Engineer BOLC- Alpha Module

Unsurprisingly, there isn't much written about BOLC from a student's perspective available on the internet, so I'll do my best to outline the things that are relevant. This first post will cover the first three weeks of the course, known as Alpha Module. Here are a few considerations for my overview of this course:

-I am here to learn a very specific set of skills that contain "trade secrets" vital to the success of the US Army on the battlefield. I will not discuss those things.

-The atmosphere for each class is very different and driven by the cadre mentors assigned to each class. The cadre for my class have been more relaxed and allowed this to be more of a "gentlemen's course." Friends of mine in adjacent classes have not had that experience.

Packing List
My welcome packet had two different packing lists that were similar but not identical. When in doubt, pack to the more rigorous requirement. There is a military clothing store on post (closed Mondays) that should help you close any gaps you have. If you arrive at FLW early I recommend knocking this out. There is no formal equipment layout- it's on you as an officer to ensure you have the equipment that's required of you when you arrive. I can't stress attention to detail enough here, bring what's on the list.

You'll need your federal oath of office (not state if you're Reserve or National Guard) almost as frequently as your orders. Have at least 10 on hand.

Only bring original documents (birth certificates, marriage license, etc...) if the data hasn't been entered into DEERS already. If your DEERS is up to date just bring copies.

You can bring your own TA-50 but you'll get issued everything you need here. For some reason they still rock the woodland LBE from before Desert Storm here at FLW, so none of your high speed MOLLE equipment will work here.

Make sure your boots are in compliance with the new AR 670-1. Since the new revision rolled out recently for our class, a lot of people had to go buy new boots that were in compliance.

The list also says to limit your civilian clothes. That's bad advice. You'll want a good supply of clothes to wear after duty hours every day and on the weekends. PT is light in this module so you'll be working out a lot on your own, bring several sets of civilian workout clothes. You'll have a large wardrobe for all your clothes, so storage shouldn't be an issue. Don't go overboard, but a weeks worth of civies and workout clothes should be sufficient.

Throughout the course you'll have plenty of time on the weekends/evenings for movies and video games so if you have a console I'd recommend bringing it; life as a BOLC student can get pretty boring some weeks.

Arrival
The welcome letter says that showing up at 0600 the Monday morning of the week your class starts is optional. It's not. I recommend arriving Sunday by noon to get moved in and finish up any shopping you may need to do before class starts. Arriving any sooner than that is unnecessary unless you have a lot to get done.

The very first building you'll go to is BLDG 470, STE 1201 (140 Replacement, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 enter on Replacement Rd side). Check in with them to get your room assignment and keys. Make sure to join the rewards program to start earning free nights at hotels in the Holiday Inn, Staybridge, and Candlewood chains.

It wouldn't hurt to call a couple of months ahead once you have orders to request a room in Morelli Heights. It's a convenient location that puts classes and a DFAC within walking distance of your room. Call 573-596-8331.

Find the main PX. You'll need to know where the parking lot is prior to the start of Day 2 and for all your Wal-Mart type needs.

It's advisable to get a PO box while you're here. If not, expect all mail to be delayed by at least a week as it gets an added steps of going to your company and building for sorting. A six month rental costs $33. The post office is across the street from the main PX.

Accommodations
As mentioned above, I'm staying in Morelli Heights. Recently, the Army privatized lodging and from everything I can tell it was a good move. Daily room service includes fresh towels, they make your bed, vacuum, and mop. It doesn't feel like the Army. It's just like a normal hotel. (Don't take the housekeeping for granted. If your room looks like a college dorm when they come in to clean they'll text pictures to the Battalion Commander and you'll end up on the powerpoint slides of how to get dismissed from the course.)

I got lucky and scored a room that has a detached bedroom so it feels more like a one bedroom apartment. Most of the rooms here have a kitchen area, bathroom, and a combined living room and bedroom.

The kitchen has a microwave, toaster, stove top, coffee pot, refrigerator and sink (no oven). It's good for making meals on the weekend when the DFAC is closed or for having a quick breakfast. Silverware, plates, cups and bowls are also provided but bring your own cooking utensils/pots/pans, those are not provided.

There is free wifi and wired internet in the hotel, but both are very slow. I typically clock an unimpressive 0.25 mbps. You might be able to stream Netflix if no one else is online and the picture quality settings are as low as they'll go. I think the internet is faster in Afghanistan. Same goes for cell signal. Verizon seems to work slightly better, but my phone never lasts the whole day on one charge because it's always looking for signal.

The room does come with a 30" flat screen TV with basic cable and HDMI hookups so you can plug your computer in. I use a desktop in my room and take a tablet to class. It works well. You'll be issued a government netbook you can use in class for taking notes and storing Army manuals as well.

In-Processing
If you thought BCT reception was bad, this is a whole new level. Your average day will start with you waking up around 0400 to make it to a 0500 accountability formation. You'll get a break for breakfast and then start that day's tasks around 0700 or 0800. During these two and a half weeks you'll get several SHARP (Anti-sexual harassment/abuse) presentations, introductions from all the bigwigs on post, medical inprocessing, finance briefings, and you'll sign hundreds of documents. Your day will end and you'll be on your own after 1700-1800 typically.

Why it robs two and a half weeks of your life is a question I still don't know the answer to.

To speed things along make sure you have all the documents and certificates on the packing list prior to arrival.

Weekends
Weekend Passes are largely up to cadre. Don't expect any in Alpha Module unless there is a federal holiday. That means you're limited to within 30 miles of FLW (which doesn't get you much). But there is plenty to do around here- especially if you like the outdoors. The "Fort Lost in the Woods" nickname is accurate to some degree, but I find it's a really nice post with plenty of things to do to keep you out of trouble. If you're a city boy it's a perfect time to learn some new hobbies.

Pay
As you'd expect with the Army, the pay comes slowly at first. I got into a bit of a bind because of how long it took for BAH to kick in. Don't worry, they'll back pay all the late payments but just expect kinks in the system. I recommend coming to BOLC with $1000 saved up to cover all the stuff you end up needing to buy plus one month's living expenses for your financial obligations back home. If that's not feasible, just do the best you can to have savings before you get to school (and check out the USAA career starter loan if you haven't already).

APFT
Pretty straight forward, you'll have a diagnostic APFT the second Monday of the course. Failure in any event (or scoring less than a 70 if your cadre choose) means you'll be entered into a remedial PT program and you'll be restricted from taking any passes off post until you pass. Retests for failures will be done with each new incoming class until the test is passed (every 2-3 weeks).

PT
PT in Alpha Module is extremely light. You may do three sessions in the three weeks. And those sessions will be taught by NCO cadre as an introduction to Army PRT.

I highly recommend getting used to running hills prior to arrival. This area of Missouri is not flat and you'll be better of if you're prepared for that.

Right outside Morelli Heights there is a 2.5 mile wooded running trail called the Engineer Trail. It's very nice for running, rucking, and working out (there are different exercise stations around the trail). If you're not conditioned for hills this trail will help.

Class Composition
Each class has a different demographic but will be composed of roughly 60 2LT's.

Here's our class breakdown:
Active Duty: 50%
National Guard: 25%
Reserve: 25%

OCS: 25%
ROTC: 75%*
West Point: 0% (Most West Point grads will attend courses in the summer starting in late June.)

Male: 90%
Female: 10%

Also expect 2-3 foreign national students in each class. These students will come from "friendly" nations and are essentially auditing the course. They won't learn any of our secret squirrel stuff and they're not expected to do much.

*Coming from an OCS background I was highly disappointed by the caliber of the ROTC students. The program I graduated from washed out over 70% of the candidates. If the cadet gets a degree, well then slap a butter bar on him. There are a few quality officers in the bunch but most are fresh out of college with zero relevant life experiences, a penchant for getting wasted on cheap beer, and many completely lack command presence. [End rant.]

When to Go
If you have any choice in the matter, picking the time to go can have a big impact on how miserable your time is at Fort Leonard Wood. I highly recommend getting a slot in the classes starting in May-June. By this time the weather has warmed up so the mornings aren't freezing cold, and by the time you're done with the "outdoors" learning you're in classrooms during the heat of the summer and the weather cools off for the last FTX and Sapper Stakes (more on those later). Best of all you're out of there before snow comes.

FTX 1
The last few days of the module are devoted to a three day field training exercise. Leadership should request a packing list early and do a gear layout to ensure everyone has everything. My class did that. Others before us failed to do that and had some smoke sessions to correct deficiencies.

We rucked out to the training area, which was about 6 miles away. Be ready to carry 60-70 lbs at a 15 minute/mile pace. Boots should be broken in well before the FTX. Once we were in the field we zeroed our M-4's with iron sights and CCO's. Qualification was done the last day on a pop up range. After range ops were completed we would ruck about 2 miles back to the FOB. The first afternoon we did land nav with DAGR's (Army GPS units). After dark we went back out with NVG's and the DAGR's.

The second afternoon we did the first two "Warrior 2020" tasks. These tasks are meant to provide a uniform standard for male and female soldiers as the Army moves to integrate females into the combat roles. Right now the program is still in a trial phase so our class is part of the data collection process. The first two tasks included throwing a grenade 25m so that it lands within a 5m radius of the intended target (if you can throw a baseball from home plate to 1st base you're good to go). The second task was filling 26 sand bags in 52 minutes and then building a fighting position in 20 minutes or something like that. Nobody in the class took more than 15 minutes to do the whole thing. Both of those tasks are done in "full battle rattle" meaning your helmet, body armor, load carrying equipment and gloves. It's definitely tiring, but not difficult. My squad had the fastest average time so we won freshly grilled brats.

We caught trans back to the company area, cleaned weapons, and like that Alpha Module was done. Three weeks down, 17 to go.