Warrior Leader Course

About a year ago, I shipped off to Basic Training and AIT for Initial Entry Training to join the United States Army Reserve. I think that was one of the most formative experiences of my life to date, but I'm still learning. Every day brings something new.

This week, I will be attending the Warrior Leader Course, and assuming successful completion of the course I will be awarded the NCO Officer Development Ribbon. Still getting everything sorted out before I leave. I think the biggest challenge for me will be transitioning back to that strenuous training environment, and the fact that I'm moreso book-smart than street-smart, not that I was ever that much of an academic.

It was kind of a surprise to me that I would be going, especially this soon, but I guess slots opened up for my unit and I figured I'd jump on the opportunity. I don't know if I'm ready to be a sergeant and I can't get promoted to E-5 until August anyways, but we'll see how it goes and I should take any opportunity to train, learn, get paid, and move ahead in the Army that I can. If there's one thing I learned from training last summer, it's that I can accomplish the tasks demanded of me but not alone, not in my own power.

I think the contrast between the masculine, rigid environment of training and the "it doesn't matter if you were a soldier" atmosphere of filming for Red Dawn definitely taught me a lot about masculinity and respect, that is, it's not something you can simply earn. "You can respect the rank, but you don't have to respect the person" is something I've heard over and over again, and I've seen both sides of the coin, and I can't deny that I've landed on the asshole side myself.

It doesn't matter how much you trumpet yourself if no one's willing to listen to you. I guess it's kind of interesting to me - one of the reasons I enlisted was because I want to live a rich life experience, and have good stories that I can share with my good friends, and I gotta weigh that against the whole "flaunting myself" aspect of it.

Do I regret enlisting, even though I could have been an officer right off the bat? Not at all, I'm pretty content with the path that I've chosen, and it's always an option in the future. We'll see how things go from here.

It's interesting!

It is so interesting to me, and rather mysterious, the ways in which God's hand subtly influences our lives. Yes, we get what we need, and oftentimes what we want, but not necessarily in the form that we're expecting it in.

Manic Monday

- Made my first sale EVER
- Stayed late for work
- Accidentally missed the route to boomerwang's apartment so I had to go back
- Working on Ray's freaking website
- Run

Must stay busy!

I don't like posting thoughts in my blog, just stuff that's going on in my life. That being said, I've been wondering what it means to be a Christian man.

Well, we'll see.

Army plans are changing, throwing off other things I had planned this year.

My 5 year plan.

When I first arrived at my unit, one of my sergeants told me to have a five plan, to have something to look forward/focus on instead

2010 - attempt live a full life experience and reunite with friends, weddings
2011 - Iraq, Hurripan wedding
2012 - apply to law school, direct commission/OCS to become an officer
2014 - finish law school? join practice, start side business?
2015 - inactive status