CS 08.7 - I Made It!

Graduation never quite meant so much as it did today. I've squeaked by in elementary, middle, and high school not to mention my undergrad where I exceeded the minimum GPA by about .01 (if I remember correct). Now that I've been working on my master's degrees I've finally been succeeding, even getting several "A's"!

However, I took my first test at Commissioned Officer Training only to find that I missed two too many questions. Having been fed information as though I was trying to take a drink from a fire hose on full blast I was overwhelmed with information and attempted to pass that test in my own strength. Yes, I admitted it--the Chaplain Candidate was relying on self. I know better than this. As a result I was placed on SMS (essentially academic probation). The following week was filled with even more information to learn, pressure and stress of knowing that if I didn't attain the minimum level on the next test I would have to complete a cumulative exam in order to graduate.

I once heard John Maxwell say, "Life is full of flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision." The decision I needed to make was to start relying on God again. I realized I had been doing things solely out of my own strength and began to once again rely upon God for my strength as well as the support of my flight. There were several of my flight members who really encouraged me and kept me accountable in my studies. Not only that, I am also grateful to everyone back home who were praying for me. It took some time but I recalled the verse I had placed on our morale board: "Tune your ears to wisdom & concentrate on understanding" Proverbs 2:2.

I felt great taking this exam. I was fully prepped and ended up only getting two questions wrong! After the test was reviewed several Officer Trainee's challenged one of the questions I had gotten wrong and as a result we were all credited for that one yielding me a 98% as a final grade!

So, there's always a lesson--right? I think it's pretty obvious... Who are you relying on? I'm not suggesting that Christianity is or should be a crutch. I fully believe that my responsibility was to study and do my part yet, I wasn't relying upon God to assist me. I had left Him out of the picture for test #1. What have you left God out of? Who do you rely upon? Where do you get your strength , peace, rest, sanity, and security? If you're not really sure please feel free to drop me a line, I'd love to talk to you more about this.

CS 08.6 - 5K Run

So much has happened since my last post but I wanted to quickly make a post this morning. I just finished the 5K and made it in 28:57. My personal goal was to make it under 35 minutes with a stretch goal of 30 minutes. I paced most of the way with Lt. Mullins, Lt. Bird and Lt. McCrae (seen with me here). We’ve got an awesome flight! There’s an incredible amount of teamwork as we drive toward winning with excellence through discipline. I’ll post some more later about the field exercises we went on this week and when I get access to a public internet connection I’ll post some photos as well.

As a side note, I also passed my second exam with flying colors!!!! I only got two questions wrong and after official evaluation they gave me credit for one of the questions finalizing my score at a 98%.

CS 08.5 - Red Cross

It’s summer time and man is it Hot here in Alabama. I’m told that summer is when the Red Cross is typically short on blood supply. COT Class 08-04 held a blood drive today and many of us decided to donate. In the picture above is Lt. Marc Mallone and I. Lt. Mallone is our Flight Social Officer and was assisting the Red Cross with the blood drive.

CS 08.4 - The Airman's Creed

I am an American Airman.

I am a Warrior.

I have answered my Nation’s call.

I am an American Airman.

My mission is to Fly, Fight, and Win.

I am faithful to a Proud Heritage,

A Tradition of Honor,

And a Legacy of Valor.

I am an American Airman.

Guardian of Freedom and Justice,

My Nation’s Sword and Shield,

Its Sentry and Avenger.

I defend my Country with my Life.

I am an American Airman.

Wingman, Leader, Warrior.

I will never leave an Airman behind,

I will never falter,

And I will not fail.

CS 08.3 - Changing of the Guard

Montgomery has historically been a place of change. On December 1, 1955 Mrs. Rosa Parks was on her way home from work and decided to do nothing. That is, she decided to remain seated toward the front of the bus. Mrs. Parks said, “If you want to be respected for your actions, then your behavior must be above reproach. If our lives demonstrate that we are peaceful, humble, and trusted, this is recognized by others.”

Above is a picture of most of my flight that ran the Assault Course on Tuesday. Thursday we experienced a Change of Command ceremony in which the staff here at OTS gave us the charge of the class (COT Class 08-04). We were also upgraded to third class status which means that over the weekend we are given Base Privileges (allowed to travel anywhere on outside the OTS Campus but still on Maxwell AFB). Today we had a Hall Call in which our Squadron handed out awards for the highest Athletic, Academic and Overall best flight of the week. My flight, KILO Flight, won two of the three—Academic and overall best average scores. Over the weekend we’ll be spending a lot of time studying for our second major academic test. A lot has changed in the past week.

So what’s the connection to Rosa Parks? Simply this, I am an officer in the world’s greatest Air Force! As such, among my duties is to uphold the core values of the USAF. The first core value of the Air Force is “Integrity First.” The AFOATS manual on character says that integrity first is “an unfaltering devotion to honesty, truthfulness, doing one’s duty, and doing what’s right.” As Kilo has been working to hone our communication and leadership skills and work cooperatively toward the same end we have found success in living out integrity and simply doing what is right even when it’s not easy. We have been encouraging each other to rise to the next level and have plans to continue to succeed.

Personally, all of this ties into my faith as well as my service to country. One person can make a huge difference as part of a team working to make a greater impact. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of Kilo Flight. We are a strong, confident, and positive group of leaders who desire to win, strive for excellence and greater discipline. As part of this awesome team I must remember that I need to personally do my part of living out Integrity First.

This core value is not something that should be left to Airmen or even other military members—it should be embraced by all of us. Imagine what your family, community, church family, or team at work would be like if we all began to embrace Integrity First. Imagine if there were more Rosa Parks in the world. I have the pleasure of serving alongside some incredible men and women who just may very well become the next Rosa Parks. Some are commissioned to be Doctors, Nurses, PA’s, JAG and chaplains. I can’t wait to see where this journey will take each of them and what kind of impact they will have on our incredible country.

The question now is—how about you? Are you prepared for a changing of the guard? Are you willing to take responsibility and live a life that puts integrity first? Are you another Rosa Parks?

CS 08.2 - Assault Course

One week down and things are still moving along. It’s so hard to keep up with all the events of the past week. Essentially we wake up at about 0400 to prepare to head out for PT (Physical Training) at the PT Pad. We have to line up in formation and size up before marching over to workout. Monday morning we had to take the PFB (Physical Fitness Baseline) at 0500. This consisted of one minute of pushups, one minute of crunches and a mile and a half run. These three things combined with the wait measurement provide a baseline score for the Assessment later in the month as well as assess whether or not you could participate in the Assault Course.

Having passed the PFB, I was able to go through the Assault Course. This course was made up of various obstacles that needed to be traversed. From the parallel bars seen here (if my picture loaded remotely), and performing a low crawl in the sand like you see in the movies to monkey bars over water. In this picture you see me in the background and Lt. Mullins, my temporary wingman, in the foreground. We ran the course together encouraging each other and our flight to raise the bar and make it through the course without giving up.

Though this was a physical event we spend most of our day in the flight room learning about USAF leadership principles. On Saturday morning we had our first exam which I passed as well. The next exam is going to be on Monday, 09 Jun. I believe this is going to be a tough one. I’m going to have to spend most of my weekend studying and preparing for the exam.

I hope to share more later. I am learning a lot not only about leadership but also about myself. If this post is successful I plan to post a bit more often and post much shorter snippets perhaps some day shots here and there.

Please continue to pray for me and my family.