"Every day, there's a boy in the mirror asking me, 'What are you doing here?'"
So BOLC II is over. Overall, I'd have to say that the program a) sucked and b) should be scrapped and brought back to the drawing board. It is THAT bad. Things I learned in BOLC II:
- how to disassemble an M4
- how (not) to conduct Convoy Ops
- variations on stacking drills
- how not to lead a platoon
Yeah. Waste of time. Not a TOTAL loss, but something that I feel really should just be added onto OCS or OBC. Everything useful could have been condensed into about two weeks and integrated into the curricula already in place. Yes, I imagine OCS would suck even more if it were fourteen or sixteen weeks long. But that's still shorter than the nineteen weeks of OCS and BOLC II combined.
The last week in the field sucked. The actual activities weren't too bad; some were even kind of fun (like playing OPFOR, heh). But the cadre BS and FRAGOs were out of control. And the ruck march was utterly miserable. I got the worst blister I've had in years, and spent the entire march struggling desperately to not fall out (and succeeding only by Dyer and Farinelli pacing me).
This past week was just boring. Lots of weapons and barracks maintenance. Lots of standing in lines. Lots of tedious-but-necessary concluding details. Lame social/graduation ceremony on Wednesday night. And a five-mile company run that I fell out of. *sigh* I'm going to have to work my ass off to get back into the shape I was in after OCS.
Last night, a bunch of us went out. A last hurrah for BOLC II, if you will. Dinner at BWWW (Buffalo Wild Wings West; pronounced "bee dub") followed by drinks and karaoke at Gert's. Snider, Ward, and I were the first to BWWW, and conversation somehow turned to Ward's inability to pick up women. Spent an hour listening to Snider give him tips and being the obligatory-female foil for Snider to demonstrate and Ward to practice on. Apart from it being absolutely hilarious (I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long), it was also quite the education. I may never again trust anything that comes out of a guy's mouth.
Oh, and that bet? You know, the one where Shumaker and Snider were supposed to make dinner for me and Myers? They totally backed out of it. They were supposed to cook (again) last Saturday, and then last Sunday, and then, all of a sudden, it was "Oops, I forgot to wash my TA-50! No time for cooking now." They took us to dinner at some little, podunk diner instead. Not to denigrate little, podunk diners, but it was just one of those "...seriously?" moments.
Next stop: Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Tomorrow. I'm running on about four hours of sleep right now. That plus allergies/cold (not sure what it is, but it's done on a number on my respiratory system and voice) have rendered me completely unfit for a seven-hour drive today.
- how to disassemble an M4
- how (not) to conduct Convoy Ops
- variations on stacking drills
- how not to lead a platoon
Yeah. Waste of time. Not a TOTAL loss, but something that I feel really should just be added onto OCS or OBC. Everything useful could have been condensed into about two weeks and integrated into the curricula already in place. Yes, I imagine OCS would suck even more if it were fourteen or sixteen weeks long. But that's still shorter than the nineteen weeks of OCS and BOLC II combined.
The last week in the field sucked. The actual activities weren't too bad; some were even kind of fun (like playing OPFOR, heh). But the cadre BS and FRAGOs were out of control. And the ruck march was utterly miserable. I got the worst blister I've had in years, and spent the entire march struggling desperately to not fall out (and succeeding only by Dyer and Farinelli pacing me).
This past week was just boring. Lots of weapons and barracks maintenance. Lots of standing in lines. Lots of tedious-but-necessary concluding details. Lame social/graduation ceremony on Wednesday night. And a five-mile company run that I fell out of. *sigh* I'm going to have to work my ass off to get back into the shape I was in after OCS.
Last night, a bunch of us went out. A last hurrah for BOLC II, if you will. Dinner at BWWW (Buffalo Wild Wings West; pronounced "bee dub") followed by drinks and karaoke at Gert's. Snider, Ward, and I were the first to BWWW, and conversation somehow turned to Ward's inability to pick up women. Spent an hour listening to Snider give him tips and being the obligatory-female foil for Snider to demonstrate and Ward to practice on. Apart from it being absolutely hilarious (I haven't laughed that hard in I don't know how long), it was also quite the education. I may never again trust anything that comes out of a guy's mouth.
Oh, and that bet? You know, the one where Shumaker and Snider were supposed to make dinner for me and Myers? They totally backed out of it. They were supposed to cook (again) last Saturday, and then last Sunday, and then, all of a sudden, it was "Oops, I forgot to wash my TA-50! No time for cooking now." They took us to dinner at some little, podunk diner instead. Not to denigrate little, podunk diners, but it was just one of those "...seriously?" moments.
Next stop: Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Tomorrow. I'm running on about four hours of sleep right now. That plus allergies/cold (not sure what it is, but it's done on a number on my respiratory system and voice) have rendered me completely unfit for a seven-hour drive today.