I'm Ba-ack!

After a very long day of sitting in airports and staying overnight in Victoria I finally got home yesterday morning. I proceeded to sleep most of the day. The course was very interesting but the days were long. We started at 0500 (!!!) on the days we had PT and about 0600 if we did not have PT. Most days the activities ended around 2200, we did some sort of team building activity almost every evening (//insert sarcasm here//fun stuff like karaoke, skits & improv, and all those sort of things //end sarcasm). Much to my surprise I actually did enjoy the activities, even karaoke (of course everything was done as a group, so less intimidating).

There were about 85 people literally from all across the country - my first roomies were from Shilo (Man), Comox (BC), Toronto (ON), and 2 Newfies [one currently living in Calgary (AB) and the other from Greenwood (NS)]. So yes, we were 6 to a room and there was always at least one person snoring. We learned there are 58 positions available, for travel there were 15 of us for 11 positions, so slightly better odds. The staff will be calling on Tuesday to let us know if we were selected or not.

So, what did we do? There were a million briefings, or "death by PowerPoint" sessions, on everything from military rank structure and operational security to mine awareness and local culture. The Sgt. doing mine awareness loved his job and you could tell! Should I ever find myself in a minefield, I now know how to get out. Ve-eery carefully. . . We also know how to spot roadside explosives and what to do (call the experts!).

Let's see, what else did we do? There was the dreaded gas hut. We spent most of the day trekking around in protective gear learning the gas drill and leak testing our masks before entering the hut. Of course, being civilians we went in fully kitted up, masks on, and they only used one capsule of C2 gas. No sweat! (except in the suit - very hot, can't imagine having to wear one continuously)

I'm downloading pics that the others were kind enough to share and I'll try to post some later. So now, I fill in paperwork to reimburse expenses and I wait for the call. //sigh// Now, I'm off to buy groceries since I haven't bought any for 3 weeks.