Ripcords.

After some downtime to figure out the basics of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs , answering the eternal questions of survival such as, "Where do I sleep, eat, use the bathroom, and put all this stuff in my seabag," we've now made it through the very basics-including how to dress ourselves in Army uniforms. They've broken our training class of about 150 sailors into two separate companies, each with three platoons; doing the math would mean each platoon is about 25 sailors strong. After the Navy staff meet-and-greet yesterday, today we were introduced to our Army staff, all drill instructors, but now reservists. Between all of the Army staff, they have a tremendous amount of relevant combat experience as well as a good sense of humor, which makes them a truly valuable resource for us to learn from their example. After breakfast this morning, we took a fifteen minute bus trip down the road from Camp McCrady to the main area of the military reservation. There, we were issued another two bags worth of gear, another 70 pounds. Some of this gear we won't use while we're here-like our rucksacks, sleeping bags, etc; other stuff, like our newly issued body armor, the IOTV (Improved Outer Tactical Vest), and our ACHs (Advanced Combat Helmet). These two items came with an instruction book, as some assembly was required.

Returning to Camp McCrady, around 1400, we continued for another two hours with instruction on how to actually assemble the body armor. The version we have is the latest and greatest, designed in response to some recent vehicle accidents in Iraq and Afghanistan where humvees have rolled over in drainage ditches or near reservoirs and the occupants have drowned because they were trapped in their vests and the seatbelts. Our version has an emergency egress strap about three inches down from the neck where a firm pull rips a wire out and magically, the vest falls off you into no less than seven distinct pieces, with armor plates and all dropping off. This is quite an impressive piece of gear, with obviously a clear objective goal and reason for its creation. The assembly part becomes interesting, as the first thing we did in the class was pull the rip cord, and then spending two hours to learn how to successfully put it back together. I hope I never need to use that rip cord because: 1). It means my vehicle has flipped over in water and is sinking quickly. 2). There isn't a chance in hell I'll be able to successfully put it all back together again when safe on dry land.

Location:Camp McCrady, Fort Jackson, SC