT (Physical Training ... the army loves acronyms, lol) test, to gauge were everyone was and were they need to be.  The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) test consists of a timed two-mile run, two minutes of sit-ups, and two minutes of push-ups.  The also started working on exercises for the new fitness training, the physical readiness training (PRT) which will consist of a 60-yard shuttle run, a one-minute rower, a standing long-jump, a one-minute push-up, and a 1.5 mile run.  Each day at LTC was spent working on their physical fitness with a variety of intense exercises.

CIF

(... okay, I'll be honest, I couldn't figure out what CIF stands for, that's just what they called this segment and Danny is front and center in one of the pictures -- I think he told me he was like squad leader or something that day, that's why he was in the front -- and it looks like they're getting issued more supplies and gear, and I think getting measured for their uniforms or maybe for their physical... well, whatever they are doing, here's a few more pics)

Guidon Ceremony

(... again, sorry but I don't actually know what this is, they didn't mention it in their blog... just looks like marching around in their ACUs [Army Combat Uniform] and standing in formation, but whatever, more pictures! ... and I really did cut back on the pictures they posted, honest...)