Vital Forest - Mental/Physical Wellbeing Groupchat

Phatnovice said:
Bergen is a rucksack basically. Your "home" when in the field.

Webbing is rig of belts and straps that you wear around your waist/over the shoulders to carry your immediate day to day equipment. Ammo, magazines, rations, water, respirator, first aid kit, etc. etc. Most units have a minimum amount of kit that has to be carried in it, most individuals have their own extras base don role/experience.

CFT = Combat fitness test:

In my day, the CFT was an 8 mile forced march to be completed within 2 hours with all of the above plus weapon, body armour, helmet and a minimum weight - usually 25 lb in the webbing and 40lb in the bergen. If you turned up light they added bricks to take you well over the minimum weight. Forward planning was essential. It all gets weighed at the end as well and if you're significantly under weight, you fail.

Followed by a 100m 'man carry' wearing everything above except the bergen but wearing your respirator to simulate a CASEVAC in and NBC environment. Considered at the time to be the most strenuous CASEVAC you might have to do. The carried man you had to carry his weapon and webbing as well and he had to simulate being unconscious and unable to help so he wouldn't carry his weapon. A proper bastard if he was the GPMG gunner!

Followed by a range shoot when you're well and truly chin-strapped and breathing through your arse. Fail any one of these and you fail the entire test.

Fuck me but they were good days. It probably explains why we could all drink 10 pints a night, eat about 8000 calories a day and still be whippet thin.
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Unbelievable

I’ll watch the video also. Thanks for this
 
I maintain my mental health with regular rounds of cybergolf, thanks to a mate who's into i-racing and got a Meta Quest 3 headset. He persuaded me to get one and most afternoons three of us stand in living rooms miles apart while our avatars play a round of golf.

Never played for real (apart from crazy golf, and my dad's clock golf at the seaside: he drew a circle in the sand, scooped out a hole in the centre, and marked out 12 spots round the rim. You putted round the clock).

I'm happy if I'm plus single figures, but it's great fun - real and created courses, choices about tees, pin positions and wind strength. There's a weekly tournament where you play two 18-hole rounds at the same course, with those variables set. It was at St Andrews this week - first round was front tees and easy pins and I should have managed my first sub-par round, bogeyed the last for +1.

Played second round just now - middle tees but hard pins and high winds (30 mph+). Fell foul of a couple of the huge high bunkers, including at the 17th where I had a triple bogey to slip to +13. Damn!

Wind-assisted drive at 18th sailed onto the green, but rolled back down a steep hill with the pin nastily placed just at the top of it. 45-foot putt back up the hill...

...which went in for an eagle! The game's realistic enough that you get a real buzz when a putt like that goes in.

Happy with +11 and a +12 total over two rounds, usually closer to +30!
 
pebble said:
I maintain my mental health with regular rounds of cybergolf, thanks to a mate who's into i-racing and got a Meta Quest 3 headset. He persuaded me to get one and most afternoons three of us stand in living rooms miles apart while our avatars play a round of golf.

Never played for real (apart from crazy golf, and my dad's clock golf at the seaside: he drew a circle in the sand, scooped out a hole in the centre, and marked out 12 spots round the rim. You putted round the clock).

I'm happy if I'm plus single figures, but it's great fun - real and created courses, choices about tees, pin positions and wind strength. There's a weekly tournament where you play two 18-hole rounds at the same course, with those variables set. It was at St Andrews this week - first round was front tees and easy pins and I should have managed my first sub-par round, bogeyed the last for +1.

Played second round just now - middle tees but hard pins and high winds (30 mph+). Fell foul of a couple of the huge high bunkers, including at the 17th where I had a triple bogey to slip to +13. Damn!

Wind-assisted drive at 18th sailed onto the green, but rolled back down a steep hill with the pin nastily placed just at the top of it. 45-foot putt back up the hill...

...which went in for an eagle! The game's realistic enough that you get a real buzz when a putt like that goes in.

Happy with +11 and a +12 total over two rounds, usually closer to +30!
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You had an eagle but was still +11 for the round, sounds like you were too below par today chap!
 
These anti-immune system meds I'm on since my failed transplant are an absolute bastard.

There's been a cold going around work, I thought I'd got lucky but then at 3pm today every single cold symptom you can imagine hit me all at once. Coughing, vomiting, shivering, aching, runny nose, the works. 0-100 in about half an hour. I hope it doesn't last too long this time. Last time was months.

Also suffering anaemia at the moment because of the dialysis so a massive iron shortage means I can't walk down the stairs without feeling like I've run a marathon.

FML man. Sorry I know there's people going through worse here right now but I just needed to have a little rant.
 
weejockmcplop said:
These anti-immune system meds I'm on since my failed transplant are an absolute bastard.

There's been a cold going around work, I thought I'd got lucky but then at 3pm today every single cold symptom you can imagine hit me all at once. Coughing, vomiting, shivering, aching, runny nose, the works. 0-100 in about half an hour. I hope it doesn't last too long this time. Last time was months.

Also suffering anaemia at the moment because of the dialysis so a massive iron shortage means I can't walk down the stairs without feeling like I've run a marathon.

FML man. Sorry I know there's people going through worse here right now but I just needed to have a little rant.
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Sounds horrible mate. And I don't think many are having these issues. SR is also having a really tough time, different from yours, but both are awful and I think everyone hopes you both can pull through and get better as quickly as possible
 
weejockmcplop said:
These anti-immune system meds I'm on since my failed transplant are an absolute bastard.

There's been a cold going around work, I thought I'd got lucky but then at 3pm today every single cold symptom you can imagine hit me all at once. Coughing, vomiting, shivering, aching, runny nose, the works. 0-100 in about half an hour. I hope it doesn't last too long this time. Last time was months.

Also suffering anaemia at the moment because of the dialysis so a massive iron shortage means I can't walk down the stairs without feeling like I've run a marathon.

FML man. Sorry I know there's people going through worse here right now but I just needed to have a little rant.
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Sorry to hear this

Whats the way forward for improvement for you weejock?
 
Thewolf/jimmygordon said:
Sorry to hear this

Whats the way forward for improvement for you weejock?
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Well, I'm going to the hospital for an iron infusion on Saturday so that'll at least help with the aenemia.
I also have family coming to stay so that should be nice, given they live 200 miles away.
Otherwise I'm going to lie in my bed with 5 jumpers on, the heating on full, and whinge over the phone to my parents.
 
Soooo had a trip to kings…numbers are slightly worse than they first estimated but marginal. Big scan next week but got told 50/60% chance they will find more cancer polyps, which was a lock in the stones, but he seemed like it was normal. Depends where they are etc will depend on the treatment etc. they will look at removing the bowel tumour next year but that carries risk as well

Just when I thought I’d hit bottom, turns out there’s more
 
Southern red said:
Soooo had a trip to kings…numbers are slightly worse than they first estimated but marginal. Big scan next week but got told 50/60% chance they will find more cancer polyps, which was a lock in the stones, but he seemed like it was normal. Depends where they are etc will depend on the treatment etc. they will look at removing the bowel tumour next year but that carries risk as well

Just when I thought I’d hit bottom, turns out there’s more
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SR

To me the above actually sounds very positive so far as theres plans being hatched ahead to sort this for you

Thats what I would want to be hearing in this situation

Positive action coming hopefully

Meanwhole get yourself in the best shape you can to handle the op and take advantage of the positive action?
 
Starting to thin out on top - not sure my fragile ego can handle not having golden locks.

Any tips? Thinking of shaving my head or using some kind of magical hair growth potion. I love George’s marvellous medicine
 
Marco Polo said:
Starting to thin out on top - not sure my fragile ego can handle not having golden locks.

Any tips? Thinking of shaving my head or using some kind of magical hair growth potion. I love George’s marvellous medicine
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I remember about 30 years ago, a barber saying that I was starting to thin on top. Do yourself a favour he said... go no.2 all over now and get yourself and other people used to seeing you with short to no hair. Took his advice and now when I look in the mirror I look like me.

Showed some old photo's of me to my grandkids the other week and they said that they can't be of me because the guy in the photo has hair and wasn't fat.

Cheers kids. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
 
Well I hit 50 last Monday… at times in the military I didn’t think think I’d make 35 let alone 50 and now I’m wondering if I’ll make 51 with everything that’s kicking off. Crazy amounts of tests and scans but who knows!
 
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