So this is my first attempt at a blog so bare with me, I am not the best writer. I could tell this story better in person.
Sleepwalking in Florida – Ranger School
I don’t remember if this was my first time or my second time in Florida but this has stuck with me. The details are sketchy but I will try my best to tell it. Anyways, I was the FO for this particular day. It had been a long day of the typical raid or ambush and endless walking and walking and walking. We get to our ORP and do all the necessary shit needed to conduct a leaders recon of our patrol base for the night or shall I say early morning. Mind you somewhere between us conducting our operation and walking I was completely gone, mentally. I remember walking with the recon and being positioned at the six o’clock of the patrol base along with another student. I did the whole ruck sack flop and proceeded to drone in and out of consciousness. Before I knew it the whole platoon occupied their positions. I pathetically got to my feet and made a stupid attempt to find the CP. I recall bitching and moaning because I couldn’t find the CP. I grew furious with all my sleep time wasted walking aimlessly through our patrol base trying to locate the CP. At last I find the CP, I recall the acting PL making a comment of where the fuck have I been? “Oh Fuck Off!” I can’t recall anything beyond this point until I regained consciousness.
Conscious and alert I found myself standing in the Patrol Base (not known to me at the time). No BDU top just my brown raggedy t-shirt untucked and my belt unbuckled on my pants (??? I am still wondering till this day about that). It is still dark out and have no idea where I am at. I walk a couple of feet and bump into a fighting position and ask the occupants what leg they occupy in an attempt to orient myself to the CP. After a couple of frustrating minutes walking around the patrol base, I locate the CP. (Oh the CP is the command post and it is located in the center of a patrol base FYI) As I study the area for my rucksack, I noticed a ruck that had equipment scattered all over the place (rucksack explosion). Come to find out this is mine, fuck! The night is disappearing and it is beginning to sprinkle…fuck…fuck…fuck! Light is fast approaching and an RI can show up at any minute to check on us, so I start shoving my scattered equipment as fast as I can in my rucksack while trying to mentally check off everything I carried in the ruck. I got an account of all my sensitive equipment (Nods, weapon, RADIO, etc,) that was a relief all in itself. If an RI were to catch my stuff thrown all over the place it would make for a hella of a morning for all of us.
As I gathered the last of my equipment, guess who comes in strolling into our Patrol Base?? The RI’s! They came in hooting and hollering for last night’s leadership. Phew! I just missed getting myself and fellow students fucked. But wait, where is my Patrol Cap? Where is my BDU top? With some frantic searching of the immediate area I see some white cat eyes poking out from a nearby bush. A quick check of the name tape and yup it is mine, phew! Now where the hell is my BDU top? I searched but no luck. I reached in my ruck and pulled a spare BDU top out and laid it on top of my ruck. I was still worried, what would happen if an RI would find my top? The morning admin stuff continued with the leadership being counseled, medics checking in and the favorite five poncho layout being conducted. I asked around the Patrol Base if anyone has seen my BDU top but to no avail. As I sat next to my rucksack cleaning my weapon a fellow student walks over to me and handed me my missing BDU top. He said something like “Dude I found this a couple feet outside the Patrol Base”. Relieved but puzzled??? What the fuck was I doing? I still wonder if I was sleep walking or what the fuck was going on. The whole rucksack explosion and walking around with no BDU top and an unbuckled belt puzzles me to this day. O well, I guess this is just one of those stories I will never find the answer too but makes for interesting conversation.
Sleepwalking in Florida – Ranger School
I don’t remember if this was my first time or my second time in Florida but this has stuck with me. The details are sketchy but I will try my best to tell it. Anyways, I was the FO for this particular day. It had been a long day of the typical raid or ambush and endless walking and walking and walking. We get to our ORP and do all the necessary shit needed to conduct a leaders recon of our patrol base for the night or shall I say early morning. Mind you somewhere between us conducting our operation and walking I was completely gone, mentally. I remember walking with the recon and being positioned at the six o’clock of the patrol base along with another student. I did the whole ruck sack flop and proceeded to drone in and out of consciousness. Before I knew it the whole platoon occupied their positions. I pathetically got to my feet and made a stupid attempt to find the CP. I recall bitching and moaning because I couldn’t find the CP. I grew furious with all my sleep time wasted walking aimlessly through our patrol base trying to locate the CP. At last I find the CP, I recall the acting PL making a comment of where the fuck have I been? “Oh Fuck Off!” I can’t recall anything beyond this point until I regained consciousness.
Conscious and alert I found myself standing in the Patrol Base (not known to me at the time). No BDU top just my brown raggedy t-shirt untucked and my belt unbuckled on my pants (??? I am still wondering till this day about that). It is still dark out and have no idea where I am at. I walk a couple of feet and bump into a fighting position and ask the occupants what leg they occupy in an attempt to orient myself to the CP. After a couple of frustrating minutes walking around the patrol base, I locate the CP. (Oh the CP is the command post and it is located in the center of a patrol base FYI) As I study the area for my rucksack, I noticed a ruck that had equipment scattered all over the place (rucksack explosion). Come to find out this is mine, fuck! The night is disappearing and it is beginning to sprinkle…fuck…fuck…fuck! Light is fast approaching and an RI can show up at any minute to check on us, so I start shoving my scattered equipment as fast as I can in my rucksack while trying to mentally check off everything I carried in the ruck. I got an account of all my sensitive equipment (Nods, weapon, RADIO, etc,) that was a relief all in itself. If an RI were to catch my stuff thrown all over the place it would make for a hella of a morning for all of us.
As I gathered the last of my equipment, guess who comes in strolling into our Patrol Base?? The RI’s! They came in hooting and hollering for last night’s leadership. Phew! I just missed getting myself and fellow students fucked. But wait, where is my Patrol Cap? Where is my BDU top? With some frantic searching of the immediate area I see some white cat eyes poking out from a nearby bush. A quick check of the name tape and yup it is mine, phew! Now where the hell is my BDU top? I searched but no luck. I reached in my ruck and pulled a spare BDU top out and laid it on top of my ruck. I was still worried, what would happen if an RI would find my top? The morning admin stuff continued with the leadership being counseled, medics checking in and the favorite five poncho layout being conducted. I asked around the Patrol Base if anyone has seen my BDU top but to no avail. As I sat next to my rucksack cleaning my weapon a fellow student walks over to me and handed me my missing BDU top. He said something like “Dude I found this a couple feet outside the Patrol Base”. Relieved but puzzled??? What the fuck was I doing? I still wonder if I was sleep walking or what the fuck was going on. The whole rucksack explosion and walking around with no BDU top and an unbuckled belt puzzles me to this day. O well, I guess this is just one of those stories I will never find the answer too but makes for interesting conversation.
