Pictures

Sorry it's been so long. So busy it's unbelievable. Here are some totally random pictures. Click on the pictures to see a larger view. When they're made smaller you lose some of the detail.

 Class time. I don't really have the best military posture in this pic, but I'm dead tired.

Super important Army meeting stuff.

Part of my 2nd Squad battle buddies. (L to R) LT Graham, LT Combs, LT Kiser, and myself.

Horrifying ladder of death that rewards your willingness to ascend with a terrifying inverted rope slide. Every bit of this scared me. It's approximately 35-40 ft high I'm guessing.

Not my group, but a good picture nonetheless. This was the second scariest thing I had to endure. This is called the "Skyscraper". It's a team event. I think you can see from the picture how it works. You have to make your way to the top by any means necessary. Several scary aspects: the entire tower shakes violently as you move; it's very high; you have to trust your team to pull you up, if they fail, you fall; lastly, you're basically hanging over the edge on your tows.

"The Weaver". I know this phrase is used so much that it's become cliche, but this literally was the scariest physical thing I've ever done. This tower, which shakes as you climb it, is approximately 40 feet straight up. You ascend, cross over the top rung, and then descend. The wood is intentionally unevenly spaced so that you must use different methods to ascend and descend. Some rungs you can simply step up on like a ladder, others require you to literally hang while maneuvering your legs in weird ways to get up/down. I was shaking when I was done. 

Not me, but gives a demonstration of the hell I had to endure. What you can't see from the picture is that your weight carries you down quickly so your arms are exhausted at the end. It's all you can do to hold the rope. Also, notice the platform you begin on in the back of the picture. When you slide off backwards, your body endures a sharp and fast drop. You think you're going to fall to the earth upside down.

Our respective class and platoon guidons.

My battle buddy and good friend LT Brown. He's been fantastic about squaring me away and showing me around Columbia.

Morning formation.