Zab,
I appreciate the comment. I have the utmost respect for you NAVY guys and my fellow ROTC "officers to be". Ya, it's easy to get into a p!ssing match with the two branches, however, that serves me no good. I'm very interested in the NAVY way of training and how it compares to the Air Force. With me being a cadet who will be commissioning next May (10May06 @1000 to be exact...but who's counting), I realize that I have a lot to learn about AD. One thing I do realize, is that with the US Military reshaping and more joint missions taking place, us AFROTC and NROTC guys/gals are going to need to see the "goods and bads" in both services so that we can learn from each others mistakes and successes and apply them to our own individual way of doing things. One thing is for sure though, with the ever changing world, my fellow NAVY and AFROTC brothers will soon be serving together...kicking a** in the sky.
Crowbar,
I'd be glad to try to oblige you Sir...
My 6 week Field Training camp at Lackland was “the most fun that you’ll never want to have”. That is the best way of putting it. The AF uses AFROTC Field Training as a way to weed cadets out of ROTC. My days began at 0400 to 2130 6 days a week. It consisted of weekly rotation of leadership positions; ranging from FLT/CC to Group/CC. At my FTU there were 510 cadets and it was quite a task to be given the responsibility of managing well over 200 cadets. It is an experience that is very hard to convey to those who have not gone. Lucy me, I went to Lackland where MTIs are everywhere and where PJ’s give you some lessons on how PT is done. My squadron had about 4 washing machines and there were over 60 of us. Needless to say, we stank like sh!t. I remember washing my PT cloths in the shower and waking up to a damp set of PTUs. Everyone there got sick at least once and we had 6 shower heads for all 60+ of us. Average time to shower was about 4min per cadet and we processed through there like cattle.
PT took place exactly 30min after breakfast. The march to chow was, at times, 24min long (depending on which chow hall you were assigned to that day). It seemed like we were always covered in sweat for all 43 days of training. It sucked. Once you got out of the shower, you put on your UOD and began sweating. Sometimes we went to bed without showering. We had 4 Physical Fitness Tests while we were there.
We also had a Field Training Exercise (FTX) where we spent 4 days in the “field”. This was located at Camp Bullis. We were trained by AF Security Forces on how to set up defensive/offensive positions, how to establish forward air base security, and how to deal with protestors. Perhaps the best part of the training there was all the MREs whe got…3 a day and they were great!
What made it the worst was the fact that they were trying to push your buttons, make you break, and see if you will SIE (Self Initiated Elimination). One guy in my Squadron SIE’d 36 hours into the program. I thought, before I went there that…”hey, it’s a program ran by AF officers…doughnut eaters and pencil pushers…right?”. Well I saw some of the biggest Officers and MTI’s that I’ve ever seen before. These guys looked like Marines in Blue…(looking back on it…I wonder if they really were)
Anyway Sir, the whole 6 weeks were like a blur to me and it was something that I have purposely forgotten about. Let me just say that even though it was a stressful and tedious process, I learned so much about myself, my peers, and what it takes to be a good officer. I saw great Officers and not-so-great Officers there. I realize this is just the tip of the iceburg and that I still have a lot to learn about officership and I can’t wait to serve with you gentlemen (and ladies).
Go Air Force! <---sorry, just had to add that :icon_smil
PEACE,
THRILLER
, and sleep depravation from training, I was a little worried that I bit off more than I could chew with these guys.