After the cattle car pulled up to the curb beside what we would soon discover would be our new home for the remainder of our time at Ft. Jackson, Drill Sgt. Cunningham told us that when the doors opened we were going to get out of the cattle car as fast as we could, line our duffel bags up in a row along the curb and run as fast as we could down the hill to the company area and form a line side by side and get at attention. Shortly after the doors opened, we jumped up and hopped out onto the ground. I put my bag beside those that were already there and took off as fast as I could down the hill towards a brick and concrete building that had a concrete area at the bottom that didn't look too different than what a parking garage does. We all then got in line side by side and discovered more Drill Sergeants waiting for us in what we later learned was the company formation area. Big chunks of this are a blur to me because it involved a great deal of running and screaming but what I do remember is after we got to the bottom we were yelled at to run back up the hill and grab the bags, to not waste time looking for our own, just grab them and get them down to the formation area and put them in a row side by side just like they were at the top of the hill and not to worry about where we put it, just put them side by side and to get back to the position of attention behind the bag we brought down. I figured out real quick that they were doing this so we would be sure and NOT know which ones where ours. One second later we were told to move and we all ran back up the hill. I remember grabbing the first bag I got to and running back down the hill as fast as I could.
I remember we were still wearing tennis shoes with our BDU's because we had not broken our boots in yet and one girl ran out of her shoe and just left it behind. This allowed all the Drill Sgts that were in the formation area the opportunity to freak out over it and her. It was at this time that I became aware that there were quite a few female Pvt's standing on the stairs leading up to the 2nd and 3rd floors that were all laughing at us. I had forgotten all about this until I started telling my tale so thanks for reminding me. These would turn out to the recruits that had gotten there before us and had been waiting around for about a week for the rest of the cycle to arrive.
We were then instructed to run back up the hill and grab our personal bags that we had also left beside the curb and after grabbing them we were to run down the hill and grab our duffel bags, which were now all mixed up so that it would be as much fun for those observing our crazy newbie freak out, and to then get into formation in front of one of the four Drill Sgts that were standing in the formation area. Someone barked out the command for us to move out and up the hill we went yet again, but this this time I saw my bag from home right away because it was blue with red straps, snapped it up and headed back down the hill to get my duffel bag. I didn't have too hard of a time finding it because unlike most, I had brought my pad locks from home and they were different looking than all the ones that were identical that everybody had bought at the PX only a couple of days prior. I spotted my lock right away and grabbed my bag.
The next thing I became aware of was that all the girls that had been laughing at us on the stars were now standing i formation in front of all the Drill Sergeants the Drills were all screaming at once for us to fall in to formation with them. As I was grabbing my bag and rushing around the end and out of the jumble of people trying desperately to find their bags in all of that mess I saw Drill Sgt Terry yelling that there was an empty spot in front of him and I ran and jumped in it. I would later discover that this was the extremely complex system that the US Army used to determine exactly which platoon you would be in once you arrived at basic training. I was lucky enough to land in 4th Platoon with Drill Sergent Terry. I say lucky because that is all that it was. This platoon and myself included would go on to be the best in Delta Company. We would win the most awards and accolades of the cycle, and that is how I became a Blacksheep.
I'm the one in the middle.
