Greetings from Alabama

Only 5 days until graduation from Officer Training School, and I couldn't be more anxious.  I am glad that I had this opportunity to serve, but ever since Father's Day, time has been dragging by.  I think I called Megan 7 times yesterday!

Our first week of training was the most intense.  From the moment we stepped off the bus, the line officers were "directing us" (aka yelling at us) and informing us how and when we needed to speak, talk, eat, stand, sit, and everything else you can imagine.  Everything went smooth for me that first day; I tried not to stand out and listened carefully when somebody else was "receiving instruction" so that I didn't make the same mistake.  That next morning, however, when the Training Instructor woke us up around 4am and called us into the hallway, the door closed behind my roommate and I, and the next thing we knew it, we were locked out.  It only took us about 3 minutes to find a master key and get back inside, but with somebody yelling at you the entire time, it seemed a whole lot longer than that.

Our class has about 300 officers in it, and we're divided into 3 squadrons that are further divided into 6 flights of 16 people each.  Each flight is named after the Military Phonetic Alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.), and I'm in Golf Flight.  Since we spend every waking moment together (about 20 hours a day), I've really gotten to know the 15 other officers in my flight, and leaving them will be the one drawback to coming home on Friday.  Two of my flight mates are going on active duty in Wichita Falls, though, and they both have children, so we've already planned a family get-together.

Since that first day, the routine has been about the same.  Every day we get up around 4am and march over to PT (Physical Training) as a flight.  Either that or we have some sort of leadership activity out "in the field."  Then it's a full day of lectures with meals interspersed.  For the first few weeks I'd have one responsibility or another that kept me up until around midnight, but since our last written test was earlier in the week, I've finally been getting some rest.

Last weekend we received "Off-Base Privileges" and finally got to go around Montgomery, Alabama.  Again, it's been nice to hang out with and get to know my peers, but it makes it even harder to have more freedom and still be away from family and friends at home.

Congratulations to Katie and Jared on their wedding last night!  It was a sacrifice to not be able to be there for the wedding, but I wanted to wish you both the best and let you know that I'm praying for you and for your marriage!

With that, I think I'll leave you all with some pictures! [gallery]