USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #9

It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #9                                                                                                                  around October 1 2023

**** we got this letter a couple days after we brought Katie home! So I literally read it in front of her****

Hey Ma, smiley face

I'm a Marine now. It hasn't hit me yet. Today is our last day up north, we are packing the squad bay/house today and bussing it back to MCRD in the morning. I need all of my belongings to fit into 1 seabag. I am excited to organize and pack all my stuff! Packing makes me happy. I will probably have to do it after lights though. So I'll be doing that tonight in skivvies and the cozy green crew neck they issue us. I just got your letters last night, the ones you sent me on September 10th. I love you heart and the boys. Once we get down south again, we will start prepping for grad. 13 more days till I see yall. heart

13 weeks becomes 13 days! Can you send me 4 pairs of contax? And! Can you pack me some clothes for after graduation? A pair of pants or jeans and some t-shirts, underwear, and my grey patagonia sweats and tractor/bay hay hoodie? Thank you!

I can't wait to see everybody. I've been debating what I want to eat after graduation. I will keep you posted. smiley face It sounds like I might have another opportunity to call you next Sunday during liberty Sunday.

-----

I am back on the bus! Back on the bus to MCRD. Less than 2 weeks until I see you. 12 days smiley face I love you so much. I got on the bus and they were playing the disco song! 

-----

I'm back. I hae begun writting you all a couple times but I get overwhelmed with how much there is to catch you up on that I just settle for waiting til I see you... in 9 days. I realize I haven't written you since the lice incident 3 weeks ago. That means you haven't received a letter in about 2 weeks... But you will see me in just over one! I cannot wait to see you all. I love you so much. Thank you, dad, for the birthday letter. heart I spent my birthday on the range distances, there we had a night hike w/ packs, then I crawled into a sleeping bag, into a bivy sack, under the stars and fell asleep.

I've been daydreaming about being home. We get our orders next week, I will know then if I got RA or not. Either way, I can't wait to walk down to Woodward for your lunch break ma, and say hello. Dad and I will probably have time at the house as he works, maybe a day/couple hours in Seattle to get dick's burgers. I've been craving some dicks burgers.

Up North was wild. Very busy. We walked everywhere. There were weeks straight where we had 20+ lbs on our backs at minimum morning til evening chow: flack, kevlar, rifle, all of that is probably close to 30. Once we have square away time we spend it squaring away gear and rolling out and icing our tired bodies. Once lights hits, and your head hits the pillow you are asleep. Out. Cold.

I have so many stories to tell you all. I imagine I am going to come home and ben is going to want to try on all my cammies, Will will want to know all the goofy crap I was able to pull off. the church up North was 10x better than down South. It would last all 4 hours and we could hang and worshp and take communion. I cried. I hadn't taken communion in 9 weeks, and then one Sunday they (right before the crucible, the day of) gave the communion to echo company because there was only enough for 40+ of us @ church. It was really special. And the pastor had made cross chains for all of us. I still have mine. smiley face 

I can't wait to go to church on Sunday with you all. There are so many thing I can't wait for. I will be honest, I am sitting in a class right now trying to stay awake. That hopefully explains the choppy thoughts!

These marine days (as they call them) are so slow. They are sluggish and pass by slowly. Painfully so!

I love you,

your sister & daughter

Katie

USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #8

It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #8                                                                                                                     Sunday, September ?

                                                                                                                                                  10th maybe?

Dear Ma, note: I #ed the pages

Oh man! First week up North = Done. Only 3 more to go, and only 2 more until the crucible. In 2.5 weeks I will be a Marine. That is blowing my mind.

As the time till I see y'all is growing shorter... I'm thinking of the petty things as well as the important! Could you bring me my bay hay hoody, the tan one, my 7s jeans, a bra, some underwear, a t-shirt or 2 and a pair of pjs? Oh! either my vuori joggers or gray patagonia sweats. Thank you, wildernest discounts. I cannot wait to see all of you. I've been day dreaming about it every day.

I've also been day dreaming about tuna fish... it's been my craving for the last 4 days or so. I fall asleep thinking about it. a bowl of tuna fish with mayo and pickles and things, and then crackers, that's all I want.

Oh! One of the girls got lice. So since Friday we have been kinda quarantined. But! It seems to be mostly gone (I don't have it) and it means that us girls have to wash our hair every day, and our hair/buns don't have to be neat. So, I've been able to wash my hair and sleep with it down for the last 2 nights. My waves came out STRONG so some of the girls have put product in it. I woke up for fire watch and it was crazy-wavy. Then I wrapped it in a sad little twist bun w/ no gel. I love it. It's giving my scalp a break.

Another thing, I already mentioned it, but would you be able to send me 2 weeks worth of contacts once I get back to MCRD? For the last 2 weeks I can wear contax. That will be amazing.

We have had 2 hikes so far. They are so much easier than I thought. Our packs only weigh 40lbs. right now & the waist straps actually fit. We have had a 5k and an 8k. Supposedly the weight will increase w/ the distance, but we only have 2-3 more hikes before the crucible, so I don't know how much they will pack on & how quickly. We don't march much here, we "step it out" which means to walk in formation. We are walking w/ our war belts on, which are belts that hold our 2 canteens, a pouch for extra stuff, and 3 magazine pouches which are currently full of empty mags. We also wear our assault pack which is probably about 30L and our rifle, which is 8lbs. 

The daily carry (ha!) weight adds up, and we half walk and half run, so by the end of the day, we are all exhausted and our bodies ache. Ice and muscle rub are our best friends. I'm not broken, but my body is starting to ache a bit. I'm getting stronger though. I love it.

The food rations here up north are much smaller than MCRD though. So we are always hungry. I'm getting used to that. I will east so much food when I come home. Soooooo much food. I can't wait. TUNA! my stomach is growling just thinking about it. Jack was right though. The food here is better quality, but we get less of it. Once we get down south though... oh man. What I thought was a short time to eat there is an eternity here. And apparently, once you're a marine you can go back for seconds. :) Can you tell I'm hungry?

I love you so much. Once more thing you would appreciate: we hike early in the morning. Wake up @ 4 and start the hike around 5 or 5:30, with the whole company. We hike & watch the sunrise. There aren't mountains here, just hills, but very few people share the same perspective. There are only a couple of us that know mountains like the Olympics, or apalachians, or anything in Colorado, so we hang near the back & lift some peoples packs up the hills.

(Katie's letters are often written on varying sizes and styles of paper within the same letter, but the letter usually starts with a certain type and finishes with something else. This time however, she staggered back and forth which made me glad she numbered all of them!) 

I apologize for the random paper! When you try to sneak letter writing, you write on whatever you have. I lamanated (is that how you spell it?) our family pictures & the one of you (mom) and I on the couch. I keep it in my pocket all the time. I love it. (I just took a short pull up break)

When does school start? How are the boys feeling going into it? I read in your last letter about Woodward and how you were gearing up for it. I love those teachers so much, tell them hello for me. heart

I just read a really sweet letter from my friend Collin who is at Westpoint right now. He just finished his basic training "initiation" and had some relatable things to say. Most of the letter though he dedicated to motivating and supporting me. He talked about physical and spiritual endurance & motivation. He had a handful of deep and meaningful things to say. He then wrote out 3 bible verses he thought would speak to me: Matthew 7:13-14 and Isaiah 6:8. I guess only 2 passages... but none the less, so meaningful. It is a letter I will keep close.

I love you so much. Give dad a hug for me, hug will & ben for me (tell ben I named my rifle after him because I think of him everytime I pick it up!) and have them all give you a big hug from me. I love all of you so much. The count down begins.

Your daughter and sister,

Katie

(Do not worry about missing the phone call, we would have both balled on the phone for like 5 minutes! I'm grateful you got to hear my voice heart or what I have left of it. It's a little hoarser than when I left. I will see you soon. heart)

                         

USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #7

It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #7                                                                                                                                     

Family :)

Hello, I apologize, I have barely any time to write. It has been a busy week & the weeks coming will be even more so. Today is Saturday, I don't know the date... late 20s.. On Saturday - next Saturday we have final drill, then the same day we hop on a bus and drive up north with all of our belongings. I have heard that mail up there is extra slow, so communication might be a little less than present, even though my letters have already been few. I love you guys so much.

The weeks are going by so so fast. I blink and it is Sunday again. I've heard the weeks go by even faster up North, and there are only 4. Then we come back to the depot and spend 2 chill weeks as Marines, preparing for graduation. And preparing to see you all. :)

I remember my first Sunday @ church here, and I saw a company that was on their 6th week, and I though to myself, "Wow, that is so far away." And now I am in their shoes, about to go up north, with name tapes on my cammies, and shoot my rifle finally and hike some mountains. Sleep outside and be in the wild, getting muddy, everything that I signed up for. I've (we've) learned all the show stuff. We've learned hot to march pretty, how to sit pretty, how to hold ourselves well and speak properly, but now we are going to get some dirt under our nails. I'm excited. In 4-5 weeks I will be a Marine. 

I have received so many letters from so many people, but I have so little time to write them back, could you pass on some messages for me? To grandma Schei, I have been thinking about her too :) I can't wait to get a photo of me in my blues and compare it to the picture of her in her blues. (By the way, we all got fitted for our uniforms this week! They are getting taylored right now! We will look so good).

To grandma & grandpa Berges, tell them I love their letters and am so grateful for their prayers. I cannot wait to see them at graduation heart

To aunt Hannah, I think about her mapping me around the base and smile when I am standing in line at the chow hall. Tell her I love her lots and ask her to wrap Basil up for me. And! If she has time, tell her I would love another letter! About how daily life is going and how the new school year starts out.

When does school start on the island this year?

I haven't received any letters from Macrina, I'm not sure if she just hasn't sent any or if they are getting lost in the mail. I need to write her. Please let her know I love her lots and can't wait to see her at graduation if she still chooses to come heart I would love to see her :) here. Please make sure she has the correct address just in case she is trying to write, but tell her I know she is busy so if she hasn't had time that is okay heart.

Tell the boys I need more letters from them! I love ben's little updates, and I miss them like crazy. I can't wait to see them.

Over all, I am doing good. This week we did the combat fitness test, you can look up the specifics, but I scored like a 272 on it, the score is out of 300! I got 85 ammo can lifts in 2 minutes, and the cans weigh about 35 lbs. That was a record for me. The max is 66!

I am nervous for the upcoming week. We have all our tests coming up as well as final drill, then North. I am one of the 10 "confident testers" selected from my platoon to take all the test early, DI Sgt Bijerano has picked up on my brains. We have a 100 question knowledge test, then a rifle disassemble test as well as a rifle functions check (all easy) and then a scenario (deadly injury scenario) with a dummy. They mimic a combat zone for us in a room and we are required to aid an injured dummy while suppressing the "enemy". Overall it takes like 3 minutes.

But! I will do all of that a day early, then be a prat of a helping party on the actual test day. Me and 10 from each platoon will help administer the tests. That will be cool!

What is the reference "ring man" come from? I did the weapons function check really fast the other day for my DI, and she said, "okay schei, get back on line Ringman." Then she smirked and said, "I bet you don't know that reference." I am so curious what it means. And! What is the price of gas?!

There are some things I would like you to send me when I get back to the depot after north! For the last 2 weeks and graduation we are allowed to wear contax! So I would love for you to send me 2 weeks worth then, but not until then I will keep you posted.

Tomorrow is church. And! We get an extra 30 minutes of sleep tonight (every Sunday) and I don't have fire watch! So a full 8 hours of un-interrupted sleep is awaiting me. I will add onto/finish this letter tomorrow. For now, goodnight heart

Sunday (27th?)

I love you guys so much. I slept well last night, with all 8 hours! I am currently sitting in church, crying of course. Sunday are the only days for us to decompress. You look around and even the guys are crying openly. We are all in the same shoes, all experiencing the same difficulties.

Today I am praying again for peace. I am also praying for strength, physical & mental strength. All our DIs are saying that probably 20 o fus will break up North w/ the hiking and the weight. I know I am more physically prepared than most girls, but I am still nervous. I am just praying for strong hips and bones and lots of stamina. I am very nervous for this week, all the tests, but I know that I will be okay. If this week goes by as fast as the last few weeks have... then in the blink of an eye I will be on a bus to Pendleton.

I love the pastor I'm listing to right now. He is very engaging. We are talking about Mark ch. 5.

I love you guys so much. I have completely decompressed. My mind is empty. I don't have much more to say. Please pray for this week and the upcoming weeks. The next letter I write will probably come from Pendleton! My address stays the same.

I am halfway through. I love you. 

- Your daughter & sister, Katie heart

USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #6

It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #6                                                                                                                                     not dated but must be August 18th

Dear Mom/family

I am currently sitting in a class on terrorism... quite cheery! This class then bleeds into a class on domestic and child abuse. These classes in total add up to 3 hours. Three hours of smiles.

We woke up around 04:00 this morning, we had our first PFT (physical fitness test) this morning. It is the IST but with a 3 mile run. We ran our IST the 1st week of Bootcamp. I got 7 pull ups, a 2:30 plank, and a 12:26 1.5 mile run. Today I hit 11 pullups, a max out plank at 3:45, and a 25:44 3 mile run. It doesn't seem like I have improved a lot, but I can tell that my body is getting stronger, but it is so tired all the time. We are always moving & always working out, whether that be running back and forth across the bay, or stacking and unstacking footlocker, or actually PTing with the platoon out in the sand. We have a planned workout everyday accept for Sundays. Sundays are the best.

Random question: what is the price of gas right now?

I wanted to tell you about my drill instructors:

Of course, our Senior: Ssgt Peraza. She is... interesting. I respect her, but she has very little patience to teach and then very high expectations for instant perfection. Granted, my platoon is proving to be slow. Very slow, and childish. So Ssgt Peraza might just be treating us like adults, telling us to do something and expecting us to do it, but 1/2 the platoon doesn't... no one is hand holding us.

I will change that statement actually... we are told how to eat, when to pee, when to put our left sock on. That may count as hand holding... But we are expected to act as adults. Senior can turn from happy go lucky to making us sprint with rifles and then handing us over the the kill-hats.

My favorite Drill instructor is our J-hat. The J-hat is the one that teaches drill (marching & rifle drill - or what they call "popping sticks"). I would say she is a character. I love her. She is tough as nails, ripped, but also so girly. She always has her nails done, she shaves her arms! And uses a glittering lotion. We've also noticed during PT (mom don't read this one out loud) that she has nipple piercings. She is so girly but so bad-ass. When she is in a good mood where we are drilling, she will talk about lifting our feet and showing off our pedicures, or pivoting like we're kicking our ex to the curb with a straight leg. She gets sassy, I love it. yesterday we were standing in formation (in-line formation) at port - arms with our weapons, and she - DI SSgt Jimenez - stops in front of me and said "Damn girl, you've been working that rifle." She then goes on to poke my bicep and point out the veins in my forearm. I was trying so hard to keep my bearing. It was so funny to me that she actually stopped in front of the whole platoon and commented on my muscles. I was so flattered! And then today! We were doing an obstycal course for PT and the series commander - Captain Yung, she is awesome - called me out and asked how many pull-ups I could do. I think that meant she was impressed. She is the commanding officer of platoons 2105 (mine), 2106, and 2107. The obstycal courses are fun. We finish them off with climbing up the really tall ropes.

Back to drill instructors, our knowledge hat - the DI that teaches us the knowledge we'll be tested on, our uniform regulations and our weapon maintenance - is DI Sgt Bejerano. She is cool, nothing too crazy. She is the one that sings cadence to us while marching. Her voice is beautiful. I will go more in-depth on the next 3 drill instructors another time. They are all Kill-hats - the ones that mess with us - Sgt Pizaro, Sgt Westley, Sgt Arnell left arrow the craziest

I picked up this letter again today, I started it yesterday. Today is going by fast! It is already past lunch chow. And then tomorrow is Sunday again. The days and the weeks are starting to go by so fast. Only 2 more weeks until we head up North. Next week is team week, then Finals week, then up north that saturday. I am so excited, I just want to hike already!

This week has been slightly rough. I've been noticing the maturity gap dad and uncle evan spoke about. So I'm praying for patience, grace, and plenty of love to pass around, even when frustrated. My people battery is low. Pray for me heart and I think I have fire watch tonight, which just means being awake during chores for one hour at night. But! The fact that tomorrow is Sunday makes it doable.

Sunday, August 20 (?)

I miss you guys the most on Sundays during church. I miss sitting with you guys, standing and singing with mom, even walking to church with the family. I march to church every sunday now, no DIs though. Recruits march on their own in groups of 10. I have been designated the cadence singer :) I love it. I love you guys so much.

Katie wrapped the letter in a separate piece of paper with another note...

I'm continuing this letter on an actual sheet of paper. I will be honest I miss you guys like crazy today. I was crying and praying that God would just grant me peace and comfort. For all the worship portions of the service I found my buddy Collins from the pool, he, champlin and I shipped together, and then my girl Fediev, and we all joined arms and held each other and sang at the top of our lungs. Then, we prepared for some rain because there is a tropical strom passing over SD right now, but there was barely any rain this morning. After praying for some comfort though, I slipped out of church to a complete downpour - Seattle style - It made me so so happy. So I marched my damp little squad back to the house in pouring rain, with a huge smile on my face. It's Sunday, God's day, I can let my bearing slip a little. There aren't any DIs too close by.

I am going to end this here and get some quiet time to myself. One more week down. 7 1/2 left to go. 5 down. I love you all so so much.

- Your daughter & sister, 

Katie

oh! And! tell ben I got his letter and loved his jokes and tell Dad that his letter meant the world. The. World. Please send more.

One more thing... I've been thinking about the O'Connells a lot. Specifically sitting on their back porch in the evening. Tell Laura and Dave hello for me.

USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #5

It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #5                                                    

Dear Ma,

Yes! Please keep sharing my letters. It is relieving, actually, because I only have so much time to write, so all the loved ones I want to shower with letters but don't have time to, can take some of the love from these ones. It all sounds like a good plan, you can open the blog up to anyone you wish. heart

I love the pictures so much. I have my little circle of girls around me while I read, and then I enjoy showing them your faces. We are all grasping for further context! We only know each other in the context of bootcamp, that pictures are like filling in the landscape behind a painting. Context!

I have to wrap this up. I love you. I will write soon.

- Katie

USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #4

 It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #4                                                                                                                                August 13/2023

Dear Mom and family,

Hello!

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies..." Psalm 23:5a

the verse on the screen @ church right now :)

I am currently sitting in the big church theatre right now. Maybe 6 of the recruits around me right now are asleep. I'm actually enjoying this Sunday's pastor. His message is short and simple but true. 

There is so much I have to update you guys on. This Friday we had Initial drill, a drill competition within the company, you can look up videos! My platoon felt so good and ready, but then got out on the parade deck and freaked out. We barely passed. I wanted to cry. I had been so so excited to do well, and the 90 of us couldn't pull it off. The DIs were not happy so we got messed with for the next couple of hours. We have 2 weeks to clean up and perfect ourselves before Final Drill, the ultimate competition. You can pray that we prepare properly and gain the confidence needed to do well.

Okay back in the house again for some quiet writing time. Like I said, there is a lot of random things to inform you of. Just some moments worth sharing. And! I just got your letter saying you received my first letter! There are more coming! I have been getting letters from everyone. Ms. Rose, Ms. Zonnoff, Nick, Lucy, Reed, Moniz & SSgt Riley, Grandma and Grandpa B and S. So many people, even from my pool! It has been so heartwarming.

Moment #1 worth sharing: The platoon was practicing drill one day and our J-hat, the DI that instructs Drill walked up to me, slapped my elbow to adjust it slightly and whispers to me "Schei your my best one in 1st squad with the rifle, act like it." It was a hidden compliment, I was trying so hard not to smile, I was honored that she told me. So apparently, I'm good at swinging rifles around!

#2: There are often times when I pipe up and instruct the platoon or tell them something, and people have been following it up w/ "Schei should be squad leader", so after Final drill, I think I am going to try for squad leader or guide. I will let you know how that goes. :)

#3: God has totally been working through me. I've been reaching out to girls in the platoon that are struggling. Just building relationships in general is paying off. This week I had 2 girls come to my rack and wake me up at night to ask me stuff. One, her name is Molina, woke me up to ask if I could help her w/ her hair. There were girls in the head already that helped her out but I was so grateful she came to me first like I told her to. The second was a girl name [can't read Katie's writing here]. She woke me up crying because she had gone to the head and saw she had really bad pink eye in both eyes and didn't know what to do. So I calmed her down and walked her through what she had to do. It was a cool moment despite the pink eye. Then, I was on gear guard yesterday, (gear guard is when 4 recruits stay at the house all day to clean while the platoon is out doing stuff) and a girl asked me what motivated me, what kept me going when things got tough. It turned into this really beautiful conversation. She was having a rough day and i was able to pick her up a bit.

There have been so many good and beautiful little moments, as well as really hard ones, but I have 90+ girls with me all going through the same shit, and I am watching God answer my prayers and strengthen me left and right.

I am already 4 weeks in. I will graduate in 2 months on the dot. It has already almost been 1. It is going by so fast! I am becoming a Marine! That hit me hard yesterday. We are now in phase 2, so we get to blouse our boots and undo the top button to our blouse :) We also all get to wear sock buns now, as long as we keep Senior happy.

This week is swim week, that will be fun, then team week I think. I've heard fun things about that too. Things to look forward to.

I love you all so much. Tell dad to write me! I want to know how his trip went. And hug the boys for me and then have them hug you, Ma. Tell the boys I need some memes. Oh! and Nick told me Mora is going out of business?? If you can, buy a pint of the blackberry ice cream and save it for me.

How is Harper doing? I hope he is continuing to heal.

Hug Jackson and miles for me. We switched places. Me in Cali, I have never been this tan before!

I weighed in @ 135 this morning. So I have actually gained some weight! and it feels like muscle. It feels good.

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up for now. I love you all, I can't wait for your next letter. heart

Your daughter and sister,

Katie

arrow pointing to flip the paper over

oh! And thank you for the stamps!

And could you send more pictures? Of you guys and us. Also, a few of me. Friends are wondering what we all look like as normal people, so if you could send a picture or two of me as a normal civilian, that would be awesome! But, priority photos are of the family.

Thank you Jackson & Miles for the pictures :). 

Reed sent me some pictures from some hikes the group has done while I've been gone, that was so sweet. He said when they get together, there is always one person that asks what they think I'm up to. So sweet.

USMC Boot Camp Letters - Letter #3

It is my hope that everyone who is thinking of Katie from afar and praying for her mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health will be emboldened by her words.

Letter #3                                                                                                                                    August 6th

Dear Mom,

finally, a breather. I am writing this in a quiet squad bay w/ NO Drill Instructors and only 5 other recruits. I just got back from church and decided to skip the bible study class to get some quiet time and finally read your last letter that I got a couple days ago.

Your letters are my favorite. I love them so much. I love you so much. I miss you guys like crazy.

It has been a rough week. Today's church service was a lot of singing and crying and decompressing. I wrote you a letter the first day I was at medical. I had gotten a yeast infection! Then I went back the next day because the cold and sore throat I had had got worse and I was dizzy and all. So I was already coughing up flem and blowing green snot when I woke up on the third day with pink eye, which has been going around the platoon. We were all sick. So, this week I have felt so sick. Yeast infection, influenza, and pink eye. I have had no energy and very little motivation, but chow to chow. The weeks are going by faster. I am on the uptick! Yeast infection's gone. Pink eye almost gone as of today, and the flu is getting slightly better. That one might last a bit.

Our days are pretty predictable. We were issued our rifles during our 2nd (early second) week here and immediately started marching/drilling with them. It is cool, now that I think about it, that I now know how to sling a rifle around and do those cool transition, as well as march! We do cool but basic drill/march movements. We do not walk anywhere. We are always marching or running. Either or. So we are sweating a lot & burning a lot of calories! I am so hungry... all the time! I stuff as much in my mouth as I can at chow. We also get evening snack right before bed during our square away time.

Everyday we have some form of PT, whether that be a workout or what we call MCMAP, which is fighting techniques, but they make sure to make it a workout. We also have a class of some sort everyday. We have history classes, weapon classes, war technique classes, etc. All kinds of things, even ethics! The history classes are not as entertaining as Mr. Seems though. :)

I have plenty to say about my drill instructors, but I will save that for another letter.

I love you so much. The sports bras are actually alright! They fit! Please pray that God continues to give me strength. And that I would be healed! I'm tired of being sick. I want my energy back.

For now, I am getting emotional and I don't know what else to say heart so I have a good friend here with me, and I'm going to get her help re-gelling my hair. The slick back bun.

I'll have chow here soon, then more drill.

I love you so much. Hug everyone for me.

- Your daughter, Katie