A Fort Knox Weekend

Weekends here are strange. Technically, the Cadets are still doing activities on the weekend and we have to work, but we still partake in typical weekend activities that keep us up all night. The past few weekends I've actually gone home for various reasons, so aside from Saturday morning/afternoon I was hanging out with the the other interns all weekend.

Friday night was one of the interns 21st birthday so we opted to go to Churchill Downs for Downs After Dark. It was my first time actually at the track and it was a lot of fun. It was a great way for everyone over and under 21 to hang out and have a good time someplace other than Radcliff. I ended up losing $17.60, but such is life.



Since I was so close I spent the night at home Friday night on account of the fact we were going camera shopping Saturday. I'm now the owner of a Canon 7D. Every second I spend with it I love it a little bit more. Back at the Econolodge there were plans brewing for a trip to the Bullitt County Fair. The girls first went an ate Mexican for dinner, then we met up with the guys a little later at the fair. I really enjoy carnival rides so it was a fun time with the gang.

Then Sunday morning came and while most people either sleep or go to church, I went to the shooting range on base. This is the 3rd or 4th time my Cadets have been out there shooting, but the first few times were really basic things and always conflicted with more interesting things so this was our first time going out there. It's actually really uninteresting. All the video I got really isn't that great because well, there's only so much that visually interesting in someone shooting a gun. I brought my new camera though and wanted to get a shot of the bullet casing coming out of the barrel. I took hundreds of pictures and in all I got three with the casing in the air.



Jeff and I stayed way longer than we normally would have because Lt. Col. Hart said he was going to talk to someone about letting us shoot a gun. Neither of us had shot even a handgun before, so the prospect of having the M16 being the first gun we've ever shot was awesome.

At first we got over there and one of the guys told me to get in shooting position. I just got on the ground and was like, uhhhh. I'm going to need a little more direction. Eventually I got set up in the right position and he told me what to do and all that was left was to shoot. It was awesome.



I was actually fairly successful too. All the officers and Sergeants we see on a regular basis wanted to see how we did and said it was some really good shooting. One said we did better than some of the Cadets. I got one almost right in the middle, another just on the edge of the black, and then the other three were close by. So apparently, I'm a decent shooter.



Overall, a fun weekend.

Adventure Time

I guess I haven't been keep up with this blog very well. My bad. The past couple weeks have been a great deal of fun though.

Since my last post I've filmed at the climbing complex, stream crossing, and rappelling.

Where Eagles Dare

Where Eagles Dare is the climbing complex on base. While there, Cadets go through a high ropes course, a rock wall, and a very large climbing-thing that I haven't figured out the name for. Filming that day was awful because that morning it was very very humid. I felt like I was swimming through the air. We powered through though, I got some fun footage. I followed one Cadet all the way through the high ropes who was deathly afraid of heights. I got shots of her crying and struggling, but at the end I was glad to see her smiling as she came down the zip line.

Tonight, the PAO interns went to conquer Where Eagles Dare. The first thing we did was basically swing around on a rope. They raised us up 50 ft in the air and it was up to us to let go and swing. It was a ton of fun.



I unfortunately am highly uncoordinated and highly out of shape. I was halfway up the first cargo net when I realized I just wasn't physically going to be able to get through it. Despite the fact I stopped I still have rope burn halfway up my leg from jumping onto said cargo net. I'm already determined to go back and try again. I'm stubborn that way. I DID get halfway up the rock-wall though, and that was much farther than I really expected to. I would have kept going but I was well on my way to dehydration so I opted to go down. Again, I'm determined to go back and try again. Or else I'm just stubborn.

Stream Crossing

This was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. By the time we got there they were starting a race between multiple squads to build a one rope bridge across a stream and then get everyone across. They went all out for it and while the Cadets were racing there was music in the background and smoke bombs going off. I went into the water to get some shots, filmed on either side of the bridge, got hit in the face with a rope, but it was all a good time.





Rappelling

Rappelling was quite the adventure to film. I spent about 5 minutes on the ground filming Cadets coming down, but they made it very clear to us that we could go to the top and film. I was all over that. We trucked up the stairs and got strapped in. It was highly uncomfortable. They basically just wrapped a rope around my middle, tied a fancy knot, and then hooked me to a line. Since the video camera is so much bigger than a still camera, one of the Sargeants up there had to stay with my the whole time to make sure I didn't go careening over the edge. I'm sure he was very excited about this. It took a really long time for me to find a position where I could be (somewhat) comfortable while getting awesome shots. I finally achieved this on the open-ended side where I laid on my stomach and basically hung my shoulders and camera off the side. Any job where you're hanging off the side of a 50 ft tower is a fun one in my book.




Later that day I went back to try it out for myself which was really cool. The hardest part is definitely just lowering yourself off the top of the tower in an L-shaped position like pictured above. It's hard fighting your instincts to grab the side and hold on for dear life. You just have to trust the equipment and make sure to keep your legs straight. I managed though. One thing you have to do while rappelling is to put one of your hands in the small of your back to stop yourself as you're falling. I found it really difficult pulling the rope around behind me while I was falling. Overall though it was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again. Maybe next time I'll conquer the side without a wall. A Lieutenant Colonel took some pictures of me on his Blackberry. They probably aren't great quality, but when I get them I plan to post them!

Overall it's been a fun couple of weeks. Tomorrow is boat flipping, but no worries, the one I'll be in will stay upright. I'll try to update more often!

Also, top photo is by Sarah Gordon, the other two by Jeff Sainlar

Getting Down and Dirty

After taking Sunday off I came back Monday and hit the ground running.

Monday the Bravo Company was doing the Teamwork Development Course. It reminded me of a low ropes course that forces people to work together to achieve a goal, only harder and more army-like. It was the first actual training event I got to film so I had lots of fun with it.

Then today the company was participating in squad tactics exercises. They basically learned to (properly) Army crawl then go through and obstacle course with the new skills. They learned the crawling techniques in a giant plot of dirt. I got a little carried away filming there, but I got some great shots out of it. I spent the entire day right in their face as they were puling themselves across. Eventually I got down on my stomach so the camera was eye level. It was really messy, but I got some nice close-ups that way. A Cadet accidentally hit my camera and one was so focused they almost high-crawled right over me, but I survived. I also later got a little caught up in barbed wire much to the amusement of a 2nd Lieutenant nearby. All the cadets went under the barbed wire, we tried to navigate over it to get the best shot. I'm glad I wore jeans.

I'm happy to say that I finally have a few videos posted online. You can find them here

In the mean time, we're off to the climbing complex tomorrow. I'm looking forward to trying out the high ropes course and challenging myself. It should be a ton of fun!

At last! A day of work.

Today I finally had something to do. My company arrived today and a photographer and I hopped in a car to the Louisville Airport to meet them. There wasn't very much scintillating stuff to shoot at the airport, but I did what I could. It was fun talk to cadets and finding out where everyone was from. I did short little interviews with several cadets asking what they were looking forward to or were nervous about. It will go into a short 30-second video I plan to make.

We jumped on the bus back to Fort Knox with the cadets and listened to an officer talk to them about it. Up until this point everyone had been very very friendly with the cadets, they were having a good time and were very excited.

Then the bus pulled up to the barracks. As soon as the cadets got off they were met with a barrage of screams by the drill instructors. I took my sweet time getting off the bus and was mildly concerned they would think I was a cadet, but I think the camera gave me away.

With the good lighting outside and shots of terrified cadets to get I hovered around them. For awhile I was really worried that a drill sergeant was going to get mad at me or I was going to get in their way, they were ripping these poor students to shreds. As it turns out the drill sergeants love us interns from Public Affairs. They would get out of my way and offered me water and sunscreen while trying to convince me to film their platoon the most. I found them to be a really friendly group of people. I'm sure the cadets would disagree with me, but that's just the luxury of being a civilian working to make the Army look good.

It was the first day I actually worked 9-5 and it was so nice actually having something to do. I know I'm going to be completely exhausted and hot all summer, but I think it should be pretty ridiculously fun.

Playing the Waiting Game

I haven't given you a new post in the past few days because frankly, nothing has really happened.

Thanks to the holiday we got a three day weekend, so I headed home. Unfortunately my trip was marred by a tragedy in my church and my car being egged. In either case, it was good hanging out with the family, getting everything I neglected to bring down here, and of course, getting my laundry done.

I returned to Radcliff Sunday afternoon and soon discovered several of the other interns were planning on camping that night. I threw a bag of things together and took off with them. Overall it was a pretty fun night. Over the past week we've been here it's been nice hanging out with the other interns. We all complement each other very well, we keep joking about the fact that we're all a bunch of smart-asses. So the camping trip turned into more of just sitting around, talking, and hanging out. It was nice getting to spend a little extra time with them.

Then today it was back to work, sort of. We arrived back at the Public Affairs Office on base and took off to get some free equipment from the Army. They're nice enough to provide us with combat boots, socks, and camel packs for water. I think the lady helping us get boots was thoroughly entertained by us and our non-military attitudes. She took one look at our socks and immediately began telling us we couldn't wear those little socks in boots and that they were totally worthless. That's why we got free army socks. We all started trying on boots with varying levels of success. The boot lady told us there was no way we could tell if they fit if we didn't lace them up and one person starting lacing it up the wrong way much to her amusement. It took most of us two or three tries, but we all ended up with a pair that fit. Back at the office we got some t-shirts so we're (in theory) set to be out in the field.

Today we ate at the mess hall for the soldiers. It took a little wheedling to convince them we had permission to eat there, but eventually we got in. I figure $4.25 for all you can eat is pretty good. This was just one more place where I couldn't help but laugh at how much we stood out. It's always entertaining to see eight college students wandering aimlessly among a hundred troops.

Back at the office it was time to start working. The only problem for me is that I'm assigned to Company B, and they don't even fly in until Thursday or Friday. That day a photographer and I will take a trip up to the Louisville Airport to ambush the poor unsuspecting cadets as they get off the plane. In the mean time, I headed back to the hotel early due to my total lack of work to do.

The rest of tonight will be dedicated to napping, watching TV, swimming in the now-open hotel pool, and apparently karaoke. Look forward to an update again in a few days!

Starting Fresh

I'm through my first couple days of training at a videography intern with the Public Affairs Office at Fort Knox. So far it's been training, touring, and getting a basic understanding of the military.

Day 1:

I arrived here Tuesday about 20 minutes before I had to be here. I like cutting things close. It took awhile to get checked in, and as it turns out I was the last girl to arrive which meant I got a room to myself. I decided I was okay with that. It's making meeting people and talking with people a little harder, but I definitely appreciate the room to myself. After getting checked in and meeting everyone we took off to dinner at a Chinese buffet. My second Chinese meal that day. Oy. The rest of the night the other interns and I hung out and just talked amongst ourselves and with some Army guys staying in the same hotel.

Days 2&3:

Powerpoint presentations galore. Learning what we're going to do, learning about the military, getting a tour of the building, getting a tour of the base, etc. etc. etc. It's been an adventure. It's been a little intimidating coming into a military world as a civilian with no more knowledge than what I've watched in war movies. Even to get a pass for my car I have to get a notarized letter from my dad. I'm secretly terrified I'll do something wrong without realizing it and get surrounded by Military Police, but I'll just pray that doesn't happen.

Something the other interns and I discovered is there isn't a whole lot to do in the little town of Radcliff, KY. The past few nights we've been hanging out, talking, going to dinner, and just getting to know each other. It's a fun group of people and I'm looking forward to spending the summer with them getting to know them.

I'm also really looking forward to starting the actual work. I'll be following around a company of ROTC cadets and filming them to ultimately make an end-of-cycle video. I will go with them to most of their training sessions (or, at least the visually interesting ones). What I'm most looking forward to is the fact that the Army is very accommodating of us and will help us get the all the shots we could possibly want. I'm not afraid to try anything here so I guarantee I'll be hanging off the top of the repel tower with a camera (strapped in of course), going through water for the close up shot, and climbing through that high ropes course to the best of my ability. It should definitely be fun. Another day tomorrow and then home for the weekend to do laundry and get all the things I neglected to bring!