Our internet access at DCC is sporadic so I am posting blogs that I wrote regarding our training from 9 May to 18 May 2010....So here we go:

8 May 10

Alot has happened since my last post. On 5 May 2010, students of the 181st Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course became official Judge Advocates. The night before we had a memorable dining in that entertained all in attendance. My mother was able to fly in from Houston to see me and my battle buddies graduate. Although Aliya (my heart) was unable to attend she was there in my heart (as she has always been throughout this process, I love you soror! Hooah). My mother and I went out to eat and then just enjoyed each other's company. Her flight was scheduled to leave the following morning at 1100 EST. After I dropped my mother off at C'ville/Albemarle County airport, I headed south to Fort Bragg to visit my prophyte (older frat brother) and his family. The drive down to North Carolina was very smooth. I enjoyed seeing the Virginia countryside and just seeing North Carolina in general (this was my first time setting foot in N.C.). I stayed at my prophyte's home for two days. While there, I met his wonderful family and his wife (a retired 1SG...hooah!). As a direct commissionee, this was a diamond mine opportunity to ask as many questions and get as much knowledge as I could. In C'ville, when our cadre would talk to us about DCC they always emphasized the importance of a positive attitude. I always paid attention to this and promised myself that I would employ such an attitude, but when I talked to my prophyte (who is currently undergoing rigorous Special Forces training) about what he voluntarily goes through on a day to day basis the "positive attitude" speeches finally hit home. In addition to talking with my prophyte about what his training was like, I also managed to learn how to properly and efficiently pack my "tick" (ruck sack) and get pointers on what NCOs admire in an officer. After spending two days with my frat brother from my chapter's legendary spring 98 line (roo #155), I got back on the road headed to the Home of the Infantry...Fort Benning, Georgia. The eight hour ride down was scenic but very long. My GPS took me through the backwoods of west Georgia...it looked alot like Arkansas. Once I arrived at Benning I showed up to the building that would be home for the next 6 weeks: Bldg 2510. OPEN BAY BARRACKS! Hooah! I learned how to properly make my bed (oh and by the way I was blessed with the bottom bunk...kiss me Aliya I must be Irish), and the importance of efficiently using space. I guess over the next six weeks I'll have all my civies in my backseat and trunk, since there is only room for the essentials in my wall locker and drawers. I really want to focus on becoming proficient in my warrior tasks...I think it is important not only as an officer but as a soldier to do so. So that is the first of two goals I plan to achieve while at DCC: to become proficient at my warrior tasks and to find the time to maintain my physical fitness. Time to talk to Aliya before I go to bed...1LT Wilson, JA....OUT! Hooah

DCC 15May

I completed my first week of DCC yesterday (Friday, 15 May 2010), and I was a blast. We started the week off with the typical "hurry up and wait" in-processing routine. On Tuesday, we started the day at "O-dark 30" with an APFT and I must admit all of that PT in C'ville was well worth it, because as a whole the PT scores in my class improved. From there we hit the ground running, we began our course instruction on Army Combatives which is some pretty technical stuff. I have a small martial arts background in Wing Chung Boxing and my wife comes from a martial arts family, so I was pretty confident that Combatives wouldnt be that challenging for me but I admit I underestimated the amount of skill and technique needed for an art based on what primarily seems to be grappling. We learned about 2 or 3 basic techniques which we will continue to build upon throughout the course. During a brief sparring session one of my classmates performed a guard break on me and caused me to "pop a rib" but despite the pain I was ok, and kind of invigorated. This was just another reminder that although I may not make the big bucks of an associate practicing law at one of the "Big Firms," I know that the same associate will never do the things that I do in one day, during the course of his/her career...Hooah! The next higlight of my first week at the "Home of the Queen of Battle" is that I completed my First Responder (formerly Combat Life Saver) training and am now First Responder/CLS certified. We basically learned how to stabalize our battle buddies and apply self-aid to ourselves to minimize and hopefully prevents deaths on the battlefield that are classified as "preventable." An unforeseen treat of this training happened during one of our short breaks when the Airborne school had jump day 200 meters away. As the paratroopers made their jumps and their chutes opened it was truly an amazing sight. It made me want to go to jump school more than ever, but I digress. The last standout moment of the week was Friday's PT when we went on a "little" run that culminated in a negotiation of the infamous "Cardia Hill." Anyone who is Airborne or has spent some TDY time at Ft. Benning, Georgia knows what I'm talking about. Cardiac hill was definitely a challenge, but O hill was a worse. This brings up my next point, I credit the atmosphere of Ft. Benning for making Cardiac Hill seem a bit easy. Let me explain, we started our "little" run about 2.5 miles away from Cardiac Hill and the whole way their, we were greeted and/or passed by other units who were calling cadences and getting "smoked" just like us. The sight of seeing fellow soldiers doing PT despite the humidity and heat at 5 in the am makes it a little easier to deal with because we are all getting smoked together.

I'll close with this, week 1 of DCC has helped me appreciate being a member of the greatest Army the world has ever known. Everyone here takes meticulous pride in the fact that we are the defenders of liberty and everything that is good in the world. Standards...No Compromise! This is the OCS motto but it is exemplified by everyone at Benning. This includes the Airborne candidates, our Cadre, random companies of what I assume to be infantry. I'm excited about my new career and hope to be a full time soldier soon. Tune in next time.