Dismissed!!!

The word echoed in all of our brains. When we heard it, we couldn't believe it. Maybe it was because of all those times when things were promissed and never delivered. Maybe it was just the karma that had been dealt thus far. But, yes, LTC Shattuck did indeed dismiss the entire battalion from OCS for two weeks. It's Exodus time!

It was by far the hardest week of OCS yet. As my last blog stated, the week began with the terrain walk. It was the first taste of what the field environment with this company might be like. One squad kind of failed the test when they went off into the woods and slept. They were caught. Their punishment? The entire squad had to carry machine gun tripods everywhere they went for the rest of the week. I'm not sure what machine gun tripods have to do with sleeping, but then again, punishments here don't make much sense.

Physically, it was a very difficult week. Monday was an all day walk around terrain, which was not really that difficult. Tuesday was a 5 mile ability group run that our trainer thought should be run at an 8:15 pace. Wednesday was some crazy platoon PT. The candidate who planned it this week didn't take the run from the previous day or the upcoming graded 5 mile run into account. We did a full body workout including squats. Thursday was the graded 5 mile run. I ran it in 37:58. I was extremely surprised that I ran it that fast. It was less than an 8 minute mile. Friday was yet another visit to the Bolton obstacle course. More on that later.

This week was loaded with classes. We had classes in listening and communication, tactical radios, training management, and supply. The tests in training management and supply were not easy, either. I studied most of the previous night for both of them and was still baffled by about 50 percent of the tests. Hopefully, I managed a passing grade.

This week was also big on the mind games. Most days saw our precious study time reduced for wierd and stupid things. Monday night was linen turn in that had to happen during study time. Tuesday was a platoon brief. Wednesday was the kicker: the cadre 1SG decided that two areas in the cadre area were not properly cleaned. Because of that, our study time was revoked for Wednesday and Thursday and would be replaced by a GI pary. (A GI party is a big organized barracks cleaning party. ) The problem is that we had an OPORD due on Thursday, a presentation due on Thursday, a paper due as soon as Exodus is over, and two tests on Friday. Taking away study time puts the class up for failure. Now, I'm guessing someone intervened, because we didn't have to continue the GI party on Thursday. The games this week were numbing. The student leadership took its share of licks for things as simple as missing a facing movement. Also schedules would change and twist giving the entire company mere minutes to complete tasks that take hours. Things were sacrificed. In my case, I had to employ the "field shower method" for about 4 days. In other words, instead of a shower, I had a baby wipe bath. Those things are the greatest invention since sliced bread. Tonight when I took my shower, the sediment gathered nicely on the bottom of the shower. I may have been a little unclean. Also, we were tasked with waxing and buffing an entire hallway with only 20 minutes to complete the task. Considering it takes on average of 20 minutes to lay the wax, 25 minutes for it to dry, and about an hour to buff it, we didn't make our deadline. Thankfully, the punishment wasn't that painful.

And then there was Bolton. Ah Bolton. This obstacle course can be linked to 5 people being pulled from the course due to injuries. One person broke a femur on it and the other 4 received injuries that they thought they could tough out only to get worse later. I was scratched up, bruised, and in complete muscle pain when we did this course in week 1. First off, the company insists that we run there. There wouldn't be a problem with that normally, especially since it's only about a mile away. However, we have to run there in uniform and boots. I love Army boots, but they are obviously not designed to sustain your feet for distance running. Very, very painful. When we arrived there this morning, a dirty haze covered the course. The obstacles were glazed with it. To make things more interesting, it was 6 AM. Still night time. Even though we skipped the two 50 foot obstacles, which scared the heck out of me last time, there were still some climbing obstacles that were slippery. Our squad managed to run through it in 7:09. That time was well above average. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to help our platoon win. (All squad times were averaged together. The other three squads did not score high enough to earn a good average.) We didn't lose either. 4th platoon won and 2nd platoon get to keep the dud. (The dud is a spent artillery shell that the loser platoon gets to keep until another platoon loses. Any platoon that gets the dud have to repaint it to their own particular style. They also must never leave the dud unsecured. It must never leave the posession of a platoon member. Someone has to sleep with it, carry it, protect it, and have it always on their person. 1st platoon had the dud previously and constantly left it unguarded. I considered stealing the dud several times, but decided it might be hazardous to my career.)

So, that was our week 5. Friday at 1300, the Colonel dismissed us for two weeks of Exodus. Unfortunately, the battalion told us earlier we couldn't go anywhere until after 1700 on the 20th. It wasn't until a week ago that we were told that we could leave on the 19th. I wasn't able to reschedule an earlier flight. So, I will remain in Columbus until Sunday morning. After that, I look forward to seeing my gorgeous wife and daughter when I arrive in Killeen, Texas.

So, for two weeks, this blog is closed. When I return, it will be the beginning of week 6. Just 7 weeks left in this OCS experience. Yes, it is worth it.

BOC Sharp

Utilizing the Woodline

My weekend break was relaxing. It was fragmented, but still relaxing. Everyone reported in on time yesterday. I have a great class who seems to avoid trouble. That's fantastic, considering that OCS history has shown that staying out of trouble during pass periods can be difficult. After reporting back in, we received an alternate schedule for the week. We will do the Bolton obstacle course once again. Since going in the first week, I have had nothing but nightmares about this course. Climbing to 50 feet into the air and doing insane things that can lead to a drop to your death, getting bruised, having several people dropped from the course because they broke bones, etc. It's a nightmare, and we get to do it again.

Today we spent the day in the field doing a terrain analysis and defense planning. I was amazed at how many people screwed it up. Doing a map and a terrain recon, there was really only one possible avenue of approach the enemy could take. Everyone seemed to pick all avenues but that one except a guy in our platoon who used to be a Navy corpsman. This baffled me. How could a former Navy guy figure this out ahead of all the infantry guys. Of course, I did too, but oh well. People had this enemy force doing flanking movements across open ground in front of artillery and everything. Strange stuff.

The day was long. Mainly because the terrain walk was kind of repetitive. Once you see one layer of shrubs, you've seen them all. As an analysis for a first time Army person goes though, it went very well. I have to remember that I've done this kind of stuff before and kind of push that aside.

Tomorrow is a 5 mile AGR. I do not fear it like I feared the 4 mile from last week. It seems that runs aren't as big of a problem for me right now. Oh yeah, and once this week is over, I will fly home for exodus!!!!!

BOC Sharp

A Burger? Why Not.

It's freaky. I have not been this light since high school, I think. Of course, I was well over 200 back then. Because of that, and the fact that our CO gave us the weekend off, I went to Fuddrucker's today. I ordered a 1/2 pound burger, fries, and a shake. Oh yeah, I treated myself. It was tasty.

Tactical week turned out to be extremely easy. The freak 3 day monsoon this week kept us out of the field. We will go on Monday to make it up. We took the tactics test on Friday and it was extremely easy. I might be very disappointed if I get something below a 95 percent. I don't want to sound cocky, but that test was very easy. Following the test, we had yet another class in land navigation. We later found out that the last cycle had 51 failures on the first course. I guess that freaked out the cadre a little and they are doing what they can to try and teach us the necessary skills needed to be successful on the land nav course. The recycles are telling horror stories about this course that is freaking out the other candidates. At Fort Hood, I found all of my required land nav points in 2 hours over rugged and rocky terrain. I can't imaging that this would be harder. There will be 2 hours in the dark, which could add some interesting challenges, but I really don't fear the course. Really, the only thing I fear right now is freezing to death in the 3 weeks of fun in the field in January. The thing that will likely keep me going will be the fact that once the field leadership exercises are over, we are pretty much done with the course. I'm all for that.

This weekend is yet another good time for relaxation. I am going to chill out off post for a few days and then return Sunday for duty at 8 AM. We are all supposed to be back for a recall formation at 3 PM. Any time off is definitely welcomed.

Wet Behind the Ears

It had to happen sometime.

Yesterday, the high in Ft. Benning was 71 degrees. It was quite a change from the 45-55 degree days we had gotten used to. To us, it felt like summer. We have become so acclimated that a 35 degree day feels normal at this point. But yesterday was hot by comparison. We sweated the entire day. What did the warm temperatures mean? You guessed it.

This morning was the first 7 mile ruck march. It actually went very, very well. As per the standard, we took a "tactical break" in the middle of it. This break made the march easy. After 10 minutes, the march resumed and that is all your body needs to recover from the first 3.5 miles before finishing it out. It was also in the sixties this morning making the march very sticky. I was carrying approximately 65 pounds at this point. My Load bearing vest, ruck with stuff in it, ACU's, and my ACH. Very, very sweaty. And of course, at the conclusion of the march, the heavens opened up.

This was the first time yet that we had a day of rain. It didn't disappoint. It was the type of rain that soaked you to the bone. A downpour the entire day accompanied by thunder and lightning. Thankfully, the day was mostly in the classroom. Tomorrow's field terrain walk was cancelled because the cadre don't feel like they can get the buses to drive in the mud. Understandable. We are going to try and do it monday. The storms will continue until Friday.

I feared the march more than the AGR. I muscled it out really well though. I'm beginning to feel like there isn't much I can't do. My physical fitness level has improved incredibly in just the first 4 weeks. I can actually do pullups now, which kind of freaks me out. I can run like it's no effort. And now ruck marching seems to be becoming easy. By the time I graduate this place, I should be able to move the world.

Tactical week is winding down. We have one more class to finish on troop leading procedures. It is yet another topic I am very familiar with having been a squad leader. I can still remember becoming a Corporal and having SFC Clubb drill troop leading procedures into my head. He seemed to feel they needed to be known. I never used them after he left, but I still retained most of the knowledge. It's allowed me to basically zone out in class. Anyway. Back to reading my assigned novel.

BOC Sharp

Tactical Week Begins

Many feared the ability group run today. Given the pace at which we have all been running, I can't blame them. We started the 4 miler today at about a medium 8:30 pace. It ended up being a 8:58 pace overall only because other groups would pass and we'd have to slow to let them in. Distance is a totally different animal. We went from running 3 miles with a break to 4 miles with no break in the course of a week is quite a change for a lot of people. We did have some fallouts, and that likely slowed us down too.

After today the only real physical activity we have is a 7 mile ruck march on Wednesday. By all indications, the 7 milers are the hardest only because you begin to ruck with all of your military gear on your body. The second march involves terrain making it the hardest one of the cycle. To me, it does not matter. I will pull myself along the ground if it kills me. This week is also tactical week, which means all the classes for the week will involve Army tactics for infantry platoons and squads. I don't have much experience leading infantry squads, but the Army feels this stuff is important to know. Only 11 days left until Christmas Exodus.

BOC Sharp

The Long Road

It's already the beginning of week 4. Although it is moving at a quick pace, the amount of stuff on our plate for the time ahead makes me weary. Exodus may be a welcome respite.

I had CQ duty yesterday. As such, I had access to the company scale when I did my security checks. I am now 10 pounds below where I was when I came here. It puts me at the lowest weight I have ever weighed since joining the army. My weight after WLC was even greater than my current weight now. I am 3 pounds lighter than when I met my wife. The combination of stress, lack of food, and physical activity seems to be eating away at my body at an extreme rate. 10 pounds in three weeks is not ultra unhealthy, but it is pretty quick from what I'm used to. On a plus side, the decrease in weight allows me to belt out pushups like they're nothing. It also allows me to do pullups. I haven't been able to do more than 2 pullups at a time, well, ever. I am now up to about 5-6. On the other plus side, my wife should notice a different husband when I come home. I haven't really looked at myself in the mirror, but I assume that the decrease in weight yields a slightly different body type. Maybe the abs I know I have will finally show.

The 24 hour pass ended abruptly. Most of us figured that the sign in formation was more of a formality since we would be on "study time" and not "study barracks." I think a lot of people hoped to hop in their cars and go study at Starbucks. Instead, the duty trainer informed us that we don't have those privileges yet since it isn't officially week 4. I am taking a short study break now before I go back to reading "Once An Eagle," our assigned book for the platoon. I wouldn't mind the assignment much if we were allowed to choose our book like other platoons. Instead, we were assigned the 1300 page novel about two competing officers. I find it horrible. The story is somewhat interesting, however the prose used to tell the story is not linear and doesn't really allow you to get to know the characters. It seems to jump in time quite a bit. I'm at 500 pages in this sucker and my goal is to have it done by the 19th. Given a parallel assignment to prepare a presentation, I doubt that I will be able to complete the novel by then. I would really hate to have to read it during my break. Either way, it will get done. Nothing much else to say, I think. The new week begins tomorrow with new challenges and new possible pitfalls. Life drags on.
-BOC Sharp

The Three Week Phase

It is written in the OCS SOP that after week three, certain restrictions can and will be lifted. However, this company has already shown that they don't mind tightening the standard. Most of us did not believe that we would finally receive the transition from study barracks to study time. Study time allows candidates to spend their evenings studying in locations away from the barracks to someplace on post. It can be a good time to go to the PX and get stuff necessary to help out on class study. We also received word that we can now use the vending machines to buy soda or snacks. Before now, it was forbidden. This change puts a little light in the hearts of many of my friends here. In some ways, it is better to be college option. They look at this like a party, for they just came from basic training. Going from prison lockdown to this place must seem like a breath of fresh air. To those of us straight from the real Army, however, there are some adjustment issues. Gone are the days where you went to work, did your PT, did your mission, and came home. Here, you don't come home. It seems like the mission goes forever and sleep may never actually come. Nevertheless, we must endure.

I have some fears right now. My performance Friday on the leadership development course was less than stellar. A couple of people in my squad did not necessarily want to follow my plan, so they tried to make their own. It showed I didn't have control over them. I managed to earn a satisfactory, but the fact that I know I didn't have control concerns me. The single most important leadership evaluation here is the leadership lanes in the field. If you don't get evaluated with a positive note there, you might as well get ready for a recycle back to day 1 OCS. In my case, I am TDY from my unit's training funds. If I don't pass, it's back to Fort Hood and back to Guardrail. I might as well kiss my Army career good-bye at that point for I refuse to put in 20 enlisted years. I would basically just let my contract run out and find something else to do.

The graded 3 mile went well on Friday for me. I managed to run 22:58. That is the fastest I have ever run 3 miles in my life. Those who ran faster than 21:00 got positive spot reports and there were quite a few. I somewhat think that this result is why the cadre are allowing us to have a few more privileges. We were also allowed a 24 hour pass this weekend, which will allow me to finish some much needed errands. I have already bought over 300 dollars worth of uniforms and equipment necessary for me to set up a decent SOP locker display. Right now, it's Saturday night. I am considering a trip downtown to watch "The Punisher." I'm not sure how many people will be there, but I don't feel like spending too much of the evening in the barracks. I do have to sleep here tonight because I have CQ duty early tomorrow morning. My plate tomorrow consists of a trip to the barber and the laundromat. The fun will continue for a couple of weeks.

Coming this week: It's tactical operations week. Each day will be a quiz on specific tactical operations of an infantry platoon or squad. There is also a graded 7 mile ruck march probably with an insane amount of equipment and an insane pace. The ability group run is Monday and given my time, they are going to try and get me to run in B group. Last week, I could barely keep up with C group so I am going to try and stay in it. Combatives 2 will be on Tuesday and platoon PT will be on Thursday. There is a graduation run on Friday for B Company, who graduate just after exodus. Should be yet another insanely busy week.

BOC Sharp, signing off.

It's Always Warm Here Before It Rains

Never believe that south Georgia is warm in the winter, because it certainly isn't. However, today we enjoyed a fairly warm day. I noticed last week on Friday it was fairly warm right up until it rained. Today was the same way. It was warm right up until it rained. It's kind of fitting given the OCS experience. Things churn by well until it starts to get bad.

We came back from Thanksgiving without incident. Given how hard my cohorts partied all weekend, I expected something to happen along the lines of a late person to formation or maybe a drunken incident. Everyone was able to return on time without any problem. I was pleasantly surprised. Two weekends in a row of passes without incident usually means that we get more passes. This weekend isn't looking good though. There's already an 8 hour map reading class on the schedule for Saturday from 0800 to 1600. 8 hours of map reading on a Saturday. My guess is it will be yet another class that parallels what I already know from WLC or BNCOC. We have to cater to the college ops though.

The return from Thanksgiving yielded a grouchy cadre. They have driven the student leadership nuts. A few incidents have disturbed me with regard to the cadre this week, but it's not really legal for me to discuss them here. Needless to say, people have received Class 2s (comparable to an Article 15 in which you receive extra duty, but it's not an official UCMJ act) like candy this week. There has been a lot of yelling due to people falling asleep in class. The problem is that there have been some late nights and early mornings due to disruptions in our lights out schedule. And then I had to work two nights of CQ in a row leading to two short nights for me. They decided on night 2 that nobody did the actual CQ cleaning details and the people from night 1 had to work it again. I tried to argue because the previous shift to ours was cleaning when we took over for them and we cleaned before we went off duty. Explanations fell on deaf ears and we endured sleep deprivation. Our instructors told us to submit a memo requesting the cadre to allow caffeine for class. Apparently this is how it's done in OCS, but the cadre have already informed us not to waste our time. So, people fight the urge to sleep in class and we all get punished. Mass punishment is a favored method of the cadre, despite the fact that all it does is make people mad.

The physical aspect of OCS continues to be hard. I ran with the correct run group on monday and it started out at a dead run. I clocked about a 6:50 pace during the first mile. At the 1.5 mile point they stopped to do hill repeats, but if they didn't, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to maintain that pace for the entire 3 miles. When we finally resumed our run, the cadre told us that they apologize that it was so slow, but they had to run back to their office and then catch up to the formation to lead it and were too tired to run the formation at their desired pace. I thought I was retarded for thinking it was fast, but my buddies confirmed that it was furious. Not sure what will happen next week. Wednesday was the second 5 mile ruck march. About 10 extra pounds was added to the march due to our LBV. The extra weight put me at 58 pounds. They marched us at a 15:40 pace, 3 minutes faster than the standard. One person fell out - probably someone who could have passed the march if they had gone the minimum standard. Not only that, the marching standard IAW Army regs states you are supposed to rest after the first 40 minutes. We didn't do that. Yet another candidate possibly screwed out of OCS. I feel bad for these candidates.

Tomorrow is the graded 3 mile run. It is yet another opportunity to screw candidates. Our company's policy is that you will run it at a 9 minute pace. If you run it too slow, you will receive a negative SPOT report. These add up to Class 2s and eventually add up to a drop from OCS. Problem with this is that the OCS standard says all you need to do is complete the run. 9 minutes doesn't sound like it's all that fast, but there are people here who definitely can't run that. Some of them can pass a PT test with a 19 minute 2 mile! Why should they have to be able to run 3 miles in 27 minutes! We'll see what happens with that.

Anyhow, tomorrow is a test on Leadership, Ethics, and Military Law. After that, we hit up the leadership reaction course. It should be a basic obstacle course where one person acts as leader and gets their team over the obstacle. The last time I have ever done this was an NCO team building session back in 2006. This one apparently has obstacles over very cold water. Everyone in the company is hoping for an overnight pass after the map reading class on Saturday. After this week, a little bit of time off would be fantastic. I have to apologize for my tone today, but I'm feeling a bit depressed and dejected. My wife and child are on my mind often and school rules do not allow me to talk to her every night. Also, the way things have been this week have really knocked around my mood. Hopefully, this next week will be better on me. Until next time, OC Sharp out.

Curving the Bullet

Do you think in OCS they teach you how to curve the bullet?

Who knows. That might be a useful skill though. Although, I'm not sure if that can be done easily with an M16.

The weekend is almost over. I have to report in tomorrow at about 1. After that, it's on to another week of wine and roses. At the first opportunity yesterday, I picked up the book "Once An Eagle" by Anton Myrer. This is the book that is required reading for our platoon. The book report on it will be due on January 5th. I was quite shocked to find that the book is 1228 pages. Not exactly a lot of time available to read this sucker. I spent a few hours last night and a few hours this morning reading the huge novel. Let me tell you, it's no easy read. It's overloaded with over descriptive prose and a non-linear yet overly simple story. I bet if you used traditional linear prose, this book would be about 100 pages long. I have already read 200 pages in it and it has gone absolutely nowhere. The author (God rest his soul, Anton Myrer is known to be a renowned military writer) spends a great deal of time (and pages) describing irrelevant objects and scenery. For example, in one scene, the main character is sitting on a porch with a girl overlooking a meadow. The conversation they are having revolves around what he sees his future to be. The conversation, essential to the story, takes only a few pages. However, the author spends pages and pages describing the meadow, the porch, the front yard, and even the house. It's infuriating to read and it's not the type of book I would ever read on my own. Finishing it and forcing myself to read it has already been painful. Funny thing is, I'm a huge reader. I read all the time, but this book has not interested me at all. I may murder it in my book report. It is also full of these little preachy elements about the duty and honor of an Army officer. It kind of reads like the Bible in some ways. Just passages about how to be good. Either way, I think this is just another OCS game of how much we really want that LT bar and I will go through the motions.

I have mixed feelings about going back tomorrow. I have enjoyed the freedom and the relaxation very much. Not only that, I've been able to talk to Susie every day for long periods of time and I've been able to navigate my own schedule. Returning to prison will not be pleasant. On the other hand, the sooner I get back there, the sooner this whole thing will tick by to the end. At the conclusion of week 5, I will grab a plane back to Killeen and spend Christmas with my two favorite ladies. Anywho, this is me signing off for now. Not sure when I'll be able to write again.

-BOC Sharp

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

So, it's Thanksgiving. This four day weekend will be one of a number of holidays that will interrupt our stay here in the lovely Ft. Benning, GA. As per Army tradition, the entire company filed into the dining facility to receive turkey, stuffing, ham, and lots of other stuff from their chain of command dressed in Army blues. It's actually one of the Army traditions I like. Who doesn't like receiving grub from those who make your life miserable? I know, Monday things will be different. As student XO, there was a certain rapport with the cadre. They didn't yell at us, they guided us. They answered our questions in an even tone. We even had laid back meetings with them without having to worry about locking up at attention and making boxing movements to leave their offices. It could have something to do with the fact that we did an excellent job. It wasn't hard. We had a student first sergeant who was a first sergeant in real life. The student CO was an MI guy who had been in for 6 years just like me. And then there was me. Three prior Army service guys in leadership positions when we are all accustomed to leadership positions made the student leadership procedures seem easy. We rock. I handed off my XO duties today after briefing my successor. He should be fine. I made up the DEFAC schedule for him, set up his detail schedule, and even emailed all of my electronic documents I created to organize the job. He should have it a lot easier than I had it. After all, he doesn't have to write the SOP.

After handing off my XO duties, I left post bound for the Fairfield Marriot. I will stay here for the weekend, but I have a whole weekend planned with some of my classmates. Tonight, I will head off to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch some football and drink adult beverages with some of my fellow candidates. This is the time to unwind, because next week's schedule looks as crazy as this week's schedule. I am very happy I am no longer XO.

-Basic Officer Candidate Sharp

The Game - Must play the Game

Well, what did we do this week. We had a class on Call for Fire, which is basically the message format and methodology used to direct artillery to a target. Most people took it for granted, but my experience has shown me that this method should be learned. In MI, we are one of the few support elements that can actually call for fire. So I learned it. I don't know what I got on the test, but I'm pretty sure it was high. I found it easy. The rest of our daytimes were spent doing Warrior Tasks and Drills training. I find this type of training tedious and boring. It's written for a monkey and we did like 20 hours of it this week. Being in for 6 years and having this training all the freakin time make it a little difficult to endure as well. But, like a trooper, I got through it.



Today was also the first 5 mile road march. It went well. I have also been XO this week and hand that duty over tomorrow (thank God.) It was demanding and we had to improve on the room SOP submitted by the previous leadership from last week. I sat up under my covers with the laptop until midnight every night getting it done. The final product though is quite impressive, even if I do say so myself. I foresee the commander approving the SOP. In addition to the SOP, my XO duties required me to coordinate chow, coordinate equipment and classes going to the WTBD course, make sure MRE's were available for training, making sure safety points were set, and basically making my CO look good. I think I did a great job.

So, to my surprise they are giving us this weekend off starting at about 1 PM tomorrow. We have to endure the Army tradition of your chain of command serving you food. It's ok, I can't check into my hotel room until about 3 anyway. Yep, that's right, I'm going to chill in a hotel this weekend doing some swimming, watching some movies, and basically just chilling out. I do have a date with some of my fellow officer candidates to see some Thanksgiving football at Buffalo Wild Wings tomorrow night. But, if you can't tell, I plan to vent this weekend. I also need a nice place where I can try and nurse my muscle wounds and maybe try and combat this darn cold. I have marriot points that will allow me to stay three nights free, so it shouldn't be a financial burden. Then again, I may choose to pay for it anyway and use even more points later. I'm all about saving.

One Week Down - Eleven to go. Kill me.

In the Army, it's amazing what we volunteer for. We really do volunteer to have our rights and freedoms stripped away from us in favor of a military life with military benefits. I was looking oh so forward to OCS and oh so forward to what it will get me. After this week, it feels a million miles away.

It's hard to believe it's only been a week. I swear it feels like a month. The first week was like any phase 4 in the military with a few horrible changes. Yes, you have to everywhere with your camel back. Yes, you have to run everywhere you go if not in a group of 3 or more. (And if you're in a group of 3 or more, you march.) Unfortunately, the schedule is so tight, that you end up running everywhere anyway. A few times this week has even seen company formation runs in ACUs and boots!!! It's like Airborne school. Both times, people fell out hurting. The result of those times was a nice long yell from the First Sergeant. All right, here's how my week went down.

Sunday: Signed in. It was very laid back all day until the recall formation at 1500. Until then, we were allowed to roam free and we all were thinking that this OCS thing would be a walk in the park. We did have to complete some additions to the packing list that took the whole day. Then we reported to the recall formation and we in processed until midnight. Usually that's fine, but wake up on Monday was 0400. Got maybe 3 hours of sleep if that. The cadre take their jobs very seriously here. They told us on this night that the class was overbooked by 20. The PT test on Tuesday would determine if we made the cut. Prior service with ATTRS confirmation need only pass the PT test. College option (people who went to college and then joined the Army to become an officer) had to compete. They might be able to only cut 8, because they might be able to field 172. So, they put us to bed and got us up after our "nap."

Monday: Weigh and tape. They weighed me and, alas, I was 5 pounds over. I was happy because just a few weeks before I was 10 pounds over. I got chewed for being overweight, but I easily made tape at 19 percent. Apparently in the infantry school, being overweight but not over fat is a crime. Still meets the Army standard though. Then we learned at breakfast the procedures for getting through the chow line in order for all 180 people in the company to eat. Basically, each candidate only eats for 5 minutes. Right after meals, you have to run to get to the next formation. Indigestion has already started combined with fantastic Army DEFAC food. Cadre picked the student leadership for the week which include student First Sergeant, CO, XO, Platoon Leaders, Platoon Sergeants, Squad Leaders, and Team Leaders. I am a team leader in charge of 5 soldiers. I was put in 3rd platoon. Today I learn that Delta company is what is known as the "lock down" company. It used to be the candy company, but the CO is fairly new and came in with a new sheriff in town attitude. We got our OCS SOP's today, which is a book on how to act and perform here. We have to always have it on us and have our faces in it while standing in line or just standing. It's very cold here right now, about 40 or so during the day and 20 at night.

Tuesday: PT test. It was 19 degrees outside and I knew it would be a hard one. I didn't do too well at all and the Captain who graded me seemed to think that 79 sit ups equals 69. He put the wrong number on my PT card. It's still passing, but whatever. My run stunk. I had trouble breathing through the cold wind. About 20 people failed the test. The Cadre decided they would keep the basic training PT standard of 50 50 50 and drop those who were below that. We are down to 172. Our class is now fielded. More in processing stuff today and a lot more fun from the Cadre, especially "Captain America" who seems to think that the American Special Forces were created to fight the Japanese in WWII. We learned today that all College OPs compete for their favored branch. If they want to branch something they want, they have to get a high standing in the course. Glad I'm direct select and my branch is locked in. We moved rooms today since we have "classed up." I had to be roomed with a college op who is a different race than me. I got a really nice guy though, so no regrets.

Wednesday: More BS in processing stuff and doctrine. I'm already tired of sprinting everywhere. There is no free time and we have only 1 hour per day to do laundry and only 6 working machines in the entire company for 172 people. Math doesn't work. Indigestion is bad. Catching a cold from the damn college ops who just came from basic.

Thursday: Obstacle course. More of a confidence course, really, although all I got from hanging upside down in a contorted position seeing only 30 feet of air between me and the ground was a desperate desire to quit and go back to be a staff sergeant. But I endured and it was the most difficult physical experience of my life. I still can't climb a rope and lack of coordination caused me to fail another obstacle. I have bruises on both arms, both legs, and no muscle strength left. One guy broke his femur and he's out of the course. One girl went on emergency leave and she's out. 170 left. Oh, and guess what, there's a Battalion run tomorrow. Falling out of it would be very bad, I hear.

Friday: 4 mile battalion run went ok, but I hurt quite a bit. Had a ceremony that officially opened the class and many people (not including myself) showed up with the same dirty uniform used for yesterday's obstacle course. First Sergeant believes in mass punishment - we all have to write a 1000 word essay on "pride and discipline" by Sunday. We also had combat water survival today. Basically, you have to jump into a pool with all of your battle gear and swim. Then they knock you off of a diving board blindfolded and expect you to maintain control over all of your equipment including your weapon. They they throw you in deep water and you have to remove all of the equipment strapped to your body under water. I had no problem, easy task. Wish the obstacle course was easier. Indigestion is getting bad. Cold is really bad. Pretty sure I am running a slight fever. Just learned that I am the new student XO - the one job I really, really didn't want.

Saturday: First official day as XO. It is a demanding and busy job. Previous leadership did not do the barracks SOP up to the new CO's standards, so I have to personally redo it. I have to put in work orders for the barracks. I have to coordinate logistics for a WTBD site on Tuesday, have to supervise three separate details daily. Really, according to the last XO, I have to get chewed out at least three times a day. However, it is a good position of exposure and so far I have done it ok and people have said really good things. I may eek a good eval out of this one. Today we spent the day waxing floors, cutting grass, painting lines on a street, raking acorns, and basically anything not fun that didn't involve free time.

Sunday: I miss my wife and daughter a ton. Got to text my wife throughout the day. Cadre gave us 0830 to 1400 away from the AO to take care of business. We have a lot of business and that time was nowhere near sufficient especially with 170 people at the PX at the same time trying to do the same things and stand in the same lines. It was interesting in that it was just nice to drive around today. Supposedly, this will be a short week since the Battalion commander will give us thanksgiving weekend as a pass. However, I already know I have at least CQ on Thanksgiving day and maybe Staff duty sometime that weekend. It won't be very restful.

Anyway, that's week 1 of OCS. I'm not enjoying it very much, but it is getting better and the people here are really nice. The Cadre seem to care a great deal and they're actually very professional, so that could lead to good things down the line as well. From everyone I've talked to, getting through two weeks is the key. After that, it's just routine. So, I'll continue playing the game in the hopes of acquiring that coveted LT bar. Talk soon.

Pre OCS - Arrival into Columbus

So, I have arrived into Columbus, Georgia.

The idea at this point is to chill out for 48 hours before I finally sign into Fort Benning. My plans for the next 48 hours are pretty simple, really. I have to go to Ft. Benning Clothing and Sales to obtain the following:

1) More "Follow Me" Class A patches
2) A Ft. Benning road guard vest properly marked with my name
3) OCS Class A insignia
4) OCS officer's handbook
5) Some OCS rank

Anyway, if you are reading this, then you likely got a link to it either through me or someone I sent the link to. I figure it might be therapeutic to record some of the OCS "highlights" as I experience them. I won't lie that I feel very apprehensive about signing into the US Army infantry school for 12 weeks. It will be an environment much like that I experienced in Phases 1-4 of basic training. I fully expect a confining experience. If there is less confinement than I thought, then I will be pleasantly surprised.

Ok, so where to start. I left home Thursday really sad. I just had a baby about two weeks ago and I was just really beginning to enjoy her company. Then there's my fantastic and beautiful wife, who I haven't really been apart from more than about two weeks at a time. 12 weeks will be a really long time, and then after that we only have a few weeks together before I drive back to Benning once again. If I'm lucky, I might get Christmas exodus - that two week period when units go to half days and all units in training have the option to take that time off. OCS is a TRADOC (i.e. training) unit and should have the 20th of December through the 2nd of January off. However, another OCS blog of a guy who went during a class last Christmas mentioned that in Basic Phase, his platoon came up on CQ (a type of guard duty) during the two week exodus period. They got stuck in town. So, if I'm lucky, I get to come home for Christmas. Meanwhile, I will deeply miss my wife and child. I've been told that my baby won't miss me as much as I miss her, but still. I guess this is a good warm up for the future when deployments will take me away from home for a year or more. I love them both so much and I will miss them deeply.

Tonight I'm chillin at the Marriott Fairfield just north of post. Columbus, the town outside of Benning, is a lot like Killeen. The difference seems to be that the infrastructure here is a lot more maintained. In Killeen, you can go a couple of blocks from a good place and find buildings falling down, debris in the streets, etc. Here, there's none of that. It also seems to share Killeen's love for chain restaurants. I did find a Steak n' Shake here. That's a plus. There are a lot of trees here and quite a few hilly areas as well. I expected it to be flat. Due to a freak monsoon when I arrived in town about 5 PM local (1700) I didn't feel it was a good idea to try and explore the post. Plus 1700 in a military town is not a good time to wander the streets.

I've also noticed a complete lack of soldiers in uniform here. In Killeen, you can't go into an establishment without running into someone in uniform. Then I realized why. 90 percent of the personnel at Fort Benning are in Basic Training, Infantry school, AIT, etc. All of those include confinement on post during most of the training. Anyone you see wandering around outside of it would be post Cadre, who represent a much smaller segment of the population.

So, I think I'm done rambling. I think I'm doing it because I'm bored. As mentioned before, my plans for tomorrow are to wander onto post, go to clothing and sales, and maybe catch "Quantum of Solace." I tried to find a theater tonight, but I kinda failed. So, until tomorrow, I will cease my ramblings. Peace.