# Thanks Pte. Sean



## Travis Silcox (19 Dec 2000)

Well, I‘ll just post this for my and mud crawlers, and all the other guys who are anxious about QL2. This young man has put together a QL2 guide for all those wanting to attend. 

This guide essentially gives the details of the "day in life" of Pte. Bloggins
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Date: 13 Dec 2000 00:18:00 -0000From: "Pte Sean" <private_sean@budweiser.com>
Subject: The long awaited QL2 Guide
Alright, here it is, in all its glory, my guide to QL2. Finally.  Remember,
though, that the information in here was from MY QL2 in Wainwright this past
summerâ€¦your course could be quite different than mine, but there is some
information here that is universal.
When I mentioned doing this guide on this list, someone brought up the valid
point that by sharing these little hints and tips, I am lessening the stress
level for the recruits, thereby making it harder for the instructors to gauge
their ability to adapt. Most of the things you will find here were things that
other people from other units seemed to be fully aware of when I arrived for my
course. Some of it will probably seem like common sense to a lot of youâ€¦I was
sworn in at the beginning of May and my course started on May 29, so I hadn't
been around long enough to know anything. Hell, I didn't even know how to put my
webbing together.
The purpose of this wonderful little guide is to spare some of you the
embarrassment of starting your course and not having a friggin' clue. Trust me,
its no fun to be completely clueless. Of course I was not the only one, but
seeing the ones who had their shit togetherâ€¦it would have been nice to be on the
ball to start the course.
I will start it off with PT. Everyone wants to know what the PT is like, how
much they should run before their course starts, etc etc. It really isn't that
bad. We started by running 2km at a pretty slow pace, and we'd stop every 500 m
or so to do pushups and crunches. Every 2nd day, we would jog to the drill hall
and do circuit training. It was nothing impossible, the key is to push yourself
as hard as you can. As for PT before you leave for your course, it can be tough
to start a program, especially if you haven't done one before, or if you have
gone through a long period of laziness, wherein you have done next to nothing.
If you fit into the second group, and you decide to start running, and you go
out and make it about 100m and you think you are going to have a heart attack,
have no fear. A buddy of mine had that same problem. He solved it by running as
far as he could, and then he'd stop, and walk for 3 minutes. Then he'd start
running again for as far as he could. And he!
'd repeat that cycle five or six times a day. He kept doing that for about a
week, and then, instead of walking for 3 minutes, he walked for 2. Within a
month he was running 3 Â½ clicks no problem.
For those of you who already do a lot of running, you won't have to start out
like that. Just keep building your speed and your distance. On my course our
final run was about 8km, and we sprinted over the last 200m or so. 8km may sound
like a lot to some people, but its really not all that bad. By the end of the
course I actually enjoyed PT.
To summarize, if you aren't running now, you should start. Its also a good idea
to do pushups and situps every day. Even if you just do as many of each as you
can every morning, by the time you go on course, you'll be doing more than you
ever thought you could.
Moving right alongâ€¦I will now delve deep into the wonderful, magical world of
FEET. I had some rather significant foot problems, and its not fun, believe me.
When you are issued your boots, make sure they fit PERFECTLY. And go for walks
in them, break them in, or you will pay for it later.
Its also a good idea to get some athletic insoles for your boots. When I was
issued mine there was no insole in them at all, so being the ingenious guy that
I am, I headed to the surplus store to see if I could pick up something that
would do the trick. I managed to get some thick wool insoles, size 13, and I
figured I could cut them down to size 10 Â½. Those damn things almost got me
RTU'd. They were too thick, so the top of my foot endlessly rubbed against a
little strip of leather where the boot tongue meets the rest of the boot, right
on top of your foot. I had an infected foot worn right down to the flesh in one
spot ..It was pretty nasty. On our first weekend off I picked up some better
insoles in town, and they were awesome. Wearing my boots is like wearing a pair
of shoes now.
Its also a good idea to get a couple pair of black dress socks. Wear them as a
liner underneath your wool socks, it will give you more sock on sock friction,
as opposed to sock on skin friction.
You will want to pick up a cheap pair of "flip flops" somewhere as well.
Showering in bare feet is a bad idea. Athlete's foot is a major problem for a
lot of people, so just grab a pair now.
The next topic has a misleading title, but lack of intelligence,  I have named
it HOW TO PASS INSPECTIONS.  No. you can't hire a maid, and yes, you will have
to scrub toilets and shine your boots every day. But a few simple tricks can
make prepping for inspection a whole lot more manageable.
First of all, when you are issued all your kit, look over ALL of it. You are
specifically looking for broken items, or items that, for whatever reason, are
no longer useable. For example, the person who owned one of my combat shirts
prior to me had gone to the liberty of writing his or her name, BILKES, in
massive letters across the upper back of it, with the number 69 below it. Maybe
they played for the regimental basketball team and this was what they considered
their jersey, I really don't know. But just look over your kit and make sure its
all good to go. Any broken straps, cuts, tears, etc will lead to you trying to
explain to your section commander why you didn't get it replaced at your unit,
which is really no fun.
While you are looking over your kit, look for any strands of thread coming from
seams. They will need to be carefully burned off with a lighter. I don't know
how many times I heard "sweet mother of God, soldier, I could rappel an entire
battalion down the friggin' rope hanging off your jacket."
Next up is the issue of your 'bathroom kit'. You know, your toothbrush,
toothpaste, deodorant, soap, and shaving equipment. You will want to buy 2 of
everything. One set you will keep with your personal stuff, the other set will
be put in your inspection locker NEVER TO BE TOUCHED AGAIN. Its just too
difficult to try and make sure your razor is spotless and your shaving cream lid
doesn't have any shaving cream on it and your soap is dry and hairlessâ€¦just get
a set that you can leave in your drawer.
Similarly, you will want a 2nd pair of shoes. Just pick up a crappy pair from
Walmart or where ever. On my course, after PT, we had 15 minutes to shower,
shave, get into combats and be out on the road to go for breakfast. The problem
was, for inspection, which was right after breakfast, our shoes had to be on the
tops of our lockers, clean and dry. And to accomplish this, we had to use the
sink in the cleaning roomâ€¦.one faucet shared by 2 platoons. Its just less of a
headache to get another pair of shoes. I think I was the only person on my
course who didn't have a second pair. It is also a good idea to go running or
walking in them a few times before you go on course. Something about a brand
spanking new pair of shoes that never seems to get dirty bothers instructors in
a BIG way. If they see that you've been leaving them there, they will make you
run in them every day, thus eliminating your reason or having them.
A few of the guys in my section slept underneath their ranger blankets, as
opposed to getting right in their bedsâ€¦saved them a LOT of time in the morning.
I was told not to take my ranger blanket with me on course, but I really wish I
had because it was a real advantage to them. The instructors didn't like to see
them doing it, of course, so you should really only do it if you think you can
get away with it. In my opinion, it would be worth the risk.
Oh, its also a good idea to make yourself an 8" x 8" square out of cardboard.
You can use it to make your inspection shirts perfect. And buy a couple pairs of
wool socks!! I had ONE pair of wool socks to use all course(I was issued 3, but
1 pair goes in your inspection locker, 1 pair goes in your buttpack).
Above all else, talk to the people in your unit. They will be able to tell you
better than I can what it will be like, and ways for you to prepare yourself.
Remember, this guide is by no means 100% correct. This is how it was when I was
there, it could be exactly the same for you or it could be considerably
different. So take these suggestions with a grain of salt. Good luck
If anyone else has some of their own tricks and timesavers, feel free to tack
them on to the bottom of this guide and circulate it to the rest of the list.
Thanks for showing an interest, guys.

Sean
--
Thanks Sean


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## Mud Crawler (19 Dec 2000)

Yeah thx travis, i was gettin a little nervous with that ql2  course, even tho i dont even know if i‘ll get one as an student-officer.And maybe that guy just enjoyed doing 69‘s he


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## ocknod (19 Dec 2000)

The Cheat sheetis fine but I am going to tell you a few things.  I‘ve taught on a number of "QL@ courses".  First off forget the ranger balnket.  Unless the Battle school in wainwright has slipped off a bit, you will not get the cahnce to make your bed once and sleep on top.  Instructors will constantly be walking through the shacks looking for this purpose, and if you get caught....Dooom on you!n    Secondly the 2 of everything is a good concept....BUT instructors on the course check you gear for hair and stuff to ensure that everything is hygenic.  Yeah it‘s a mind fuck as well but there is an underlying issue there as well.  Good points about getting up to speed on the pt before the course....If you are really shitty in the PT department evil sergents and master corporals have wheat we call remedial PT,  which in essence is pt, after the training day is over.   There is much more to QL2 than inspections and PT.   The best advise to take with you to Wainwright or where ever you go is to shut up, and pay attention to your instructors.  They have been around the block and will teach you everything you need to know.   And another point to take with you is to get your head swiched on the right way.   If you let the screaming and yealling about crud in your beret, or having an abortion for a bedspace you wont make it...period.   That harassment is designed to see how soldiers perform under stressful situations and if you can‘t handle a MCpl jacking you up, how can you do your job.  I‘m sure my friends on this board in the combat arms will concure with my points, besides QL2 is a piece of cake...wait till you head of to do you junior leaders course......HooYah!


OCKNOD
SECURITAS!


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## Mud Crawler (20 Dec 2000)

Thats what im gonna get to become an officer, right? He well, nothing comes without a price.I‘m more than ready to work more to get what i want.


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