Oh Yeah By the Way...

I'm still alive. Three weeks seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Basically around here, if you have time to blog, it means you're not doing something you should be doing. With sleeping being at the top of that list.

So in a nutshell what's been going on, hm... Took the first couple PFTs, and increased my score on the second by around 80 points thanks to dropping my 1.5 mile time a minute, always good news. Also took the first two CWTs, and unfortunately although I got a 94 on the first I only got an 88 on the second, and although that's still well within passing range, that could cause problems.

Reason being that we finally got down the assignment information for everyone as to where they're going. Unfortunately for navigators, the Board that decides whether or not we go to Pensacola (my preferred result) or Randolph doesn't meet until October 1st. We did have a briefing about both bases though and talked to current WSOs Navs and EWOs, all potentiall career paths for us depending on where we end up. From my last count, after a few SIE'd, there are now 23 Navs left in class 04-01. There are 5 available slots to Pensacola. Any way you slice it, those are pretty bad odds. I would have liked to show improvement on both my second PFT and CWT, but was only able to accomplish half of that goal. Luckily there is a whole lot of other stuff that is taken into consideration at the Board, including a letter I write explaining why I feel I belong there, a letter my FTO writes to plug me, and basically all the stats on me here such as results from leadership activities and briefings and so forth. All that should do me justice, but that last CWT score has had me pretty worried. No clue when the results of the Board will come back, might be a few days later since there are so few apps, or it might be a few weeks later. So right up until a few weeks before graduation I'll have no clue whether I'm packing up and going to Texas or packing up and going to Florida. All I can do is hope I suppose.

The end of the sixth week was important for another big reason, the upper class graduated on Friday. There were actually several events involved, including the Dining Out for graduating members and their families at the O'Club on Wednesday, Open House on Campus on Thursday so they could see where the members studied, ate, and slept, and then the Graduation Parade on Friday. For all those who were pondering not inviting their families, I highly advise against it. All of these events are really cool, and give the people you're related to a window into the life you're going to be leading. Especially for those who have no experience with the military, it's a chance for them to see what it's really like. By the way, week six is really ugly. The first week is equally ugly, because trying to stay awake is the biggest challenge as you run on no sleep with a million things to do. But week six they just pile on the academics, and you have something major due every day with not much time to work on it. While also juggling volunteering for merits for the upper class graduation activities and working shifts at CQ, OCC, PCC, or OTSAC (yeah as if you'll understand any of that). I hear week nine is the next roughest, we'll have to see about that.

Unfortunately for me it's clear across the country from just about everyone I know, so it will be pretty rough on anyone who wants to come participate. It's definitely going to be the coolest thing ever though. So now that they're gone we inherit upper class positions and ranks, so I'm now known as OT Captain Wilson in the position of Operations Group Executive Officer. Basically I work with the top two in charge of OPS which is about half the class. This means I'll get to be carrying a saber at graduation marching out in front of one of the groups of squadrons, one of only 14 out of 150 or so who get to. Pretty spiffy. Privileges become more meaningful, as we become eligible for off-base privileges for the first time next weekend. Unfortunately you have to have 5 or less demerits by Wednesday night, and I'm already at 4 before getting through the weekend, so I'll probably be hanging out on Campus much like this weekend. Alas.

So, we're at uh, forty days to go. No prooooblem.