Day 18

Today started off bright and early at 0330 so that we could be out at the pt field by 0400 for our APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test.) This is the first record test that we have had here at BOLC and the first record one I had ever taken so I was confident in my ability but nervous about the newness of it. Our instructors have been none stop stressing how important it is that we pass this APFT because if we don't pass this one or the one at the end we will not graduate and get a failure to achieve course standards. The other big consequence of not passing was that we would not be able to participate in the combative course because they would not want you to get injured and not be able to take it at the end. I am very happy to report that I passed the test easily! Overall it was not to bad and I was almost able to max the test score. After our test we rushed to shower, change and eat, because we then had to get back up to school to break down into our platoons for the days  lessons. Our first lecture of the day was on field sanitation and hygiene, along with the rules of how you deal with human waste. Apparently, a lot of times the medical personnel are called onto inspection conditions and make sure things are done properly. I won't go into all the required dimensions of a cat-hole, straddle trenches or the ratio of gas/diesel that you would use for a burn out latrine because I don't think most people are interested in that. We also covered signs of heat and cold injuries along with the treatment and prevention of them and also how to sanitize water (boiling or using chemicals) to make it safe to drink. The final thing we covered today was Army Leadership and what it takes to be a leader. Our leadership section of the day started out watching this video on how to become a leader and what it takes to be a leader. Overall, I think it is worth the few minutes it takes to watch it. Thankfully, it makes some good points and can give you a few laughs.

First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

 

After the video we got into discussing leadership qualities, strategies and philosophies. We also covered decision making processes and played a good Army video where we were faced with all kinds of scenarios, we then had to make a decision and see how our decisions all came together in the end. Overall, it was a good day, we went a little later than our schedule said but no worse than we normally are and we got a bunch of homework assigned due Friday and Monday. I can't complain though because I do believe we are here for a reason. Classes should be good tomorrow, for one because we get to sleep in some because platoons 4-6 have their APFT tomorrow morning and then we are talking about Army writing skills and communication. I even think we might be covering IED's and contact reaction drills at the end of the day tomorrow, so that is something to look forward to.