That's a Wrap

Well folks, three and a half years after I enlisted I'm a US Army Engineering Officer. Thanks for sharing in this ride with me, and I hope that some of my insights and behind the scenes looks have proved helpful in your decision making.

I originally started this blog to help keep my family up to date with my training an give other readers a glimpse into what this path looks like. I feel like that mission has been accomplished and it's time to sign off. I still have several years left on my service commitment, but my career going forward doesn't need to be published for the entire world. 

Please feel free to contact me with questions in the future and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner. I really do enjoy hearing from my readers and offering insight where I can.

Lastly, I feel like it's appropriate to thank those who have made this final post possible:

To my classmates of OCS Class 56- Thanks for your encouragement, the joint suffering, memories, laughs, and constantly pushing me to be a better warrior. It's been an honor to serve with you all. 

To the cadre of the Texas RTI- Thanks for developing me into the leader I am today. I'm nowhere near finished but so much farther than where I started. There are few times in my life where I can distinctly say that something specific changed me. 18 months in the strange Hell that is Texas OCS is one of those times. Everywhere I go I can't say enough good about the school you run and I would be proud to one day serve on the battlefield with you. 

To my wife- Thanks for saying yes to this adventure and being my cheerleader along the way. I wouldn't have made it without your support and I'm proud of you for the sacrifices you've made for our country in your role as an Army Wife. 

To my son- Your little self makes me want to be a better man and father, thanks for pushing me towards excellence in this endeavor and all the rest. 

To my Savior and Creator- Without you I never would have made it. Thank you for allowing me to pursue the passions in my heart and for giving me the strength to follow through. I find the words of King David to ring true:

"For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip."
-Psalm 18:31-36

To the American Warrior past and present- Thank you to the sacrifices you have made to keep America free and for inspiring me to serve my country. May we always stand for one nation- under God, with liberty and justice for all. 

-The Texas Citizen Soldier, Out.

Engineer BOLC- Fox Module and Closing Thoughts

Fox Module is the golden ticket of BOLC, the days are few and you'll be going home (...or your next duty station for the active duty types). They only things that happen in Fox Mod are combatives, FTX III, Sapper Stakes, and everyone's favorite: out-processing.

MACP
The Modern Army Combatives Program is the Army's mixed martial arts program which sounds cool... but in practice is just a good reminder to keep the enemy in pistol range at the closest. There are now three levels of certification (down from four) and to date I've not even been certified in level one because none of the schools I've been to have taught the course in its entirety. The training we got in BOLC was identical to what I did in Basic Combat Training so scroll back to those articles if you're interested in more details.

FTX III
This FTX is just like FTX II with round the clock operations- only this time it's five days long and you get less sleep (we averaged about an hour and a half per night). Good times were had by all. (No really, it was fun. I promise.)

Sapper Stakes
This was the final event of the FTX, and the course. It consisted of a 12 mile ruck with 60+ pounds of gear and equipment and 10 stations along the way that tested each squad's engineering skills. Testing stations varied from tasks like assembling a M249 machine gun to correctly identifying deficiencies in an explosive system. My squad ended up winning the competition which gave us something to laugh about as we just set out to make it through (see earlier reference to the amount of sleep we were running on). The course was no joke and the Missouri terrain really separated the men from the boys.

Out-processing
The final week and a half are really a joke. There's not much to do except wonder why you aren't getting out sooner. Paperwork and equipment turn in are really the name of the game until graduation when the cord is cut and you're home free as a trained and fully mission capable engineering officer fighting machine. Three and a half years after I took my oath of enlistment I was finally the officer that I set out to be. There was a pride there that I can only share with a small group of men and women who know what it's like to walk this path.

Final Thoughts
BOLC is what you make of it. It is a fire hose of information and a unique time to learn what the Army Engineers do.

Cadre- With the exception of a select few, the cadre assigned to the schoolhouse seemed to be there in a punitive sense- as though they'd screwed something up or weren't suited for leadership in the regular Army. The exceptions, however, strove to compensate for their colleagues and for the most part were able to bridge any gaps (no pun intended) that their fellow trainers left.

Family/Travel- Plan on having your family travel see you as much as possible. I was not able to return to Texas while I was in the course. By the time I graduated, the schoolhouse commander placed a 30 mile travel radius restriction on all the soldiers. There's not much you can get to 30 miles from Fort Leonard Wood. Most weekends are free and people can stay with you in your room at no additional charge. On the flip side, taking your family with you for the duration of the course is not a good option. Only one officer did that in my class and it nearly got him kicked out of the course for being late trying to juggle family and army commitments. Be prepared to miss things like births, weddings and funerals. My grandfather was a Korean War veteran and I was asked to serve in his military honor guard at the funeral six hours away. My request was denied for being outside the travel radius. The same thing happened over and over again- the cadre there are extremely unreasonable when it comes to these kinds of requests. Prepare your family's expectations accordingly.

Worship- The churches in and around Fort Leonard Wood leave a lot to be desired. I ended up watching my home church service live online (when our internet worked) while I was away. Not really my first choice, but it was the best option for me.

PT- PT was disappointing. It started every weekday morning at 0500 an consisted of the new Army PRT program which isn't a good workout by any stretch of the imagination. If  you're looking to maintain or improve your level of fitness you'll have to do it on your own time because five hours a week on the on this program won't cut it. There's a 2.5 mile engineer running trail in the woods behind Morelli Heights, which I highly recommend and a couple gyms on post if you're a gym rat.

Sapper/Ranger Train up- Towards the end of the course there's an alternative PT plan which replaces morning PT and adds a mandatory 1-2 hour PT session in the evening to prepare those bound for either Ranger or Sapper School. The National Guard doesn't send people to Sapper School really so my commander told me not to waste my time with it. If you complete the program you get a memo for your next duty station essentially saying you're ready to go at which point most likely you won't go anyway. Army logic.

Environment- I kept expecting the strict OCS environment the entire time I was there. It never came. I had knots in my stomach when I drove up to Missouri but they were completely unwarranted. As I mentioned before every experience is unique, but from what I observed the majority of the classes were like mine.

Fort Leonard Wood- Or Fort Lost in the Woods as it's affectionately called, isn't that bad. If you're from the city and your life consists of bar hopping an clubbing you're not going to enjoy the metropolis of St. Robert or nearby Waynesville. However if you like to do things outdoors like boat, fish, hike, hunt, then you should enjoy your free time.

Hurry up and Wait- The lack of efficiency is mind boggling. The course could easily be at least four weeks shorter but so much of the time is lost to poor scheduling. Just accept there is nothing you can do about it.



If you're in the pipeline for BOLC I'm sure you have more questions- feel free to email me directly at txcitizensoldier at gmail.

Engineer BOLC- Charlie-Decho Module

The next three modules of BOLC are very similar from an expectations perspective. The course curriculum changes but it's mainly testable classroom material. Subjects cover offensive and defensive tactics, general engineering, horizontal engineering (soil, waste water, roads and bridges) and vertical engineering (buildings, electrical, concrete). For those of you with an engineering or construction background the academics are a piece of cake. If you're good at math, you won't have any issues. If you don't meet any of the above criteria fear not- it's the Army and they'll get you through.

The work load varies considerably. One week you'll be bored out of your mind and the next you'll wonder when you're supposed to sleep. Take each with a grain of salt, keep your head down and just plow through it. One event at a time.

Some of the key tasks in these modules include a "15 mile" (more like 20) ruck, a timed 12 mile ruck, FTX II, a 5 mile run in under 40 minutes and exams based on course material. Most of those are self explanatory, but I'll mention that FTX II is 3 days and includes the "long walk" as the 15 miler has been dubbed. I say more like 20 because the walk is part of your operations so only the road miles count toward the 15 mile distance over the course of 24 hours and the miles spent humping up and down the Ozark Mountains don't officially count for anything (Bitter, party of one your table is now ready). We slept about 3 hours each night and conducted round the clock operations until we left the field.

It's physically exhausting work, but enjoyable- after all this is the kind of stuff I signed up for. Since combat engineers work so closely with the infantry you'll be expected to meet the same standards that they have over at the Fort Benning School for Wayward Boys (ladies included). In that regard, Engineer BOLC is considered the most challenging combination of physical and mental tasks out of all the BOLC schools.

A typical day for me was waking up at 0405, PT formation at 0500, class from 0800-1700, homework/free time until 2130 or 2200 and then hit the sack. Monotonous would be an understatement.