Another Turning Point...
And seemingly in a blink of an eye, the career course is over. Five months of exhaustive effort culminated with graduation on Friday. It was a bittersweet day; the relief of the course completion balanced against saying goodbye to the many friends and families we've made here.
We celebrated in true 03-10 fashion by throwing our own Oktoberfest with 120L of bier flown in from Germany. It was good to see everyone 'one last time' even though there is still a small handful that are staying behind as I am to complete their master's degrees.
Yesterday, I took Andy to the airport in St. Louis for his return flight back to Poland. It was hard seeing him go. He did incredibly well and was one of three International Honors Students. He was excited to finally be on his way home and we tried to send him off in good fashion after breakfast at Cracker Barrel and lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. I'll miss him, but I'm optimistic we'll stay in touch.
For me, the most surprising aspect of this course was the number of people I met that I genuinely liked. At the onset, I had low expectations but as I got to know everyone out of uniform, I can say that richness and diversity of the class was incredible. When I left Drum, I was burnt out. Being amongst so many peers that still have the love for what we do and who we are as Engineer officers was a recharge I desperately needed. I sincerely hope that I will cross paths with everyone again, and as the new phase of my time here at Leonard Wood begins, I'm ready for new challenges and some quality time with Lilz and Manna.
We celebrated in true 03-10 fashion by throwing our own Oktoberfest with 120L of bier flown in from Germany. It was good to see everyone 'one last time' even though there is still a small handful that are staying behind as I am to complete their master's degrees.
Yesterday, I took Andy to the airport in St. Louis for his return flight back to Poland. It was hard seeing him go. He did incredibly well and was one of three International Honors Students. He was excited to finally be on his way home and we tried to send him off in good fashion after breakfast at Cracker Barrel and lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. I'll miss him, but I'm optimistic we'll stay in touch.
For me, the most surprising aspect of this course was the number of people I met that I genuinely liked. At the onset, I had low expectations but as I got to know everyone out of uniform, I can say that richness and diversity of the class was incredible. When I left Drum, I was burnt out. Being amongst so many peers that still have the love for what we do and who we are as Engineer officers was a recharge I desperately needed. I sincerely hope that I will cross paths with everyone again, and as the new phase of my time here at Leonard Wood begins, I'm ready for new challenges and some quality time with Lilz and Manna.