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.
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| The Side Plank! |
