Holy crap today was fun! This morning we got to sleep in until 0530 (I actually had to wake up around 0430 because I had a ton of laundry to fold and I also had to take a shower), the weather was amazing during the LRC, and I am in love with my S1 job!
The LRC was a total blast. Our challenges were set up over a 3-foot deep pool of water. For most of the challenges, we were required to move a set of wood planks & large ammo cans from one side of the pool to the other. The cadre pretty much forced us to jump in the water at one point, but there were a couple occasions where we legitimately fell into the water. Overall, my squad did a great job of working together and communicating. When I had the opportunity to be a squad leader for a couple of the challenges, I found some confidence and took charge, so I was pretty proud of myself. It was fun to get to know people in my squad a little better, which is important because I’ll be working with them pretty closely over the next couple months. They are all really cool people.
This afternoon, we took the Call for Fire exam. I think I missed a couple, pretty much due to my inability to pay attention in class, haha. It gets soooooo boring – sometimes you really can’t help but nod off a little. Again, we only need a 70% to pass, and I definitely exceeded the standard, so I don’t have anything to worry about.
I’m not here to be the best in the class; I’m here to do my personal best. I just hope that people don’t misconstrue that to mean that I have a lack of motivation, which is certainly not the case. I’m just trying to be realistic and honest with myself. There are very intelligent, physically fit people here, but I’m not here to compete with them. I’m at OCS to better myself. Competition can breed a lot of resentment if it is taken too far, so I’m going to do my best to encourage others and build up myself at the same time. I have no reason to want anyone else to fail. Hopefully everyone else here has the same mentality!
My S1 job as a platoon secretary is a lot of work, but it definitely has its rewards! It’s nice being able to get to know my cadre on a more personal one-on-one level. I can get my foot in the door without seeming too over-zealous or like too much of a brown-noser.
Welllllll, it’s looking like personal time is coming to a end. Tomorrow we are touring the National Infantry Museum (which is off-post!!) and probably having lots of study-barracks time – a.k.a. sit-in-your-room-and-look-busy time. Anyways, I hope this great feeling carries into the weekend! I’m feeling really motivated and excited for what’s in store!
