Quite a bit has happened since my previous post. We have completed the three weeks of “core” officer training as well as the first week of artillery school. Of this first month I’d say one of my most notable accomplishments is figuring out how to put my beret on without a mirror. It is a complicated piece of headgear and a worthy adversary. This is the first weekend I’ve had to be able to dedicate a good amount of time answering e-mails and to this blog. So here goes a large entry:
Week 1: In-Processing
Despite having months to prepare, I was behind the day before I was supposed to report. We received an e-mail two days before the report date giving a time, location, and paperwork packing list which was complete with military ID. I had been trying to get an ID for most of my bonus year at Dartmouth, but all recommendations said that I would get one during in-processing at Fort Sill. I replied asking if I would get an ID during in-process and if they would arrange housing (the website said not to sign a lease until you arrived). A reply back said I was on my own to acquire both and I better do so as soon as possible. It was a Thursday and the day before I was supposed to report when I drove the hour south from OKC to Fort Sill. The gate guard kindly gave me directions to the welcome center where all the in-processing takes place. I pulled into the parking lot, spent about 5 minutes adjusting my beret, took a deep breath, and walked with a purpose towards the front door. About 25 yards from the door I notice a figure adjusting a black mass on his head and I look towards his chest – three echelons. I was locked in. I shifted my personal files from my right to left hand, wiped the sweat from my palm on my trousers, (in hindsight, I wasn’t giving a handshake) and straightened my hand. “Good afternoon, sir” – It was over before I knew it. Muscle memory kicked in, and I mustered an “afternoon” as my arm returned to its side. Now that wasn’t so bad. With a small boost of confidence I walked through the doors to the welcome center (Bldg 4700 in army speak) with no clue where I was headed. Around the next corner I saw a sign for “IDs” and I stood in the nearest line. The line was for a receptionist giving numbers for various service desks. I managed to read a schedule posted on the front of her desk, “Ids made by appointment on Mondays and Wednesday, walk-ins Thursdays only.” Lucky me! I get to the receptionist and state I’d like to get an ID card. She tells me I can take a number but I probably won’t get seen today. How quickly we fall. I took my numbered scrap of paper and sat down across from two other young gentlemen with gold bars on their chest. I scanned the “now serving” sign, 71. I look down in my hand, 124. An hour and a half passes while I have sporadic conversation with the two lieutenants in front of me. As it turns out they are in the field artillery class before me. Suddenly they get up to return to class, before their numbers had been called. One offers me his number, 96. I looked up and see 91. Lady luck comes back my way, as the office closed in 45 minutes and I was one of the last numbers to be seen.
At 0630 Friday morning, a car occupied by two LTs pulled up next to me in the parking lot. Thirty minutes until our first formation. We glance at each other and then check to make sure we have all of my paperwork (for the 5th time) as other cars drift in. No one has dared to get out of their cars yet. With 15 minutes until the formation, I make my move. I adjust my beret one more time and open my car door. A dozen cracks sound off as I stand up. I hear a “safety in numbers” and I introduce myself to the nearest LTs in the car next to mine as we head to the first formation. Good to know I was in the right place.
I didn’t meet anyone who didn’t have housing. So much for waiting until you got to post before you signed a lease. Luckily, there is a chain apartment complex outside most US bases that most of my fellow LTs had signed leases with. For $509 / month they place you in 4-man rooms with other LTs. Can’t say it feels much different from college, except that I finally have my own bathroom. When I walked into my new apartment for the first time I realized how small the world is. One of my roommates was a year ahead of me at Norwich University. (Dartmouth ROTC is a detachment of Norwich University and we train with them) He had shown me how to wear my gear and pack my ruck sack on my very first training exercise with Norwich.
The rest of in-processing went smoothly. Lines existed but nothing a book couldn’t handle. Of note were inoculations. They herd the mass of LTs into a funnel after slapping a sticker on your chest that indicates which shots you are to receive. They care little about your civilian medical records and so I was up to receive the entire buffet. Nurses come at you from both sides, and don’t swab with alcohol first in order to save time. You hear “Hep A!” -stab- Hep B! -stab- Polio!” -stab in rapid succession. After they put two shots in both shoulders, they deal the final two blows in both triceps.
At the end of the in-process week they asked for volunteers for platoon leader. I volunteered having no clue I would have the position for the remainder of the class (unless you fail a test). It has been keeping me busy even during the rather slow “core” training weeks. It has been the most valuable training I have had so far. It has been great to get a “dry run” at leading a platoon where I really have time to iron out all the kinks in my leadership style. It is a great opportunity.
Week 3: Rifle Marksmanship
Our final week of “core” training was spent in the “field” for rifle marksmanship training. We use the term field quite loosely. We stayed on a training FOB (forward operating base) which consisted of a chain link fence surrounding a grid of tents. The 10-man tents were sprayed with three inches of insulation and equipped with two air conditioning units. We averaged two hours at the range and six hours of class which were conducted in a giant air conditioned tent in the middle of the FOB. Since we were confined to the FOB when we weren’t training, we had a good bit of down time. The platoon leader responsibilities kept me a little more busy than most, but the downtime was a great opportunity for squad bonding (each of my 8-man squads had its own tent). We received excellent marksmanship instruction by Infantry NCOs (Non-commissioned Officers, i.e., sergeants), which were the best courses of the week. They showed us the basics: body position, breathing techniques, trigger squeeze, and follow through but also the tricks from being in the trade – what equipment is worth purchasing and ways to effectively clean your weapon. Their instruction was excellent, my shot groups improved dramatically from any previous experience I had on the range. Previously my shot groups landed within the circumference of an orange, now I was able to group inside a half-dollar. The next day we shot at 200m and 300m targets. The effective range of the M4 (the rifle we were firing) is 300m, and the bullet actually follows the shape of a very wide parabola rather than a straight line. The adjustments you need to make when firing at 200m (and especially 150m) targets are actually quite significant because the bullet is traveling high. On the third day we qualified on the pop-up range. The transition from stationary to pop-up targets took some getting used to. I found that by the time I engaged my target, acquired my sight picture, and waited for the natural pause in my breath, the target had dropped down again. Regardless the instruction I had received held through, and I qualified on my first iteration. The final day was the “combat shoot” where we put on all our gear (Body Armor, Helmet, Ammunition Vest, and Gloves). While there were no 300m targets on this range, it was a confidence boost to know I can hit a target at 200m consistently, even with all the gear making shooting awkward.
Week 4: Fire Support
The shift to artillery school was quite dramatic. Instruction was now lead by CPTs rather than NCOs. Each platoon receives a first support instructor and a gunnery instructor. First support refers to calling in and adjusting fires over the radio, while gunnery is the other side, where you adjust your guns to hit targets radioed to you. The first day is a bit nerve racking, because your instructors will define the remainder of the course. As a platoon, we got very lucky. Our fire support instructor is actually a CPT in the Canadian army, who spent about 20 years calling in fires with Canadian Special Forces units. He cuts right to the chase and pulls in examples from his experience whenever he can. We’ve only met our gunnery instructor momentarily, but that was to ask if we had any questions on the material so far. The platoon consensus is that we may have gotten the best. In terms of material we dove right into forward observing. We spent a good amount of time in the simulators, which are like mini-movie theatres. The screen shows a panoramic landscape and the instructor programs a target to come out into the open. Our goal is to identify the target, calculate its location and radio the fire mission within 45 seconds. The instructor plugs in our coordinates and fires appear on the screen. You then call in adjustments as the instructor plugs your commands into the computer, and you continue until you walk fires onto the target. The first mission was quite daunting, but after hours of practice everyone has seen significant improvements. I am eagerly awaiting our live fire shoots.
