Lets just start by saying Training Camp was hard! Not because it required some crazy physical endurance, but the combination of the physical, emotional, and spiritual components being tapped into in 10 short days. Which equals Pure Exhaustion!
But lets back up a little bit. I remember the Saturday before I left my grandma saying good luck at Boot Camp, at which I laughed and said this is not going to be boot camp. Well 2 days into camp that kept re-playing in my head. She was right, how did she know! Maybe thats pushing it a little far. I can not compare it to the craziness the armed forces are put through, but by day 2 I knew this was going to be a lot more challenging than I had anticipated.
A brief description of what camp consisted of: lots of scenarios, team building exercises, worship times, sitting in sessions, camping, cold bucket showers, hiking, exercise, getting to know my squad, squad wars, and the Cold! I so see the importance of everything we went through and did at camp, but at the moment it seemed like a bit much. The staff is so awesome! They had 10 days to give us a big Reality Check on what the 11 months could look like and equip us to do this mission the best we possibly can.
Back to what made the 10 days a lot more challenging than I had expected. Lets start with the Cold. Tenting with a 45 degree sleeping bag with nights getting into the 30’s was miserable. If anyone knows me they know I need my sleep and I was dreading the nights and having to go to sleep due to this. This forced me into others tents many of the nights for body heat. Talk about get to know you fast! It ended up being great. By the end of the 2nd night I felt like these people were my family; again something I am sure they intended to happen. Thanks cold nights 🙂 So after waking up most days around 6:30 to pack up and exercise we would then enjoy breakfast outside still in the cold. This was a big part of the drained feeling, but dont worry next came session. Sessions consisted of anything from information about the trip to team building and self building exercises. So add no sleep, early mornings, cold, and emotions together and you get Pure Exhaustion!
All that being said I would have to say it was a Great 10 days! We accomplished a lot as a squad. I would have to say this is the closest I have ever felt to 30 people being that I have only spent 10 days with them. We are going to be a Force, be ready for good things to happen World Brute squad is coming!
G-Squad (aka Brute Squad)
Team Crossfit ( our squad is broken into teams of 5-6 people, teams will spread out in the country we are in)
