National Guard Platoon Leader Time

When you get out of OCS the first thing you're looking forward to is your time as a platoon leader. If you're anything like me this is what you signed up for. As I've talked to more 2LT's across the Guard I've made a few observations that I'll pass along:

1. It's nothing like OCS. No one is there to belittle you every time you make a tiny mistake, your superiors will probably be genuinely interested in your welfare, you might even start to find you're enjoying the Guard. Coming from a background that was nothing but training, I was extremely relieved to finally join my unit. If you do your job well (or at least show that you're trying to learn it as fast as you can) you'll be part of the team in no time.

2. You may not get that coveted PL role. In the regular Army they'll send you to a staff role if there isn't a PL slot open. In the Guard they'll probably just double stack you on a platoon. How does that work? It doesn't. This is what happened to me when I commissioned- my unit went from having no LT's to 5 within a matter of months. So we all got to "share" PL responsibilities. My advice- find a project or a niche within your scope of leadership and go at it. Find a way to be useful. In rare circumstances you might get slotted as an XO or CO if the company is really hurting for officers- good luck with that.

3. Get a BOLC slot as soon as humanly possible. Until you finish BOLC you aren't MOS qualified. On the surface that means you usually can't do all the hooah fun stuff that your Joes are doing. Worse than that is you don't know your job. Walk in with humility and learn as much as you can from your NCO's, Specialists and Privates. Yes, even the lowliest of Privates just out of AIT know more than you do about your job.

4. Formally introduce yourself on the 2nd or 3rd drill. Prior to that spend some time observing. Do what the commander needs you to get done, but observe. Spend time in the motor pool, hang out with the supply Sergeant, sit in on training classes. Show your Joes that you're interested in what they're doing. Most (especially the junior enlisted) will be more than willing to tell you all about their MOS and what they do for the unit. They're feeling you out too. When you address your platoon for the first time tell them about yourself, tell them why you're there and what they can expect from you. It doesn't need to be super formal or long, just enough for them to feel like they know about your background and that you're there for them. Don't be afraid if you feel like you have to earn their respect. You do. Especially your NCO's. They might be a little cold toward you until they feel like you're not going to get their soldiers killed at the first opportunity. Its all part of the process- lead with presence, character, confidence, and competence and they'll get behind you.

5. Take time to care about soldiers. Find out what's going on in their lives. Celebrate with them when they have babies, learn what their Army and civilian career goals are, listen to them when they tell you about family problems, give them advice when they ask, find out the real reason they showed up to formation drunk. I could go on, but I can sum it all up by saying the real reason you're a leader is for them. That's the kind of superior officer you want to have, and they're no different.

Those are probably my top 5 suggestions to a new butter bar. They're not unique revalations that I've had they're more universal truths for the position. Any officer or NCO will probably give you similar advice. As always, I enjoy fielding questions you may have. Feel free to drop a line in the comments or to my email address.

Best of luck to Texas OCS Class 57 as they head to Phase III!

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.

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.

Battle Handoff

I've been getting a lot of questions about what's next, so here are the most recent updates:

Battle Handoff
I've been officially handed over to my unit, so I now sport the patch for the 36th Infantry Division on my uniform (its an arrowhead with a capital T in it). I'll be a part of this company until I am assigned a branch of service. If I end up as an infantry officer chances are I'll be at that unit, but if I get a different branch assignment I'll end up somewhere else.

Officer Training
For a while there was some debate as to which route I'd be taking to get my commission. One of those options was eliminated as the Accelerated OCS program is not currently available to officer candidates in Texas. ROTC was also on the table so I could go back to school for my masters degree and my commission at the same time. The problem with that program is that it's really designed for full time students and working while going to school would have been a logistical nightmare for 2 years. The final option, and the path I'll be taking is the National Guard Traditional OCS program- one weekend a month for 18 months. The training is held outside Austin, TX at Camp Swift. That program starts in March 2012 and I will be drilling with my current unit until then. Once OCS starts I'll be promoted to a "Candidate" and be paid as an E-6 (2 grades higher than I am now) and once the course is finished I'll be given my commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. Training won't stop there- I'll still have a 4-5 month Officer Basic Course (OBC) where I'll learn my specific branch responsibilities (similar to AIT) and a 6 week Basic Officer Leadership Course II (BOLC II). It may sound like a lot of training but it's also a lot of responsibility to be handed, so it'll be worth the journey over the next few years.

RSP- Blue Phase

First was Red Phase, then White Phase, now- you guessed it: Blue Phase. Clever. It's the last phase of RSP before you ship to BCT. Essentially I was paid to do paperwork for the weekend. The cadre make sure you've got all your paperwork in order and scare you one more time about fraudulent enlistment and all the ways you can get kicked out for withholding information. For example- if you leave for basic with unpaid parking tickets- you're on the first flight home with a dishonorable discharge. They even said if you've got a ticket from a red light camera that hasn't been mailed to you yet you could still get discharged. So I'll be calling the city tomorrow to make sure I'm squared away on that... it's enough to make anyone paranoid. There was also a lengthy time of Q&A for anyone with lingering questions about anything really. Surprisingly, people asked good questions so it was a constructive use of time.

The unit commander came in to talk to a few of us about OCS. I didn't really learn anything new but he told me when I got back from basic he'd look into sending me to Federal OCS at Fort Benning. That sounds like the ideal pace for me- not too fast, but quick enough to get my commission before the war is over.

PT at drill was the same as last month, I ran the 2 mile about 40 seconds faster this time, so felt good about that. It also rained here Saturday morning for the first time in months, so it was "cool" (below 90 degrees) and running in the rain felt tremendous. Sunday morning we did a 3-ish mile obstacle run that included bounding over seven foot chain link fences, running up stairs, weaving between poles, etc. One soldier puked twice, and about 5 out of the 30 fell out of the run.

I pulled my packet-o-information and noticed my ship date is a week later than what I thought it was. So I've got another few days at home and I'll get to enjoy Labor Day weekend.

RSP- White Phase (Part II)

Here's what went down at Sunday drill:

Morning PT consisted of running in four man teams with a stretcher and a 250 lb. dummy for about 350 yards, once we got to point B the "MedEvac" changed landing points back to where we were originally. So back we went. Then we did log PT wich consisted of lifting a pole with a buddy until your arms fell off and then some. After we were sufficiently drenched in our own sweat, we set up an ultimate frisbee course and played that with the sergeants for over an hour. That was actually quite fun- it also showed how people instinctively give and take respect based on someone's athletic ability. After my performance in the game the other enlisted guys wanted me on their team to help them out with things and the opposite was true for the soldiers who didn't play well. I'll leave the application of that lesson for the sociologists out there.

After much welcomed showers we got down to the warrior training we prepped for the day before. We spent what was left of our morning assaulting the armory until we got to the point where most of us were visibly frustrated with how it was going. It wasn't like the movies where we just instinctively knew what we were doing- that's the work of hours and hours of training with your unit. What we were doing was amateurish at best. The sergeant wisely brought us all back into our classroom so we could talk through the issues we were having and appointed me as squad leader (SL). From there we talked through our frustrations and we got everyone on the same page as we tweaked our battle strategy. It was great experience for me and several times I had to remind myself I'm not actually a 2nd Lieutenant and this was still the sergeant's training exercise. He was gracious though and let me act like a SL would need to- even including running the operation I planned. It was reaffirming to me that this is where God wants me to be right now. I was in my element and enjoying every second of it.

On the administrative side of things I found out my best shot at OCS is going to be in March of 2012. That'll give me about 3.5 months after basic to keep getting in shape and learn what I need to. The way it will work is that I'll compete against other candidates on an Order of Merit List (OML) that takes into consideration previous service and PT scores (probably some other things as well). Based on where I rank on the OML I'll get to pick either accelerated (8 weeks, 23% pass rate) or traditional (18 months one weekend a month). My goal is to get into accelerated. If I fail out I'll just get rolled into the traditional class. I'm sure I'll talk more about that after basic, but as of now this is the plan.

One more drill weekend next month and then it's off to Fort Jackson, SC for basic!

RSP- White Phase (Part I)

Here's a breakdown of drill today:

Morning formation was at 0700- an hour earlier than normal because of this great heat we're experiencing. I believe today was the 22nd straight day over 100. There's a reason I exercise before the sun comes up... Word quickly spread that I was an OCS candidate- seems like I was the only one (either that or the others kept it quiet). This earned me the attention of all the sergeants and my battalion commander during PT. Awesome. It also meant my name was changed to OCS whenever the cat calls of "encouragement" were intended for me.

Not that I'm in the second phase of RSP we do the full 2-2-2 APFT test. That's max push ups in two minutes, max sit ups in two minutes and a two mile run. I've maintained a fairly strict workout routine since last drill and saw improvements over all my exercises. I still have a long way to go but you have to start somewhere. Here were my scores:

Push-ups: 40 (60 points-Pass)
Sit-up: 80 (100 points-Pass)
2 mile: 0:16:27 (61 points-Pass)
Total Score: 221 of the required 180

So I passed! Thanks to those who prayed for my run time- that was a bit of a small miracle as I hadn't completed the 2 mile in anything less than 0:17:04 in my personal workouts. Running with others definitely helped motivate me (as did wanting to make a good impression on my battalion commander who I was meeting for the first time). The goal is to take 3.5 minutes off that time by the end of BCT. Leading from the front is expected from officers- especially infantry ones. My counter didn't count about 30% of the push ups I did because they weren't "OCS push ups" (chest to the ground). Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I still passed.

We spent the rest of the morning going over first aid in a combat setting. I'd been a lifeguard for 7 years but it adds a whole new level of intensity when "You! Go call 911!" isn't an option and checking to make sure the scene is safe means eliminating enemy combatants and searching for possible IED ambushes. Medics on the battle field aren't a guarantee and sometimes saving a fellow soldier (or even an enemy combatant) is left up to you. We learned how to put on the Army's new tourniquet. Apparently the one from WWII with a handkerchief and stick (or some variation thereof) was still standard issue through the early 2000's.  Its really easy to use, carried by every soldier, and can be self-applied.

For some of the hands on part they dressed me up in Arab clothes and I ran into the room and blew up some explosive simulator. That woke everybody up- you should've seen their faces...

The end of the day we prepped for our mission tomorrow, which was creating a perimeter and securing a building. Should be fun. We get to run around with replica M4 carbines and take down bad guys. Oh- and get paid for it :) Glad to be doing work I enjoy.

[Oh, and no uniform yet except for the RSP track suit they issued me... yeah its about as awesome as it sounds. They ordered my ACU about 3 weeks ago so it should be in for next drill where I'll get to wear it for the weekend, then turn it back in since I'll be getting new uniforms at BCT in September. Sometimes it's better to not ask questions.]

RSP- Red Phase

This weekend was my first drill with the National Guard. It was a bit unusual as Saturday's normal drill was replaced by a trip to an Indy race. My recruiter got my wife and I vouchers to go on a pit tour, hang out at the NG Racing hospitality tent, race tickets, and best of all- we got passes to take 3 laps in the back seat of a modified Indy car. Unfortunately, I was too tall to fit and was unable to ride. But my wife got to experience the track at 180 mph. When she got out she asked who her driver was- Mario Andretti. It was an unforgettable experience and probably the most fun I've been paid to have.

Sunday I met up with the recruits doing the normal drill. The NG has a program unlike any other service that prepares you for basic training. RSP or Recruit Sustainment Program helps you get one step ahead by exposing you to elements of basic training that tend to hang up new recruits. Its a low pressure environment that allows you to fail without getting chewed out for it- in other words you're still treated like a human being while you're learning.

Red Phase is the first phase of the program. We were issued track suits, notebooks, an Army policy book, and a book that most people don't get until basic to start studying. I missed day one so I don't know exactly what the rest of my class did, but it sounded like mostly paperwork, customs and courtesies, and drill and ceremony. Sunday morning we stared out with a 1-1-1 or half of a regular APFT (1 min. max push-ups, 1 min. max sit-ups, 1 mile run). I well exceeded the requirements for push-ups and sit-ups but was just a tad too slow on the mile run. Each event has a maximum score of 100 points and to pass basic training you need to score at least 50 points in each event. However, in the RSP program you need to be able to score 60 points in each before they'll let you attend BCT. Next month I'll do the full test and I know where I need to push myself.

The rest of the day we did drill and ceremony (marching, formations, saluting, etc...), took a group test, filled out paperwork, and the guys who didn't have an AKO account (army email and such) were signed up for one. Even after one weekend, it's neat to see how a rag-tag group of civilians are starting to be transformed into members of the greatest military force on the planet. We were dismissed around 1400 and I was home 15 minutes after that. Not a bad weekend.