Copied from (most recently) boutell:

Take a picture of yourself RIGHT NOW! Don't change your clothes. Don't fix your hair. Just take the picture. Post that picture with no editing. Post these instructions with your picture.

 

I just stopped by the room for lunch.  I look terrible (rough day and it's only half over), but there are not that many shots of me in ACUs so here you go...

As a kid growing up in the shadow of the Vietnam War, I remember reading bumper stickers that did not just promote peace, but also indicted those who fought.  I can understand this because as Americans, our involvement in any war has always been voluntary.  We look at war as something that we can just choose to avoid.

We have never wondered if our elderly parents or grandparents were buried alive in burning rubble.
We have never stood in the window helpless, listing to our sisters' scream as a sniper's bullet ripped through her chest.
We have never cowered in the basement clutching our children to our chests while enemy shells blew apart our small home and meager belongings.

Most Americans only know of war; we don't know war.  We have the mistaken belief that we will always get to call the plays on the field.  That we can always hold war at arms length.  We cannot picture, I cannot picture, the United States under attack by invading forces.  Because of this, so many people have taken the next step of believing not only that we could manage to never engage the U.S. military in a war, but further, we could also mostly dismantle our military because we do not have a realistic need to defend ourselves from any threats.  It explains why the American psyche has been steeled against the idea of a large standing Army throughout our history.

September 11, 2001 was a wake-up call (as was December 7, 1941).  The phone rang and the caller said, "Hello, this is the outside world".  We had remained silent in the face of suffering because we could, because our fortunate geography gave us that option.  It is horrible that it took a great tragedy for us to decide to attempt to right a wrong.

This is not about the idea that we need to insert ourselves into more world conflicts.  It's to say that we should not wait until the crisis is at our doorstep.  Yes, we were late in Bosnia, but our constant involvement in the region since has prevented many minor threats from growing.  Sending aid organizations to give money to corupt governments will not prevent war.  Sending Peace Keepers into armed conflicts has repeatedly failed and lead to additional loss of life.  Who does it make sense to send, then?

WWI
WWII
Korea
Rwanda
Bosnia

What if they threw a war and the United States didn't come?  I think the answer is obvious.  "Let them eat cake", is not good foreign policy.

That is not just a slogan; it's a reality.  I was up at 4:45, ate breakfast, went out to PT, got back, showered, read all my email on 3 accounts, called my credit card company to dispute a charge, checked out FaceBook, chatted online with friends on the east coast, made plans for later today, washed , dried, and put away a load of laundry, wrote a letter, looked at airfares and printed the stuff I need to request leave, and posted on livejournal...twice...and it's only 10:00 a.m.

I can see why the Army got rid of that motto.  I don't think that lifestyle appeals to 18 year olds.  Although I think the current slogan, "Army Strong" still implies too much work. 

Any suggestions?  I think "Army: Fight for Freedom, Eat for Free" might work.

I am a really flexible and adaptable person.  That doesn't mean that the stuff that goes on while I am trying to adapt isn't damn funny.

First, driving.  I haven't driven in forever.  I think if I consider the 20 years that I have been allowed to drive, I actually drove for about 9 of those years.  I rented a tiny car from Enterprise.  I told them I wanted the cheapest thing they had.  I think I should have gone up a few notches.  When I break it feels like my heel is what is actually stopping the car.  The car is so underpowered that it struggles to go over speed bumps.  This might be a good thing, though, because as it turns out, I have become terrified of driving.  Think of the scene in Talladega Nights where Ricky Bobby first gets back on the track after his accident and he is driving 10 mph - that's me.  The other day when I saw the 15 mph school zone sign ahead I looked down and realized I needed to speed up. 

Second, PT.  I am not allowed to do any PT.  When I first got here I tried to just keep running on my injury.  I was convinced it would just work itself out.  My friend who went to OCS with me, who works at the orthopedic clinic, practically dragged me in there.  The doctor who saw me spent most of the appointment shaking his head.  He said, "if you are wondering why you are not getting any better, just look in the mirror".  He doubled my dosage and restricted my PT.  I asked for "run at own pace".  No deal.  He said I had used poor judgment in the past (the last "run at own pace" profile I had I ran 5 miles at the front of the formation - my friend had already told on me).  I finally got him to agree to stationary bike with no resistance and no standing on the pedals...he actually wrote all of this out.  Today was my first day on the bike.  I felt ridiculous.  I tried to improve the workout by pedaling like Lance Armstrong in the last mile of the Tour de France.  I did this for 30 minutes.  When I got off I was really hurting.  I have the feeling that once again, I might have used poor judgment.

Third, living arrangements.  I am basically living in an on post hotel.  It's OK.  The people are really nice.  I just wish I knew where the bug bites all over my legs were coming from.  I suspect bed bugs.  I don't want them to spray because I don't want to sleep on a mattress soaked in Raid.  One of my other OCS friends here wanted me to be her roommate in an apartment.  To clarify, there is no cost savings for rooming together because the Army pays the rent.  I have only had one female roommate that I ever got along with, but I suspect it was because we only roomed together briefly.  I said no to the roommate deal and now she seems upset about it.  Is that normal?

Fourth, Sierra Vista.  There is nothing here (and what is here has either the word "Sierra" or "Vista" in the name so it is totally confusing).  We do not have a Super Walmart or a Starbucks.  We do have Target (yay), but that's about it.  There is a mall which has the required Gap, Limited, and Victoria's Secret.  There is no Limited Too which means Eden will never step foot in there.  I'm sure there is a book store somewhere in town, but I have yet to find it.  When I ask people, "where can I get a ________", the reply is usually, "Tuscon".  As if Tuscon is just down the street and not an hour an a half away (by normal driving...it would probably be about 4 hours for me).

Fifth, my colleagues.  West Point...22 years old...all of them.

I am sure I am going to get used to all of this, right?

First, remember D-Day.  Second, Happy Belated Birthday to my sister (I did call her yesterday).  My sister's birthday is the day before D-Day (32 years later, of course), and my mother's birthday is December 6, 1941 the exact day before Pearl Harbor.  My birth date...unremarkable...so far.  (As a side note, my brother was born the day before Cinco de Mayo).

Ok, so there is hope for me at OCS.  I am within striking distance of getting into my dream branch (think of it as getting into the right department of a big multinational company).  The new rankings came out today and I am 72nd (out of 148, about to become 146).  That's huge because I am now in the top 50% which is a minimum goal for me.  But more important, they did a "straw poll"  to see at what rank places in each branch run out.  Right now, and it's just an estimate, Military Intelligence will run out at the person ranked #117.  That would mean I would get it...assuming I don't blow my Troop Leading Procedures final exam on Monday...assuming I don't fall out of the 4 and 5 mile timed runs coming up...and...this is the big one...that I pass the first U.S. Military history exam.  Yes, when I saw Apollo 13 the ending was a complete surprise, but I did know that the ship was going to sink before I saw Titanic so there is hope.  Of course I am studying like mad for it already.  I am reading a great book assigned for the class called For the Common Defense.  It's actually a good read.

Anyway, please do whatever you do (cross fingers, clutch your rosary, spin around 3 times and spit on the ground) for me. 

...sort of. I finished Basic Training on May 9 and reported to Officer Candidate School (OCS) the next day. I got to see Carson, Eden, Ted and my mom so that was great, but I only got to see them for about 24 hours. I will not put up a whole bunch about Basic since my sister was kind enough to email letters from me. If you have questions, ask 'em. I can only get online on Sundays right now (today is the exception because of the Memorial Day holiday).

OCS has been much more difficult than I expected. Right now I am 88th out of about 150. This has been a huge blow to my ego. I certainly expected that I would be in the top 10%, not struggling to crack into the top 50%. The big issue is that my ranking affects what branch of the Army I might serve in...we will be choosing our branches in rank order.

For those completely in the dark about what I am talking about, the branches I am considering are:
Military Intelligence Adjudant General
Engineering           Quartermaster
Signal           Ordnance
Military Police           Transportation

Here are some pictures that I took the last few days of Basic Training...

This is me and my bunk mate SPC Friday and our actual bunk. She is also from Delaware.

"Buddy" my M16-A2 and I standing at attention.

A morning march...we marched and stood in formation for endless hours.

But there were fun times too. We are laughing and joking in the barracks in this photo.

My mom and Ted took more photos at graduation and family day than I did, but here are my two favorites:
Carson gives his signature wink and thumbs up from the sunroof of "FireBat" (the VW has a name).

Eden is as tall as this soldier.

I will try to do the best I can at keeping up. I am physically exhaused and in a lot of pain all the time, but I do think it will all be worth it. If nothing else, I have gone from a size 8/10 to a size 4. I'm still about 12 lbs over my maximum skating weight, but I assure you, most of that is muscle. Those are excellent results for only 10 weeks. So far the PT at OCS makes what I did at Basic look like a joke.