Next week, we'll be taking photos of us individually, more for fun and family than anything else. It's like picture day at school: "okay, turn your head… chin up… move your legs just a little bit left… okay, hold it…" It's a tad difficult to properly light an engine bay for photographs, but a few jury-rigged work lights and a home-made diffuser did the trick.
"This is… the Death March. You… are going… to die. There are too many people in this class… I have to cut the numbers by graduation. You… are going… to die."
Sgt. Woodward's words of "encouragement" did little to lighten the load of our long march in full gear. Even with rationing air and trying our best to slow our breathing down, most of us didn't make it back to the academy without running out of air (I was less than 100 yards away… I was pissed when I finally sucked my mask to my face).
Every morning, each recruit is to salute the shields of all the fallen D.C. firefighters. While in the hallway, I caught this shot out of the corner of my eye, and snapped a quick photo.
Don't hit the cones… EVOC training was this week, as well. It's not as bad as I first thought (I was nervous as hell, because the biggest thing I've ever driven was an ambulance). It's actually kind of fun—once you figure out that your front wheels are behind you, that is.
No explanation needed… 34 Engine will always mean something special to us. As close as we are to graduation (and as ready as we are to finally leave), I feel that we'll never forget the time we spent at the Academy.
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