It's been a crazy week of in-processing and eating fantastic food here at Aviano. I'll write a bit more about in-processing when I get back to the states. I'm heading to Venezia right now, and I've set up a web album of my pictures thus far. I'll be adding all of my pictures as they are taken. So there should be some pictures from Venice tonight. You can see the album by clicking here.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Right Start
Today I'm beginning Aviano's "Right Start" program. Apparently, the most important part of this program is my Italian driving test, which I will take on Thursday. I look forward to it. I'll post later in the day when I have a better idea of what the program entails. For now, I'll just say that it was nice to wake up in Italy for the first time!
Arrival
I've arrived in Aviano. The temporary lodging facilities are very nice -- I even have my own kitchen. I took these pictures outside my room this afternoon. I'll post more pictures as I take 'em. I'm going out to dinner with a couple of JAGs tonight.
Leaving Atlanta
I’m sitting in the Atlanta Airport Alabama Venice
If I haven’t mentioned this before, it is very important to have a good sponsor. Both my sponsor and his wife have been great and have helped out enormously. Without them, I’m sure I would have suffered greatly.
I have more than 500 pictures from COT to post. For now, here are some highlights:
Stormy Day at Maxwell:
Marching to PT:
2-Mile Relay Practice:
2-Mile Relay Team:
Dress Blues:
First Night Out:
A Prior Service COT Student Showing Off His Ribbons:
Push-Up Competition:
Night Out at the Officers' Club:
Simulated Deployment:
Our First MRE -- Meal, Ready to Eat:
Humvee Ambulance:
Sleeve Rolling Seminar:
Fake Fighting -- Medical Exercise:
Confidence Course at Dawn:
Confidence Course -- Ropes:
Confidence Course -- Ropes:
Confidence Course -- Ropes:
Rock Climbing Wall:
Rappelling Wall:
High Beam:
Dining Out:
Grog Bowl:
Graduation Day:
Graduation Day:
Flight Photo:
Physical Training (PT) Thoughts and Recommendations
I thought that I’d post a few suggestions regarding preparing for the PT test. For some people, the PT will be no problem. For others, it may be quite difficult. Before I begin, you can find a link to the Air Force PT standards by clicking here.
Here’s what happens at COT. On training day 1, which is the day after you arrive, they will measure your waist. This measurement will be part of your Physical Fitness Baseline (PFB), which is the initial measurement of your physical condition. On Friday, you will do 1 minute of sit-ups (which the Air Force refers to as “crunches”), 1 minute of push-ups, and a timed 1.5-mile run. These tests, combined with your waist measurement make up your score. The total number of points in 100 and it is broken up as follows:
Push-Ups: 10 points
Sit-Ups: 10 points
Waist: 30 points
Run: 50 points
As you can see, the run and the waist make up 80 out of 100 points. Thus, you should focus on these 2 areas. The most important area of focus is the run because it is the area where you have the most control over your score. You should, of course, try to slim down before starting COT, but if you do well on the run, you’ll most likely be fine as far as physical fitness is concerned.
When you get to COT, be careful of eating too much of the dining hall food. Although many people lost weight at COT, some gained a bit. The food is very high in calories – even the low-fat yogurt. Just watch what you eat and you’ll be fine.
With regard to the sit-ups and push-ups, the most important thing to remember is not to do any more work than necessary. For sit-ups, only the bottom of your shoulder blades need touch the ground – don’t go all the way down. Also, your arms can touch the middle of your thighs – don’t try and touch your knees. For the push-ups, don’t control the down motion – just let yourself drop. Most importantly, practice these each day. It doesn’t take that long and it will make you a much happier COT student.
I would suggest buying a digital watch with a timer for the run. I bought one at the Base Exchange (BX) once I realized that it would be helpful. The laps are 1/4-mile.
At the end of COT, they will measure your waist again. You will do the push-up, sit-up, and run tests again. This is called your Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA). I improved by about 8 points and you should see an improvement – unless you scored 100 on your PFB – then you’re awesome and you don’t need my advice.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Free!
COT is finally over. It was both a good and a tough experience. Although I wouldn't want to do it again, I also am grateful that I had the chance to meet such interesting and dedicated people. At COT, you spend nearly all of your time with the same 14 people and you really get to know them. 3 or 4 weeks ago, I was concerned because I couldn't remember all of their names. By the end, we became close. I am sad that none will be stationed with me, but I look forward to seeing them in the future. For now, enjoy this graduation video.
Monday, September 3, 2007
COT Week 2
Well, the second week of COT is complete. It feels like it’s been a month. That may be due to the fact that each day here equals two days anywhere else. When your day starts at 4:30 and doesn’t end until midnight, it ceases to feel like a long day and instead feels like two days. Oftentimes, I check my watch to see if it is almost lunchtime, only to discover that it’s only 8:30. That ain’t fun.
At this point, the hardest part is staying awake in class. The yelling has subsided somewhat and we have been granted greater freedom. But when you’re working on 2-4 hours of sleep for 2 weeks straight, it can be a bit difficult to listen to an auditorium lecture on leadership skills. As it turns out, the Air Force recognizes that it is virtually impossible to make it through these classes without getting a bit drowsy, so we are permitted to stand in the back of the auditorium if we feel sleepy. My former roommate (he moved out – I’m alone now) refused to stand up because he was afraid of falling down.
This week, our Flight Officer in Charge (FOiC) moved into a student wing position and I became the FOiC of Bravo Flight. I know that this doesn’t make much sense, so I’ll try and explain. There are 140 students here at COT. At first, the staff runs everything. They tell you what to do and when to do it – oftentimes in a “direct” manner. Gradually, by design, the students begin to take charge. The entire class (all 140 students) is called the student wing. There is a student wing commander (who, in our case, is a lieutenant colonel). There also are wing commanders in charge of specific areas (academic, PT, drill, etc.). The student wing is divided into student squadrons. There is a student squadron commander. The squadrons are further divided into flights. The flight is the main grouping here at COT and, in our case, consists of 15 students. There is a FOiC who is in charge of the flight. This week, the FOiC of our flight was moved into a wing position. Yours truly became the new FOiC for Bravo Flight. It’s going pretty well. I am lucky that the former FOiC did most of the heavy lifting before I took the position.
We had a test on the OIs last weekend. I missed one question. It was very silly. I did not read the question carefully enough and messed up military time. I did fine, but I wasn’t happy making such a careless error. For future COT students, make sure you read questions and answers carefully. This particular question appeared to be about something else, but really was just about military time. D’oh!
We did one smart thing as a flight this weekend. Well, I think it was smart – it was my idea. Since we’re not going to wear our blue uniforms for a week (we have not yet worn these uniforms), we took the blue shirts to the base dry cleaner so that they’ll be nice and pressed by the time we have to wear them. I think we’ll all look sharp and save some time. I’ll let you know how that goes.
One thing people might want to learn before coming here is the Air Force Song. You’ll have to sing it and if you memorize the words before coming here, it will save you some precious time in the first couple of days. You need to know the first verse only. You can listen to it online by clicking here. It goes like this:
Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
climbing high into the sun
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder
At 'em boys, giv'r the gun! (Giv'r the gun, hey!)
Down we dive spouting our flame from under
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame
Hey! Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air force!
It’s simple and easy to learn – better to do it now than at 1:00 in the morning during Week 1 of COT.
This weekend we were given off-base privileges. My wife visited and we had dinner and stayed a night in a hotel. It was a great break from COT. Apparently all COT classes are not so lucky. My sponsor told me that his COT class didn’t get privileges until the third weekend. So, in future, don’t expect your privileges. I also should note that we were unsure of whether we would get off-base privileges until Friday afternoon – I think they wanted us to sweat it out a bit.
My wife also brought banana bread that was enjoyed by the entire flight during our study session – they all loved it and told me to thank her. I thanked her, but I’ll do it publicly – thank you! We have the first of two tests on Tuesday. The academic portion is fairly easy, although it is complicated by the complexities of my schedule. I have so many other responsibilities (especially now that I’m a FOiC), that it becomes difficult to fit in the academic stuff. Which brings me to my conclusion – I need to stop blogging and start studying.
At this point, the hardest part is staying awake in class. The yelling has subsided somewhat and we have been granted greater freedom. But when you’re working on 2-4 hours of sleep for 2 weeks straight, it can be a bit difficult to listen to an auditorium lecture on leadership skills. As it turns out, the Air Force recognizes that it is virtually impossible to make it through these classes without getting a bit drowsy, so we are permitted to stand in the back of the auditorium if we feel sleepy. My former roommate (he moved out – I’m alone now) refused to stand up because he was afraid of falling down.
This week, our Flight Officer in Charge (FOiC) moved into a student wing position and I became the FOiC of Bravo Flight. I know that this doesn’t make much sense, so I’ll try and explain. There are 140 students here at COT. At first, the staff runs everything. They tell you what to do and when to do it – oftentimes in a “direct” manner. Gradually, by design, the students begin to take charge. The entire class (all 140 students) is called the student wing. There is a student wing commander (who, in our case, is a lieutenant colonel). There also are wing commanders in charge of specific areas (academic, PT, drill, etc.). The student wing is divided into student squadrons. There is a student squadron commander. The squadrons are further divided into flights. The flight is the main grouping here at COT and, in our case, consists of 15 students. There is a FOiC who is in charge of the flight. This week, the FOiC of our flight was moved into a wing position. Yours truly became the new FOiC for Bravo Flight. It’s going pretty well. I am lucky that the former FOiC did most of the heavy lifting before I took the position.
We had a test on the OIs last weekend. I missed one question. It was very silly. I did not read the question carefully enough and messed up military time. I did fine, but I wasn’t happy making such a careless error. For future COT students, make sure you read questions and answers carefully. This particular question appeared to be about something else, but really was just about military time. D’oh!
We did one smart thing as a flight this weekend. Well, I think it was smart – it was my idea. Since we’re not going to wear our blue uniforms for a week (we have not yet worn these uniforms), we took the blue shirts to the base dry cleaner so that they’ll be nice and pressed by the time we have to wear them. I think we’ll all look sharp and save some time. I’ll let you know how that goes.
One thing people might want to learn before coming here is the Air Force Song. You’ll have to sing it and if you memorize the words before coming here, it will save you some precious time in the first couple of days. You need to know the first verse only. You can listen to it online by clicking here. It goes like this:
Off we go into the wild blue yonder,
climbing high into the sun
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder
At 'em boys, giv'r the gun! (Giv'r the gun, hey!)
Down we dive spouting our flame from under
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame
Hey! Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air force!
It’s simple and easy to learn – better to do it now than at 1:00 in the morning during Week 1 of COT.
This weekend we were given off-base privileges. My wife visited and we had dinner and stayed a night in a hotel. It was a great break from COT. Apparently all COT classes are not so lucky. My sponsor told me that his COT class didn’t get privileges until the third weekend. So, in future, don’t expect your privileges. I also should note that we were unsure of whether we would get off-base privileges until Friday afternoon – I think they wanted us to sweat it out a bit.
My wife also brought banana bread that was enjoyed by the entire flight during our study session – they all loved it and told me to thank her. I thanked her, but I’ll do it publicly – thank you! We have the first of two tests on Tuesday. The academic portion is fairly easy, although it is complicated by the complexities of my schedule. I have so many other responsibilities (especially now that I’m a FOiC), that it becomes difficult to fit in the academic stuff. Which brings me to my conclusion – I need to stop blogging and start studying.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)