Funny thing...

The funny thing about being a Lieutenant is that there are consequences and expectations now. You see, for the last five years, while I was in the West Point system, there were consequences, but, barring a real screw up like breaking the honor code, the punishment was always something that was miserable, like walking hours, but temporary. Now, however, if I mess up things like I may have at school, the punishment isn't as miserable, but it's not temporary.

Here's an example, the rule here is, if you recieve three negative counseling statements, you automatically get a mediocre rating on your first OER. For those who don't know what an OER is, it is an evaluation of your leadership basically that happens every six months or when you change jobs. They all get put into a file that goes with you wherever you go, so, before you get to your new job, your boss reads the OERs and has some idea of who you are and what you've done. Now, if you come to the school I'm at and, say...you're late to PT once, you turn in an assigment a day late and you forget you have your cell phone in your pocket and it goes off while you're in the school house, that's three negative counselings. At that point, you get a mediocre OER for your very first one and now, the first thing your new boss knows about you before you even get there is that you have trouble following small rules and meeting minimum standards.

This didn't happen to me, but it did to a friend of mine and it kind of served as a wake up call to me that...suddenly, I'm accountable. Kind of a crazy feeling, but I guess at 27 yrs old, it was about time.