29 April 2007
Remember the Manchu Mile I said I thought I'd do...well, I did it and it's not a mile. It's a march put on by the Infantry regiment here - the Manchu's. From the little history brief we got about it, the Manchu Infantry Reg. was in China during the fighting that was going on in the early 1900s. I don't really remember exactly what the Manchu Mile commemorates - I know that the moto for the unit "Keep Up The Fire" was a quote yelled to his men by the commander as he passed the units colors to another soldier after he was fatally shot.
Anyways...what I do know is that this Manchu Mile is a 25 mile road march conducted in company formations. I'm not, obviously, in the infantry regiment and there for not in one of the companies, but E Co in my Battalion is the support company so we marched with them. It was tough, honestly one of the toughest physical things I've ever done. It wasn't so much because they make it hard, but mentally it forces you to push yourself, the course was a little challenging but the hardest part physically was having to stay as a unit. I like to be able to go my own pace, but when you stay with a unit you have to go as fast or slow as they're going. The first mile we did was extremely fast, and we were going up hill, but then by the end of the march we were going so slow for the people who were hurting that it was almost more painful to not take full strides. In some ways it was fun being with a formation because there are always people around you, pushing you and encouraging you to keep going.
Besides the Manchu Mile this past week was jam-packed with moving our company offices to different buildings so ours can be rebuilt, finishing the 100% inventories of our equipment for the new commander to sign for, and preparing for EFMB. It was a long week, lots of late nights and 8 hours of work on Saturday, but our Soldiers are still in ok spirits despite it all and continue to get the work done so I can't complain.
Anyways...what I do know is that this Manchu Mile is a 25 mile road march conducted in company formations. I'm not, obviously, in the infantry regiment and there for not in one of the companies, but E Co in my Battalion is the support company so we marched with them. It was tough, honestly one of the toughest physical things I've ever done. It wasn't so much because they make it hard, but mentally it forces you to push yourself, the course was a little challenging but the hardest part physically was having to stay as a unit. I like to be able to go my own pace, but when you stay with a unit you have to go as fast or slow as they're going. The first mile we did was extremely fast, and we were going up hill, but then by the end of the march we were going so slow for the people who were hurting that it was almost more painful to not take full strides. In some ways it was fun being with a formation because there are always people around you, pushing you and encouraging you to keep going.
Besides the Manchu Mile this past week was jam-packed with moving our company offices to different buildings so ours can be rebuilt, finishing the 100% inventories of our equipment for the new commander to sign for, and preparing for EFMB. It was a long week, lots of late nights and 8 hours of work on Saturday, but our Soldiers are still in ok spirits despite it all and continue to get the work done so I can't complain.
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