Last Day @ Little Rock-Sunday 09-26-2010

Tonight is our last night here in Arkansas. Its about 7PM and we've been playing football in the Bay. We took a few socks and rolled them into a ball. We've been playing for almost 2 hrs!As much as I hate this place I'm gonna miss it. It sucks cause just as we get really comfortable, we have to leave. We all hate it here but its really not that bad. Its nowhere near as bad as where I'm going!! We spent most of the day finishing laundry and turning in more gear. After church we had a huge relay race, that took an hour to complete! Not everyone participated, but it was supposed to demonstrate team work. I was very proud of myself and so was my Platoon. I had the hardest part of the relay. I had to sprint 100meters, do 5 eight count push ups, sprint 50 meters and forward lunge 50 meters, answer a military oriented question then sprint 100 meters to the finish line! Sounds easy but it was one of the most physically enduring thing I've done in a long time! By the time the relay got to me we were in 4th. After the push ups I was in 3rd and then I past another guy in the last 100 meters. The lunges made our legs like jello but I pushed past the pain and finished in second!! Half of my platoon said, "I really expected less from you!" Haha..But everyone was proud. We are about to head to final formation. I love you guys and I will write all about tomorrow.
PV2 Fonville

Saturday-09-25-2010

Im on fire guard duty right now. Its about 3:15AM on our next to the last night here, in Arkansas. The majority of the day was spent turning in equipment and cleaning. This morning they ask, if any of us wanted to give blood? I volunteered as I've never given blood before so it was a new experience..and it kept me from the Drill Sgts a few hrs! These last feew days are going by really slow! Tomorrow will be our last day here. Im looking forward to it but I know Im going to miss half of these idiots! Lucky for me a lot of them are going with me to Benning. after all the equipment and cleaning was done we watched The Thin Red Line. By that time the day was almost over. They gave us our phones for half an hr. I called Kaili last night and tonight but no answer. That really sucked. But at least Momma answered and Dad. It felt really good to talk to someone familiar! Im going to go read a bit and do my rounds. Love you Guys!
PV2 Fonville

Graduation Day - Friday 09-24-2010

Today was graduation and it was awesome! We woke up early and did another company run. We watched movies and grad. practice most of the day. We were all pretty nervous and excited. As I walked across the stage, shook the Captains hand and accepted my diploma, I had on overwhelming feeling of accomplishment and pride! I worked so hard for this moment. I felt a big lump in my throat when The Captain said, "congratulations"! I sat back down not knowing what was next.  They said we will now present the top 10% of the graduating class! NG-039, my name was 4th on the list, out of 176 warriors, I graduated 4th of my class. My scores were 80% better than the average high school, graduating Senior in the U.S. When they handed me my coin I teared up. I accomplished something, some said, I never would do!
Not only did I accomplish it but I exceeded at it.This was the first of many more accomplishments! Now that Ive graduated Ive opened up so  many more doors! Im about to make some phone calls! First time in 3 wks! Really excited! I'll write more tomorrow.

Rifle Range - Thursday 09-23-2010

Today was a great day! We woke up and kind of got off to a bad start. We got a cape session (aka as SMOKED). I was drenched in sweat! After we cleaned, we ate breakfast and caught a bus over to the rifle range. We showed up and they gave us a small briefing on the M-4. We zeroed in on our targets. Its almost like a huge video game, except its 98% accurate and with a real M-4. We did the weapons qualifications course and I received Marksmanship. I was 2 away from Sharpshooter. Brown Bear got Sharpshooter. After the range we ate MRE's for lunch, in the field and out of nowhere they tell us, that we each and everyone, passed our GED. We immediately jumped up and started yelling and cheering!! Some were even crying! Today was the happiest Ive seen any of us in 3 wks!! I was super happy!
 As we were eating, a Brown Recluse (specifically the most terrifying thing I've ever seen) ran across Fresnos boot, right by my hand! I freaked out and ran!! Drill Sgt Flood just stood there and busted up laughing! But I was NOT laughing! Earlier that morning we walked outside our Bay to find a Tarantula crawling up, the outside of our wall!! Very CHILLING also!!..Anyway, after all that we went to the Claymore mine course. Me and Brown Bear had to low crawl and plant a Claymore 50 ft in front of our position. It was also fun! We spent the rest of our day getting ready for our graduation ceremony, thats tomorrow. Found out we get our phones back tomorrow! First phone call in 3 wks! Im really excited! Our ceremony is @ 2 tomorrow. On top of that I got a letter from Mom today and Kaili got my letter so put my mind at ease.
 Well my fire guard is almost over..I'm sure tomorrow will be an even more interesting day. Got a Company run @ 05:45) I love you and miss you all1 Thank you for all your support. Two more days and Im outta here and on to Benning.         

PV2 Fonville

Sept. 28, 2010

click HERE for pics

Test Day-Wed. 09-21-2010

Today was the final test day. I took math and science. Got myself all worked up, and it ended up being ridiculously easy. After the test I made the dumb decision of volunteering for something. Me and a few other guys got stuck stocking and unstocking and restocking, the supply room! Im an Infantryman not a supply specialist..LOL!! It was actually pretty nice. Our personal bags that they took away when we got here, were there in the supply room. It had my cell phone and pics. We were unsupervised and I really wanted to have at least my pictures. My phone looked so tempting!! I could have easily have taken it but the Army pushes a set of standards into your head. One of them being integrity, so I didnt touch the phone. But if I had that opportunity two wks ago, I would have absolutely took it! I guess that is one positive thing the Army is doing for me..LOL! I got my pics though and hung them in my locker. After we did that for a few hrs, they gave us rubber duckies (Dummy M-16's) WE stormed rooms and made sweeps of the stairs. They also taught us about weapons maintenance. After that we took our class pictures and did some PT. Now that school is over the Drill Sgts are trying to make us miserable by smoking us every 5 seconds. Tomorrow is going to be cool. We have the simulated M-4 range and a land mine course. No letters again..bummer. Its the only thing I look forward to. Im on Fire guard right now, with Brown Bear. Hes reading The Bible, which is probably what Im gonna do after this entry. I just took a nice hot 20 min shower (benefits of doing fire guard early in the night). We started at ten and we turn it over to the next guys at 11. Hopefully we get our test results tomorrow. Im pretty nervous. After PT tomorrow morning, I think Im gonna go see the Chaplain and pray that I passed. Got a long day tomorrow, hopefully its enjoyable. I love you guys. Keep me in your prayers. I'll seee you all soon.
PV2 Fonville
PS: Brown Bear says, "hi"!

Tuesday 09-21-2010

Today was test day. I took writing, social studies, and english. I do great in all of those subjects but I think I could have done better. But I'm fairly sure I passed! No fire guard last night, so I slept great. after testing we watched Full Metal Jacket. Then we hung out in the Bay for like 3 hrs. I slept in my locker, (we cant sleep in our beds during the day). I got letters last night and they helped a lot. I was hoping for some today, but there werent any. Hopefully tomorrow. Im gonna cut this one short. I have to study for math tomorrow. I promise tomorrows entry will be more detail.
Love you guys..Please keep me in prayers.

Address

Thomas won't be receiving anymore mail at the address below. Once he gets to Ft Benning, which is sometime Monday, I will post his new address.

Camp Robinson Monday 09-20-2010

Well today is the day before test day! Its our last day of school. We test all day tomorrow and Wednesday. After that we get our cell phones on Thursday, Friday Saturday and Sunday. Then we ship off to Basic on Monday morning. We also have alot of cool stuff after testing! We go shoot M-16's and M-4 at the est range. We have a land mine course, graduation and a lot of personal time. Didnt have fireguard last night, so I got a good nights sleep. We dont have fireguard tonight or tomorrow, so Im relieved. Im cramming right now for the next few hrs, cause they dont want us studying tonight and want us stress free. Im feeling a lot better. My nose is a little runny but not bad at all. Im drinking 4 canteens a day, hopefully it helps. We are all pretty excited to get out of here. We all are looking forward to the Airport! Most of us are already planning what we are gonna get! Im looking forward to a coke (we only have water here), a double cheeseburger, and a cigarette! Man that sounds great..and being able to talk to my friends and family for a little while. Although Im ready to get to Basic, Im gonna miss a lot of the guys here. We've become closer than brothers. Luckily a lot of them are going to Benning! The rest for the most part are going to Leonard Wood. One lucky S.O.B. get to go home! Ive been spending a lot of my free time writing poems and things lately. Last night Morales read one and insisted I let him read one to the Bay. They all like it a lot. I think its because they all have similar feelings. We are all going thru the same things. I'll attach the poem to this letter. The day hasnt been to exciting. Its pretty much, really repetitious. I cant wait to get testing over!
 I love and miss you all. Hopefully I get some mail today. I really need it. I'll end this. About to head to final formation.

PV2 Thomas Fonville


                                    CONFINED
These walls keep me confined, away from my home
 Surrounded by hundreds of people but I still feel alone.
Since the day I departed I have found no rest
 This weight on my heart grows deep in my chest.
Ive learned to push past all of the pain,
 Because I never forget that I am to blame.
Each and every night, I let these tears fall,
 I hope and I pray for an end to it all.
I know that Im strong but my faith grows weak.
 My mouth so dry that I can not speak.
I miss my family, I miss my friends.
  I wish I could go back and tie the loose ends.
There is nothing I can do, nothing to say.
 Alone in this bunk is where I will lay.

Written By: PV2 Thomas Fonville
Date: Sept. 9, 2010                                                         
 

 

Day 12 Camp Robinson 09-19-2010

Today is Sunday our day off, sort of. Had fireguard from 3am to 4am. Brown Bear ended up going back to sleep, luckily I stayed up. The last fireguard didnt wake us up. So we had a rude awakening(the sgts flashing lights on and off) 3rd platoon didnt move their beds around. I guess they got the hint! Sundays are awesome! After we showered we walked out to find our beds stripped of their sheets. The DS said our beds werent up to standards and our wall lockers werent organized. They put us in the front leaning rest position (push-up position) for 5 mins. So much for showering! I was drenched in sweat! We ate chow and I went to church. It felt great to get away from it all! After Church we hung out in the bay. I layed on an empty bunk and took an hr long nap. After that we did some dnc and a 1 mile cadence march. That was their idea of fun!
Its about 1:30pm. not much going on today. We didnt get the phone call. But we are watching a movie later. I'll write more tomorrow. Gonna study now. Test in 2 days.

 Well its Night time now. Just thought I'd write some more. Im waiting in laundry room with Quesada. Bain just walked in with Audrey Hepburn stamps and said, "for some reason, Ive got a thing for dead chicks." HAHA! Today we have all been laughing alot. During first formation a bird landed right next to our formation, and started to chirp! Sgt Perkins turned  and said "Lock it up, knock that chirping off and where the Hell is your battle buddy!!"..LOL..We ended up watching Law Abiding Citizen!

 Well Im really gonna sign off now! Haha. Good night. Love and miss you all!!

Camp Robinson Day 11 09-18-2010

Today we woke up at 4:30Am to the sound of 3rd platoon (whom are 1 floor above us) moving their bunks! These bunks make a loud SCREECH when you drag them across the floor. Needless to say, we were mad! 3rd platoon are the new guys. Not only did we have a rude awakening but last night,  Brown Bear and I (Brown Bear is my battle buddy) had fireguard from 11pm -12. We have fireguard every night, but last night we put our laundry in the wash, did a little patrol and climbed in our bunks to just rest. We ended up falling back asleep! Luckily my watch alarm went off at 1am and we got up and played it off. We could have gotten in big trouble! After we woke up we did some intense PT and while we were stretching, I realized it was Saturday and thought, "damn if this was Saturday back home, I'd be fast asleep til noon". We cleaned up and ate our delicious breakfast (sarcasm). Tomorrow is the one day a week we all look forward too! Sunday!!Our personal day! Wego to church, clean our bay, do laundry,study and get to watch a movie. Doesnt sound like much but for us its a Godsend! There also is a chance we could get a 15 min phone call. another bad part about Saturday, is no mail! The mail on Post shuts down on the weekend, which sucks! I was hoping for a letter from someone! No mail also means the letter from yesterday, this letter (Journal) and tomorrows wont get sent out til Monday. School was very repetitive today. We did a lot of review and more practice tests. I guess theres a reason they have a 98% pass rate. Me and Brown Bear, Fresno (mexican boy from Fresno) FEZ, sounds just like Fez from that 70's show, New York, (old man) and PVT Quesadilla had a Ninja (stupid game, ridiculously entertaining) competition in the laundry room. We had been planning it since last night. Brown Bear won but I was damn close!
 Oh I ended up going to sick call last night. They gave me aspirin and something for my congestion.It helped but I'm still pretty sick. Also forgot to add this to my first entry. When we first got our gear from supply, we also got our heads shaved! We looked ridiculous but luckily my hair grows fast and its coming in nicely:) Gonna get some sleep cant wait for tomorrow and the possible chance of PHONES!!! I love and miss you all Realy hope I get something from Kaili. I sent her a letter a few days ago, but mail takes forever.

PV2 Thomas Fonville:)

Camp Robinson Week 1 Day 10 09-17-2010

My flight arrived in Arkansas around 4 pm on Wednesday Sept. 8. There were 6 of us from Fresno.Two of them were my friends from RSP (drill). We ate, then smoked what was left of our cigarettes, Even the few people who weren't smokers, smoked because we were all pretty nervous and scared.The bus pulled up and twenty of us piled on. The driver said we were only ten mins. away. As we began pulling up the sun was just setting, and we slowly started seeing the dreaded Drill Sgts hats. The DS stepped onto the bus and calmly said "welcome" and to grab our gear and file into the receiving office. As soon as we stepped off they started yelling at us.! It was scary but it got me moving! We processed in at about 10PM and they tokk us to our sleeping bay. We got lucky and all ended up in a new sleeping bay. We quickly went to bed. I heard a few people crying. I kept myself from making noise, but tears were pouring from my eyes.I was scared, nervous, homesick, lost and alone. I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.
 We woke up at 4:45AM. We formed up and they issued uniforms. They took off my rank and name tag and said we were all the same and some other B.S. After that we ate chow. Its terrible!! We also met our teachers. I have 2 really nice black ladies. They are the absolute best teachers I've ever had! The second day some boys came into our bay and started running their mouths! One thing led to another and I was pushing and arguing with some other PVT. Its blown over since then . The guy doesnt look at me at all, I guess thats a good thing! But their Bay is constantly fighting with ours! The bad part is that we are all part of second platoon and share 2 washers and 2 dryers.There are alot of Morons here.Mainly in Bay 11. My Bay has like one or two.The 14 people in my Bay have become like my brothers. We eat, sleep, shower and shit side by side everyday. My bunk mate is the most down to earth black guy I've ever met. He's 24 and got married at 18 and he's having similar probs as me. He also is pretty religious. He convinced me to start praying. Last Sunday on Sept 12th I was Baptized. Im trying to better myself somehow.We all play stupid games at night, laugh, yell, read, write, etc. We have an hour and a half of free time each night. Our usual schedule is as follows; Wake up, formation, pt, chow, school, chow, school, chow, military learning, personal time, sleep..and repeat. The time actually flies by.I graduate in 1 week and we have a bunch of cool stuff coming up! I'll write more about it later. Ive got a cold! It spread thru our Bay in a matter of hrs! It sucks but oh well. My body has adapted. Ive lost 8lbs and feel much healthier and stronger! I took my midterm yesterday and passed with a damned near perfect score1 Im in the top 10% of my class of 124. Ive elarned to deal with pain, frustration and loneliness. This first week has shown me alot about myself. Please pray for me and write. I love and miss you all. I will write more tomorrow.
PV2 Thomas Fonville
.

Thomas's Address

I received a letter from Zack today!  He will be there in Little Rock for 2 wks, one of which is almost completed. From there he is on to  Ft Benning to complete Basic and AIT training. Here is his address for the time being and I will update when it changes.

PV2 Fonville, Thomas 2nd Platoon
LTG Clyde A Vaughn GED Plus
PO Box 797
North Little Rock, Ar.72115
                                                                                    

Little Rock

Zack is now in Little Rock and on the bus headed to the educational center. He called last eve. to say it would be the last call for awhile. Not sure how long. He sent a text a few mins later and they had been told they will have a "Shark Attack" upon arrival and so they were all very nervous as it would be orchestrated by new Drill SGTS!