Some of these workout names have some significance to me and some are just random names that pop in to my head. Meat Gazer is one of my favorite and it comes from Fort Benning. Our final task of basic training we had to spend 6 days in the field during our FTX ( field training exercise). I was in the 4th Platoon and we were the Jackals. Our main objective was to set up a patrol base and protect it at all costs. In order to get in and out of this secured area we had to use code names to enter this area and Meat Gazer was one of our passwords we collectively came up with. If you entered our patrol base you needed to communicate the phrase Meat Gazer to the security if you wanted to get in to the base. It was of utmost importance to communicate this phrase with the security or if you didn’t we would know that you were an enemy. It was a simple way to decipher the good from the bad. Drill Sergeants and other platoons were constantly trying to attack us and we were always on high alert trying to keep our patrol base safe from the enemy. It was not easy an easy task to keep the enemy out but at the same time we knew we were constantly in danger of being attacked so we came up with creative passwords daily to keep the enemy at bay. We were aware of the presence of enemies therefore we stayed vigilant to not let them catch us off guard and capture our base. We were training to become Infantry Soldiers. Fast forward to here and now I feel like we as a country are in Basic Training. We as a country must be aware of our surroundings and aware of the people around us that want to attack our own Patrol Base which isn’t just a small area at Ft. Benning, Georgia anymore but is our homes and communities. We are under attack by people that want to kill us simply because we are citizens of the United States of America. We cannot continue to ignore these threats that surround us. We must stand up to this threat and defeat them. Now I’m not saying we need to be worried about every single person or group that we do not know but we sure as hell need to start paying attention to our surroundings because the threat is real and if we don’t I promise you at some point these tragic events that are taking place will eventually hit home. Be vigilant and if something or someone seems off don’t ignore it, speak up. It is now a life and death situation. We are all citizens of the greatest country in the world, it’s time we stand up to evil and destroy it. I love this country and I refuse to stand down to those that do not. 

“Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.” 
Ronald Reagan