training
It’s Friday!
Learning A New Trade
How the Military Recently Impacted my Life
Being in the military is no easy task. I recently joined the Navy again as a reservist after I completed my active duty contract. In my post Getting back that Seabag I talked about my story and why I decided to join again. Well, it’s almost my one year mark as a Navy Reservist and it has been a whirlwind. From learning new things and figuring out the learning curve on how reservists operate. I finally was getting the hang of things.Go in on my “Warrior Weekends,” get caught up on training, workout and hang out with all my new friends I made. I was placed in a new unit, they were called the HM (Hospital Corpsman) detachment. I was excited, it meant I would be able to get on the job training and actually see what my new job did! Then I realized, I needed to get my “A” school set up so I will have the proper certifications. Fast forward to January and here I am.
This past week has been crazy, stressful, chaotic and adventurous to say the least. From getting military orders reprocessed twice, my personnel profile not being set up correctly to the military travel site messing up on my airfare, its surprising that I actually made it here to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. None the less, here I am and it is completely what I expected…kinda. Since this is an “A” school, everyone is treated in a student status which means no freedom in a sense. Secured liberty by 2200 (10 pm), can’t leave base, can’t drive and I have to still be in my uniform. This is considered phase 1, it’s meant for the fresh out of bootcamp people. People that don’t know how to act in the fleet yet. Then there is a phase 2 which is a little more freedom, we can wear civilian clothes and travel off base. We just have to be back by 2200. Then finally there is phase 3. That means we can have all our freedom back and stay out overnight on the weekends. Going from reserves and a whole civilian life back into student status is almost like a complete shock to me. I haven’t been in an “A” school for almost 7 years! Thank goodness, I have about eight other “fleet returnees” in class with me, which makes this bearable.
So going from a DC, Damage Controlman to an HM, Hospital Corpsman will be interesting. There will be a lot of knowledge to take in these next 4 months. This school coincides with my civilian career which is a huge perk for me. Not only will I have civilian side knowledge, but, I will also have military combat medical knowledge to use to my advantage. I start my actual class Wednesday, after the long week of life skills that are taught to everyone to make sure were well rounded Sailors. I look forward to learning as much as I can, so that I can challenge myself and those around me. Here is to a new adventure, for the start of a new year! Time to push myself, learn something new and dedicate myself to Corpsman school and flourish in this new trade.
“You fight like you train.”
– George S. Patton Jr.
Passing The PRT For The Navy
What To Expect
Nothing in life is given to you. However, you can prepare and reach your goal and achieve what you need easier. The Navy PRT (Physical Readiness Test) is basically just that. It is a test to make sure everyone is physically prepared. The PRT happens twice a year, once during spring time and the second in the fall. It consists of sit-ups, push ups and variations of cardio. You can either choose swimming 500 yards, a 1.5 mile run, or biking it. Sometimes the command you are stationed with will tell you which form of cardio you will be doing. Every sailor has to do this unless they medically can not, then a waiver is given to them. It’s a case by case basis. Each one of those categories have a certain time that has to be reached and a certain number of sit-ups and push ups that are needed. All of that is determined by your age and what age group you fall under. Here you will find all the scores you need to fall into a performance level. If you fall into the probationary category it means you did not pass your PRT. I know it sounds complicated and confusing, if it didn’t then it wouldn’t be the military. I’m trying to simplify all of this because when I first joined I was confused as well. Now that I have over 5 years in I kind of know my way around.
My PRT
My PRT this season was the first one I’ve done in about a year and a half. I fall into the 25-29 year old range. Yay! So I always try and shoot for the most. I push my hardest. I also look and see what I need to pass, as long as I go over that number and score the rest is easy peezy. I was worried this PRT, it was my first one in a while, I just got over a bad cold, and I was still recovering from minor back surgery earlier this year. The sit-ups really made it hurt. But, I managed to do better than I even expected and passed with flying colors. Needless to say I was pretty proud of myself and my Unit was glad I passed too.
How I Trained For The PRT
Staying in shape is no easy task. It takes time, dedication and determination. We’re human, sometimes we have no time, we get busy it happens. It happened to me. I realized once I joined the Navy reserve’s again I was going to have to really make a change. So, I started working out, eating healthy and trying to stick to it. Over the course of the months I was getting stronger. I had some setbacks of course but I went to the gym. I worked out on my own whenever I could and I kept watching what I ate. I got a lot of ideas off of Pinterest. That helped me with my food and my workouts I didn’t do at the gym. Here are some ideas from my Pinterest Boards that are still in the making.
- Healthy Breakfast Ideas
- Healthy Snacks and Dinners
- Workouts – So many to try out!
- Yoga
I’m always adding to my Pinterest board so it’s a continuation of ideas and help. I relied a lot on Pinterest and YouTube because I was working out on my own a lot, mainly because I was so busy. I floated around two different gyms trying to get a feel of what I like and I eventually did. I got myself a personal trainer. Yes they are a little pricey but they get you to where you want to be and make sure you maintain the lifestyle. Weekly check ups and a workout book really helps. It helped me. By the time the PRT came up I was ready. I passed my weigh in and I passed the PRT this past weekend. I couldn’t be more proud of myself, all my hard work actually paid off! If you have a goal in mind, reach it. Nothing can stop you, you have the strength and the determination to get to where you want to be. I believe in you, now believe in yourself!
“Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish.”
Brad Henry
October 21st 2019
We conducted training this past weekend. During this time we talked about the current events that are affecting this Nation as a whole. One of the points they really wanted to drive into us was about our safety and the safety of this Nation. One of the key quotes that stood out from them, and that we hear time and time again is,
“If you hear something. Say something.”
Something that simple seems like people could follow through and say something that throws their red flag up. In reality a lot of people keep things to themselves because they don’t know who to tell, they’re not really sure IF they should tell or they just aren’t too bothered by it. If you have a red flag going off, your gut feeling telling you, ” something is wrong here,” don’t keep it to yourself.
Katie Writes 