11 years ago on July 3rd at 6am I was on CQ duty in the barracks of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. It was the first opportunity for my psychological operations class to leave the base since I had arrived. It was also the first and four day weekend of the training period.
Around 7a I stepped out in front the of the barracks to see most of the soldiers piling into cars and cabs to take advantage of much surprised four day pass, making their way to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. Was I one of them? O heavens no. I had much greater plans that needed tending to. Are you kidding? Four days of no drill sergeants telling me what to do and when to do it? I had been making my plans since I’d heard of the four day weekend and I was anxiously anticipating the next 24 hours. My plans? A 20 mile ruck march with triple digit poundage in the trunk. HooRah! I had mapped out 20 miles and change, around the base and had gathered 2, 25-pound dumbbells to augment the contents of my ruck sack.
As I watched the soldiers prepare for four days of abusing their bodies, I looked with mild disgust because what soldier would choose four days of partying over a twenty mile ruck march? Pathetic, I know. As of 8a that day, July 3rd, I was flying solo on this training mission. However, throughout the day, another soldier committed to join the fun. As of 8p that night my ruck was fully packed and I was taking pot shots at the three sissy soldiers choosing to stay in the barracks instead of joining us for an all-nighter. The plan was to leave at 11p because July at Ft. Bragg is hot and humid. I believe I had begun growing gills that summer. By 10:30p I had beat down and guilted two of the remaining three soldiers into going on the ruck. No one wants to be a sissy, neither did these two. The last soldier was off the hook because someone had to stay for CQ duty.
At 11p, dressed in P.T. gear and rucks a loaded, four of us took off on our planned route. Rucking out of the base, people in cars passing us by yelled things like ‘psychos’, ‘idiots’, and ‘hard core crazies’. We screamed back. Pu***es. Apparently the young soldiers hadn’t come across too many other soldiers obsessed with preparing to protect this country.
Glow sticks tied around our rucks and pounding water, we made it to mile 16 and stopped for a rest and to change our socks. I remember it to be around 4a. The route I chose circled and put the 16 mile mark about ¼ mile down the road from our barracks. All three other soldiers were begging to just take it on home. I admit, it was tempting…if you were a sissy. I told them they could limp on in but I was making the entire 20 mile route. After all, if you’re not going all the way, why go at all? My favorite famous quote. They elected to not be in the sissy crowd who stopped four miles short. They also knew they would not hear the end of it and I would tease them until the day we parted ways. All four of us did kick out the last four miles and it was a bitch. Every muscle I could identify was screaming in pain.
We arrived back at the barracks just after 6a. Needless to say, I disrobed and hit the sack. Sleeping was extremely difficult. The sun had begun its rise, my body couldn’t relax and in pain I hadn’t felt before, and to top it off, breakfast opened at 8a and closed at 10a. I did not want to miss breakfast. Good times…good times.
That summer, I finished with the highest P.T. score of my class (93 push ups, 87 sit ups, and 12:11 – 2 mile run), the distinguished honor graduate award(never scoring below 95 on any test or quiz). Several months later I begged my way into Ft. Benning and became a super duper paratrooper. What’s the lesson? That complete obsession directed down the path of achievement produces psychotic and extreme behaviors, and if you’re lucky, success.
I can assure you the same obsession has gone into New Homes Directory.com, NHD Buzz, and the coming apps to make up the New Homes Directory.com network of home building industry tools. Stay tuned for more industry changing applications.
