Week One:
Week Two:
(YES! That IS David just hanging out!) ;-)
David was selected by his platoon to be the Warrior of the Week this week =)
ALPHA COMPANY
(notice the company flag!)
Week Three:
“Week two has come and gone, and the Candidates are excited to have earned the right to do 3 pull-ups and 3 chin-ups (you must do one pull-up on the way into the chow hall for each week you have been in class, and one chin-up when exiting). We're sure none of the Candidates ever thought they would be so excited about pull-ups and chin-ups, but a mile marker has been crossed, and the Candidates continue to move closer to Senior Phase and to Graduation.”
(Pulls-Ups to Chow)
MAIL CALL!
Week Four:
“Week four has come and gone, and the Candidates are now 1/3 of the way through OCS and that much closer to earning their commission in the United States Army. Week five promises to be another busy and exciting week. Candidates nominated others whom they thought exemplified the character and spirit of OCS, and then voting was opened to the entire body of Candidates to select one person whom they felt has best represented OCS in this first month of training.”
SO Glad he didn't go ARMOR!
“Week five has come and gone, and today marks the beginning of Week 6. Since OCS is 12 weeks long, the Candidates are quite excited.
We are currently signing out weapons and packing (and trying to figure out how to fit X items into what seems like space for only Y, so there's a lot of 'hold this while I step on it' going on) to head out into the field after dinner and returning Wednesday afternoon. Accordingly, you will probably not have any contact with your Candidate during this time, just to forewarn you.
We will be spending these next few days learning Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills (WTBDs for short), which are basic tasks to prepare a Soldier for what to do in various combat situations.
During Week five, we ran over 20 miles, practiced Urban Land Navigation, began History classes and had an exciting guest lecture from Retired Major Dan Turner, participant in the Special Forces raid to liberate POWs from the Son Tay prisoner camp during the Vietnam War.
Branching and the Senior Officer Candidate Review (where Candidates will officially move into Senior Phase and exchange their black ascots for white ones) are less than a week away!”
Week Six:
“Alpha Company Candidates are now officially Senior Officer Candidates. They have completed the first half of OCS and are currently preparing to head out into the field for a week to conduct Field Leadership Exercise I (FLX I). During this time, the Candidates will be out of contact with their families, so you should not expect to hear from them for the next several days. Nothing is wrong, they will simply be busy with training. As always, thanks for your continued support. The Candidates have undergone a great deal of growth in these past 6 weeks, and the next 6 will be no different.”
David was the Platoon Leader for 3rd Platoon for SOCR =)
SOCR = Senior Office Candidate Review
Week Seven:
Week seven has come and gone. The Candidates returned from the field yesterday morning and were more than excited to take showers and do laundry, as well as excited about getting to eat somewhere other than the chow hall during their on-post pass for a few hours.
We return to the field this evening after dinner and will be out for another 10 days. During our time in the field at Field Leadership Exercise (FLX) 1, we completed several major events, such as Land Navigation, preparation drills for Squad Lanes and the 7 mile tactical road march.”
Week Eight:
“Week eight has been a mix of fun, exhausting work, hot weather and busy schedules. Field Leadership Exercise 2 (or FLX II, for short) began this week, with Candidates deploying to our temporary base of operations across Ft. Benning. Candidates established security, checked the fence around the perimeter, and set up shop for the next week and a half.
FLX II is the culminating training event at OCS, where all previous learning is combined in the two leadership evaluations each Candidate receives in the field. Each squad (10-12 members) conducts various missions, with a Candidate selected to plan the mission and a different Candidate selected to execute the other’s plan. Each Candidate has the opportunity to plan one mission and to execute one mission and must receiving a passing score on at least one of these leadership opportunities.
Cadre are present at all times during the planning and briefing of the mission and accompany the Candidates on their missions, often adding unexpected elements, such as mortar rounds and grenades from the enemy, in order to see how the Squad Leader reacts under pressure.
Candidates have also had the opportunity to be the base operations team and the Opposing Force (OpFor, for short) when their squads are not currently conducting missions. The operations team conducts intelligence briefs with each team leaving for and returning from missions, monitors supplies, provides security at the gate and sends out more troops for assistance, when called for by those under attack on their missions. The Opposing Force has been a favorite for many of the Candidates, because it allows those participating to set booby traps for their friends and return fire, trying to disrupt the assaulting Candidates and hold onto the assigned enemy territory.
FLX II ends next week, so the Candidates are half-way through this culminating event. At this point, many are trying to figure out how many more days they can wear the same socks to make their clean clothes last and are getting tired of MREs for lunch, so returning from the field will be a very welcome change next Friday.”
Week Nine:
Week nine has come and gone, and Alpha Company has returned from the field with 98 Candidates poised to graduate on April 14.
A lot has happened in the past week, and we've overcome the major milestones of OCS. All that remains are 3 graduation requirements: the final PT test, History II exam, and the graduation run.”
Week 10:
“We are less than 2 weeks from graduation, and everyone is getting excited. We've finished the last history test, so the only remaining graduation requirements are tomorrow morning's PT test and the graduation run (4 miles) on Friday. There is still plenty of work to do between now and April 14, with all of the moving, equipment turn-in, cleaning, PT, and paperwork to be done, so it's not over just yet.
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to spend several hours at the Boys & Girls Club with kids as young as 4 and high schoolers as old as 15. It was a great time to relax and have fun away from the strenuous activities OCS requires. We also bought plenty of pizza for everyone to eat and got to let out the 'big kid' inside all of us.
As week 11 begins, from those of us on Student Council, let us just say that we are proud to be a part of Alpha Company and that your support helps us make it through the stressful times.”
WATCH the NEWS COVERAGE HERE!
Week 11 and 12:
“Thanks for your support of these Candidates-turned-Officers over the past 12 weeks. Alpha Company graduated and Commissioned 98 new 2nd Lieutenants on Thursday at the Iron Works in Columbus. The road to get there was intense, and we - and you should be, also - are proud of the obstacles overcome in that time.
From here, the new Officers will travel to various different locations for follow-on schools in their respective branches. After this training, they will either report home (Reserves & National Guard) or to their first duty assignments as new 2LTs in their respective fields.”
David was the Distinguished Honor Graduatate (DHG) for OCS Class 005-11, which means he graduated #1 in his class! Due to David's ranking in his class, he was assigned the responsibilty of being the Student Company Commander for graduation week, which encompasses being responsible for everything the company does or DOES NOT do.
Also, he was Distinguished Merit Graduate (DMG) which means he was within the top 20% of his class. Because of David's accomplishments, he was given the Jess Walls Distinguished Honor Graduate Award and the (now washed and framed) company flag/ guidon. GOOOO DAVID!
Week 13: HONEY, I'M HOME!!!!
Ok, well, there really ISN'T a real week 13 for OCS, but I figured I would show where we are now...
We did FIT EVERYTHING in my car - which was a true task in itself, considering I drive a mustang. I am still not quite sure how we did that...
And, a photo of my contribution to our Small Group meeting in honor of David's absence during OCS =) It was a tid bit patriotic, so I thought I would share =)
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