OCS Week Two Complete: Leadership Position Next Week!

OCS week two is complete! This last week was pretty fun. We had weapons, detainment, combat lifesaver, and troop leading procedures (TLP) briefs. The really dark picture below includes three members of my squad rapidly assembling a 249, 240 bravo, and M16 after a relay run which included a nine line med evac.

My favorite weapon is the M-249, frequently called "The Saw". It's really slick, spews rounds rapidly, and best of all, it's light for a chain gun! I also appreciate being able to use the same rounds as my M-16 or M-40. The M-240B, by comparison, is clunky and heavy.

We also had a call for fire exam. Artillery bombardment seems simple (Hey mans! Throw some bombs dis way!) but in reality there's a bit to it. I only got 94 / 100 points on the exam, which was disappointing. This was not the highlight of my week, but I was happy to complete it.

Leadership!

Next week (Monday morning) I'll be a squad leader. I'll be absolutely responsible for anything done right or wrong by my team leaders and their teams. I'll be in charge of accountability for equipment and personnel. I probably won't have any personal time, but I knew I'd get this eventually, so that's okay. This evening I'll begin counselling my team leaders on how I expect them to perform their duties. I'm selecting all college ops for team leaders because they need the experience. Hopefully this won't magnify the challenges I face, ha... we'll see. They're good guys.

Address corrected

My street address in the recent entry was wrong. I corrected it in the original post. Email is still effective for contacting me (but less so in the coming week).