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.