A gang of four converged at Pleasant Knoll middle for the third installment of Veteran’s month at the Ballroom.   Here is what they did:

The Thang:

YHC greeted the group and thanked them for coming out this morning.  After a quick disclaimer, we made a formation of 4 and moseyed to the parking on the side of the school.

In formation:

SSH x 20, windmill x15, IW x 15,  merkin x 10, Morrocan nightclub x 15, squat x 20, mountain climber x 15/hold/6″/regular/6″/regular/right arm, right leg high/left arm, left leg high/walk up to CDD x 15/regular/recover.  (all done while holding plank)

Form 2 pairs and do 50 yd sprints:  2 at 50%, 2 at 75%, 2 at 100%

Go back to formation for pushorama

10 regular merkins, rest 10s, 10 diamond merkins, rest 10s, 10 wide arm merkins, rest 10 sec, 10 CCD.  Rinse and repeat for total of 3 sets.

In formation, bearcrawl20 yds, sideways crawl 10 yds, backwards bearcrawl 20 yds, sideways crawl 10 yds

Form a single file and do an Indian run around the parking lot twice.   Mosey out of the lot and along the front driveway to a spot under one of the lights for some mini-Mary:

Big boy situps x 15, Freddie Mercury x 15, American hammer x 15

COT

NMM:

When Triple Lindy asked me to represent the Navy during Veteran’s month, I told him there surely there was a better person out there to represent the Navy than me.  Honestly,  I never really considered self a true Navy veteran because  I served just about 18 months and was in school the whole time.   I never felt worthy being grouped together with others who have actually served their country, particularly those who served in a time of war.   As it turned out, though, I was the only guy he knew who was in the Navy, so I told him I would gladly do it.

As we worked through the exercises this morning, I paused several times to tell them about my experiences when I joined the Navy in college,  and my16 weeks at Officer Candidate School.  One of the things I remembered vividly was was when I was saying goodbye to my family and getting ready to drive to Newport, RI from Ohio.  My dad, who was not an emotional man, gave me a big hug and just broke down sobbing.  I think it was a mixture of pride and maybe fear for what I was about to do.  I lived at home while attending school and this was my first time away from home.

Upon arriving at OCS, after a friendly check-in by an admin officer, I was met by a senior student and told to ‘face the bulkhead.’  For the next week,  the ‘Indocs’ (junior students), were put through a series of mind games, semi-verbal abuse, physical challenges, horrible personal hygiene (1 minute to shower and shave),  all coupled with total exhaustion from the lack of sleep.  For a few folks, Indoc week was too much and they dropped out (one guy had to be put in the brigg for insubordination).  For the rest of us, we were relieved to be finished, but we still had 15 weeks to go.

I told the group that the recruiters did not prepare me (or many others, I suspect) for OCS (a little heads up about Indoc week would have been helpful).    I did very little to prepare and arrived there not in the best physical shape.  I couldn’t pass the standard required for push-ups and sit-ups so had to attend extra PE sessions at an ungodly hour of the morning (about same time that I have gotten up for F3 the past 9 years -haha).   Time was the enemy and it seemed that every waking hour was filled with either school, studying for tests, having a watch, or getting ready for inspections.   I was not used to that and struggled sometimes to get everything done.   Time management is still not one of my strong suits.   I can’t say I enjoyed OCS, but I came away from it a better man and with a long-lasting friend.  JP Tennant was the first guy I met during Indoc week and we still keep in touch.

After graduating from OCS, I went to the Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL where my Naval career would end, unfortunately.    It was a really tough school academically and I struggled from the start before eventually flunking out.  I had to option to stay in the Navy in another capacity,  or go to inactive reserves which is what I opted to do.  As a 22-year-old kid, it felt like the right decision, but I shared with the group that it’s one decision that I regret.

I had not thought about OCS in a long, long time and as I prepared for this Q, it was petty cool to go back and think about that time 34 years ago (man, I’m getting old).  It was also fun to share my story with Triple Lindy, Assasin, and Bitcoin.  Thanks for listening, guys and I hope you got your money’s worth this morning.

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Prayers and Praises:   Triple Lindy’s wife (wrist injury), ST’s friend Joe with Cancer, Cornerstone with a kidney stone.