Ft. Benning Georgia

Greetings from the South!,

I'm here in scenic Georgia on CTLT and boy is it HOT! Hard to believe I've been here for almost 2 full weeks already but time flies when you're busy. CTLT stands for "Cadet Troop Leader Training" and gives cadets a chance to get away from West Point and experience what real units are doing in their daily routines.

I am attached to 198th Infantry Training Brigade which runs basic training for all future infantrymen. Almost 20,000 soldiers are processed through the 198th every year and the men of Alpha Company, First Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (my unit) are no exception. They are roughly 3 weeks into their 14 week basic training experience and are training hard. I have been participating in much of their training to include to CS gas chamber, the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST Range, an electronic simulation of marksmanship training) as well as land navigation and their early morning physical training as well.

I have about a week and a half left here, a few days off at home for some much needed rest and relaxation and then LDAC with some fellow West Point cadets and many more of our ROTC counterparts (more to follow on that later!). Following that, I'm off to Brazil! Only 43 more days!

Portuguese word of the day is "foto". It means "photo". A little bit of a cop out, yes, but check out "meus fotos" (my photos) from the Toby Keith concert I saw down here at Fort Benning. They're up on Facebook!

Gotta run, until next time!