I'm Baaack!!

[DNall]

South Dakota has a lot of pretty terrain - as long as you don't have to walk all up & down 60 degree inclines with a compass or try to conduct an assualt up those hills. The weather was nice - considering I came from hot houtson to 70-80 degree temps most of the summer. It did rain a bunch - funny enough it was ONLY when we were in the field - nice lightening storms from inside a goretex bag though. I thought the altitude would be an issue for PT, but suprisingly I never noticed.

So how was OCS you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

They tried to make it hard for a couple weeks, but it wasn't really. There was some yelling & PT, but nothing I'd call stressful. Once you've been to basic training, that stuff loses it's effectiveness real fast, and they know that. The biggest thing was the class didn't work well together yet, and that screwed everyone's leadership ratings, cause it's not how well you do, it's if the unit gets the job done or not. The majority of that phase was taken up with land nav - easy money.

Phase II (middle 4wks) was all classroom. 10 tests in 4 weeks. They slam a bunch of stuff down your throat, you pass a test, and I swear I don't remember 90% of it. It's all teaching to the test & memorization. It's not really about the material. That's just familiarization on topics we'll get again later. It's really more about the brain working under academic stress with very very little sleep - I fell asleep in class a lot & still had a 96% avg. We went out in the field at the end to start running squad lanes (missions). You're the squad leader, lead your 10-12 folks in a mission (usually movement to contact ambush), and get rated on your execution of the troop leading proceedures mpreso than tactics. Did a couple days of that with paintball guns and one day with blanks.

Phase III (last two weeks) was all in the field. We stayed the first half on a FOB. Theoretical showers every couple days, but mostly just dirty. We used blanks with MILES (laser tag). First half was graded squad lanes. I did exceptionally well on my lane, then took over on another lane when the SL & most everyone else got "killed." After everyone got a go they gave the rest of the lanes to people that needed more practice & I didn't get one. When we came in from that, they made me company commander for the rest of the cycle. That was movement to CWST (swim test) & back to garrison for an afternoon. All during that I had to pre-plan 4-days of platoon & company lanes we were about to start. We rotated each of the four platoons through patrol bases. One would be on FOB defense, two more in the woods doing missions in the area, and one qould air assualt to another area. That was one hell of a task planning how to move 145 people in two blackhawks directly into combat ops. All came off really well though - meaning it was on time & no one died. Came back from that to run company ops from the FOB for 24hrs. That's nap for one hour in three while rotating between active defense and standby QRF or patrols. Shot off a lot of star clusters & smoke grenades. I'd like to say it was fun, but it was getting real silly after a while. The OPFOR was a bunch of infantry guys from Guam. They were all great. I did have to wrestle around with one on a lane when I got left back by myself to guard him & he jumped me, but he ended up with a broken hand & I still had my weapon, so we decided the fight was over.

Lessons learned - per CAP... almost no one in CAP can plan their way out of a wet paper bag. It's not a lack of brain power, motivation, desire, or anything like that. It's that they aren't taught how to do it with the steps & level of detail required to keep people alive & make things work. That's such an amazingly simple process we went through, and I know CAP can teach our people to do it too (w/o all the yelling/PT/etc). I'd specifically reference the GTL task guide that states a 5 paragraph operations order format for how to create a plan, but doesn't give the troop leading proceedures to explain where that fits in the process, and doesn't teach how to actually go through that process. The intent is there, but the execution is not. CAP could be DRAMATICALLY improved by adding a block of instruction/coaching on that subject matter to the level I course, or at least by whatever is replacing the AFIADL 13 course. It's an absolutely essential skill.

So what's next you ask... well, I commission 6 Sep in Austin with the Lt Gov & TAG, along with 44-odd other candidates. I'm branched aviation, assigned back to my same unit at Ellington Field in Houston. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing just yet. I was supposed to be a PL in a line company, but I'm assigned to headquarters, so I may be in the S3 (operations/trng) shop, or I may be XO for the company. I'm going in tmrw, we'll see how it turns out. I'll be headed to BOLC II & on to flight school sometime between October & next Spring, with the intent to get back in time to make our scheduled deployment in 2011. BOLC II is the same training I just did, minus the first two weeks of yelling, and with nights/wknds off & lots more sleep. Then it's on to Rucker for SERE-C (survival/POW land for 3wks), duncker (3 days in the pool), and 14 or so months leaning to be an Appache pilot.

I'll try to get some pix up in the next few days. I don't even know what I got at this point. I just know I've been back 24hrs, and I've already dropped almost a grand on uniforms, commissioning coins, and varrious other junk. That officer pay goes fast. Anyway, thanks for all the encouragement from everyone here.

[Major Carrales]

Welcome back, DNALL.  Looking forward to your presence here.

[PHall]

Just remember, you'll be a 2LT. You know what people expect from a 2LT. Don't let it get to you.
And that time you put in at Headquarters will basically make or break your rep.

The Guard is like a family and everybody seems to have long memories.

[bosshawk]

Dennis: congratulations!!!!  I doubt that anyone here had any doubts that you would do an excellent job.

You will enjoy being an officer in the Army: I know that I did and stuck it out for 30 years.

If I can be of any help to you in your career, give me a shout.

[mikeylikey]

Welcome Back!  Where are you doing BOLC II?  Just be prepared to rough it out with some young guys at BOLC.  Having a few years on the younger guys is always an advantage!!

[DNall]

Thanks all. I've been a HHC working in an officer slot since Aug. So I do have a positive rep there already, hence I got the pilot slot. It's taken a whole ton of effort to secure a commissioned flight slot versus settling for warrant, but I got it done. I don't know if I learned much at OCS, I sure don't feel any smarter or better prepared, but it was a good experience.

Not sure yet on BOLC II. Our BDE has priority based on the deployment timing to get people thru OBC. I was told originally it'd be Benning in Oct, then the Bde Cmdr emailed around it'd be flight school in the Spring. Both of those could be true or it could be BOLC II in the Spring & flight to follow. I don't really care so much, just so I get some trigger time this rotation. Far as keeping up. I'll bang out my APFT on the 32yo scale & keep from falling out on the rest of the crap, but I'm not going ranger or anything that crazy. If the kids can keep up with me on tactics & leadership then we'll get along just fine.