Career and Life Ascension
Copyright© 2026 by Wojtek
Chapter 2
I was up before anyone else, which meant I made sure the chuckleheads also were up. We were walking out the door as Cpl Rosario was about to knock. He just gave us a smile and ordered us to get our asses out onto the PT field.
We went through a full morning of aggressive PT sessions; there were more guys than I anticipated puking halfway through the run. After we finished our cool down walk, Sgt Le Pesant told the chuckleheads to get cleaned up and head over to Gunny Owens’ office after breakfast.
They kept pestering me about what I thought was going on. I had no clue, but they didn’t buy it. I wish them luck when we split up.
I found Cpl Rosario and Sgt Le Pesant talking by the ball field. We were forming up to go to the Armory and told me somebody would bring the chuckleheads over to join us.
We rode in a couple of Deuce-and-halves, first to the Armory and then to the range where we marched over to one of the practice fields. The squads split up, and we went about our training. Cpl Rosario took us through all the normal marksmanship training and the individual adjustments that everybody needed to work on.
The sun was setting by the time everyone was finishing up. Cpl Rosario was sitting next to me in the back of a Deuce-and-a-half and started to try and get me to conspire with him. He thought we could snooker the other squad leaders, as based on his spying, we should end up being the high squad of the Assault Section. The idea was with my backing; he could get the other two squad leaders to put a wager on it.
I asked him what he was angling for. A hundred bucks and a case of beer from each squad leader. We would split it, meaning if we lost, we’d each be out about sixty dollars total. It seemed like a good bet seeing how the chuckleheads were putting in the effort.
I gave him the money after they dropped us off at the barracks. We had dinner and got to bed fairly early.
We ran through PT and headed to breakfast. While we were eating, it came to me that I hadn’t asked what happened at the Platoon Office yesterday. Mutellip was the one that actually answered when I asked. Both Lt Wallace and Capt Armstrong were both there.
They talked to both of them at the same time. The complete one eighty in their attitude and work ethic came out of left field, though they were a little skeptical at first. They decided to give the chuckleheads the benefit of the doubt.
Supposedly, depending upon how they behaved and how the next two weeks went, they would have their promotions reinstated. The next two weeks would be rifle and SMAW qualifications. Hopefully they would continue with their improvement.
We again loaded in the trucks and rode out to the range where we spent the rest of the morning zeroing in on our rifles. Since we had used whiteout on the sights it allowed us to finish before the other squads. Lt Wallace and Gunny Owens started asking us as to how we’d finished so fast.
The looks they gave me were interesting when Cpl Rosario advised them that I had suggested the use of whiteout. I told them that it came to me while trying to avoid sabotage in bootcamp. That in turn led me to explain the whole story.
We packed up and headed to the Mess Hall. I was stuck on rifle guard, and Sgt Le Pesant was going to drive us back to the range after we ate. He explained that they didn’t think I’d have any trouble qualifying, so I was volunteered.
We spent the rest of the afternoon shooting at the different ranges of the qualification. The bonus of the day was that we didn’t have to worry about the armorers rejecting our rifles. However, that meant they were going to be assholes about it on Friday.
Everybody rushed over to the mess hall when we got back. Sgt Le Pesant was circulating around to each of the tables and basically told us to expect the unexpected. When I tried to press for more information, he just laughed. He just commented we’d have a good time. This didn’t bode well.
I made the chuckleheads go to the gym with me again. We lifted for about an hour, not heavy but enough to get a good sweat going. I called it an early night cause who knows what they were going to come up with tomorrow.
I told the guys I’d drag them out of bed if necessary, so they had better get some rest.
There was a bang on the door as I walked out of the head the next morning. I kicked racks to get the chuckleheads up and moving. There was the normal grumbling, then there was another bang on the door. I opened it and Sgt Le Pesant was standing there. He quickly informed me that we needed to be in PT gear, have a full canteen and fall out to the ball field in five.
We were standing near first base as NCOs were banging on doors and yelling for other squads. Standing amongst about fifteen guys, there was a bunch of whispers behind me. Turning my head, Lt. Wallace was now standing there. Everyone just suddenly got quiet and stopped moving around.
Finally, everyone from the platoon was formed up and Lt. Wallace started his briefing.
“So, we’re going to run our annual PFT today. When we’re done with that, we’ve got another surprise for you. What I want to say is that we’re going to max out everyone’s scores this morning and everyone is going to put out maximum effort. Anyone who does not pass is going to have remedial PT with me three times a week.”
He waved us all closer.
“I know you Marines haven’t seen me around much for the last few months. That is changing as of now. Everyone from the platoon will qualify at the same time. I know you men think the officers and Senior NCOs get a pass on PFT and qualifying. We’re going to change that perception today. So, let’s get set up for the sit ups.”
I knew about where we needed to be to have a first-class PT score and knew I wouldn’t have an issue; Norbert would only need a little pushing while Mutellip was my main concern. He was going to have issues with the pullups.
We busted out the crunches and were ahead of the curve. It was interesting watching Lt. Wallace and Gunny Owens go right along with us. The pull ups were next. We pushed Mutellip to keep going, and I’ll give him credit; he kept going until complete failure. He ended up with eight which was going to make it hard for a first-class PT score. I really didn’t want to push the run too much.
We actually had three Corpsmen with us. They’d been strong-armed into recording the times on the run. I kept the chuckleheads in front of me, and they did really well. I only had to push them once or twice towards the end of the run. We ended up with a run time of around twenty-one minutes.
Our results were just about as I figured. Norbert and I both ended up with First Class PFT scores. My score was two hundred and sixty-eight out of three hundred. It was only that low because I didn’t completely push the run. Mutellip missed a First-Class score by five points. If we could get him stronger, that score would jump a lot.
No one failed their PFT. Lt Wallace gave us the praise we’d earned and then informed the guys of the bad news. There were a couple of guys, including one from the first squad, who barely passed. That just blew my mind. How you could just barely score above a hundred and twenty points unless you weren’t trying. They were going to spend an undetermined amount of time doing remedial PT. I didn’t envy their luck.
We were told to get cleaned up, grab chow and form up outside the Platoon Office. We were waiting for about twenty minutes when Lt. Wallace came out. Calling us together, he informed us what was the final surprise of the day.
“Marines, this is one of the things that has to be done that no one enjoys. The platoon is going to get piss tested. I hope that none of you did anything stupid. Form two lines and wait for your turn. Don’t even think about trying to duck out, we’ll be watching.”
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.