OBC: Week One

The first week of OBC is done.

The first week included an Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) where each officer is graded on pushups and situps each in two-minute tests, and then timed in a two-mile run.

Then it was off to briefings and paperwork. Finance paperwork, processing paperwork, life insurance paperwork, dental paperwork; we also received briefings on everything from ethics, expected behavior, to suicide prevention and dealing with combat stress.

The highlight of the week was actually climbing around and inside a real M1A1 tank. We didn't get to do anything, but at least we learned something useful for down the road.

Our class is mostly OCS graduates, with a few National Guardsmen (NG) and Reservists (USAR), along with two international students, one from Greece and one from Afghanistan. ROTC seems to be in the minority.

All in all, a pretty slow week, especially when you think the Army is all about blowing stuff up.

The weekend was slow as being stuck in a small and old class, many of the officers are either engaged or already married. Our big attempt to go out drinking Saturday night ended with half the group wanting to retire early ... we were back on base before 11 pm, when bars in Louisville don't close until 4 am ... obviously there are aspects my class has to work on before we leave here in a few months.

This week: Land Navigation, M4A1 (rifle) qualification, M9 (pistol) qualification, and a few briefings thrown in there somewhere.