Day One - Water Team Lead The Way

Hi Family!!

The blogs may be a little out of order and may lack some punctuation and capitalization if I send it from my phone. This one, however, I was able to write on my laptop, yay to the Internets!!

Today i woke up at 5AM (zero five hundred hours in military speak), to get ready for the first real day of army life here at Fort Hunter Liggett. I took in a deep breath and was greeted with the aroma of wet grass and weeds. Not the most inviting smell but it wasnt too bad. We were instructed last night to report to first formation by zero five four five hours (0545) so there was not much time to figure out how to perform morning hygiene. Luckily, I brought lots of camping stuff to help.

I psuedo showered with wet wipes and wilderness wash bought at Eastern Mountain Sports. (There are showers available but shower times for us are scheduled for sixteen hundred hours/1600). I took out my collapsable sink and used water from my canteen to brush my teeth. It worked pretty well and I felt clean and had fresh breath. It was cold this morning so after the quick wash, I rapidly put on my uniform and a fleece pullover. I then headed to formation.

Formation was quick so that we could get out to breakfast early. During formation, I was assigned to the Hosiptal Water Team and told to return after breakfast to the formation area at 0715. Breakfast was hot (eggs, bacon, pancakes...yum). They also had fresh fruit so I grabbed two pears and quickly ate my breakfast.

After breakfast we had another formation where we were separated into our respective teams and also made sure all soldiers were present and accounted for in the company. The Water Team is responsible for providing all water to the hospital. A large bladder filled with hundreds of gallons of water is centrally located in the hospital area and then lines are routed through the compund to provide water to the OR's, ICU's, and ancillary areas.

We were given an overview of the plan and then went to inventory the water hoses and other equipment.

I have now brought you up to speed to 1100 today. Our team is waiting for the conex trailers to be moved to the location where the bladder will be so we can setup and start connecting water lines to the hospital areas.

I think this is a fun way for you all to hear about what I'm doing here in CA. I will try to blog as much as I can....battery power and oppurotunity willing :)

I love you all!!

SPC Arthur