ASPOC A&S January 2012

Good day all. I'm opening this thread in hopes of getting anyone attending selection in January - or anyone at all for that matter - to chime in and share a thing or two about how they've gotten themselves ready for selection and what's worked for them. I've done alot of reading on this site and a few others and have found alot of great info that's improved my overall performance, now I'd like to bring them together along with anything else you may have to fine tune techniques/performance.

First off, before I even set out starting the 10 week program I did alot of reading on socks/footwear. I found that most of the boots that were considered top of the line and highly recommended by actual users were not authorized for use at A&S, only boots with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor embossed on the sides are authorized. I ended up buying a pair of Danner's simply because it felt like it gave me greater balance, support and platform; the weight was worth the sacrifice. I also invested in a pair of Bate's Lights and my, oh my, what a great pair of boots - IMO. Somewhere in this forum I saw someone recommending Injinji toe socks (I love you for life), what a difference these socks made. On that same thread it said 'stop being cheap and buy good socks', which I did. After five different brands, I settled with Fox River - Stryker. The combination of the Injinji and Fox River socks are amazing. I only had hotspots on the balls of my feet after 12 or more miles, inside of 12 and my feet felt great. I bought a light and medium pair of the Injinji, the light I wore until my first break at 8 miles (if doing 12 or more) then switched to the medium pair. This combo worked great for me but it may work differently for someone else.

The rucking techniques and times obviously became better the more I did. I believe my worst mistake was using a 45 pound sandbag stuffed in a medium ALICE pack instead of packing it with items on the gear list for the last 7 weeks. This week I packed it with gear and the difference in weight distribution and comfort is simply...amazing (after hours of packing and repacking). It also worked to my disadvantage because I was very hesitant to lightly jog/shuffle with it on because it bounced and was not very comfortable at all. So I did not work on any jog/walk techniques as much as I would have liked to. Lesson learned and I'm now working to catch up to where I should be while jogging/walking with the pack on.

There is no pool on the base so I use the YMCA. Unfortunately they won't let me swim with cammies or similar clothing in the pool. All the pool work I've done is with swimming trunks. I know that wearing full cammies will have a different effect but I don't believe it will affect my performance to the point of no return. Am I correct in my assumption? Please feel free to chime in. Thank you in advance.

Semper Fidelis

If you're a good swimmer, adding cammies and boots is not difficult at all.

Thought so. Thank you.

What are your Ruck times? I'm staying steady at 10 minute miles. I did my last 6 miler in 55min and it was a long down hill and then back up.

My ruck times vary because when I started I was basically rucking a one mile loop on flat pavement around my house. I was averaging about a 16 minute mile and kept that pace for 8 miles. I just got back from a course where they had some hills and that made a differeance. I did a 5 miler there with all hills expect a half mile stretch, my time on that was 1:08. Before I left I did a 12 miler along that same route and it took 3:40. Right now I'm concentrating on finding where my breaks should be, for example, I was tired when I got to 9 miles when I did the 12 miles and that's where I took my only break, when I started again I felt pretty good. So I will try breaking twice for 3-5 minutes probably around 5 or 6 miles and then again at 9 or 10 for about 5 minutes because now I'm starting to get into the jog/walk mode, and those small breaks help.

FIJI750, I will be there at ASPOC and A&S with you. I also invested in the Bates lites and could not be happier. I ended up taking out the insoles of the boots due to my feet not fitting properly. It made such a difference in my rucking and boots and uts runs. It feels like I am wearing running shoes. I have been averaging 13 min mile pace; hopefully will be sub 12 before attending ASPOC. I am going to try some high altitude rucks while I am home on leave over Christmas. Nothing sounds like more fun than rucking up Mt. Rushmore in cold weather.

I've had bates lites for awhile and love them. I will also definitely be looking into the socks you posted about. I'm using Oakley ones now and they are nice but I little short.

Looking forward to seeing you there unguided! I bought a pair of Dr Scholl's orthotic inserts (CF440) and they feel pretty damn good. Have fun at Mt Roushmore while I'm sitting indoors enjoying eggnog lol. AKkeith the Injinji toe socks are amazing, they feel kinda weird the first few times you put them on but you get used to them in a hurry. A little pricey but well worth it IMO and they have them in different sizes, low cuts, ankle and calf. They form to your feet and I have not had them slip or bunch up at all. I have the low cuts, I wear them inside my boot/pt socks. Are you slated for a class yet?

Yes I should have had orders for the April/May class by now but I'm having some trouble with my command letting me go. I've been training and am ready whenever they realize that I won't give up on going.

Really? What kind of push back are you getting? Not enough time on station, you're too valuable for them to lose, your MOS is hurting that bad or they're just being straight up stubborn? As far as I knew about the process, your command cannot say no for absolutely no reason. They can say you can't attend a certain class due to operational commitments but that's about as far as I believe they can go. But this is the MC and stranger things have happened lol.

Unfortunatly my Ssgt and I have been butting heads. He just took charge of the platoon 3 months ago. Even my Sgts were like man this is getting too bad and personal so I tried to talk to my Ssgt in private and I really laid it all out that I didn't know why we were butting heads or what started it but I didn't want to and he still was a dick about it. I have other Staff NCOs that said they would write me a positive letter but I need it from my Platoon Sergeant. Another reason is my whole battalion is hurting on bodies bad.

Cammies won't destroy you on the swim but you will have to work harder. With cammies come drag and with drag comes less distance per stroke. As long as you've got pretty good stamina and speed you'll be fine. However I would strongly advise you to find a pool that will let you use cammies just so you can feel the difference at least once. I've seen plenty of guys who can swim just fine without cammies but for some reason the added drag and constriction of cammies damn near drowns them the first time.

You are absolutely correct Hitman, I did a swim with cammies on and while it wasn't the end of me, I definitely felt the difference. First thing that went was my form, also I've been swimming in a 25m pool and swam in a 50m pool with the cammies. I think I psyched myself out with the distance. But overall I still felt pretty good about the swim.

If I could add something about the swim, a lot of Marines while I was at ASPOC talked about the rough waters that the other swimmers created. Personally, I didn't find too much trouble with it, but I'd keep it in mind.

They have problems, if ripples in a pool cause problems. They suck at swimming. What will happen to them when they get in the ocean and have waves hitting them in the face?

Thanks Mac, I have kept that in mind from the beginning. However, I have a high speed, low drag system that replicates that environment...the kids jumping in from the sides and thrashing around lol. On a serious note though, I've done a few swims in the ocean and they were all miserable. The only thing I found that helped was when I was done

+1. I've done a lot of swimming in pool & open ocean wearing utilities or flight suit. IMO, the secret is to be strong, correct, and patient with your swimming. If your strokes are sloppy or imprecise, utilities will just make it that much worse. Understand that the clothing WILL slow you down and you have to allow for it, but it won't be a show stopper. And the harder you try to fight the difference, the worse it will be. Kind of like fighting a ninja.

I asked them a question along the same lines, and the majority of them responded with "well it's different when we get to a team." Some guys just live in their own little dream world.

Considering that none of them have ever been on a team how the hell do they know how it will be? I can almost guarantee that what they think it will be like will be nothing like what it is. If they can't handle the pool they will fail when its the middle of the night with three foot swells, 50 degree water and 45lbs of gear.

It seemed that the batch of young, first term Marines I was with seemed to know it all. I am also a young, first term Marine, but I kept my mouth shut, other than to ask questions, and soaked up the knowledge I could from the instructors and the more senior Marines.