Even though it was hot and sticky, on August 8, 2009 there was a "feeling" in the air. The day I finally received my 2nd Lieutenant rank, signed my contract to make it official, and said the oath of office (again). I was lucky to be able to have the ceremony at my house in front of my family and friends.

Lt. Col Cooper made some nice remarks during his speech saying "If my kids were of age to be lead by Lieutenant Riggs, I would have absolutely no problem if they were under his command." His words made me feel proud of my accomplishments in ROTC.  After Colonel Coopers words, my dad and my grandpa, pinned my 2nd Lieutenant rank on my shoulders. I rendered my first salute to my best friend Sergeant Matthew Hite. It is customary to have an NCO salute a newly-commissioned officer. During this time, the new officer gives the NCO a silver dollar. This transaction signifies the respect between the NCO corps (the backbone of the army) and the officer core. It was a great feeling that the friend I grew up with and went to war with was able to be the first to salute me as an officer.

Sergeant Hite has been in the National Guard 8 years, and during my first year as a soldier helped me out alot by showing me the ropes, and making me feel welcomed to Alpha Company 2/135, the guys I used to serve with. I owe thanks to another friend, Charles Larson pictured below in the button-up shirt, my team leader for some time at Alpha Company. He evetually became my roomate in Afghanistan and a very good friend. He showed me a lot about what it means to be a combat soldier, and the things that were really important. Such as when I asked him how much ammo to take on a mission, his reply was "all of it". I won't ever forget those small words of wisdom. My platoon leader from Afghanistan Ian Erickson also told me "What your doing here will earn you the right to do whatever you want with your life, if you want to be a bum on the street, you have earned that right, and can do that with dignity," and I still believe him. His sheer will to serve and be a leader was an influence on my decision  to be a leader.

Sgt. Hite and my first Salute:

As a prior infantry soldier, sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice going into the non-combat sector. But I have talked to many officers and soldiers in this area, and they feel the job is just as important as combat, and there will be just as many challenges in this field, I hope they are right.

Ian Erickson and I backpacking in Australia:

In 7 months time I will be off to my final officer training school at Ft. Jackson South Carolina, or "relaxin' Jackson" as I have heard it called. Which I am okay with, I have had enough fun at Fort Benning, Fort Hood and Ft. Lewis in my time in the Army (7 years), so I will welcome the change in the training tempo. These officer schools like some others are "gentleman's courses", this means that you train hard during the day, and go home at night, and have the weekends off. I think this is a great way to run a training school, because it allows you to take a mental break every day, which enables you to be more focused during training. In the "locked down" training environments such as basic soldier training, I found that a majority of my thought was focused on when I was finally going to get the heck out of there, which should not be the focus. But I'm sure some of that had to do with the fact that I was under 18 or 19 years old, a young age to be dedicated to such causes.

The training at AGOBC (Adjutant General Officer Basic Course) will be focused on basic officer combat skills like leading convoys and missions, as well as more branch-specific training. My branch, Adjutant General, will deal with the Army's human resource management systems. Soldier's pay, medical, dental, career records, and all things administrative will be covered here.
I am certainly looking forward to this new chapter in my military career, and I will have plenty more to write once the ball starts rolling next March.

Infantry School, Fort Benning 2003: Commissioning 2009