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 Because of that, our study time was revoked for Wednesday and Thursday and would be replaced by a GI pary.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.