02 October 2011

Pop Goes the ...

Pop goes the ankle! Two days ago I popped my ankle during combatives training. Combatives is the Army's term for hand-to-hand combat. I wish I could report that the ankle injury was from something cool like a flip or some aggressive grappling that escalated out of control. It was not. We were in the midst of some pretty tame pushing drills (one guy crowds the other and gets pushed back) when yours truly lost my footing on an uneven part of the mat. Twist, pop, and a shit load of pain! Off to the emergency room or "quick care". Five hours later discharged with some pain killers and aircast. Good news is there is no fracture and two days later feeling pretty good (not only from the meds).

One thing that this incident showed me was that this Battalion is full of some really good people. Often we use this medium to vent our frustrations with the system, the training, or some nitwit within our ranks we deal with, but not today. My faith in humanity was reaffirmed. So many fellow soldiers went out of their way to express concern, help, offer help, or provide some kind words. This was from the top on down - Battalion Commander to a Private First Class who offered their own super-duper ankle splint.

It is good to know that you can count on so many when you are at your shittiest.

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