New Letter!

Letter #8 to Me:

"10/24/10

Hi Logan,

Got your letter yesterday. I hope you’re not losing my letters! I’ve sent you a whole bunch. I tried to write at least every 3-4 days. I’m kind of wondering about the mail recruit too. We were having a knowledge session and she wouldn’t fill in the spot next to me and said, “I’m not sitting next to you. I’ll probably hit you. I don’t like you… just being honest.” Most of the people here have no people skills. Right now they’re doing this stupid family discussion about everyone’s issues with everyone else… it basically turned into a big criticism session.

Everyone always thinks they know more than you or are better than you and once people started leaving to go back to their free time it turned into a gossip session. I have no respect for over half the people here.

Now that we’re eating a lot more at the male chow hall I’ve gained the weight back. I’m up to 114 now but I’ll probably lose it as soon as we get back. We get so much more food here.

I’m glad they didn’t drop me too. I don’t want to spend any more time here than needed. My knee still hurts a little but not as bad. It’s the worst during the runs but I can get through it. Now I have the same thing in my left knee. It was killing me during the run yesterday. I really need to stretch and ice it so it can get better before our hike back but there never seems to be time. All team week I think we pretty much just get ready for our company commander inspection and get our teeth pulled. Should be fun!

Sorry to hear about your back. Hopefully the steroids start working better and practice won’t hurt as much. At least you can go lay down afterwards and study from bed. I wish I could say November will go by quickly here too, but there’s no telling. Could go either way.

We found out that because of Thanksgiving our Crucible will start on Monday Nov. 22 and end on the 24^th so make sure you change that on your calendar. That Sunday we can make phone calls so expect one sometime in the morning. I’m definitely getting real food that day too!

Starting this week we have 40 days left until graduation. Its really starting to wind down. I’m hoping to get 30 days of recruiters assistance right after so I’ll actually get to spend the holidays at home but there are no guarantees. It would be nice. I got my first bank statement the other day. My first 2 wk paycheck was almost $700.

Ok, I should probably study now. I’ll write again.

Love, Chelsea

P.S. Thanks for Alex’s address. I got a letter from him a few days ago. He said they have males and females in their platoon and he’s having a great time right now.”

New Letter!

Letter #7 to Me:

“10/17/10

Hey Logan,

I just got your letter yesterday. I’ve sent you a bunch of letters I don’t know where they all went. Apparently there is a long time gap with the mail. Which letter was the last one you got? I started dating them too which should help.

We left around 5:30 yesterday morning on our hike to the rifle range. We start grass week tomorrow but I think it mostly learning everything we need to know before we actually shoot. The hike was a little over 6 miles and was not fun. We wore our large packs and Kevlar helmets. I got pushed towards the back and had to run most of the way because people in front of me kept falling back. We eventually made it then had a pretty easy rest of the day. We unpacked all our stuff and went to chow. After chow we drilled for 2 hours then went back to our squad bay, hygiened, got mail and went on free time. We were all so tired after the hike. I woke up to go to the bathroom but didn’t want to get out of bed. Tomorrow should be better. PT in the morning then the rifle range. Hopefully the next 6 weeks go quickly.

While we’re at the range we eat at the male chow hall but can’t eat it unless we have it at ours. It’s so unfair! They get cinnamon rolls, and pastries for breakfast and chips, brownies and cookies with lunch and dinner. They can also get as much food as they want and have so much more time to eat it. They don’t have DI’s on them all the time when they eat either. Ours watch us like hawks to make sure we’re not eating what we’re not supposed to. And we have to eat with the B side platoon so they try and make us follow their rules. We don’t get milk in our cereal and a drink with breakfast… it’s one or the other. They tried to stop us from taking peanut butter b/c they lost their privilege but most of us took it anyway. I got 2 J Finally getting double rations! Here we have to eat with the other platoon so instead of only 60 people having to eat we have 120. Depending on which side of the chow hall we’re on sometimes I end up in the back and there’s nothing left by the time I get there. Guess that’s one more thing I need to talk to her about.

I’m starting to get really sick of a lot of the people here. They must have been dropped on their heads when they were babies. The girl next to me always needs help buttoning her sleeves, securing her weapon to the rack and everything else. She can’t even hang her camis on the rack by herself. Some of these people are truly stupid. I don’t know how they made it through their first 18 years of life! When they say don’t talk on line or in formation people do it anyways. No one around here knows how to listen, follow simple instructions or know how to talk to people. I wouldn’t want most of these people next to me if I ever had to fight. I guess that’s why there are so many more men… to pick up the slack of all the women who are idiots and somehow made it through bootcamp.

They say that teamwork here is the key to success here… ours is non-existent because people are always bitching and snapping at each other acting like mini-drill instructors. When we were lined up waiting to go into the chow hall the guide from the other platoon called us freaks. She’s actually worse than the DI’s for our platoon. Enough venting… can’t wait til I can get away from these people!

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that we had to go back to medical on Friday. Guess what for? More shots… we all got 4 more including another one in the butt! I had to get an extra because my chicken pox shot wore off. That one they gave me in the back of the arm. It hurt so bad. I got my ticket to MCT. I’m taking the bus down from DC because it was only $93 and 100% refundable w/o penalty if I need to change it.

I sent Mommy a list of food to bring for graduation. I said we were stopping at the first pizza place we see. The Sunday after our crucible we get a few hours of liberty so I’m planning on going to the food court at the exchange and stuffing my face!

Well, I’ll let you know how everything goes here at the range. I’m kind of nervous because there’s so much to learn. I’m sure I’ll do fine though. Just have to listen and do everything they say. I’ll write again soon!

Love, Chelse

P.S. Did I tell you about our service uniform issue last week? Also, how is everything else going? Let me know about the MRI.”

Important Update! PLEASE READ!

Hey Everybody!

Some important updates in this post, so please make sure you read! There has been some debate about whether they were going to drop Chelsea to a younger platoon because she has missed so much due to her knee injury. Which would push her graduation date back to the 17^th of December. The most recent letter I received she did say that they told her they could not drop her and that she would be graduating with her platoon on December 3^rd. So, as far as we know at this point her graduation date is DECEMBER 3^rd! If there are any changes I will notify everyone to the best of my ability as soon as we hear.

Sorry this is a really long post, it includes a couple 5 page long letters from her J

Letter #4 to Me:

“10/5/10

Hi Logan,

I don’t think things could be going any worse. My knee is better but when I went for my final follow-up the trainer sent me to have my cough looked at & when they took my vitals I had a fever of 101 degrees so they put me on bed rest for 2 days. My body seems to be failing me in every way possible. Today was the first day of our swim qualifications and I’m stuck here in bed. I won’t be able to go tomorrow either b/c I have to go back to medical so they can check if my fever went away. I really hope it does. I feel like I’ve missed practically the whole first month. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t drop me to a younger platoon because of all that I missed.

I started getting lots more letters… YAY!! Mail call is getting better and better. Mommy said everyone is upset they can’t send me food & want to know what they can send. I need more letter writing stuff like envelopes & stamps though I don’t know how much time I’ll have to write while we’re at the rifle range just b/c we need to keep our rifle really clean. They can send pretty much anything so long as it’s not food or anything sharp. Oh, our hair gel, hair spray, black hair ties and black bobby pins would work too. Some of us still haven’t gotten to go to the PX to get it yet. Also, I really like getting pictures. Just nothing too bulky… we don’t have much room for our stuff. Just a 1.5 ft. X 3 ft. footlocker at the end of our bed. Don’t send books either… I won’t have time to read them.

I think that’s pretty much all for now. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Chelsea”

Letter #5 to Me:

“10/9/10

Hi Logan,

We’re studying really easy knowledge… it’s so boring. I almost fell asleep. So, to stay awake I’ll write you a letter.

Today we had our PT session early. We started before the sun came up. It was the first day we got to do the obstacle course. When you just watch it looks pretty easy and low to the ground but some of the stuff once you get up seems really high when there’s nothing to catch you but some shredded tires on top of dirt. It was fun though- would have been more fun if there weren’t so many people yelling at us to keep moving. Right after we showered then went right to the Pugil sticks. This was the last time we did Pugil sticks until the crucible.

My arms are so tired from always holding the rifle. It seems like we drill 8 hours a day ( I know it’s less but it seems longer).

I don’t know if you heard or not but when I went for my final follow up for my knee, the trainer sent me to have my cough looked at and since I had a fever. They put me on bed rest for 2 days. Yesterday morning our senior DI had me bring all my stuff to the front of the squad bay for an inventory. Usually they do this when someone is getting dropped to a newer platoon but one of the other DI’s said she thought I was staying b/c there was no paperwork for it. I’m so confused! Today on the obstacle course our chief DI (above our senior) said I was still here b/c there were some people who thought I still deserved to be here so I still have no idea what’s happening. I may be staying an extra 2 weeks and I may not be. Its not my fault my knee started to hurt and got sick with a high fever. I was still able to pass the martial arts test. If I’m not gone by Monday I’ll be marching in initial drill & we have our first written test on Tuesday. We officially enter phase 2 on Monday. I’m really really hoping they don’t push me back but if they do I’ll definitely be home for Christmas.

Lots of people are saying that with the holidays and MCT classes not picking up until Jan that we’ll have all of December off. Wouldn’t that be nice!! Tons of time to recover and sleep. I’m going to start making a list of everything I want to eat on the ride home. I started dreaming about how to sneak food in.

10/10/10

Today started off great! We do our weigh-ins every Sunday. Last week I was 109 b/c I got sick. I gained back enough to get to 112 and she finally decided to put me on double rations. Until the paperwork gets done I only get to pile up extra from the salad bar- as much PB&J as I want!! YAY! I finally felt full after breakfast today. Eggs, hash brown, waffle, banana, rice krispies, yogurt, watermelon, 2 pieces of bread, 2 PB packets and 2 jelly packets. It’s great! I can’t wait till full double rations!

I think that’s all for now. I haven’t heard from you in a while. How is everything? Oh, I got a card from Pete yesterday. He said he was playing JV and Varsity football.

Geez, I fell like I never get much of my own free time. I hate being good at everything. Everyone is always asking for help w/ their hair or rolling sleeves on their uniforms. They need to learn it on their own! I haven’t gotten to stretch & ice my knee the past few days. I’m sure I’ll have more to write after next week. I think after initial drill and our written test I’m making up my swim qualifications and also going to the gas chamber. I’m not looking forward to that but we also do the repell tower and get measured for our service uniforms. Our green camis got sent out to get our name tapes put on …exciting!! We finally get to wear our names!

I was getting 3-5 letters a day for a while but they’ve been tapering off little. I guess there’s only so much for people to write about. Have you gotten my letter about my job yet? I’ll be in Pensacola for 5 months so hopefully there will be at least one long weekend I can come and visit.

I can’t wait to get out of here. Anyway, I’ll sign off now and update you next week.

Chelsea”

Letter #6 to Me:

“10/11/10

I hate firewatch! I want to go back to bed. I had to stand a 2 hour post from 10 to 12 after going to bed at 8. It’s so boring nothing goes on!

Today was probably one of the worst days for our drill instructors. We failed and lost initial drill so they weren’t very happy. Because of the holiday we got an extra 4 hours of free time, a good amount of which was spent sorting through our stuff. They made us dump everything in the middle of the squad bay, mix it up the shove it back in any foot locker. So we had to use our free time to resort. It was a mess b/c they took hair product out of the gear locker and dumped that all over it too so not only did we have to sort but we had to clean too. Hopefully it’s not going to be like that for the next 2 months. If it is its going to be long!

I haven’t heard from you in a while so let me know how everything is going. Tomorrow we have the written test and the gas chamber. I’m not looking forward to that. Everyone says its not too bad but I don’t know about that.

10/13/10

I got your letter yesterday. I figured you were busy with school and everything. I hadn’t thought of Easter but it’s a definite possibility. The mileage limitations vary depending on how many days we get off. I’ll have to wait and see which days for Easter we get.

Yesterday was a packed day. I had to make up my swim qualification in the morning after out written test. The all did the repel tower but I was late so I didn’t get to go L I was so disappointed! Then we ate and went to the gas chamber. It wasn’t nearly as bad as everyone said it was going to be. The didn’t make us take our masks off and breath in or anything crazy like that. They only made us close our eyes & hold our breath for 30 seconds while we broke the seal on our mask. It did burn a little but not too bad. A few people freaked out, took their mask off and bolted for the door. The Marines in charge (series commander, chief drill instructor) were not very happy. They made our drill instructors and senior drill instructors unblouse their boots – NOT GOOD!! They said they’ve never had a platoon with so many people embarrass them like that. What was even worse…the male company that picked up the same time we did was there waiting to go after us. We ended up in the pit for that. I hate that when one person screws up we all pay for it. Our senior hates us now.

Swim qual was pretty easy. We put on a set of camis, swam 25 meters how ever was comfortable for us then we were pushed off a 10 ft. platform into the water, swam to the side, learned how to use our shirt as a floatation device then swam another 25 meters. Today was a really easy day. All we did was get issued our service and dress blues. It took forever (all day) just because 61 people had to put everything on to get altered. We didn’t do our dress blues today but we got the jacket, pants & skirt. I can’t wait to actually wear them! I got in trouble today for taking 2 pieces of bread and 2 peanut butters. She told me I was going to be double rations but apparently she said she never told me that. I’m going to talk to her about it though. She also said she can’t drop me so grad is still Dec. 3^rd.

Once we finish up this week we go to the rifle range. Once we get there I probably won’t have a whole lot of time to write. I’ll try though.

The days have started to go by quicker now. Last week seemed never ending but there are only 50 days left. I can’t wait for Dec 3^rd! It was getting chilly here for a while but it warmed back up. Sorry if I repeat anything. We focus so much during the day I can’t remember what I wrote in the last letter.

I’ll sign off now… gotta get some stuff done. Talk to you soon!

Love, Chelsea”

New Letter!

Letter #5 to Mom:

"10/5/10

Hi Mommy,

Even here it seems like things happen on right after the other. I went for my final

follow-up for my knee and was told by the trainer to go have my cough checked out

and when they took my vitals I had a 101 degree fever so they put me on bed rest

for 2 days. If my fever is gone tomorrow I'll go back on full duty.

Like I told Logan, my body seems to be failing me in every way. It's really disappointing

because all I want to do is go back to training.

The best thing we've done so far is the pugil sticks. We each got 2 rounds with

someone from the other platoon. I got knocked over the first round but was able to

get back up. The second round I got in a few good hits. I'm really not crazy about

their martial arts program. I don't know if it's the was they teach it or if it's because

I'm not used to working with girls who have no idea what they're doing. I'll do what I

have to for MCMAP and go back to jiu jitsu.

When Kate comes back (if she's not back already) she wouldn't have been put back

with our platoon because she would have missed too many days. She was probably

put with the next company to pick up.

(**My note** Kate is the girl who lost her sister, 2 days after she shipped out.)

My pink eye went away after I gave it to 5 other people including my rack mate then

I got it again. We did get hit with a storm...not sure if it was the same one you asked

about. It only rained for 2 days but everything was flooded after. We had to PT in it

one day and low crawl through the mud. It was cold and not fun at all. I want to get

this letter out today so I'll try to wrap it up.

The letter you sent on Oct. 2nd got here today (Oct 5).

Hygiene has gotten better. We've washed out hair about once a week and have shaved

3 times already. Did you get my 4 pg letter yet? I don't think we're allowed to have

makeup so don't send any. We don't have time to put it on either. We only get about

5 minutes in the morning to go to the bathroom, get dressed and make our beds.

I'm still waiting on double rats...(rations). We get weighed every Sunday. This past

week I lost 4 pounds but I think it was because I was sick. I haven't been maintaining

my muscle either not being able to PT.

I finished the 3 mile hike but was on light duty for the 2nd 5 mile hike because of my knee.

They're still deciding whether or not to drop me to the younger platoon. I'm keeping my

fingers crossed.

I'll let you know how the rest of the week goes.

Chelsea"

Important Update!

Hey everybody,

I'm posting 4 letters this time! Sorry I haven't posted in a while I've been quite busy with homework.

Letter #2 To Alex:

"Hey Alex,

Our letters must have crossed paths in the mail. I sent you one early in the week. Last week I was on light duty and at medical most of the time so there wasn't much training for me. We finally did get to shower with shampoo and now it's 1-2 times a week we wash our hair. Our senior DI even let us shave!! So far our only uniforms are our PT gear and camis. They're not as comfortable as they look. In a few weeks we go to get measured for our service uniforms, (brown shirt and green pants). No dress blues :( until we buy them on our own. We did our first hike yesterday with a small pack and it was only 3 miles so it wasn't bad. Apart from the tight knee muscle, cough, runny nose, and pink eye in both eyes, not much has changed since my first letter. People are still bitchy as ever and most haven't learned teamwork yet. It sucks that you got pushed back again but it does give you more time to get ready. Please tell everyone to write me! Getting letters at mail call is my favorite part of the day! I was expecting lots of letters but have only gotten a few from my family and you. As far as capital... I don't know what Jon is talking about but I didn't call him from here. I've only made 2 phone calls and they were both to my mom. I knew Dace on his business trip... He's down here near me working w/ the SWAT guys. How is Andrew doing? (Big, tall blonde guy who used to be a marine) - tell him to write me too. I feel so disconnected without my phone or Facebook. You don't get used to the suck. It gets really annoying after a while especially when you have to dress and undress 10 times because one person moves slow. I'm almost 1/4 of the way done. The days have been going by pretty quick. Keep writing.

Chelsea"

Letter #3 To Me:

"Hi Logan,

I don't remember what I wrote in my last letter so sorry if I repeat anything. Fannie said you've been doing a good job keeping everyone up to date. I've gotten a few letters since I last wrote you but only 3 other than you, mommy and grammy.

First, I got assigned my MOS on Saturday. (I also got a phone call home to get some info and 2 choc chip cookies for lunch- at the security clearance building). My school is 5 months in Pensacola. We get liberty after our classes & on weekends but I think there are mileage limitations for the length of the weekend but he said there will probably be a long weekend w/a holiday where I'll be able to visit you.

My knee still hurts but I'm trying to work through it to graduate on time. I also got pink eye in both eyes already. A lot of our schedule got postponed b/c of heat and rain. Tomorrow we get to do the confidence course..yay! Finally something fun! We had our first hike on Sat...It was only 3 miles with a small pack so it wasn't that bad. The worst part was my knee. After this week we go to the pool for 4 days to do our swim qualifications. Then we start Phase 2 where they give us a little more freedom. BTW, I'm still waiting on my double rations. I can't believe we're in our 4th week here, the days are starting to blend together but go by quickly. I go to church on Sundays because we get 2 hours away from the drill instructors. One is pretty nice but the other is a complete b***h. Our senior DI is nice too. She let us shave twice already & her last platoon had to wait 8 weeks before they shaved.

I wrote this part yesterday & got your letter today. Our classroom stuff is mostly history, customs, traditions, rules & regulations. Stuff like that. I think we start doing more activities in phase 2 but we're on our feet all day & holding our rifle a lot so we're all really tired. We only sit down for meals, classes and free time. The food isn't too bad. Breakfast is my favorite meal. We get scrambled eggs (kind of rubbery), either French Toast, a waffle or a pancake (my favorite is the french toast- only every 3 days though), a hash brown, 1/2 a PB&J sandwich, cereal and fruit.

I got your second letter today... PT today was rough. Its been raining like crazy so our PT field is basically underwater we had to crawl through it today and a bunch of other stuff. Its been getting cooler too so we were freezing after getting wet. We got to do pugil sticks today too. I'm not sure if I won my match but I got in some good hits after I got up off the ground. Grass week & firing week are the rifle range so those shouldn't be too bad. Today was when it started to get really tough. The DI's do yell but not as much as some from the other platoons.

My pink eye cleared up but my knee still hurts. If it still hurts after the end of next week I'll go back & have it checked.

So If you can't run will you be allowed to play when the season starts? How is everything else going? You should be allowed to send it. If it fits in an envelope w/a letter just put it in there.

Everytime it gets hard I remind myself the fastest way out of here is to go straight through training. Keep telling everyone to write!

Love, Chelsea"

Letter #4 to Mom:

"Hi,

I was glad they let me make the phone call. Sorry I didn't say more or elaborate. I wasn't very private and they said to keep it short and business like. Hopefully we'll get another one. We got cookies for lunch that day too! They were sooooo good!!

I finally got a letter from someone other than you or Logan. Logan said she has a big Marine Corps flag hanging on her wall, a countdown to my graduation and space cleared so she can hang all my letters.

Talk to you soon,

Chelsea"

Letter #5 To Mom:

"Hi Mommy!

I got your 2 letters and package this week. I hung the pictures up in my foot locker already.

I know the package seemed menial to you but here being able to have those things are a luxury.

I just wish we could get food.

I'm back at medical today for my knee because the the pain hasn't gone away even though

I did everything they said to.

When we first got here was when we got divided into our platoons. 5 of the 6 of us that were

on the bus got put in the same platoon and the other one is in a different platoon. Most people

seemed to adjust pretty well with the exception of missing home. Some others didn't adjust too well

and are still struggling. It seems like there are 3 or 4 that can't seem to do anything right so the drill

instructors are on them all the time. We are not supposed to talk on line or in formation but our

platoon can't grasp that concept.

Today medical sent me to the trainer they have here. She showed me some other stretches

because apparently I was given the wrong ones to do. She said that's why I wasn't any better.

We got french toast this morning for breakfast! That made my day. Yesterday we go to do pugil

sticks. It was fun but hard. We had so much gear on it was hard to swing the stick but I did get a

few good hits in For our PT session yesterday we put our green camis on and did the different carrys

and low crawl. It wasn't that fun since it had rained the few days before and the weather is getting

cooler. It's nice during the day when the sun is out but in the morning and in our squad bay it's cold.

Once we get to the rifle range we get to wear our green camis with the sleeves down and when we

come back it will be time to wear the greens for the fall and winter months.

When we were getting our gear together for our march tomorrow (which I won't be going on

because of light duty again) our senior DI mentioned about dropping to another platoon. I don't know

if she was serious or just messing with me since she said it in front of everyone. I would think if I was

getting propped she would have said something to me directly alone. I really hope she decides to let me

stay. I've made some great friends already. It seems that people tend to bond more with the recruits

that bunk around them. I sleep right next to the girl that I had met through the forum and facebook

which is nice. There are a few girls that are closer to my age and 3 or 4 that are older but for the

most part they are 17 - 19.

How is everything going with the business? Have you done anything else with PADF or connected

with any other organizations?

I do miss Charlie but I'm sure that you're taking good care of her. I haven't gotten a letter from

Aunt Paula yet and only a card from Grammy. Fannie did say, Logan was doing well keeping everyone

up to date on everything. Apart from yours and Logan's first letter, Alex was the first one of my friends

to write to me. He updated me about everything at Capital and is going to tell them to write. Logan said

she keeps telling everyone to write. I did get a letter from Gary and Eileen too. I also got a letter from

Rosemary too. So, what has everyone been saying on facebook? Logan is relaying all my info but not

keeping me updated on everyone else. Alex had mentioned that he got pushed back again. I'm glad

they didn't keep doing that to me. He has a lot more training than I do.

The Cape should be fun. Hopefully you'll have good weather. Are there any hurricanes or tropical

storms headed this way?

I'm looking forward to morning chow!! My favorite time of the day!!

Love,

Chelsea

PS: Send more pics and have others send them too."