Military Intel and West Point...
Military Intel school isn't what I'd expected...at least, not yet. Then again, at my age, you'd think I'd have realized long ago that nothing is what you expect. In any case, I did enough sit ups this morning (not by choice) to leave a nice little open wound right on my tail bone. When your job pretty much consists of sitting all day, that's not a pleasant thing. Overall, it's nice to be back in the MI world again. After being at West Point so long, where if you're not in the Infantry, you might as well just stamp your head with "second class," being around other officers, soldiers and NCO's who are all "MI professionals" (which is, I think, what I am becoming) is nice.
There are a few other Lieutenants here that aren't from West Point. It's really kind of fun to see how we react to things differently. The ROTC guys aren't all that much different from the West Pointers other than they tend to have better party and football stories. The OCS guys, at least, the few I've met here, are interesting as they come in two breeds. The first is the prior service guy who then commissioned. He (or she) has been in the army for seven, ten, fifteen or more years and has a lot of experience. The other type is the direct commission type. They have been in the army as long as it takes to go to basic training (9 weeks), OCS (18 weeks), BOLCII (8 weeks) and now here. My roomate at BOLC II was one of those types. They tend to be far more motivated than anyone else to do the things no one else wants to do. I guess it's the novelty of the thing?
I wear my ring still. A lot of my classmates don't as they don't want people to stereotype them...but, I figure 1. it reminds me of Pat and Davey 2. I paid far too much in blood and treasure for it and 3. I'll be damned if I don't want people to "think differently" of me for going to West Point. The way I see it, people can stereotype me all they want, but if they see how I am and what I do (which is, I hope, all good) then maybe I can change their perception of West Pointers instead of changing myself?
Speaking of rings, the class of 2008 got theirs on Friday. Congrats to all of them, especially my old pleber Ms. Sherwood (they grow up so fast don't they?) I'm actually looking forward to going back for Davey's wedding over Thanksgiving. It's funny...I knew how important West Point would be to me while I was there, and I think I was cognizant of how big a part of my life it became, but now, just a few months after I graduated, I still sometimes can't believe it. I find myself smiling and laughing just enjoying the thought still--considering how far fetched the idea was just six years ago that I would be an Army Officer and West Point Grad. I'll stop now. I'm both rambling and getting nostalgic.
I'll hopefully post pictures of how beautiful it is in Arizona soon, and of my forthcoming birthday trip to Las Vegas for Labor Day.
There are a few other Lieutenants here that aren't from West Point. It's really kind of fun to see how we react to things differently. The ROTC guys aren't all that much different from the West Pointers other than they tend to have better party and football stories. The OCS guys, at least, the few I've met here, are interesting as they come in two breeds. The first is the prior service guy who then commissioned. He (or she) has been in the army for seven, ten, fifteen or more years and has a lot of experience. The other type is the direct commission type. They have been in the army as long as it takes to go to basic training (9 weeks), OCS (18 weeks), BOLCII (8 weeks) and now here. My roomate at BOLC II was one of those types. They tend to be far more motivated than anyone else to do the things no one else wants to do. I guess it's the novelty of the thing?
I wear my ring still. A lot of my classmates don't as they don't want people to stereotype them...but, I figure 1. it reminds me of Pat and Davey 2. I paid far too much in blood and treasure for it and 3. I'll be damned if I don't want people to "think differently" of me for going to West Point. The way I see it, people can stereotype me all they want, but if they see how I am and what I do (which is, I hope, all good) then maybe I can change their perception of West Pointers instead of changing myself?
Speaking of rings, the class of 2008 got theirs on Friday. Congrats to all of them, especially my old pleber Ms. Sherwood (they grow up so fast don't they?) I'm actually looking forward to going back for Davey's wedding over Thanksgiving. It's funny...I knew how important West Point would be to me while I was there, and I think I was cognizant of how big a part of my life it became, but now, just a few months after I graduated, I still sometimes can't believe it. I find myself smiling and laughing just enjoying the thought still--considering how far fetched the idea was just six years ago that I would be an Army Officer and West Point Grad. I'll stop now. I'm both rambling and getting nostalgic.
I'll hopefully post pictures of how beautiful it is in Arizona soon, and of my forthcoming birthday trip to Las Vegas for Labor Day.
posted by Adam at 10:09 PM
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