I Am GI Jane
“Go! Go! Go!” yelled Drill Sergeant Saunders. I must have fallen asleep for a few seconds because I did not hear him give the order to start crawling. I opened my eyes to all three drill sergeants surrounding me and screaming at the top of their lungs. In my mind I kept asking myself, "Why did I join the U.S. Army?"
“Get the hell off of that wall!” exclaimed Drill Sergeant Hill. He continued to degrade me by yelling, "You will amount to nothing if you don't get your head out of your ass."
“Why are you not out crawling across the field?” exclaimed Drill Sergeant Saunders. He continued by yelling, "What are you waiting for, soldier?"
Then Drill Sergeant Moyer had to add to it by yelling, "Pumpkin head get moving before you get shot!" She did not miss one breath while exclaiming, "Move it! Move it! Move it!" She was the dreaded female who had a nickname for everyone.
My location was Fort Jackson, South Carolina in the hot and humid late hours of a Friday night in the middle of July 1994. The temperature climaxed at a sweltering 120 degrees during the day with only a relief of ten or twenty degrees during the night. I was in my fifth week of Basic Training and still trying to figure out if I wanted to be just a follower the rest of my life or if I wanted to be a leader some day. I did not figure out the answer to my problem until that miserable Friday night when I was so exhausted from a lack of sleep that I suddenly transformed sleep depravation into motivation. While those three drill sergeants were degrading me, I finally had had enough and decided right then and there I was going on a mission to succeed.
My unit, 309th Training Detachment, was on its ...
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...hours the two halves switched.
In the morning everyone in the unit was tired but we were eager to get things packed up and marching back the ten miles that we had come just two days before. I was in a relaxed frame of mind because the ten miles back to the barracks just did not seem to be so bad compared to the past six-weeks of suffering. I knew that I would get the rest of the day to relax and then the following day I would be graduating from Basic Training.
By the end of the six week Basic Training Course I felt I could succeed at any mission I set my mind to. By setting my mind to overcome my pain and suffering, I even believe I can accomplish anything that God has in store for me. I believe this makes me a better person and to this day I do not have any regrets about choosing to be a U.S. Army Soldier. I feel great about my success.
Through the period of 1865-1900, America’s agriculture underwent a series of changes .Changes that were a product of influential role that technology, government policy and economic conditions played. To extend on this idea, changes included the increase on exported goods, do the availability of products as well as the improved traveling system of rail roads. In the primate stages of these developing changes, farmers were able to benefit from the product, yet as time passed by, dissatisfaction grew within them. They no longer benefited from the changes (economy went bad), and therefore they no longer supported railroads. Moreover they were discontented with the approach that the government had taken towards the situation.
Farmers everywhere in the United States during the late nineteenth century had valid reasons to complaint against the economy because the farmers were constantly being taken advantage of by the railroad companies and banks. All farmers faced similar problems and for one thing, farmers were starting to become a minority within the American society. In the late nineteenth century, industrialization was in the spotlight creating big businesses and capitals. The success of industrialization put agriculture and farmers on the down low, allowing the corporations to overtake the farmers. Since the government itself; such as the Republican Party was also pro-business during this time, they could have cared less about the farmers.
In the late 1800’s the American people and their government became more willing to risk war in defense of American interests overseas, support for building a large modern navy began to grow. Supporters argued that if the United States did not build up its navy and acquire bases overseas, it would be shut out of foreign markets by Europeans. Captain Alfred T. Mahan observed that building a modern navy meant that the U.S. had to acquire territory for naval bases overseas. This would enable them to operate a navy far from home. A country needed bases and coaling stations in distant regions, which was exactly what they did by having Havana, Cuba be one of its ports. Another factor that was part of the Navy’s modernization was the USS Maine, which was probably the most famous ship of its era. The USS Maine was one of the Navy’s first armored battle ships. It was one of the first U.S. naval vessels with electrical lighting. It had a top speed of 17 knots and a crew of 392 officers and enlisted men. On the evening of February 15, 1898 the USS Maine exploded. Of the 345 officers and sailors aboard the Maine, 266 died. There were many ideas of how this explosion occurred, namely: the ship’s ammunition supplies blew up, a fire accidentally ignited the ammunition, and that a mine detonated near the ship set off the ammunition. At the time Cuba was a Spanish colony, but it was in the midst of a revolution. The Cuban people were fighting for independence from Spain. During this Cuban revolt against Spain and the American battleship Maine dropped anchor in the Havana harbor to protect American interests in Cuba. Many Americans regarded the Spanish as tyrants and supported the Cubans in their struggle. This immediately made Americans jump to the Conclusion that Spain blew up the Maine. American’s felt that since they were allies with Cuba that Spain was trying to harm America, as to not interfere with Cuba’s revolt against them. Within a matter of weeks, Spain and the U.
American farmers found themselves facing hard times after the Civil War. In the West, the railroad had opened up enormous opportunities. Farmers were now able to cultivate land that had previously been to far from the Eastern markets to make a profit. However, that opportunity came at a price. The farmers increasing dependence on the railroads and other commercial interests made them an easy target for exploitative business practices.
Farmer’s had difficulties making a living because the rates of being a farmer was high. “Nothing has done more to injure the western region than these freight rates.” (Quoted from Document F) The high rates of being a farmer made it very difficult to make payments on the lands. Some farmers couldn’t even sell their produce for a reasonable profit. They worked long, hard hours and the government wasn’t on their side about paying them a decent income. Along with farm prices failing, railroad prices were increasing. Railroads were important very to farmers because they took farmers out to their lands, carried their produce to markets, and brought them the manufactured goods that they needed. Many farm settlements were made around railroads just because of this reason. Railroad managers were forced to charge very high rates and because of it, farmers would have to pay more money to use railroads.
Introduction The Spanish American War marked the emergence of the United States of America as a world power. The war which lasted only 10 weeks between April and August of 1898 took place over the liberation of Cuba. In the course of the war the U.S. won Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands. A large aspect to the begining of the war was the explosion and sinking of the Maine on February 15 1898 at 9:30 PM in Havana Harbor. 260 American naval personnel where killed or wounded. The USS Maine was the second "second class" battle ship constructed for the U.S. Navy. It took almost nine years to complete three year took waiting for armor. The USS Maine was at the time the largest ship to be built in a U.S. Navy yard. The USS Maine arrived in the Havana harbor in Cuba on Jan. 24 of 1898. The USS Manie was sent to Cuba in response to a small protest by Spanish officers. The ship was under the command of Captian Charles Sigsbee.
The growth of the railroad was one of the most significant elements in American economic growth, yet it hurt small shippers and farmers in many ways. Extreme competition between rail companies necessitated some way to win business. To do this, railroads would offer rebates and drawbacks to larger shippers who used their rails. This practice hurt smaller shippers, including farmers, because often times railroad companies would charge more to ship products short distances than they would for long trips. This was known as the “long haul, short haul evil”. The rail companies justified this practice by asserting that if they did not rebate, they would not make enough profit to stay in business. So while the railroads felt that they must use this practice to make a profit, the farmers were justified in complaining, for they were seriously injured by it. A perfect example of this fact can be found in The Octopus by Frank Norris. In The Octopus a farmer named Dyke discovers that the railroad has increased their freight charges from two to five cents a pound. This new rate, “…ate up every cent of his gains. He stood there ruined.
However code reuse does come with some drawbacks. One such disadvantage is that you may not own the code segment and have to give credit too or even pay out royalties to a third party for its use. According to (number one) another major drawback is program Maintenance; that if you need to make a change you will have to make the same changes to all copied sections of code and that this creates for a program maintenance nightmare. I have found that from the learning perspective as a student it is not very beneficial to reuse code. All things considered in my opinion I have become more acquainted and experienced with the programming code if I invent a new program creation each time I write a program.
The Halifax Explosion occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. During that time, Halifax was booming, it was military town and had the largest population in Atlantic Canada; 50,000 people. On both sides of Halifax’s harbour, business and industry were booming as factories, foundries, and mills were the demands of a wartime economy. The explosion took place on the morning of December 6, 1917. SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship fully loaded with wartime explosives, was involved in a collision with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. Approximately twenty minutes later, a fire on board the French ship ignited the ship’s explosive cargo, causing a disastrous explosion that devastated the surrounding areas of the Halifax harbour. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, and collapsed buildings, and it is estimated that nearly 9,000 others were injured. The devastating incident could have been prevented/minimized i if the Monte-Blanc had raised a flag, warning the people of their dangerous cargo, if the...
While farmers sold millions of bushels, and bales of wheat, cotton and corn, state legislatures began to see a need to enforce laws upon these farmers and to gain control of their states and its people. Document C gives a good statement of legislature holding down railroads and the goods being transported. Document C states a prairie farmer , "...they carried a law through the Illinois legislature, which provides for the limiting of freight rates by a board of officials appointed for this purpose." Angered by these types of laws, farmers who used these railroads went against the laws in court.
In fact, the ships involved in the explosion were the Norwegian vessel Imo and the French freighter Mont Blanc. The Imo was heading out the harbor and collided with the Mont Blanc while it was heading in, causing a fire to erupt on the Mont Blanc. Many spectators gathered along the waterfront to witness the event.
“Ok, ok.” I groggily yawned. I tossed my pillow across the room and started to get dressed in my dress whites. Today was the start of first naval boot camp. It was at Marine base called Camp Pendleton. On the way there, I shivered of the thought of me at the camp. My friends who had also gone to boot camp said it was really hard and tough, but still, they managed to get a laugh or two out of it. I pondered about my thoughts and before I knew it, we were at the camp.
He told us about his training around the world, his 41 years of military service, and how he walked in the footsteps of his forefathers who served in both world wars. In 2007, he spent 6 months training and was deployed in Afghanistan as part of the psychological warfare effort. He also shared stories about how he often had to walk long and exhausting miles in the hot sun, constantly checking his surroundings for threats. After completing service in 2008 and retiring as a Captain, it was difficult for him to readjust into normal life due to the near death incidents he had encountered. Until that point, I was presented with an incomplete portrayal of a soldier’s life rather than the true hardships and
Near the end of the nineteenth century, business began to centralize, leading to the rise of monopolies and trusts. Falling prices, along with the need for better efficiency in industry, led to the rise of companies, the Carnegie Steel and Standard Oil company being a significant one. The rise of these monopolies and trusts concerned many farmers, for they felt that the disappearance of competition would lead to abnormaly unreasonable price raises that would hurt consumers and ultimately themselves. James B. Weaver, the Populist party's presidential candidate in the 1892 election, summed up the feelings of the many American Farmers of the period in his work, A Call to Action: An Interpretation of the Great Uprising [Document F]. His interpretations of the feelings of farmers during that time were head on, but the truth is that the facts refute many of Weaver's charges against the monopolies. While it is true that many used questionable methods to achieve their monopoly, there were also other businessmen out there that were not aiming to crush out the competition. In fact, John D. Rockefeller, head of Standard Oil and a very influential and powerful man of that time, competed ardently to not crush out his competitors but to persuade then to join Standard Oil and share the business so all could profit.
Sgt. Thompson suggested a plan. We were to move up to the wall, one by one, covered by Pvt. McKenzie. So we did just that, moving up one at a time, covering one another. Various troops were catching on to what we were doing and began to try and reach the dunes. Not all of them were successful. One soldier, only about 18 years old, popped his head up from his cover in the sand. His helmet instantly flew off of his head, and his head had all but disappeared. What seemed to be a gallon of red paint soaked the soldiers behind him. I lost sight of what was going on and fell into deep thought. Who is his mother? Where did he live before being sucked into the life-sucking abyss we called