OTS Graduation

Graduation day finally came, and thank the Lord with nice weather. It started with our flight commissioning ceremony at 7:00...that was cool because it made everything a little more personal for our families and all of that. Anyway, it was cool how we marched in and up on the stage and went about things through the whole thing. It was very "sharp" looking as my mom said. As each flight member's name was called, they made their way down off of the stage to be commissioned by either our FTO or a guess officer (active duty or retired). It was commissioned by our FTO and then had my gold bars pinned on by my best friend, parents and youngest brother. That was a cool time because we had been through 3 hard months to earn that. It was still hard to believe I would be headed off to pilot training soon...

Next on the schedule was our parade at 10:00. This is basically a time for us to show our families and friends some of the marching stuff we've learned and how a military parade looks. It was very hot, but it felt good to be out there anyway. During the parade the Honor Squadron and Honor Flight are both recognized and the squadron guidon carrier marches up and gets some stuff put on the guidon showing that. Well, our squadron kicked butt as I think I mentioned before, and we ended up getting both of the honor awards.

After the awards were given out, we then marched down the "bomb run" or in front of the crowd for the parade review. My buddy Chapman and I are marching out in front leading the best squadron in the class! At the end of the parade as we threw our hats in the air, we had a C-5 flyover...I know it's not a fighter jet, but it was still pretty cool.

Well, I think that about wraps up this page. I'll be starting on the Casual Status page next, so bare with me until I get some pics of the base and have a chance to get back over here to the library and work on it some more. Hope this OTS stuff have been helpful!

The Dining Out...Family Arrives

I lied, I'll have a couple more posts before this OTS page is done because I wanted to talk a little about what they call in the military a Dining Out. The Dining Out,which has both military members and civilian guests in attendance, is an event built on many years of tradition. All the military members wear their mess dress, and the guests dress up nice as well. For us, it was a good time to celebrate a big step in all of our lives by earning our commission as 2nd Lt.'s in the USAF. It was also cool to have my best friend down for the event.

The whole ceremony started with everyone standing to welcome the official party...for us it was a two star general, two colonels and a lieutenant colonel. Once they were in place, some other formalities took place and then we took our seats for the meal. One of the formalities after sitting down was no one can eat until the highest ranking officer starts to eat...in this case it was the general. After he taunted us a bit to see if anyone to start before him, he dug in and so did we. After our first course, they moderator for the night asked for those providing the entertainment to take their places. I was part of one of the skits, so I headed backstage to get ready. Overall, the skits turned our well...everyone was laughing pretty hard, even the head table.

Another formality to the Grog Bowl. The Grog Bowl in a white porcelain toilet, centered at the middle of the dinning room for everyone to see. It's filled with a bunch of different alcoholic "beverages" so it tastes rather bad. There was also a non-alcoholic bowl. The bowl is kind of like "punishment" for those who screw up while eating during the whole meal. See, there are a list of rules all those in attendance must follow or else they're going to the Bowl...the guests must follow them as well, or their military friend will be sent. I was one of the first privileged ones to try the contents of the Bowl...yeah, that was just great! The rule I broke was that I was clapping with my hands instead of using my spoon and hitting it on the table. Here's how the procedures go for making a trip to the Grog Bowl.

Step 1 - Walk up in front of the Grog Bowl table and face the head table (where the DV's sit).
Step 2 - Salute the "king" of the mess.
Step 3 - Do an about face, and fill your cup.
Step 4 - Do an about face, raise your cup and say, "to the mess." The crowd then replies, "What a mess!"
Step 5 - Drink the contents of the cup in one gulp and then hold the cup over your head to prove you did.
Step 6 - Do an about face, and set the cup back on the table.
Step 7 - Do an about face, and the salute the "king" of the mess before taking your seat.

After most of us had finished our meals, the commander of OTS Lt. Col. Davis got up and started explaining he had been watching out for rules infractions during the dinner. He began to call of names and to my surprise I was the second on his list...CRAP!! What the heck did I do this time?! He ended up call about 10 people to stand in front of the Grog Bowl table and perform the little "ceremony." He went of for a bit talking about how bad we had screwed up the rules, when he ended his little speech with,"Class 03-06, I present to you your Distinguished Graduates." These words immediately came to mind, "No freakin' way!" I could not believe that out of the 120 or so classmates in class 03-06 that I was in the top 10%...it completely blind sided me! All I can say was that it's further proof that God has brought me into the military, and He has me right where I need to be. Only a short time ago I was trying my best to get into the program, and then here I am graduating towards the top...it was an awesome feeling. Two others from my flight made DG as well! How awesome is that? It goes to show that those of you looking to come to OTS want to be in the best squadron here...the Cobra Squadron!

Later this afternoon, some of my family will be arriving...it'll be good to see them. We'll have a chance to show them around OTS so they can see where we've been and learn a little about what we've been up to over the past few months. It'll be a good time, and then tomorrow is the commissioning and our graduation parade. The weather's supposed to be nice, so it looks like the C-5 flyover is on! I know it's not a fighter jet, but it's a huge plane and needless to say it'll get the crowds attention. Well, I'll sign off for now and post again after graduation...

One Week Left

The time has flown by and soon Class 03-06 will be graduating! It's kind of hard to believe the time has come, but when you're so busy all the time you don't realize it. It's been a great time and a good experience, but I'm ready to move on to Columbus AFB. I plan to arrive at the base around the 12th of July after spending some time with friends and family. I'm actually doing to be at a wedding in Michigan the day after graduation, but the drive won't be too bad since my best friend Kendall will be heading back with me. Most people (even the bride to be) doesn't know I'll be there, so it'll be a good time.

Last week at MOE was a good time as well. We finally had the chance to get out and "rough" it for awhile in tents without showers for a few days...unless you count using baby wipes to clean off. During our time our there we have different leadership activities throughout the day where we are further evaluated on our leadership skills. As an example, when I had my chance to lead I was given a scenario where I had to organize a rescue team to bring back a downed air crew. We formed up with our fake M-16's, headed out to the "crash site" and brought them back. Overall most of them were pretty fun...at least we all enjoyed the change of being off the OTS campus for awhile.

The most memorable part of our time at MOE was the C-130 ride we were able to take. We were all pretty pumped when we got the word because our upper class wasn't able to take one. Since the MOE site is located pretty close to of the taxiways and runways, it was pretty easy for us to jump in the back and strap in for the ride. Being close to the runway was also cool because we were right there to watch the C-130's here at the base practice some touch-n-go's along with the T-37's and T-38's that did the same thing while we were out there. Pretty cool stuff. Anyway, the ride lasted about 20-30 minutes during which time the pilot took us through some pretty simple banks and turns. We were also allowed to get up and walk around for a part of it, and check out the cockpit as well. Once the load master on board had us take our seats for landing, the pilot brought us in low and fast over the airfield and banked hard to the right about 45 degrees...I would guess about 2-4 g's. It was a good time, especially for those of us heading to pilot training soon!

The last day of MOE we had the chance to do an obstacle/confidence course as a flight...the kind of stuff I had been waiting for. It's called the Vigilant Warrior Course and was made up of 15 different obstacles. They all varied in difficulty, and for the most part everyone was able to make it through. It was also one of the better times during that week, and was a good thing to end on.

Well, the OTS section of my website will be ending pretty soon and I'll be on to Introductory Flight Training at my next duty station (Columbus AFB, MS in case you forgot). I hope those of you who've been able to read my site have enjoyed it and have gotten something out of it...especially those who are looking into OTS alone, or OTS and SUPT. I'll have one more post on this specific page with info from graduation and that will be it for OTS. The journey's just beginning and I'm having a good time so far...I'm excited to see where God's going to take me over the next 10-20 years!

ENJJPT Selection

We got the drop from the ENJJPT board today, and I didn't get selected. I was really hoping to get picked up, but it's still all good. I have NO room at all to complain since I've been totally blessed to get a pilot slot in the first place! Before I talked to my FTO I told the guys I was sitting with that if God wants me in ENJJPT then I'll be there, and if not I won't...end of discussion. So, it's obvious where He wants me to be. The cups always half full in my life because it makes things a whole lot better!

I'm looking at it this way...since I'm gunning for the fighter/bomber track, I'll be flying the upgraded T-38C at Columbus which is the only base at this point that has them. It's got the new "glass" (LCD's and the whole 9 yards) cockpit along with some upgrades to the intakes and engines. I'm not complaining at all. I still have a slight chance the I may get into Moody AFB to fly the new T-6 for pilot training since the guy who was the ENJJPT select had orders there...we'll see what happens. Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know the latest from down here. I'm down a bit just because I like to kick butt and do my best, but everything is in His hands...right where it should be.

Oh, I wanted to mention that I saw a couple guys down here that I went to college with. One is here in the OTS Commissioned Officer Training (COT) School, which is for the medical and lawyer types, and the other I saw at the Cadet pool yesterday afternoon. He works at Wright Patterson AFB where I came from, and is down here for Aerospace Basic Course (ABC). And yes, I said the pool. They have a really nice pool here on base that we can use on the weekends...it helps get ride of the nice farmer's tan most of us have going on these days. It was good to see a couple guys from home to catch up on what I had been missing while away.

WE'RE ALMOST DONE!

Finally, we're done with all the stuff that we have to pass in order to graduate...what a load off! I passed my final PFT with a 447 (90 push-ups, 90 sit-ups, and 9:16 1.5 mile run), a satisfactory on my final briefing and a 96% on the CWT. Overall, not a bad week. To celebrate, a bunch of us are going off base to Smokey Bones Grillhouse to relax and enjoy some time together without the academic stress of this place on our shoulders...yeah baby!

I forgot to mention one thing we had this week that makes for one of the better times here at OTS. It's called Leadership Reaction Course. It's basically a bunch of different obstacles that we as a flight have to make it through in 20 minutes with someone in the group as the designated leader. In each obstacle there are a limited amount of supplies (ropes, boards, etc.) and there are also certain areas of the obstacles you can't touch...these are designated by being painted red. Anyway, it's a good time to be outside and it usually takes three days for everyone to get the chance to lead once. We kicked butt on most of them, and I was able to get my team through when leading. I came out of it with a high satisfactory grade, so I'm good to go. To clarify the grading system...it goes unsat, low sat, sat, high sat, outstanding.

This coming week we're going to have an awesome time at our Mobility Operations Exercise (MOE). It's a simulation of what it takes to get ready for deployment and then what it's kind of like during deployment. We'll end up packing our ruck sacks full of stuff for 3-4 days and then hike however far it is out to the Blue Thunder site...a mock tent city much like you'd see out in the desert or somewhere like that. While there we'll be participating in more leadership stuff and different exercises. Finally we'll be getting dirty for a few days...what I've been wanting to do the whole time I've been here. The classroom gets old after awhile. The first evening of the exercise we get to take a C-130 ride (HOOAH!!), which is going to rock. Then towards the end we get to do a confidence course (ropes/obstacle course) before heading back here to campus. It should be a good time to relax, let our "hair" down a bit and meet some other classmates we don't really know yet.

It's very hard to believe that our graduation is only a few weeks away because it seems like yesterday that I was pulling in all nervous about OTS. Now we're almost out of here and on to bigger and better things...for some of us that's FLYING!! My FTO told me yesterday that the ENJJPT board met this past Tuesday and I should know before I head out to MOE...man, I'm anxiously awaiting. I'll be so blessed if God allows me to get into that program. I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as I find out what the deal is. Keep it real, and I'll be back soon...

OTS Air Show

We had an awesome surprise today here on base. This week the officer's at the Air War College here on base graduated. To liven up the atmosphere a little with all this going on, they arranged to have a small air show with some awesome aircraft. They had a B-1, C-130, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, T-6, T-37, T-38, AWACS (if you have no idea what those are, check out my post from 15 Oct 2002) and some others sitting out on the flight line. Thankfully they let us out of class a little early to check them out and take some pictures. To top that off, about 1745 there was a B-2 flyover followed by a T-6 and F-15C demonstration...talk about being pumped up for pilot training!! It definitely made my OTS experience that much better.


On another note, next week is another big week here at OTS. We have CWT and PFT #3 along with our last briefing/presentation. After that, all our graded measures will be done and we'll only have a couple weeks left until graduation! Tonight I'll be getting a good start on the briefing, which is given on Monday, so I can take some time to head off base again. We're all planning to go out Saturday night for dinner. Overall, things have bee going very well for me here at OTS. It's where God wants me, and that's an awesome feeling and it gives me confidence to press on and give it everything I have.

Next Assignment: Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi

I finally got my orders today...I'll be headed to Columbus AFB, MS for pilot training at the 14th Flying Training Wing if I don't get into ENJJPT, which I won't find that out for another few weeks. Columbus is one of many bases in Air Education & Training Command (AETC), with the patch above. It wasn't my first choice (Moody AFB, GA was), but it's better than Oklahoma or Texas in my opinion. No matter where I'm training I'm pumped to have a pilot slot! I'll be flying the good old T-37 Tweet and then hopefully the T-38C Talon. HOOAH!! While I'm on casual status at Columbus, not in UPT yet, I'll be working on getting my private pilot's license (IFT). That will be a good time to relax some before hitting it hard. It won't be long before I'm out of here and on my way. Bring it on!

After graduation I have to report to Brooks AFB in San Antonio, TX for another pilot physical...my report date is July 6th. This is the last big medical screening pilots go through before they head to their pilot training base. After leaving Brooks AFB on the 8th, I have until the 15th to get to Columbus AFB...fun times. I'll be driving around like a crazy man for a couple weeks, but it's all good. More later...

Lower Class Arrives

Man, talk about a hectic and tiring week!! If feel like I've been living two lives with making sure my new lower class flight (Flight 4-10) is where they need to be as well as looking after my own schedule. Overall, they're doing very well and have been picking up their procedures quickly; something their FTO will be expecting of them come next week. It's game on from here on out! We have 5 navigators in my flight...most of who will be trying to get into nav training at Pensacola Naval Base in FL in order to fly in the F-15E or the B-1.

I'm definitely glad we have a long weekend...Monday is Memorial Day, which is sweet because this is the first weekend we get to drive off base and hang out!! Finally, I can leave the OTS environment and relax for a few hours. I'm not sure what we're going to do, but it'll be fun regardless. Today we have our second briefing, and this is the first one that's graded. I'm not too nervous since I was able to get some good practice in this morning while 4-10 was in class. I'm giving my briefing on General Muir S. Fairchild...he's largely responsible for starting Air University right here Maxwell AFB. But, I'm sure you could care less so I won't bore you. It's kind of interesting, but history isn't really my bag.

After today we only have two more weeks of graded measures!! HOOAH!! After that we'll have our mobility exercise in "tent city" here on base to simulate a deployment. We also have the Vigilant Warrior Course, which is an obstacle course we'll all have to get through as a flight. So, there are some good times ahead. Soon after that I'll be looking forward to seeing my family and my best friend Kendall down here for my graduation! Time is flying by...Well, that's all for now. I should be a good OT and go practise my brief a few more times before I head out for drill competition practice. I'll be carrying our squadron's guidon (the pole with our squadron's pennant at the top) our in front of the formation for our parade, so I need to be on the ball for that.

Upper Class Graduation

Well, in a few short hours our upper class will be out of here at 2d Lts. It's been a pretty awesome day so far to see then get commission...something I'm looking forward to VERY much. I can't wait to get to pilot training and serve the great USA! This morning I was asked to sing the National Anthem in two commissioning ceremonies, and both went well. I was a little nervous, but since I've sang quite a bit growing up it wasn't bad at all. I'm also glad week #6 is over with! It's by far been the most hectic week so far. Here's a brief list of what I had to do (and I'll probably forget some things since my brain is a little fried right now).

- PFD #2 on Monday morning (I scored a 442 this time...HOOAH!)
- ENJJPT memo due to FTO on Tuesday (that takes longer than it may sound so it sounds good)
- News brief on Wednesday
- CWT#2 on Thursday (I dropped a bit to a 90%...kind of sucks!)
- Family Night stuff for the upper class from about 1100 to 2130 on Thursday
- Singing the National Anthem in 2 ceremonies this morning...one at 0700 and the other at 0815
- This was in addition to all the regular classes, memos, and other things that happen regularly.

But, now it's OVER. After I'm done here, I'll be heading out the other parade grounds for the graduation parade and that should be a good time. Gives me chills just thinking about how awesome our graduation is going to be...if you think that's retarded well think again. You need to be more patriotic!!Alright, that's it for now...keep pressing forward and don't give up! God's in control.

Enjoying The Ride

Squadron Mascot: The Cobra

Wow, three times in one week. Don't get used to this because the past few days have been kind of easy. We have a lot of FTO time (FTO = Flight Training Officer...he's a commissioned Captain who teaches and leads our flight of 13 through our time here) where we can do homework and try to get ahead for the next test and other assignments. I've answered all the CWT #2 questions, so I can stand to take a small break.

This morning we had a squadron run around base...I think it ended up being about 2.5 miles or so, not far at all. We got up at 0430 (yeah, that sucked as do all early mornings by the way...at least until you're awake =) and marched over in front of the academic building here on campus to get ready. I forgot to mention before that I'm in the COBRA Squadron (yes, the best squadron here), so both the upper and lower class Cobras formed up together. As we ran we had the squadron leader yelling jodies (chants to the heal beat) to whole way. It was a good time, and we stopped by a major general's (2 star) house, did our squadron chants, and then sang the AF song. Our Cobra Squadron chant goes like this, "Strike first, strike hard, not mercy Sir! We fight, we kill, so don't you test our will we are the Cobras...YAAAHHHH!!" Might sound cheezy, but it doesn't sound too bad when we're all yelling it at the top of our lungs. A lot of you may not be able to relate to this (which is sad), but the patriotic feeling inside this morning was awesome...this is what God made me for!! It's a great thing to be doing something you love to do! Until next time...

Almost Half-Way Done!

Since I haven't updated my page pretty much since I started OTS, I'll try to give a quick rundown now...I left for OTS on April 6th and arrived in Montgomery on the 7th. I had plenty of time to relax, get familiar with the base, and look at the OTS campus where I'd be spending the next 13.5 weeks before my commissioning on June 27th. I was also able to meet some of my future classmates at the local Outback Steakhouse for dinner the night of the 7th...April 8th was report day.

It's actually a pretty sweet campus...all of the buildings are pretty new, and well kept. For you future OT's, you'll have two computers to a dorm room on a network with internet! How awesome is that?! Right now, everyone brings their own with them. I live in what a typical college dorm would resemble. Actually, I take that back...it's better. Two people to a room, two separate closets, two sinks, and one shower. No complaints here! As you can see from my last post, the hardest thing here is time management...a common phrase we all have come to know very well is "time jacked." Basically too much to do with too little time.

Anyway, the first few days were pretty crazy getting used to the place and all the procedures. You can't talk to anyone (besides your fellow classmates) without using a reporting procedure something like this, "OT Capt Parker, OT Ferguson reports to ask a question." Then you proceed with using Sir before each sentence until your ready to end the conversation with, "Will that be all Sir?" He'll reply, "That will be all." At that time I return with a salute the greeting of the day...like, "Good evening Sir." That's just a brief summary of one simple procedures...there are a ton, but it's not bad once you get used to it. Besides talking procedures, our dorm rooms have to be in perfect order 24-7 in case their inspected. If you screw up procedures, or have a dorm room out of order you'll get demerits...no push-ups. The demerits hurt once you're far enough along to have base and off base privileges. Even though things were crazy, I was able to catch on to the procedures pretty quick and volunteered to march the flight around the second day. It went well and was a good learning experience without commissioned staff breathing down our necks.


Since I've been here I've also tried to step out a lead in as much as I can. Of course, I'm careful not to over extend myself, but if I can't prove I can lead then my chances for ENJJPT (Euro Nato Joint Jet Pilot Training) are almost zero. So, one thing I did to kind of jump out there (and because it didn't seem too hard) was volunteer to march our flight around the second day at OTS. It actually went pretty well, with some mistake here and there of course. Here's a list of some other things I have done, am doing, or will be doing:

- Squadron PC Honcho - That's a fancy name for the guy who marches the squadron of 26 out to PC in the morning, and then stands out in front to lead exercises. I'm also responsible to compile an Excel spreadsheet summarizing the results of our three Physical Fitness Tests along with a memo for each.

- 1st Volleyball Campaign Leader - This isn't something I volunteered for, but was basically told I'd be leading the first one...I was glad to get the job. For those of you who play volleyball, this isn't anything close. There are a bunch of funky rules and regs that make it A LOT different, but despite that I was able to get a high satisfactory on my leadership during the event.

- Executive Officer for Upper Class Family Night - Again, this isn't something I volunteered for but was told I'd be doing it. Again, that was cool with me. I think this has been happening because my Flight Training Officer (FTO whose a commissioned Captain and teaches us in our flight room) wants to see if I can lead (for ENJJPT purposes). Family night I'll being sharing the responsibility to make sure our upper class' families have a good time looking around campus, the night before graduation, to get a feel for how this place works and see where their child, wife, or husband have living for the past 3 months.

- ALFC (Assistant Lower Flight Commander) - Now, this is a job I wanted. Myself and the Lower Flight Commander (LFC...another person from my flight) will be responsible for leading a new flight of about 12 OT's when they arrive in a little over a week. We we hand picked by our FTO, which I've been told is a good thing because he thinks you're capable of handling the job. Our upper class will be graduating May 16th, we'll become upper class, and then a new class will arrive the following week. It's a big deal with a lot of responsibility. It'll be cool to see what we looked like upon arriving...most of us were afraid to talk with all the new procedures.

- JMAC (Joint Military Athletic Competition) - This took place about 2 weeks ago at Fort Benning, GA Army base. The Officer Candidate Schools (OCS) of the Army and Navy and AF OTS get together for some friendly competition twice a year to battle it out. I was able to make the volleyball and tug-of-war teams, and we came is 2nd and 1st respectively. We kicked their butts in the tug-of-war...where it really counts! BOO-YAH!! It was really good time to get away from OTS and compete as well. Thank God I went into the Air Force.

Since I've been here, we've also had our first Combined Written Test (CWT) and PFT. I was able to score a 96% on the first CWT and a 432 on the PFT. According to OTS standards those a decent scores. For the PFT I cranked out 90 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and ran the 1.5 miles in 9.45. Since I maxed the push-ups and sit-ups I need to get my run time down. A perfect PFT score is 500, but I'd have to run 1.5 miles in 7:30...YEAH RIGHT!! This coming week we have CWT and PFT #2, so I'm ready to give it my best shot! There are three of each. Along with the CWT, there are three briefs (presentations) and some other memos we have to right and pass to make it out of OTS.

One thing I wish was different at OTS is the fact I feel they kind of treat us like we're not capable of handling more. I know we're different than the Army and Navy, but I think they're too easy on us. I was hoping to get dirty in the mud, crawl under barbed wire, climbing walls and ropes, and all that good stuff. We'll get to do that a little later on in what they call the Vigilant Warrior Course, but even then it's scaled back. I guess I'll just have to wait for Land/Water Survival and POW training during my pilot days for that...but at that point it may not be too fun. Alright...I'm out for now.

Starting Week Five Already

WOW!! This has been a crazy few weeks since arriving here at OTS...but, in my opinion it's not that hard. If you're headed to OTS sometime soon, just make sure you know how to prioritize your time. Also, keep a good sense of humor while here.

Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't written since getting here. This update will be short since I have to get to choir practice in a few minutes. Everything is going very well and I totally know this is where God wants me to be!

A typical day @ OTS:

0450: get up and get ready for physical conditioning
0520: I form up the squadron of 26 and march them out to PT.
0630-0700: fall out for breakfast
0800-1145: class/drill practice/sports game/or something else
1200-1245: fall out for lunch
1300-1700: more class
1700-1830: do homework, iron uniforms, polish boots, do laundry, get room in order
1830-1900: fall out for dinner
1930-2000: do homework, iron uniforms, polish boots, do laundry, get room in order
2000-2130: ONLY do homework (yeah...don't pull a stunt like I did and take a shower during that time because it's bad news if you do!!)
2130-2200: TRY to get to bed and prepare for it all over again

Alright, that's all for now. Below is a picture of my flight with our Lower Flight Commander on the right.