For those who don't know, we have a saying in the Army about our training. "If it ain't rainin' we ain't trainin'..." This is usually mentioned during a pretty crappy day when we're doing some tough training. It peps people up. Well, today, that mantra came to light. When I walked out of our illustrious hotel this morning I stopped short--there was a light layer of sleet on all the cars and it was pretty cold. Starbucks time...
During the day, while we worked inside, it was overcast and windy...no precipitation. Well, when we started changing into our PT clothes it started to snow a bit...just little flurries. By the time we got to the track, the snowfall had increased to where it would sting your eyes as your were running into it. PT today consisted of running up and down the stairs of the stadium twice and running around the track. By the time we had finished our run, it was snowing heavily. We were all freaking out...except for our northerners: Spc. Anderson who is from Wisconsin, Staff Sgt. Burrell who is from Chicago, and Maj. Daneker who is from Minnesota.
After hopping into my trusty tissue box, I drove back to the hotel in a small Texas blizzard! The wind was whipping little swirlies of snow around all the vehicles. It was cool. We had to keep explaining to everyone that this weather is a rarity in Texas. We had a few from Hawaii who have never experienced this much snow.
Once we all got to the hotel, the fight began. I was lying in wait...and the others began to exit their vehicles. Bap! Bap! Snowballs rained down on my fellow Soldiers. Some ran into their rooms while others proceeded to scoop up snow and try to return fire. Of course, their aim sucked and I started call calling, "Come on Chicago boy!"
Staff Sgt. Burrell gathered more ammo. "Hey Hawaii girl...bring it!" 2nd Lt. Douglas (from Hawaii) had to move quickly to avoid the barrage of snowballs from the lot of us.Even Pvt. Snowman took part in our festivities. Not really, but we all had a great time...a nice way to wind down after a hectic day of prepping all kinds of things for mobilization, writing features, and editing video. Of course, this weather will be nothing compared to the weather we will encounter at Fort Dix in January. Brrrr...
