About four hours ago, we woke up to the sound of sophomores in the hall. About two hours ago, we were standing in front of Sully with a new piece of brass on our collar. I don't even want to try to remember all that we did between those times, so you can just assume that it was the hardest bit of P.T. we've ever done. So basically, now that we have our Outfit Brass, all requirements are off, and we're back to just the normal routine of things, except that we have Junior Priviliges for the rest of the week.
We actually did come through the Brass push without ditching anyone, but the person who drags us down the most was not present for the last two days, when we really hit perfection. It's kinda leading us to believe that we couldn't have done it with him present. He and three of my other buddies were visiting Barksdale Air Force Base. They actually met some former Falcons there, and one came back to talk to us on Sunday night. He was the '05 commander of 16, and he said that we have a seriously squared away class for the most part.
The second thing that I wanted to talk about was the campaigns for yell leaders. This year is a lot more competitive than past years have been, especially for the Junior Yell positions. There are five yell leaders elected each year, two juniors and three seniors. Traditionally, all of them come from the Corps, but non-regs persist in trying to get a spot. Actually, I'm quite impressed with a couple of them this year. Two of the non-regs have started to do 24-hour yell practices. We ran by one of them this morning while getting our brass. The big news, though, is that one of the two Junior Yell candidates from the Corps was found to have DWI and possesion of marajuiana in his past, and stepped down as a candidate on Friday. His replacement came too late to be an actual official candidate, so the 5 for yell campaign (the five from the Corps) is trying to get a write-in candidate. It's never succeeded before, but we've got a seriously intense campaign going on. Now that Outfit Brass is over, our class is doing a lot of work to push this guy through.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Spring Break (Also Human Nature)
Spring Break is obviously here, since I've found time to put up a new post. Yes, my life was that busy. Here's a quick breakdown of an average daily schedule.
0530: Wake up for PT. First call at 0535
0630: Begin preparing for formation. First call at 0645
0700: Morning formation and chow
0730: Get chewed out for doing things wrong at chow before leaving for class
0800-1200: Attend class and eat lunch
1200: Return to dorm and panic, since no racks have been made (see last post)
1259: Turn in paper that says we have made all racks one minute before due
1300-1500: Personal study time (hereafter termed PCQ)
1500-1545: Prepare uniform for inspection (must begin inspection by 1545)
1545-1600: Prepare for afternoon PT (drink water, read the world's news, etc)
1600-1630: Meet with buddies in fallout hole and argue about who should have been doing what
1630-1800: Get smoked until we can't do anymore, then get smoked for looking limp
1815: First call for evening formation and chow
1900: Return to dorm and take shower, prepare for CQ
1915 or 1930: Start CQ
2200: End CQ, personal time technically starts, go to fallout hole to get chewed out further
2215: Personal time really starts, begin polishing for next day.
2230: Lights out. Discuss daily problems with old lady, get mad at each other, etc.
As you can see, this is a really tough schedule. While I do get a fair amount of sleep, the stress I'm under is really getting to me. Due to the snoring of my old lady and a really annoying sophomore (not that they're all nice, but this one is especially a pain) I had a pretty bad breakdown last Wednesday morning. But that's not what's been causing my real stress.
Why a new paragraph? I really hate human nature. But the purpose of the Corps of Cadets is becoming more and more clear. Yes, it helps deal with stress, and yes, it makes you a leader, but the source of the stress and the leadership experience is conflict with human nature. The reason we have outfit brass is to make all the deadbeats, chopouts, and lazy people show up under the spotlight of a tremendous task. Our biggest task is now to decide what to do with them. Do we ditch them and make our class more efficient, while ruining the ambitions of those few? Or do we keep them and do what we can to make them do their jobs and ultimately, become better people? As much as I would like to help them along, the few are making the task much more difficult for the many. After brass is over, I'll tell you what we decide to do and how it turn out. Don't expect that post for a while. We're a big class and take a while to make decisions. In the meantime, prayers for our collective decision-making ability and my personal witness are appreciated.
0530: Wake up for PT. First call at 0535
0630: Begin preparing for formation. First call at 0645
0700: Morning formation and chow
0730: Get chewed out for doing things wrong at chow before leaving for class
0800-1200: Attend class and eat lunch
1200: Return to dorm and panic, since no racks have been made (see last post)
1259: Turn in paper that says we have made all racks one minute before due
1300-1500: Personal study time (hereafter termed PCQ)
1500-1545: Prepare uniform for inspection (must begin inspection by 1545)
1545-1600: Prepare for afternoon PT (drink water, read the world's news, etc)
1600-1630: Meet with buddies in fallout hole and argue about who should have been doing what
1630-1800: Get smoked until we can't do anymore, then get smoked for looking limp
1815: First call for evening formation and chow
1900: Return to dorm and take shower, prepare for CQ
1915 or 1930: Start CQ
2200: End CQ, personal time technically starts, go to fallout hole to get chewed out further
2215: Personal time really starts, begin polishing for next day.
2230: Lights out. Discuss daily problems with old lady, get mad at each other, etc.
As you can see, this is a really tough schedule. While I do get a fair amount of sleep, the stress I'm under is really getting to me. Due to the snoring of my old lady and a really annoying sophomore (not that they're all nice, but this one is especially a pain) I had a pretty bad breakdown last Wednesday morning. But that's not what's been causing my real stress.
Why a new paragraph? I really hate human nature. But the purpose of the Corps of Cadets is becoming more and more clear. Yes, it helps deal with stress, and yes, it makes you a leader, but the source of the stress and the leadership experience is conflict with human nature. The reason we have outfit brass is to make all the deadbeats, chopouts, and lazy people show up under the spotlight of a tremendous task. Our biggest task is now to decide what to do with them. Do we ditch them and make our class more efficient, while ruining the ambitions of those few? Or do we keep them and do what we can to make them do their jobs and ultimately, become better people? As much as I would like to help them along, the few are making the task much more difficult for the many. After brass is over, I'll tell you what we decide to do and how it turn out. Don't expect that post for a while. We're a big class and take a while to make decisions. In the meantime, prayers for our collective decision-making ability and my personal witness are appreciated.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Outifit Brass Details (hint: it's not fun)
So earlier this week I told how Outfit Brass started. Well, now we have a few more details on how it works. Here is a nearly complete list of requirements for completion. Watch for updates if I forgot anything.
1. Each fish must get one perfect uniform inspection and one perfect hole inspection.
2. Each squad (4-5 fish) must have one perfect chow, to include getting to the table before the sophomores, finishing before them, and making no mistakes while at the table.
3. Each rack (bed) must be unmade and all sheets neatly folded and placed on the rack by morning formation. Starting at 9:00, racks can be made. All must be made perfectly by 2:00.
4. All upperclassmen must be greeted 3-deep for the duration of Brass push. See previous post for more info.
5. We will go on a unity trip tomorrow to work together for two days (coming back Sunday around 2:00) and get to better know each other.
6. Seven hours of Personal Call to Quarters (personal study time during the day) must be completed per fish per week. This amount may go up as the push continues.
7. Physical Training is much more difficult, and involves many exercises that emphasize mental, not physical, strength. For example, wall-sits, where we lean against the wall with our legs in the position they would be in a chair. It's torture after about a minute. I think we typically do it for five minutes at a stretch.
8. We cannot use mirrors for the duration of Brass. Any function that needs a mirror should be filled by a buddy.
As you can see, Outfit Brass requires perfection from the fish class. Basically, it means we don't get our Brass until they decide we're ready for it. I will probably have more to say about the unity trip when I come back. I hope it will be fun, but regardless, I will enjoy being away from the Corps for a full day.
P.S. Check out the new Falcon Sixteen Website. It's not done yet, but it's already looking better than the old one.
1. Each fish must get one perfect uniform inspection and one perfect hole inspection.
2. Each squad (4-5 fish) must have one perfect chow, to include getting to the table before the sophomores, finishing before them, and making no mistakes while at the table.
3. Each rack (bed) must be unmade and all sheets neatly folded and placed on the rack by morning formation. Starting at 9:00, racks can be made. All must be made perfectly by 2:00.
4. All upperclassmen must be greeted 3-deep for the duration of Brass push. See previous post for more info.
5. We will go on a unity trip tomorrow to work together for two days (coming back Sunday around 2:00) and get to better know each other.
6. Seven hours of Personal Call to Quarters (personal study time during the day) must be completed per fish per week. This amount may go up as the push continues.
7. Physical Training is much more difficult, and involves many exercises that emphasize mental, not physical, strength. For example, wall-sits, where we lean against the wall with our legs in the position they would be in a chair. It's torture after about a minute. I think we typically do it for five minutes at a stretch.
8. We cannot use mirrors for the duration of Brass. Any function that needs a mirror should be filled by a buddy.
As you can see, Outfit Brass requires perfection from the fish class. Basically, it means we don't get our Brass until they decide we're ready for it. I will probably have more to say about the unity trip when I come back. I hope it will be fun, but regardless, I will enjoy being away from the Corps for a full day.
P.S. Check out the new Falcon Sixteen Website. It's not done yet, but it's already looking better than the old one.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Still Alive
Outfit Brass push is here! This is the part of my Corps career where we prove to the upperclassmen that we are a fish class worthy to be called Falcons. This is supposed to be much harder than Corps Brass, where we were merely showing that we could be fish in the Corps. Corps Brass they actually had to give to us (though they have at times threatened to take it away). There is no such requirement for Outfit Brass. There are actually classes that have not gotten it in the past. Also, there is not deadline. Our juniors reportedly too six weeks, and our sophomores took about a wee and a half. I'm seeing a strong correlation between class size and length of Outfit Brass, so I don't expect to be done anytime soon.
To officially kick off Otfit Brass, we went to the MSC this morning (the place is deserted at 5:45) and read all the records of the Medal of Honor Winners. When we got back, after formation, we had to re-whipout to out seniors, since we are now greeting "three-deep". Three-deep greeting requires us to greet with name, hometown, and major. So basically, everyone's going to try to avoid the quad when there are likely to be seniors present. I expect that in the next few days we will also be greeting juniors and then sophomores three-deep. In the three hours since formation, at least three lists of seniors with major and hometown have been sent out on the fish listserv. At least we've got some idea of what we're doing. I expect we'll start going over them like campos in the near future.
In other news, I'm actually doing well in all of my classes. I just got out of an exam for my SOMS class (it's supposed to teach us how to be direct leaders, but I haven't actually learned anything yet) and I think I did pretty well, considering I spent all of five minutes studying for it. Organic chemistry and Calculus three are both doing alright, and I'm pretty sure I'm beating my junior who's in Cal 3 and my sophomore in O-chem. I absolutely destroyed my Poly Sci class, and should get a bag-in for that on Thursday. Air Force classes are pretty fun right now. A couple of weeks ago we got to train on M9's, which are the standard issue pistol of the U.S. armed forces. It's hard to shoot straight with a pistol. We're also preparing to give sample briefings on leadership and teamwork (whee).
To officially kick off Otfit Brass, we went to the MSC this morning (the place is deserted at 5:45) and read all the records of the Medal of Honor Winners. When we got back, after formation, we had to re-whipout to out seniors, since we are now greeting "three-deep". Three-deep greeting requires us to greet with name, hometown, and major. So basically, everyone's going to try to avoid the quad when there are likely to be seniors present. I expect that in the next few days we will also be greeting juniors and then sophomores three-deep. In the three hours since formation, at least three lists of seniors with major and hometown have been sent out on the fish listserv. At least we've got some idea of what we're doing. I expect we'll start going over them like campos in the near future.
In other news, I'm actually doing well in all of my classes. I just got out of an exam for my SOMS class (it's supposed to teach us how to be direct leaders, but I haven't actually learned anything yet) and I think I did pretty well, considering I spent all of five minutes studying for it. Organic chemistry and Calculus three are both doing alright, and I'm pretty sure I'm beating my junior who's in Cal 3 and my sophomore in O-chem. I absolutely destroyed my Poly Sci class, and should get a bag-in for that on Thursday. Air Force classes are pretty fun right now. A couple of weeks ago we got to train on M9's, which are the standard issue pistol of the U.S. armed forces. It's hard to shoot straight with a pistol. We're also preparing to give sample briefings on leadership and teamwork (whee).
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Welcome back to the Corps
After a long Christmas break and relaxation time, I'm now back in the Corps. I had a good time over Christmas, went skiing, and tried to teach certain of my buddies how to ski. In the process, I got to actually relax with upperclassmen, instead of being a fish constantly. The trip to Colorado is a twenty hour bus ride each way, so we watched a lot of movies, did some reading, and slept as much as is possible on a bus. Breckenridge was beautiful, and we got an entire foot of snow while we were there. It was interesting watching the juniors and sophomores, since they were snowboarding instead of skiing, and didn't like powder very much in consequence.
I've been back here for about two weeks now, but it's only just now starting to settle down to a "normal" Corps experience, with a couple of exceptions. First was that Sunday marked 112 days until final review. If that doesn't mean anything to you, realize that I am in the class of '12. To mark this historic occasion, we had fishead day yesterday. Basically, we got to act like sophomores for an entire day. We were "chicken dropped" with our upperclassmen, meaning we could call them by their last names without saying sir, and we didn't have to run around in the hallways. Additionally, the sophomores did what they could to tell us what new things go on during sophomore year. It was a more relaxed day, and I learned a lot. Today's a bit more annoying, since Monday was 111 days until final review, and our sophomores are class of '11. Today, therefore, is butthead day. The sophomores ('heads) get to act like juniors (butts) for a day. Let me tell you, they're enjoying it a lot. They can smile and joke around us, and they're doing a lot of it. We're expecting that the juniors will also have their day tomorrow, but it probably won't be that much different.
This semester, I'm taking fifteen hours, the same amount as last semester, but now it's a more consolidated schedule. I actually have time to do things this semester. I will also have more free weekends, since there's no football games. Unfortunately, the classes I have are also harder (o-chem and cal 3) so I'll be studying more. Apparently I will also have more Corps responsibilities later in the semester in preparation for outfit brass (I'll tell you more when I know more) so studying is going to be harder to squeeze in.
I've been back here for about two weeks now, but it's only just now starting to settle down to a "normal" Corps experience, with a couple of exceptions. First was that Sunday marked 112 days until final review. If that doesn't mean anything to you, realize that I am in the class of '12. To mark this historic occasion, we had fishead day yesterday. Basically, we got to act like sophomores for an entire day. We were "chicken dropped" with our upperclassmen, meaning we could call them by their last names without saying sir, and we didn't have to run around in the hallways. Additionally, the sophomores did what they could to tell us what new things go on during sophomore year. It was a more relaxed day, and I learned a lot. Today's a bit more annoying, since Monday was 111 days until final review, and our sophomores are class of '11. Today, therefore, is butthead day. The sophomores ('heads) get to act like juniors (butts) for a day. Let me tell you, they're enjoying it a lot. They can smile and joke around us, and they're doing a lot of it. We're expecting that the juniors will also have their day tomorrow, but it probably won't be that much different.
This semester, I'm taking fifteen hours, the same amount as last semester, but now it's a more consolidated schedule. I actually have time to do things this semester. I will also have more free weekends, since there's no football games. Unfortunately, the classes I have are also harder (o-chem and cal 3) so I'll be studying more. Apparently I will also have more Corps responsibilities later in the semester in preparation for outfit brass (I'll tell you more when I know more) so studying is going to be harder to squeeze in.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Corps is Dead (Long Live the Corps?)
That week that all college students alternately love and hate has arrived. Dead week and finals are here! The Corps has died along with classes. We basically have junior privileges that can't be taken away, and no classes to go to except for finals. The relief among the fish class has been expressed in a number of ways. I mysteriously acquired an online dating profile (of the non-reputable kind) and several people have had shaving cream bombs go off in their rooms, had their stuff duct-taped to the ceiling, or had "insignificant" items go missing. Between the bouts of mayhem, we've all found time to study until we think our heads will explode.
It really is amazing how different dead Corps is from live Corps. Instead of being constant training, we rarely see our upperclassmen, and when we do, we rarely interact. The only exception is our Squad Leader evaluations. Over the semester, we've been parts of squads of four to five fish led by a sophomore. That sophomore is our main trainer. He takes specific notice of how we do, eats chow with us, and makes sure we're keeping up with studies. This week, our squad leaders gave us an honest evaluation of how we did. It was pretty helpful. Our squad leader basically told us "You're going to have a hard time coming back. That's normal. You're going to regret coming back. That's also normal. PT over the break."
It really is amazing how different dead Corps is from live Corps. Instead of being constant training, we rarely see our upperclassmen, and when we do, we rarely interact. The only exception is our Squad Leader evaluations. Over the semester, we've been parts of squads of four to five fish led by a sophomore. That sophomore is our main trainer. He takes specific notice of how we do, eats chow with us, and makes sure we're keeping up with studies. This week, our squad leaders gave us an honest evaluation of how we did. It was pretty helpful. Our squad leader basically told us "You're going to have a hard time coming back. That's normal. You're going to regret coming back. That's also normal. PT over the break."
Brass and Bonfire
Three weeks ago yesterday, we finally got our Corps Brass. We were woken up at about five in the morning to the sound of our sophomores trying to shake our doors to pieces and Squadron 21 and 12, who live below us, smashing slapboards against the ceiling. Within three minutes, we were all out on the wall stretching out to do some serious PT. During the course of the next two hours, we ran across campus to do pushups and flutterkicks on the hill in front of the Bonfire Memorial, pushups on the fish pond, and various other painful methods of common exercises. At the end of it all, we got the brass from our juniors in front of the arches, then ate breakfast with the seniors at Sbisa.
That weekend was one of the best, and also one of the worst that I've had so far. It was great because not only did we get our brass, but we also had Bonfire and I had college lunch at church. It was one of the worst because between the combination of Bonfire, guard room, and earning brass, I worked harder than I have in my entire life with six hours of sleep in three days. That, combined with a bad cold, caused me to nearly pass out at outfit meeting on Sunday night.
Bonfire was an interesting experience, not just for the traditional Aggie things you already know about, but for the unexpected experiences and snafus that night. One of the things that happened was we showed up at almost the exact same time as our sophomores, so we talked with them for almost the entire six or seven hours we were there. Talking to sophomores at bonfire is a strange experience that will probably never be experienced by anyone outside the Corps, or even by much of the Corps. It was a mixture of them telling stories about their time as fish, giving advice on how to be good fish, recounting their reactions to certain events, and general good bull.
The annoying thing about Bonfire is the way that it is set up now. Since it is off campus, you get about ten thousand people all needing parking. The parking lots are a series of huge fields about five miles from the actual burn site. There are buses running from parking to Bonfire, so you don't have to walk (in fact, they strongly discourage walking). The only trouble is, at midnight, when everyone wanted to leave, the twelve buses that had been running earlier had turned into three (no, I don't know why), so about five thousand people were trying to leave at once on those three buses. The only way we got out before about four in the morning was because several of our upperclassmen generously brought back a truck and carried a truckload of drivers to their cars so they could pick the rest of us up.
The thing that was really lousy about that weekend was that by Sunday morning, with the combined effects of a relatively late night on Friday, earning brass on Saturday, Bonfire Saturday night through early Sunday morning, and flag detail at 6:30 Sunday morning, and a bad cold, I almost passed out at outfit meeting Sunday night. I had bag-ins for the next two mornings, so I was able to recover pretty quickly.
That weekend was one of the best, and also one of the worst that I've had so far. It was great because not only did we get our brass, but we also had Bonfire and I had college lunch at church. It was one of the worst because between the combination of Bonfire, guard room, and earning brass, I worked harder than I have in my entire life with six hours of sleep in three days. That, combined with a bad cold, caused me to nearly pass out at outfit meeting on Sunday night.
Bonfire was an interesting experience, not just for the traditional Aggie things you already know about, but for the unexpected experiences and snafus that night. One of the things that happened was we showed up at almost the exact same time as our sophomores, so we talked with them for almost the entire six or seven hours we were there. Talking to sophomores at bonfire is a strange experience that will probably never be experienced by anyone outside the Corps, or even by much of the Corps. It was a mixture of them telling stories about their time as fish, giving advice on how to be good fish, recounting their reactions to certain events, and general good bull.
The annoying thing about Bonfire is the way that it is set up now. Since it is off campus, you get about ten thousand people all needing parking. The parking lots are a series of huge fields about five miles from the actual burn site. There are buses running from parking to Bonfire, so you don't have to walk (in fact, they strongly discourage walking). The only trouble is, at midnight, when everyone wanted to leave, the twelve buses that had been running earlier had turned into three (no, I don't know why), so about five thousand people were trying to leave at once on those three buses. The only way we got out before about four in the morning was because several of our upperclassmen generously brought back a truck and carried a truckload of drivers to their cars so they could pick the rest of us up.
The thing that was really lousy about that weekend was that by Sunday morning, with the combined effects of a relatively late night on Friday, earning brass on Saturday, Bonfire Saturday night through early Sunday morning, and flag detail at 6:30 Sunday morning, and a bad cold, I almost passed out at outfit meeting Sunday night. I had bag-ins for the next two mornings, so I was able to recover pretty quickly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
