Learning, Earning, and Yearning

This past Tuesday was the Physical Fitness Assessment and surprisingly, I got my personal best score, one sufficient enough to stay in Honor Guard training, and also get an A in KINES 096.  Other than that, last night’s training was not entirely bad−I made a lot of mistakes but we have improved slightly on our Superman Drill.  This is a timed exercise where the Detail Commander estimates the time it will take to march up to second floor Wagner, change into a specified uniform, and return to the armory.  This reminds me that, on another note, we’ve not yet earned the right to be a flight, but we’ve narrowed down our possible flight names to Gladius, Helios, or Sophrosyne.   Like many of the current Honor Guard Flights, we found it important to stay true to the Greek/Roman theme.   Helios was the titan of the sun, who each day rose from the ocean in the east and drove his chariot across the sky, bringing light upon the Earth.  He is also known as the guardian of oaths.  Sophrosyne was a Greek goddess who escaped Pandora’s Box.  As a symbol of moderation, temperance, restraint, and discretion, many Greeks upheld the ideal of Sophrosyne.  The consensus right now is Gladius, the Latin word for sword, much like those used by Ancient Roman soldiers.  Sword making is an ancient and honored craft which utilizes all elements of the universe, thus symbolizing unity and balance.  The training detail must complete a service project to earn our name but I’m at a loss for project ideas.  We originally suggested organizing a drive to send care packages to deployed service members but it has to be more of a team project.  For example, Olympus flight, who trained in the Spring of 2011, climbed Mount Nittany to show teamwork.  If you have any suggestions or ideas, please let me know !

Change Step

Just to change things up a little bit, this blog entry is going to be about THON, as I’m sure about 96% of the class will also be writing about it.  I’m a Moraler on Mike Uhas’ committee, Sharkbaits UHAS-HA.  It’s been a crazy 46 sleep-less hours.  Back cramps, swollen ankles, smelly clothes, and about six homework assignments on top of it.  My dancer, a member of Gammacaia, was phenomenal and did not complain the whole time.  Aside from this, she had a huge support group which also made things easier on me and my fellow committee members.  How it flew by ! I cannot grasp the fact that the weekend we have been working towards has just come and went.  It seems like yesterday when I last minute decided to put in a resume for a committee.  Yellow shirt orientation, our first gathering as a committee, and 100 Days Til’ Thon still feel so recent.   THON was amazing and I loved the energy of the committees, dancers, families, and children.  One of my favorite moments from the weekend was letting a little boy borrow my super-soaker.  Since it was a gift for my dancer I couldn’t let him keep it and asked for it back, but instead of giving it back, his friends continued to tell him to run away with my gun.  From there his three friends continued to squirt water in my eyes while yelling for him to run away with my gun.  I also had a lot of fun getting into fights with strangers, friends from ROTC, and my committee members.  I can see why people want to be Moralers− because we get to hang out and dance instead of cleaning, working security, or anything like that.  Overall, it was an absolutely amazing experience, and I look forward to being a Moraler again next year, and one day maybe a dancer or Morale Captain.

Sacrifices

Djfnsdilwefs!!

It’d probably be more grammatically correct to say I’m frustrated but I feel a long series of random letters with the intensity of two exclamation points more accurately expresses how utterly helpless and frustrated I feel at this very moment.  Our Honor Guard Detail has several positions including Detail Commander, Deputy Detail Commander, Drill and Ceremonies Officer, and Standardization Officer.  We will eventually experience each role and while I’m the person who probably needs the most work, I’m now the Detail Commander.  Every training practice we are given a new piece of information to study, and we have to get together regularly to set a pace and practice the knowledge which might include the Honor Guard Creed, Penn State Alma Matter, or the Six Articles of Military Code of Conduct, ect.  Today just wasn’t a good day and while I feel bad, I know how desperately I'm trying to keep my head above the water level with classes, my THON committee, and Honor Guard Training.  As I’m sitting here waiting to iron my training jeans, which by the way are men’s jeans from Wal-Mart because we must have a standardized training uniform, I cannot think of anything I want more than this semester of training to be over.  I can’t excel in any one given area without sacrificing another and the worst part is getting bad grades.  At Honor Guard training we’re always made to feel we don’t meet their standards and when I don’t do well on an assignment or exam I feel I’ve let down my parents who have been so supportive this year and throughout my whole life.  I’m a student before anything else−it’s something they reiterate throughout the detachment often.   You cannot be an ROTC student with poor grades, much less an Honor Guard member.  I don’t know what else I have to give because I don’t have much left, so let’s hope things get better from here on out ! J

A Man In Uniform

I’m at a loss for what to write about this week regarding AFROTC but I suppose I’ll start by saying how earlier today I was thinking about who I would be without the program and without the prospect of one day being a commissioned officer in the Air Force.  It’s hard to imagine who I would be without it, and honestly, a bit scary to think that it is something that defines me.  I’ve still got three years ahead of me and god forbid, I could not get a spot at field training, break something important and be medically disqualified, or be in a serious civil involvement−any of which could put an abrupt halt to my dream.  Who would I be? I was also talking to a friend in my Honor Guard training detail and began to wonder what we would possibly talk about if we weren’t constantly thinking about AFROTC and Honor Guard.  The point I’m trying to make is that it’s an incredibly large part of our lives and, in a way, it isolates us from everyone else−civilians.  While anyone could decide to go back to college, become an artist, swim the English Channel, this is our one and only fleeting chance to join, while we are still young, healthy, and capable.  On a less serious note, the Air Force Ball is coming up in March and I’m mildly excited because it’s an opportunity to see a new side of everyone in Det 720.  We are professional at all times but it’ll definitely be interesting to see other cadets interacting somewhat more normally with their families and dates.  I’m still unsure whether my family will be coming, it’s a long 7 hour drive from Connecticut, and as for a date, I’m also unsure whether I want to bring one.  All the cadets go in uniform, and as a non-POC female I would have to wear the regular dress slacks which are close to, if not the most, unflattering pants I have ever worn.  I love a man in uniform, and I don’t exaggerate when I say that a uniform can make any guy appear that much more attractive.  However, girls in uniform tend to have the opposite effect on guys and I would feel awkwardly masculine bringing a date to the ball.