I realized tonight I have not written about PT Belts before, but we have to wear them all the time with our PT (Physical Training) uniform and with our combat uniform after dark. Since I ride a bike, I have to wear the PT Belt whenever I ride. In fact, I use the PT belt to hold my rifle at my side while I am riding. As you will read below, a mechanic in our unit has become a minor Facebook phenom by getting more than 1000 fans for his PT Belt Facebook page.
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Spc. Jason Guge, who is serving in Iraq as a Black hawk helicopter mechanic in Company D, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, became a minor Internet star recently. On Sept. 5 Guge created a humorous page on the popular social networking site Facebook devoted to the physical training belt, a highly-reflective belt worn by everyone at night at COB Adder, and throughout Iraq, for safety purposes. Guge is not the first Soldier to find humor and irony in the wearing of the fluorescent adornment in a hostile zone, but he is the first to give Facebook users a place to exchange pictures, opinions and jokes about the glowing band. In the month since Guge created the page, he has attracted more than 1,000 followers. He passed the threshold at which Facebook assigns a dedicated URL to a page, acknowledging his page is popular enough for its own address: www.facebook.com/ptbelt. (external link) Fans talk about their views on the wear, care and sometimes adoration of their mandatory waist band. There is a PT belt creed for the truly devoted, a PT belt historical timeline, a PT belt prayer and Guge’s personal favorite, a picture from the HBO series Band of Brothers with the World War II heroes clad in PT belts. In addition, there is a PT belt adoption application, lost belt amber alerts and fashion advice for those who want to dress their fluorescent best.
