CHARLIE ROCK WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

1. CHARLIE ROCK WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Charlie Battery, 1-79 Field Artillery Class 511-10, 7 Aug, Week 2 Dear Family Members and Friends, The second week of Basic Training has come to a close. The Soldiers of Charlie Battery remain motivated and are continuing to learn and develop the skills they need to be successful in the Army. This week Soldiers conducted two major training events where they tested themselves physically and mentally. The week started with Soldiers being tested in their first of three Army Physical Fitness Tests. This first one, as well as the next, is a diagnostic test to give the Soldiers an indicator to where they stand physically. The next APFT will show Soldiers how they have progressed thus far in the physical training program. The APFT is a physical test that consists of two minutes of pushups, two minutes of situps, and a 2-mile run. On Monday and Tuesday, Soldiers spent the majority of their time in classrooms learning first aid and combat lifesaver skills. They learned how to treat combat wounds and how to maintain proper hygiene in a field environment. The classroom instruction ended with Soldiers taking a written test on the skills they learned. On Wednesday, Charlie Battery moved out of the classroom and was tested on their first aid knowledge in a field environment. Soldiers evacuated casualties using a multitude of carrying and moving techniques through a physically demanding course. They also treated wounds in a simulated combat environment which tested Soldiers’ skills in a much more stressful situation, similar to what they may encounter in combat. Then the Soldiers started the process of learning how to use their individual weapon. They began by working on the basic marksmanship fundamentals in a computer simulated range, the EST, that allowed them to see their breathing patterns, trigger squeeze management, and sight picture alignment. Next we went out to the range and for the first time the Soldiers were able to fire live rounds. They first learned how to group their rounds; using the fundamentals they used at the EST they put 8 out of 10 rounds in a 2 inch circle at 25 meters. Next they zeroed the weapons to themselves by adjusting the sights on their individual weapon to allow them to hit exactly what they are looking at. To assist you with future travel plans I would like to pass along information concerning the Soldiers’ passes on Family Day and Graduation. Family Day is on the 23rd of September and consists of a Family Day demonstration after which your Soldier will be able to take pass and spend the day with their family. After Graduation the Soldiers will again have the opportunity to take pass for the remainder of the day. Additional information concerning these two events will be mailed to each family at a later time, but I wanted to pass this along to aid in travel plans. Sincerely, Brett Ketchum CPT, FA Commanding Charlie Btry, 1st BN, 79th Field Artillery Email: brett.ketchum@us.army.mil Phone: 580-442-1358

2. CHARLIE ROCK SOLDIERS FIRST AID BRM