Thursday, October 25, 2012

Intermediate Stage

Two things happened at the end of September drill- We got moved up to "Intermediate Stage" and I got promoted to Platoon Leader for my first leadership evaluation.

October drill: We were in our first formation waiting on the cadre when they came up and immediately started yelling at us for being in the wrong uniform (despite what was published in the schedule). The weekend went downhill from there... It was frustrating to have spent as many hours as I did between drills to prepare myself and the rest of the platoon just to watch it all fall apart right in front of me. Needless to say we didn't really get to experience the carrot on the stick known as Intermediate Stage for very long. It was supposesd to include such benefits as not having to sit on the front 6" of our chairs in the dining facility, not having to eat "square meals" (the OCS tradition of making each motion with your fork at 90 degree angles- yeah, its about as dumb as it sounds) and we could have worn just our Camelbacks and soft caps rather than our kevlar helmets and load carrying vests. Supposedly they treat you with a little more dignity. Like I said- carrot on a stick stuff. The repeal of Intermediate Stage meant we'd get it back in a different way- it would now be awarded to individuals rather than the group as a whole. The individuals who demonstrate leadership (with a passing leadership evaluation) and visibly pull their own weight will be moved to a different platoon and get to enjoy the benefits of while the rest are made to look like incompotent fools. This is apparently the same way Oklahoma OCS uses the stage system. (Note: Intermedate Stage and Phase II are different. They are independent of one another. Stages dictate how miserable you are (beginner, intermediate and senior) and phases indicate what part of the training you're in (0, I, II, and III).)

The good news is we're halfway done with OCS.

The classroom material has gotten more interesting, this month we were focusing on military tactics- the art and science of how battles are won. Love that stuff.

As far as what I learned from my leadership evaluation- I got an over all "no-go" on my assesment, which means I'll have another chance later on to try again. I'm on track for the course and display good leadership traits- I just have the additional hurdle of being an 09S without the military experience. My peers thought I did well- it's just a matter of convincing the cadre of the same.

The Side Plank!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Staring Into the Heart of Darkness

We lost four more so our numbers are down to 34. They all quit on their own accord and they were all  good people- this just isn't for everyone. The rest of us seem to have embraced the mentailty that we've invested too much already to just give up. One of our cadre calls it the momemnt that you stare into the heart of darkness and keep pushing.

The first drill after Phase I left us with some hope that things would get easier in Phase II since we have such a tight knit group of strong leaders- but the cadre are just requiring more and more from us to make sure we still struggle through this course. All part of the game- and for good reason. This shouldn't be an easy course to get through.

A note for the leadership- learn from the people who had the position before you. You're going to make mistakes, but don't make the mistakes that have already been made.

We have a guidon now, so that's cool- our motto is Vires Et Honestas (Strength and Honor) and some of the artists in our class created our logo.



We keep pushing on, embracing the suck so we can get those gold bars. 

Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Start of Phase II

I'll probably start to taper off here in the level of detail as we go through Phase II and I'll hit the highlights over the course of the next year. By now we're starting to know what to expect on a monthly basis and the class is really coming together. Class 55 is a year ahead of us and just finished Phase II. Going into the weekend they had a class of 15. Six were pulled and said they had two choices- recycle with 56 or drop the course as the instructors deemed them unready to progress to Phase III. That's a tough pill to swallow as they've now spent over 16 months in the program, only to have to start over in Phase II. We don't know the exact circumstances of why those six didn't make it but it was a sobering weekend that made us all a little nervous. Two look like they may rejoin our class but no final decisions have been made. As of now Class 56 has 38 candidates.

We expected Phase II to start with a bang- the instructors telling us how sorry we are, how we'll never make it, how we forgot everything from Phase I, and on and on. But that didn't happen. Our student leadership was on the ball all weekend and we actually impressed the cadre. That's not to say we were perfect- we spent plenty of time in the dirt but overall we did a solid job. If we can keep it up for a few more months we'll have a good shot at making it to intermediate phase where supposedly the cadre take some pressure off. I'm not holding my breath.

We spent a lot of time in the classroom this drill. Most of it was purely death by powerpoint- Army Ethics, Army Writing, Army Leadership, Effective Listening, etc. All part of learning to be an officer but everyone (including the instructors) would rather be in the field.

We had a short religous service on Sunday morning that was led by an OC- it was the first time we'd done that  in Texas and I was glad the Cadre gave us time for it.

We talked briefly about graduation- we need to sart collecting dues for the graduation ball, our company guidon, and class shirts in the magnitude of tens of thousands of dollars. Apparently the ball is quite the expensive ordeal. It seems like a long way off at this point but hopefully the next year goes by quickly.

Monday, June 25, 2012

OCS Phase I: Kansas

Most of the things I heard about Phase I turned out to be untrue. It was worse than what people made it out to be. I'm not sure if we just had a tough crop of cadre but the intensity on day one continued for the whole two weeks.

Travel Day


We were slated to leave Camp Swift in Texas early in the morning, so most of us went down the night before to do a gear layout and save ourselves from waking up in the middle of the night to drive to Austin. That turned out to be a good choice. The people that didn't were scrambling the next morning to unpack and repack all their gear to ensure they had all the items on the packing list. [Note: they didn't send anyone home for packing list deficiencies but it makes you look bad when you give the excuse that you weren't issued something. Plan on spending a good amount of your first few drill checks on buying things your supply sergeant won't issue you.] We left in two charter busses with 43 officer candidates on schedule. Per Texas tradition we made a "say goodbye to Texas" stop at the first rest stop in Oklahoma and got smoked there before continuing on. About 11 hours later we arrived at the Kansas  Regional Training Institue (KSRTI). It wasn't what I was expecting- just a few buildings in the middle of Salina, KS. Immediately after arriving, we got smoked for about three hours by the Texas cadre. Long day.

Welcome to Kansas


Day two started out with in-processing and the opening ceremony. From there, 130 candidates representing Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois were marched onto the parade field. That's when everything broke loose. The hot afternoon sun already bumped temps into the 100's and the TAC's just had at us. It was an hour of low crawling, push ups, flutter kicks, front-back-go's, 3-5 second rushes, and any other forms of exercise the individual TAC's felt like throwing in. At breakfast we were told to take a piece of fruit for a snack later on- when I went through bananas were all that was left. Needless to say, it did not survive this event and it destroyed my brand new OC Guide and training schedule... outstanding. A few people were immediately dropped from the program as heat casualties- you have to show up hydrated and in excellent physical condition. We finally got into our assigned squads and platoons which had an even mix of people from all the represented states. The rest of the day was more smoke sessions and getting our lockers and beds inspection ready. Usually we'd come back to our bays looking like this:




Classroom Week

You'd think a week they call classroom week would be relatively easy, and in some aspects it was, but they found every opportunity to smoke us. Lights out was between 2230 and 0430. Usually you were lucky to be in bed by 2330 and then there was generally fireguard that would take up another hour in the middle of the night. Four hours of sleep was the average most people got each night. Add on top of that the physical exhaustion that came from the activities outside the classroom, and heavy meals right before and it made staying awake a constant battle. Each day was about eight hours of death by Powerpoint and tests were given at the end of the blocks of instruction. Each test had to be passed with a 70% or above to continue in the program and none of the tests were a cake walk. The hardest test was probably the LandNav test. I would consider myself to be confident in my skills but this test also required speed. If you couldn't finish the problem in two minutes you weren't going to complete the test (the sleep deprivation also added a fun twist to this dilemma). I ended up passing all the test but I probably won't be up for any academic honors at the end of OCS.

Early on in classroom week we also completed a 5 mile ruck march. The time standard is the same for males and females and it must be completed in under 1:45:00 with a 35-40 lb ruck, not including water, helmet, and load bearing vest. The fastest male finished in 59 minutes and the fastest female finished in 1:18. Average time was probably in the 1:25 range. The course was half pavement and half fine gravel roads and all of it was extremely flat. A lot of people had blisters after the event. I'd spent a lot of time preparing my feet beforehand so I was fine.

I also had my 48 hour leadership position during the first week. Be ready for failure and for everything to be your fault. No one on in our platoon got a "satisfactory" on their overall evaluation. Fortunately you don't need one until Phase II. I was a squad leader, so I was fairly low profile compared to the people that were 1st sergeant or company commander.

Field Week


My favorite part of OCS was the five minute helicopter ride to our bivouac site for our field training. I've never ridden in a helo before, so it was quite the experience. We got to ride in UH-60 Blackhawks with the doors open- I had a seat on the edge facing aft. I've never experienced anything like it. It was old hat for those who had been deployed but it sure beats a day at the office.

The rest of the week was largely dedicated to LandNav training. This is where a pair of well broken in boots was worth their weight in gold. Each day we were on the course twice- once during the day an once at night. Each course had us walking 4-6k of hilly, uneven terrain. (Somehow they actually found a hilly, vegetated plot of land in Kansas). We did the course with instructors, then small groups, then we did an individual diagnostic test, then the final day in the field we did our test. I got 7 out of 7 points in the day course but only 3 of 5 points at night. I got stuck on my 4th point. Pretty sure somebody moved it before I got there... Fortunately, the night course only required you to get 2 of 5 points to be a "go" for the test. We did all of our training exercises on the north course but the final test was on the south course. Everyone seemed to agree that the north course was harder overall but the south course was more difficult to use terrain association to navigate as the terrain wasn't as prominent. If you were fortunate enough to have trained at Camp Swift in Texas on the LandNav course the Kansas course shouldn't give you any trouble.

In between our time out in the field we had Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills to do. We each taught a skill and then everyone had to preform that task to standard. Passing all the drills was a graduation requirement. The drills are to the Army what a play book is to a basketball team. They are skills that are practiced over and over again until they become second nature skills that will save your life on the battlefield. We rehearsed everything from first aid, weapon assembly/disassembly, Nuclear disaster reaction, and planting explosives. I really enjoyed the hands on training and learned quite a bit more than what was taught in basic training.

The weather out in the field was typical of Kansas. Temps in the 100's and sustained winds of 30+ mph  all day long. We had one storm roll in that I got to watch while I was roving around the camp on fireguard. Watching the lightning dance across the open prairie was spectacular. They moved us into busses for a few hours until the lightning had all passed. We also got to enjoy the blanket of stars that stretched across the sky each night. I've never seen stars that clearly- even to the point that I could see the gaseous trails of the Milky Way. The field site was nothing short of a spectacular display of God's beautiful creation.

We had a church service out in the field on Sunday night, and it was quite heavily attended. Throughout the two weeks, I ran into a lot of people who were committed Christians. Three out of 40 people in our platoon were pastors on the civilian side and weren't there to be chaplains, but officers in combat arms. I was really encouraged to see so many believers stepping up to lead. The military truly is a mission field, and it looks like God is preparing a crop of officers to be salt and light to a community that needs to know him.

Recovery Ops

By the end of the two weeks I've never smelled so bad. The unhygienic ripeness was a badge of honor- earned by hard work and determination. We moved back to KSRTI for recovery ops by bus. We got back around 0200 after our night LandNav test and the TAC's were quick to remind us we weren't home yet. We were yelled and screamed at until we had all of our gear off the trucks and we were in bed. The next day we played "Combat Dodgeball" in place of our normal PT. That was actually really fun. From there we started getting everything ready for the battalion commander's inspection. Orders kept constantly changing as the deadline got closer and it was a struggle to get everything laid out like the TAC's wanted it. At the time the inspection was supposed to begin, they dragged us all outside and smoked the living daylights out of us. I was on the verge of puking my guts out when it was finally over. Apparently, there would be no inspection and we were ordered to secure all the gear we had laid out and go to sleep.

The last day was fairly chill. We cleaned everything, turned in our weapons, had a closing ceremony and were turned back over to our state's control. Immediately following the closing ceremony we boarded our busses back to the Lonestar State. We got smoked again after we crossed the Texas border at the first rest stop we came to. By that point it didn't phase any of it- we knew we were done. We came back with 39. We lost one soldier to paperwork issues, one female found out she was pregnant, one didn't pass LandNav, and one was a heat casualty on the first TAC attack on day one. And from here Texas Class 56 moves on to Phase II.

If you're going to Phase I, here are a few things not on the packing list that you'll want to have.
  • Fox River Socks- Yeah, they're expensive, but when you spend days on your feet you can't put a price tag on blister free feet.
  • Protractor- Because the standard issue one sucks.
  • Ranger Beads- An essential for LandNav.
  • Master Lock Speed Dial- Perfect for operating under pressure and in the dark. I HIGHLY recommend getting these. Follow the instructions precisely when setting it up. Also available at Lowes.
  • Super Fine Map Pens- The smaller your points are on the map, the more accurate you can be. And when you're looking for a square 4 inches by 6 inches on a course that's a square mile in size, precision matters.
  • Baby Wipes- Most days showers won't be an option. Especially out in the field.
  • Name tapes/patches- To make your life easier, set up your uniforms (including patrol caps) with all the patches, name tapes, and rank insignia you need. You'll be glad you did.
My advice to anyone about to go through this is to look at one thing at a time. Don't worry about what's coming up next week, tomorrow or even an hour from where you currently are. One thing at a time. Don't count days. Just focus all your energy on what you're doing at the moment and do it well. Show up in shape. If you don't prep for the time in your boots you'll immediately regret it. Hydrate hydrate hydrate. They can inflict pain and take away sleep but they can't hurt or kill you. If you've gone through basic training then there's no reason you can't complete this.

*All photos taken from Kansas Officer Candidate School Alumni Association Facebook page

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

GX Magazine Phase I Article

Class 56 is just a few short days away from shipping off to Phase I in Salina, KS. I found the following article that glosses over what Phase I is like- its more Army Hooah than actual content, but I'll give a much better breakdown when I return.

In the meantime: GX Magazine 7.1 (article on pg. 38-39)

Here we go!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Pre-OCS Phase 0 (Weekend 3 of 3)

Lies your recruiter tells you: "One weekend a month, two weeks a year." Hardly. For the last eight weeks I've been working out six days a week at 0500 (okay later on Saturday...), then there's all the time spent coordinating with your home unit for supplies, paperwork, signatures, pay, etc... On top of that add the stress of just anticipating next drill and the challenges ahead of you. And I still need to spend more time studying than I have been, so this isn't a part time job, this is a lifestyle. It's a good thing I'm not doing it for the money because it's not worth the paycheck.

The last drill in Phase 0 is focused on completing your packet, the record APFT, and land nav. Friday night was as usual, we turned in any missing items from our application packet and set up our lockers and bunks to meet our unit standard operating procedures (SOP). It felt good to finally have all the puzzle pieces in my packet- one less thing to worry about. We didn't get smoked as we had the PT test in the morning, so at least we knew we were "safe."

Saturday morning lights came on at 0430 and we took the PT test. I was pretty intimidated going into the test because OCS cadre are much more strict on counting push-ups than anyone else, and it's my worst event (see previous blog entries). I've been working hard and praying hard and the Lord blessed me with the strength to get 47 (counted) push-ups. Nothing to brag about, but it qualifies. I really don't see a strong correlation between troop leadership ability and the ability to push oneself off the ground repeatedly in two minutes. My two mile time was a minute faster than what I'd been running at home and what I got two months ago at the diagnostic PT test- the course I run at home is hilly and a little longer than two miles so that helps. All glory to God for that- he is the one that gives me the strength to make it through the things he has called me to do.

The day continued on the land nav course. We broke into buddy teams and received new coordinates to find that were different than the ones we had last month. All of ours were deep in the woods with no good terrain markers to help us identify where our points were. We had a good plan and were on course to get 4 out of 5 of our points until point 3 wasn't anywhere we thought it would be. We spent too much time looking for it and had to scramble to get out of the woods. Well we made a mistake. Rather than just trudging our way through a few hundred meters of brush to get to the road so we could haul back to the start point, we thought it'd be easier to travel through the clearings in the general direction we needed to go to get back to the start point. Well we got all turned around, had no idea where on the map we were and I started running low on water. I started to get heat cramps and knew I needed to be careful. We finally found the road seven minutes before the time was up, and to our surprise we were just a few hundred meters from the finish point- how that happened, I have no idea. We finished in time but failed to get enough points to receive a "go" for the course. Not a big deal, it's just practice and honestly I learned more by getting disoriented than I did last month when we got all five points. (Side note on gear: the protractor they issue you for plotting points absolutely sucks. Buy this one instead.)

As soon as we got back the TAC sergeants started smoking everybody for some leadership failure. That was rough. The cadre could tell something was wrong with me and sent me to the medic. Turns out it was just heat cramps and they gave me some electrolytes and we ate dinner and I started feeling better.

We did a night land nav course after dinner and we failed that one miserably. As did everyone else I'm pretty sure. I got a go on the night course at Fort Jackson at basic but it was a cake walk compared to the course we had. The biggest problem is trusting your equipment, your pace count, and your training. The darkness freaks a lot of inexperienced people out and you kind of feel like the thick woods are just going to eat you alive. Before we went to bed at 0100 we got smoked again for failure to work like a team. The senior TAC sergeant gave us a lecture on how we needed to spend more time preparing for this during the month and that we needed to look out for each other better. He was right. It just took a little sweat and blood and palms full of splinters to see his point. Long day.

Sunday the cadre had their PT test so we woke up at 0530 to clean the barracks.  Since Saturday was such a long hard day we didn't have a ton to do Sunday besides cleaning. We worked on D&C, did a few administrative things to make sure our travel pay was working, got smoked every once and a while and got briefed on Phase I.

It feels good to be done with Phase 0. It's a mental victory. We're officially Texas OCS Class 56 now and while it may get harder in Phase I and it's till a long haul to the end of Phase III, we're in. 250 applicants wanted a spot in the class this year. It's an honor and a privilege to be among the 40-something that will be given a chance and I don't take that lightly.

A few of the candidates from the area near where I live all met up for dinner at Texas Roadhouse before continuing home. I really like the guys and I'm glad to be going through the course with them. I can't explain what it feels like to eat dinner with a bunch of men that would lay down their lives for you and their country. It's humbling and I feel like even though I've only spent a few months with them they know what makes me tick- because they're the same way.

Not sure what the course Kansas is going to be like. I've heard everything from "it's a cake walk compared to Phase 0 and you get to ride in a Blackhawk helicopter to the land nav course" to "it was the hardest two weeks of my life." The internet is surprisingly quiet on the topic- its sad when you Google "OCS Phase I" and your own blog is one of the top results. I guess I'm going blind on this one. Sorry for the long post, if you're reading this to help you better understand what the course will be like hopefully you find this helpful.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Pre-OCS Phase 0 (Weekend 2 of 3)

This weekend was definitely different than the last drill. I hesitate to say it was easier or harder than last month, it was just different. As a class we were more prepared and the leadership seemed more put together. Also all of our TAC Sergeants were out, so we just had the regular cadre sergeants who don't feel the need to yell and scream as much. Out of the original 83 candidates we had 58 return for another round. About six of those were new- they didn't attend the first Phase 0, which is technically allowed but highly frowned upon. My squad leader from last drill didn't come back, so since I was Alpha team leader I got bumped to the squad leader position. Friday night was spent continuing to take care of paperwork deficiencies. Getting all the documents together for Phase I is a small miracle thanks to the efficiency of government employees. We got smoked once or twice Friday night but it wasn't bad. We were in bed by 2230.

Saturday we had a 5 mile ruck march with our kevlar helmet, LCE, and a 35-40 lb. ruck, plus water. All in all I probably had about 60 lbs. of gear. The standard to pass is 1 hour 45 minutes. It was still cool when we stepped off at 0600 in the dark. I settled into a 16 minute mile pace, which is the pace I had done a few training marches at- reasoning that coming in 25 minutes before the standard time is a pretty good time. The instructors, however, wanted to see times closer to 1:10:00, so I was a little too slow for their liking, but now that I know the times they're really looking for I'll adjust fire. We were told we couldn't bring commercial combat boots to Phase I in Kansas [later that was taken back, commercial boots may be worn as long as they meet the regs], so I used my standard issue boots, and they tore my feet up. Thank you lowest bidder for your excellent work. Looks like I'll need to be wearing them more often to keep from blistering up in Kansas.

The rest of Saturday was spent in the classroom doing a land nav test that they let us take with a battle buddy and reviewing the basics of how to apply the classroom portion to the practical course. Around 2000 we were in a mass formation and the cadre passed the word on to the student 1st sergeant to release us to our barracks for the night- most of us were in shock, the sun wasn't even totally down yet. So naturally we were excited to get a little free time. Right as they were giving us the orders the cadre stopped us and said we needed to stretch out first. No problem. I needed some good stretching time after the march that morning anyway. Well from there it took a nose dive- after the first two stretches, two of the officer cadre just started smoking us for the fun of it. Talking to a sergeant about this later, NCO's go through training on when to tell how much is too much. No doubt smoke sessions are meant to toughen up soldiers, but contrary to popular belief they aren't designed to injure or break people. Officers go through no such training. So for an hour and a half we got smoked. Some of the females were crying and one candidate stood up and quit the program. A minute after he did that we stopped and continued stretching. I about puked from how hard they worked us, but thankfully I didn't- that's not the kind of attention you want.

Sunday was the land nav course. The course is designed to be extremely difficult so that candidates excel on the actual course in Kansas for Phase I, which our cadre told us is a joke compared to our course. Driving up to the course I could tell the woods were so dense you could barely see the sun coming up through the trees. Dense underbrush would be an understatement. We needed to find 3 out of the 5 markers that we had grid coordinates for- which the cadre promised would not be an easy task. There were no beaten paths and this course regularly fails seasoned infantry sergeants. We had three hours to complete the course and somehow my team of three hobbled around on our hamburgered feet and got all 5. We were one of the only (if not the only) groups to do so.

Candidates interested in going to the accelerated OCS course had to write a letter explaining why they needed to go. As of leaving Sunday evening, I didn't hear of anyone getting approval to go. Most people were told no, and a few hadn't received an answer yet.

Sunday afternoon we spent cleaning the barracks and standing on the concrete in the hot sun until we had been there long enough to satisfy the training requirement. We got released at 1600 which is about an hour earlier than when the scheduled time was- no one complained. Another month down and only one month left in 0 Phase.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Pre-OCS Phase 0 (Weekend 1 of 3)

There is a sign on the entrance to Ranger school at Fort Benning that reads: "Not for the weak or faint-hearted." Well that about sums up the first weekend of Pre-OCS for Class 56. The course ran Friday night through Sunday night in a high stress atmosphere. Meaning, a lot of attention from the TAC Officers/NCO's and a lot of yelling and smoke sessions. TACs have replaced drill sergeants and are the cadre for the OCS course. Whenever speaking we had to address them with, "Sir/Sergeant, Officer Candidate [last name] (insert question comment, etc...)" They wear black patrol caps to distinguish themselves from us- as if they needed any help. All of our TACs are solid instructors. They're tough but they're also clearly there to teach you and help you learn- granted that doesn't mean they'll teach you nicely, but the knowledge you need eventually gets to you.

We did a diagnostic APFT test the first thing Saturday morning- and as expected the standards were strict.  The difference between a diagnostic and a record APFT is that the diagnostic doesn't go on your record. If people failed by more than 10% in any event they were sent home at the end of the weekend (scoring lower than a 50 in any event). For the Phase 0 record APFT in May the minimum passing score is 60 but to be competitive you need scores in the 70-80 range for each event. Starting phase 1 is all based on an OML. Think of Phase 0 as tryouts. Contrary to what my recruiter made it sound like, when you enlist as a 09S or officer candidate, your contract will get you into Phase 0 if you meet all the requirements. You aren't at any point guaranteed a commission. The odds of commissioning are actually very low. The class a year ahead of us (Class 55) had about 90 people in the start of Phase 0 and as of this weekend they're down to 15 in Phase 2 with five months to go. 09S candidates are looked down upon by the TACs as we have no experience whatsoever leading troops. No deployments, nothing. So we definitely have to prove ourselves. 17 candidates were sent home and requested not to come back. More will self-withdraw by next month. Class 56 started out with 83 candidates and slowly but surely that number is shrinking.

When we weren't getting smoked, we were in the classroom taking refresher courses on land nav[igation]. Next month we'll take a written exam and do a field exercise on a night and day land nav course. They generally didn't let us stay in the classroom for more than 45 minutes at a time without finding some reason to get us outside for a little exercise. We went to bed between 2200 and were up by 0500 both days, and we had fireguard shifts for an hour at some point during the night. The facilities including the bays were top notch. I was expecting run down- typical military condition buildings, but everything was new and in really nice shape. Texas has gotten awards for their OCS program and consistently ranks in the very top programs in all the states.

It's all a game. The TACs know its a game. And if I play their game for the next 17 months as hard as I can I'll have my butter bar.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Green Light to Pre-OCS

I retook my APFT this weekend and passed without any trouble. My LT made us all pass with a minimum of 70 points in each event (something he informed us of three days prior to the test...) not the Army standard of 60 in each event. I scored personal bests in both push ups and sit ups, so that was cool. Now I just need to repeat that performance for the next three months of Pre-OCS so I can move on to Phase 1 of OCS.

I submitted my application packet for OCS today as well, so I'm on track and ready to go down to Austin in a few weeks.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

OCS Symposium

This last weekend was the OCS Symposium for Class 56 at Camp Mabry in Austin. Essentially it was just a workshop set up to help candidates complete their packets for admission to OCS. I was skeptical at first and thought it would be a waste of time, but it was actually helpful in getting the packet together. A lot of the time was typical "hurry up and wait" but it's all part of the game. I found out I've had my security clearance for several months already- apparently it's been sitting on someone's desk for the whole time. We also found out Texas has funding for 30 to go to accelerated OCS- that's a huge difference compared to "Texas isn't sending anyone." With those kind of numbers half the class could go accelerated. It is all dependent on where the instructors rank you in the OML during Pre-OCS to determine if you get a slot or not.

Sunday morning we did an APFT, you need a passing score to move on to Pre-OCS that starts in March. My grader shorted me on at least 20 push-ups that I know I was doing correctly- so I only was given credit for 35, not enough to pass. At that point it didn't really matter what I did from there, if you fail one event you fail the whole thing. I maxed the sit-ups and got a decent run score considering I was too cold to feel my feet for the first 1/2 mile. We should have another chance to take the test next month at drill, that will be my only shot at getting into this class for OCS. I'm frustrated because I preformed well enough to exceed the standards, but I guess sometimes you have to be willing to prove that more than once.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.