First Week of Corps Brass

Corps Brass push officially started on Monday! This is the part of the fish year where we get to prove to our upperclassmen that we are, indeed, capable of being good little fishies in the Corps. Up to this point, apparently, we have been in a kind of "probationary fish" stage. Now we will get the right to actually wear the Corps symbol on our collar in the place of one of the A.M.U.'s that we normally wear.

To prove that we can be good fish, we have to accomplish a number of goals over the next few weeks. One of those is daily uniform inspections. In one of these inspections, a sophomore goes over you with a notecard and measures your brass, checks your shoes and belt buckle, and generally finds everything that could possibly be wrong. On the notecard, they record all the "cuts" on the uniform so that we can fix them later. In all seriousness, I actually like that part of brass, because my uniform is finally looking how it should. We also can ask questions about how to fix things like deep scratches in brass, scuffs on shoes, and other things like those.

Another thing that's been happening during this week is we're getting smoked a lot more. I'm not sure if it's because it's Corps Brass or what, but we've messed up a lot this week. First, we forgot to run Batfish on Monday. Batfish is the daily delivery of the Battalion, the school newspaper, to our upperclassmen's doors. We had to do a class set (112) of pushupsfor that. The very next day, we forgot again. Another class set. Also, several people didn't do the required amount of Personal Call to Quarters (PCQ) for the week, so we had to do another class set on Friday. Needless to say, we're all more than a little annoyed at the person responsible.

One interesting thing that came out of out Tuesday PT was a six-mile run. We ran from the quad all the way to George Bush Library and back again. I did pretty well, but I can't say the same for all my buddies, or even some of the sophomores and juniors. One sophomore actually complained audibly to his buddies in front of all the fish. Doing better than the upperclassmen in a run makes us all feel great.

Another thing that has changed during Corps Brass is that the good bull from the juniors and seniors has almost completely stopped. Usually, the juniors and seniors don't miss a chance to mess with our minds, do weird things, and generally relax with us (in a wierd, upperclassman, sort of way). It's fun, and it gives me a chance to practice not smiling in the hallway.

I'm still doing alright here, but I'm exhausted. I think I've stayed awake through one whole class this week, and that was the Air Force class, where bad things happen to those who sleep. The late march-in and lack of tasks should give me a chance to catch up on sleep, though.