New Letters

We received some new letters from Tim last night. The letters spanned at least 4 days and the most recent one was dated Feb. 22. Here are some highlights:
1) He only has about 10 minutes free time per day.
2) Went to church for the first time. Enjoyed meeting with guys outside of his troop.
3) Was issued an M-4 rifle .
4) Marching in the cold rain. Cold ride in the back of a transport.
5) Blisters from marching
6) Cleaning the barracks no fun.
7) Gear recently issued includes body armor, helmet, safety glasses, knee and elbow pads, rucksack, sleeping bag, wet weather gear, fleece jacket.
8) They were told their cost of each person's gear is $10,000.
9) There will be a basic training graduation in May (family invited), then he has more training that will end on June 9. However, dates are subject to change.

Overall, I thought the tone of his letters was good and he seems to be doing okay. He complained that several of his comrades have caused the entire troop to be "smoked", which is to be punished with physical exercise, such as standing in formation with your arms out, or being in the "up" position of a push-up for 20 minutes.