I got carried away with BOLC II and got really busy. On the whole, it ended up being not worth the investment in time. Taking people away from their families for that long, investing that many Staff Sergeants and Captains as cadre, and spending all that money didn’t seem worth it. I got better training than most people because I ran a range, which was a good experience. Despite that, the last week was fun. I’ve attached a picture of me at the top of Mount Scott, the highest...read more

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The last week and a half at BOLC II has been mixed. There were some good parts like US weapons. You’ll see a picture of me about to shoot a 50 caliber machine gun. We also shot a Mark 19 grenade launcher and a few other smaller weapon systems. That whole week we lived on a Forward Operating Base, which was meant to duplicate the kinds of conditions we would operate under in Iraq. There was not much training value to it. We did not learn how to run a FOB. I suspect the reason we were...read more

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We did shooting all of last week which was pretty fun. I ran a range on Thursday which was a good experience. The cadre handled some of the stuff but I had a lot do work on and to do. I also taught a class on counter-insurgency which came off well. Those things have kept me busier than most people which is nice. I feel very comfortable in the positions of responsibility I had. We haven't had too much funny stuff happen. The range that I ran was a pop up target range and before your...read more

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I am currently at Fort Sill Oklahoma attending a course called BOLC (Basic Officer Leadership) II. Before I get into that, I wanted to mention an awesome book discussion I went to a week and a half ago. It was on the book Accidental Guerilla, written by David Kilcullen. Dr. Kilcullen was GEN Petraeus’ senior counter-insurgency (COIN) advisor during the surge and is widely regarded as the leading and most influential COIN expert. His book accidental guerilla basically argues...read more

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I recently read In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of the Westpoint class of 2002. It was excellent. It gave me a great sense for what my life will be like for the next few years and the kinds of challenges I will be facing. There was one quote in particular I really like: “’Duty, Honor, Country’ was the academy’s motto, and everyone talked constantly about honor and commitment, loyalty and patriotism. All that was true and good, gut striped of...read more

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I recently listened to an interview with Jack Welch that I found fascinating. He is widely regarded as one of corporate America’s best. One thing stuck out in particular was when asked about the importance of developing your subordinates, he said “it’s what I believe to my toes, it’s really about them. The radiation of their success flows onto you and you glow.” He then went on to discuss how junior managers have no conception of this. Our schooling system all...read more

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I recently came across a Heritage foundation study discussing the background of the people that both enlist and become commissioned officers. The conclusions of the study were interesting. Despite popular perceptions, both new officers and enlisted come from higher income and higher education backgrounds compared to the general population. Racially, representation is mostly even, although there are some big disproportions in some smaller groups. The biggest difference comes in...read more

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I have been reading a lot lately and doing Rosetta Stone Arabic to pass the time. I just finished reading The Making of a Marine Corps Officer by Nathaniel Fick. I was very interesting to get some perspective on how the Marine Corps did things versus the Army. I considered doing a Marine Corps officer program right after high school. Reading Fick’s book made me wish I had, but only for a few minutes. The Army and the Marines have their advantages and disadvantages. One thing...read more

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Since graduating from Duke, I have had a lot of time to reflect on my time at Duke Army ROTC before reporting to BOLC in early November. Sometimes I talk to friends who have found comfortable desk jobs and I wonder what on earth am I doing. My experience will be so different from theirs. It will include danger, challenge, and not much in the way of salary or perks. Then I remember what a great experience I had in Army ROTC, how much I grew as a person and a cadet and how excited I am...read more

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Finally I have something good to write about. This last week I went down to Duke to help out with new cadet orientation. Also, I went to a cool training course put on by Delta guys that exposed me to the way they do things. It was great going down to new cadet orientation and seeing the current seniors I trained last year put on a good show. It was the first time I really did anything after being commissioned and things weren’t really that different. One of our new cadre...read more

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