Pre PT test PT test.

The guys got together to run the PT test prior to the real thing on Tuesday. It consists of a 2.4km run, 31 pushups, 33 situps, 8 chinups, a 450m shuttle run at 20m intervals, and a 2X 6m rope climb. All of this needs to be done as fast as possible to a maximum time of 17 minutes. Believe me it is a hard test. Especially if you push yourself. Our course runs it anywhere from 13:30 to 15:00 minutes. Hardest 14 minutes of your life.

Finally arrived.

Well I finally made it up to Comox. Goddamn it was a tough go getting out of Esquimalt but it's finally done. The drive up was actually pretty nice considering it was blazing hot out and there's no a/c in the car. It's a fast highway. 110km/h speed limit which means I was going 140. I made it in just over 2 hours which is pretty good time. Only used a quarter tank of gas to. Perks of driving a Hyundai Accent.

The first thing I noticed is how small this base is. Navy bases are typically pretty small because our training area is the ocean. I guess the Air Force has the same concept with the sky. Nontheless I was suprised at how small it is. Much like I prefer small towns, I also prefer small bases. The reason is you can get to know people and make social connections. Another reason is the food is MUCH better here than any other base I've been on. I have yet to have a bad meal and some have been truly exceptional. Another perk is that the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue-CFSSAR- is right across the street and the gym is just behind that. Another good thing is that a friend of mine, Kevin Jones is posted here as the mess manager of the Junior Ranks mess. Kev is a 2nd class Petty Officer in the Navy and is the guy who helped me become a diver long ago when I started this quest to be a SAR Tech, so I owe him in a way. Aside from being just a great guy, he's also in charge of all the booze!

The rooms are okay. All the army guys have been complaining but compared to shacks in Esquimalt this might as well be the Hilton. There is this one guy who stays here. He's like a 45 year old Corporal and all he does is swear. He will be walking down the hall muttering "fuckin' cocksucker" and in the shower you can hear him swearing away. I swear to God I have not passed this guy or seen him once without hearing him mumble some kind of curse. On a different note, it's great to see the guys from selection again. Especially after spending 5 years in the Navy it's good to be around guys of like mind. I sometimes had problems keeping fit and healthy in the Navy due to the fact that everyone parties and no one works out. It's hard to keep motivated when you're saturated in that kind of environment. Shouldn't be a problem now. I'm in good shape but some of these guys put me to shame.

So right now most of the candidates are balls deep in paramedic text books trying to absorb as much as we can before the start of the PCP phase. Man this stuff is hard to retain.

Before I forget I would like to mention that Ewa and I hadn't been able to talk to each other due to some problems with my cell phone or something for about a month. I got a call tonight from her with the confession that she had been dialing the wrong number this entire time. No big suprise to anyone that knows Ewa. One of the many reasons why I love her.

The picture is in my 5 star room wearing a course shirt. Kinda lame I know but it felt good to wear something with a set of pararescue wings on it.

Almost there......

OK well it's been a very long wait but the time is allllmost here. After completing the prelim and waiting for messages for a period of months, I finally leave for Comox on the 21st of July. Despite my every effort to make this as fluid a transition as possible, I've been thwarted at every turn. I was one of the first guys to get an offer and I had my medicals done immediately. But my paperwork was lost somewhere in Toronto for 6 weeks resulting in: a late posting message which forced me to move back into barracks and; an inordinate amount of stress. Anyway no time for sob stories.

On the good side I am leaving Victoria in 3 days to go to Comox. I've been trying to secure accommodations in Comox so that I would not be forced to live in Barracks up there. As luck would have it, a good friend of mine was recently appointed accommodations supervisor up in Comox and he's been working to ensure I get the place I want. They have fully furnished one bedroom apartments available to military members up there but the waiting list is huge. Luckily Jonesy is in a position to put my name at the top of that list. It's very important I get this place because I cannot afford to live off base in an apartment downtown, both financially (I'm losing a substantial amount of money leaving the Navy) as well as time wise as it is a very intensive course and I don't want to be far away from the base. More importantly Ewa will be able to come and stay with me when she has the time without having to worry about a hotel or anything, whereas we would not be able to do that if I were in barracks.

I'll update this again after I get situated in Comox.