angelbaby1980 Offline

43 • In a relationship • Female • from Gainesville • 9

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What to expect in boot camp....

Here is an overview of what all I can expect in the 8 weeks of boot
camp. This article can be found
http://www.navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/... Boot
Camp. This is where the amazing Navy transformation from civilian to
Sailor happens. You'll report to Recruit Training Command (RTC) in
Great Lakes, Illinois. Be advised: RTC is a huge campus, but you'll
never feel alone. On it are hundreds of recruits just like you finding
their way to their futures. The skills and the training you'll get
there will set you up for a lifetime of success. In and out of uniform. Boot
Camp is 8 weeks of mental and physical training. Expect it to be
rigorous and demanding. It's hard work. Then again, anything worth
something usually is. From Boot Camp you'll emerge as a Navy Sailor in
top physical condition astounded by what you've accomplished so far and
ready for the biggest adventure of your life: Your first tour of duty. Let's take a closer look. Week 1: Processing
Week. Once you arrive you'll be given Navy-issued clothing, be taught
the right way to fold and store your new belongings, and make your bunk
(bed). You'll receive complete dental and medical exams, if you need a
haircut, that'll happen too. As
the week progresses, you'll knock the days down conditioning, swimming,
marching, drilling, and most importantly attending Navy classes.
Everything you do from week to week is designed to prep you for what
lies ahead. You will push your physical limits and achieve higher
performance levels than you ever thought possible. In the Navy, you'll
be judged for who you are and how you prove it. Honor.
Courage. Commitment. Three words that before Boot Camp probably held
little meaning. Here, they'll become words you'll live by. These Navy
Core Values will become the ideals you and your fellow shipmates live
by. What you make of this experience makes you. Week 2. This
is a confidence-building week. As such, you'll be going through the
confidence course — a course designed to simulate shipboard situations
that you could encounter in an emergency. Be sharp because your life
and the lives of your fellow shipmates depend on it. If you haven't
already caught on, teamwork in the Navy and especially in Boot Camp is
a driving force. Week 3. Reality
check: This week, you'll board a land-bound training ship. Everything
will be hands-on — something your Recruiter told you the Navy is big
on. Here's the proof. You'll learn everything from ship nomenclature to
first aid techniques to semaphore (signaling with flags). All the
real-world lessons you'll need to survive in the Navy world. Classroom
studies will focus on Customs and Courtesies, laws of armed conflict,
money management, shipboard communication, Navy ship and aircraft
identification, and basic seamanship. Step
up for the first of two physical training tests — curl ups,
sit-reaches, push-ups and a 1.5-mile run. Good luck — but if you don't
pass the first time, your Recruit Division Commander will work with you
to ensure you do next time. That's because success is everybody's goal
in the Navy — not just yours. Week 4. Weapons
fire: heads up! If you've never fired a weapon before — this week
you'll get your hands on a M-16 and a 12-gauge shotgun. When you've
proven you know how to properly use both, you'll graduate to the
live-fire range. This is where it gets really interesting. Keeping
the end in mind, graduation pictures are this week as well as your
second academic test on everything you've learned to date. This is
about the time you'll feel as though you're flying through Boot Camp.
It's all good — because there's so much more adventure awaiting you
after Boot Camp. Week 5. This
week is all about you. Where you want to go, what you want to do, and
how fast you intend to get there. So you find the shortest distance
between where you are and where you want to be. If you're feeling a
sense of accomplishment for making it this far — good for you. That
means that 180-degree-life-change your Recruiter told you would come —
has come. Week 6. Shipboard
damage control and firefighting. Two of the most vital skills you'll
need on board. You'll learn to extinguish fires. Escape smoke-filled
compartments. Open and close watertight doors. Operate Oxygen Breathing
Apparatus and carry fire hoses. No pressure: but your life and the
lives of other shipmates depend on you mastering these skills. One more
test, and perhaps, the most challenging of all: the Confidence Chamber.
Inside the Chamber, you and about 100 other recruits will line up, put
on a gas mask while a tear gas tablet is lit. You'll be ordered to
remove your mask and throw it in a trash can while reciting your full
name and social security number. Relax. Every Sailor before you has
mastered it — and so will you. Because if you didn't know it before,
you know it now: You have what it takes. You are Navy material. This
week you'll also have to finish the confidence course — as a team. This
is when and where your newly developed self-confidence and
self-assurance shines. "If they could only see me now." You suddenly
find yourself thinking that a lot. NTE: DV286 Week 7. Battle
Stations. Boot Camp's ultimate test. Here's an exercise of 12 different
scenarios incorporating what you have learned during the previous
weeks. You and your team will be graded on your ability to execute the
required tasks. Successful
completion nets you the ultimate reward — a U.S. Navy ball cap. The cap
that tells the world you're no longer a Recruit, but a full-fledged
Navy Sailor. 
This is pivotal. This is where you and your Commanding Officer
recognize what you've always known: You were destined to do something
extraordinary. For you. For your family. For your country. You've done it. You've proven to yourself and to the world you've got what it takes. Your future is now in full motion. Week 8. Graduation
in your dress uniform. Pass the mirror. Stop and stare. Recognize that
person? You should. Stand tall. Walk proud. You are Sailor in the U.S.
Navy. After today, your family and friends will envy you. Strangers on
the street will thank you. Your Navy family will always have your back.
Savor this moment. Not everybody makes it; not everybody should.

Back To School

Its
that time of the year again.....school supplies, backpacks, new
clothes, new shoes. The hustle begins. Round up everything, spend at
least 500 dollars for the upcoming school year, only to get additional
lists from teachers requiring more school supplies, snacks and even
money to participate in school activities. Throughout the entire year
you are asked to have your children become salespeople, and this is to
raise money for the school. After our children have worked hard to get
the school money, they recieve gifts that last maybe a week. WOW!
Sounds like a cheap way for the school district to get their
money...use YOUR children! We pay taxes so our children can
attend public schools, yet you have to pay 1.50 for lunch. If you have
one child, thats 78.00 a year, two children is 156.00 dollars, and
three children is 234.00 a year. That should be one HELL of a Tasty
meal. Yet, for the most part, the food isnt even something I would want
to feed my dog. Why do we have to pay for lunch? Where our are taxes
going? Yes, you can qualify for free and reduced lunches...QUALIFY! I
just pack my kids lunch almost everyday. Then, the school district has
the audacity to tell you what you can and can not feed YOUR child for
lunch. Hello!!! I thought this was MY child. Oh dear. Lets
go over the visitation policy. You want to see YOUR child...well now
you must stop at the office and get permission as well as a visitors
badge. I remember when my parents would just come in the classroom and
see me or go the cafeteria with no questions asked. I understand that
they are trying to keep our children safe and I appreciate this, but
when they have seen me a million time throughout the year, why do I
still have to show my ID before I can see my child? Why do I have to
explain the reason I am there? Hmmmm very frustrating. The
school promises that they are hankering down on school bullies. I have
complained time and time again for the way my son has been disrespected
by bullies. Promises are made, yet he would still come home even after
my complaints in tears. You people are supposed to be keeping my child
safe..see visititation policy...One of the major safety issues is
bullies. They can drag a child down so low that either they will want
to kill themselves or take the lives of those that are harrassing them.
It becomes so bad in fact, that children would rather drop out of
school then face the pain they have on a daily basis. Who is really
taking care of our children? Who is stopping this abuse? Just because a
child may not be high up in society or may not look the way other
children do, does not give ANYONE the right to break their self worth.
It feels like the school district is more concerned with making the
parents of the well off happy, then taking time to notice the children
of tomorrow. I for one dread the beginning of the school
year. I hate not knowing what this year will bring. My children deserve
the best education and the best experience while they are at school.
However, with no one really paying attention or caring...how are they
going to recieve THE BEST? My daughter lives with CP and this is
something that of course kids pick on her about. She can't do alot of
things....and until she started going to school, she was very confident
in her abilities to succeed. Now she doesnt ever want to go to school.
Neither does my oldest son. He is big for his age, but not fat. He is
extraordinarily tall, and he has asthma. He cant run all that fast
because he is so tall that his knees hurt him and his asthma begins to
act up. Of course...children are cruel and they pick on him on a
constant basis. Well, if he gets angry because no one will stop it, and
he decides to hit someone...you better believe that I have his back. My
children are very well behaved and I believe that because they are so
well behaved, they should be more rewarded than the bullies. Sadly,
this is not the case. I have so much more I would love to add and will
at a later time. In short....its time for school again!

A poem for my best friend.....

I've searched for friends, Had a few... But never one as good as you. You lighten my life, Make me smile... You make my days worth while. Though I havent known you long, And the circumstance is strange.... My friendship with you will never change. -Shanna Brock

What hurts the most

What Hurts The Most........ 1. Losing someone you love....and knowing you will never get them back. 2. Being alone. 3. Death....losing someone forever.....wishing you could've told them exactly how much you loved them. 4. Watching a child cry.....kills me everytime 5. People that hurt children and get away with it..... 6.
People who disrespect our Military men and women....They are fighting
for your right to have your opinions in America....Only in America can
you disrespect your country....you dont like it here...leave 7. Men who walk away from their responsibilities..... 8. Women who turn their backs on their children.... 9. People who pass judgement.....walk a mile in my shoes then come back and tell me what you would do. 10. Racists.....We are all descendants of other countries...get over yourself! 11. Hatred..... 12. Liars.......Honesty is always going to be the best policy! No matter what size the lie is...its always a lie. 13. Rape......incest is in this category as well 14. Abuse.....any nature 15. Always being without.....never being able to give my kids the things they deserve and need

September 11

September
11, 2001 a day that America will never forget. This was a day that
started out as ordinary as the day before. People rushed to get to
work, get the kids off to school or just go about their daily chores.
Whether you were at work listening to the radio, in your car or sitting
at home watching it happen before your eyes....at that moment in
time.....the world stood still. One plane after another....taking the
lives of so many innocent people. Tears rolling down our
faces...holding our loved ones even closer than before...talking to a
complete stranger about what had just taken place. This was a day
unlike any other. This was a day of mourning...a day of shock. If you
saw it on the television and you witnessed that second airplane
crashing into Tower 2 immediate pain filled your heart. This
saddened our hearts but didnt shatter our souls. This horendous event
brought Americans to our knees. For a while America was a beautiful
place. A place where we realized the value of being free. A place where
everyone was our neighbor..regardless of shape, color or size. Though
the tragedy was so great, it became America's eye opener. When
our president announced that we were not going to take this sitting
down...everyone was on the same page. War was imminent. How could we
just sit back and let terror rule our lives? September 11 was the only
reason our country went to war. Not over oil prices...not over weapons
of mass destruction. The weapons of mass destruction were our very own
airplanes. The men and women who volunteered on that day witnessed the
reason we had to fight back. Our heroes that lost their lives trying to
rescue the innocent...the victims who died...the heroes on Flight
93.....all witnessed the day America stopped moving. We are at war to
fight for their justice. Have we forgotten how we got to the
point we are today? Have we forgotten how we were so close at one time?
Have we truly forgotten the reason we are fighting this war? Our
soldiers are being slandered, our president is having his name run in
the dirt...while you are sitting there bashing...who is protecting you?
If it weren't for the volunteers who make up this country's military,
the ones who slander would be called into action via draft. If we pull
our troops out early, before Iraq is stable...it will end the same way
Vietnam did. It we be like we did nothing at all. We are there to
win...to teach the Iraqi's a better way of life...Justice for All.
Remember The Pledge of Allegiance. Your freedom of speech that you so
boast about....being protected by the men and women you slander. So
remember if you think you could run our country better...step up...go
to war..run for presidency. Why are you sitting there doing nothing but
taking up space? I agree....war is a horrible grievance. I
agree that maybe we have been in Iraq for far too long....but Bush has
no choices at this moment in time. Remember he is doing what he can to
protect our country....by the way...have we been attacked since that
day? Obviously he is doing something right. He is our president.
Respect it..you dont have to like...just respect it. You live here too.
If I have to listen to you bash him or our troops...then you have to
expect me to jump in to protect their names. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AN EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY ACT! September 11.....a day to remember the
reason for the seven long years of fighting, A day to remember the
victim's families....the heroes who walked into those falling towers to
save lives....the brave souls on flight 93.....those fighting for our
right to remain free....it is still a day the world stands still. Shed
a tear...hold you family close...pray...just remember!

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