Shawn's weekly journal from Boot camp

This is the journal done by Shawn's company.

22JUN09
All of the preparation in the world couldn't have prepared us for what we were about to experience at the Cape May Training Center. Tension and anxiety filled the air of each of our buses the night that they took us away from the Philadelphia airport as well as the civilian life we had come to know. Our feelings escalated and our thoughts ran wild as the reality set in that we were going to be here for "zero-eight' weeks.
The last two weeks have been, for most of us, the beginning of one of the most interesting and difficult times of our lives. We are taking classes that we can apply to our daily lives such as stress management and applying the Coast Guard core values of (honor, respect, and devotion to duty). In addition to classes, we are learning from hands on training such as marching, rifle handling, and incentive training (an intense work out consisting of push ups, crunches, squats and flutter kicks...we find ourselves doing a lot of this).
Last Saturday was one of the most interesting days so far. We learned a whole new meaning to the term field day; a definition that involved so much physical activity and sweat that by the times we found ourselves marching in the rain, it didn't make much difference in our appearance. Despite all of the physical training that we are doing, however, we are still going strong mentally and can feel ourselves growing stronger physically.
That night after field day we had the opportunity to learn more about the first-hand experiences of our lead company commander (Petty Officer First Class Woof) while serving in the Coast Guard. The conversation not only brought our company closer together but made us reevaluate the words "COAST GUARD" embroidered on our uniforms with a greater sense of pride.
As a whole our company grows closer everyday. We have shown great potential in marching and are starting to show signs of teamwork. We still have trouble meeting some time objectives but as our teaming efforts improve so will our speed. Discipline is our company motto; something that is constantly being instilled into us. Company morale grows each day with 02 weeks down and 06 weeks to go.
Keep those letters coming to us. One of our main sources of motivation is being able to keep in contact with our loved ones back home. We look forward to updating you next week! Victor-181 signing off!

I am not sure who writes these, but it is nice to know how Shawn and his company are doing!!! I will continue to post them on here.

In Shawn's letters he sounds good. He says that being there is hard and the physical things are difficult but he is pushing through and doing well. His favorite part is the food. He said that they eat a lot and the food is good!! That is such a relief...

Love and prayers
Tiffany Q- Proud Coastie Wife