All right, the final week of DCC is completed, and the vast majority of the class has met all of the "requirements" for graduation and will soon be moving on. All that is left is two full days of out processing, and then a small graduation "ceremony," before we're released to take off for our duty stations. This last week has been trying on the patience, however, the skill of patrolling is something that must be a part of a JA's vocabulary and knowledge base both for our safety and our practice, so we tried to make the most of it.

Monday was an exciting morning, because we started relatively early and made our way out to the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC). The LRC is a set of "obstacles" that you and your team of 7 or 8 people have to maneuver through using only the supplies provided. Most people have seen courses like this before, and they are generally very fun. This was no exception, except there were about 5 or six obstacles that actually had water in them, so if you messed up and fell, you were getting wet. Many of the obstacles were actually very difficult to maneuver, but my group comprised of four women and for men, was the perfect balance of size, skill, and motivation. So, we basically dominated the course (as did most of the class) and then we were off...

The rest of the day was spent reviewing the Individual Movements that we started to learn on Friday, and integrating them into a basic patrolling formation. From there we moved onto how that formation would react to contact with hostile forces, how best to communicate, and react using a bold flanking maneuver. In principle, this knowledge is essential for both our safety when we deploy, but in practice it is extremely difficult to learn in just a matter of hours. Most OCS (Officer Candidate School) and IBOLC (Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course) students spend weeks practicing and mastering these various techniques and maneuvers, and we had three to four hours. Mixed in with the practical learning, we did have some classroom time where we learned about the basic communication scheme for any action that is to be taken by a combat unit. More specifically, we learned how and Operation Order is passed from the higher levels down to the basic Company's and Platoons, how it is translated throughout those larger units, so that each smaller unit knows exactly what it needs to do to secure the objective. In all, the day was just like being back in C'Ville, where we were fed a ton of information through the power point/fire hose method.

The day was cut a little short compared to other days because we were informed sometime in the morning that we would be conducting the 8-mile road march the following morning, which was the last of our graduation requirements, and something that much of the class was not looking forward to. The First Sergeant tried to calm those members of the class down by telling them that 8-miles isn't that much (which it isn't), but I don't think it worked. When we were released, everyone spent the rest of the evening packing their Mollie Packs with at least 20% of their record body weight, because if you were under by even a pound and the Cadre found out, then you would be doing the entire march all over again this coming Monday.

Tuesday morning began at 0300 for most of us, as we put on all the gear that needed to accompany us on this ruck march. We were in formation by 0345, and drawing weapons so that we could begin the march at 0430. Everything went smoothly for the first hour, no one had any problems at all. I was in the back of the formation, because most of the tallest people are moved into the rear because we have an easier time marching. At some point in the morning, while i was gazing up at the stars and trying not to get to bored, I heard yelling and screeching coming from the front of the formation. Without hesitation, most of the formation went flying into the wood line as a pair of headlights came barreling into the formation, before the driver slammed on her brakes leaving a good 20 feet of skid marks behind her vehicle. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but apparently for those in the front of the formation, particularly the road guards, it was a much closer call then we would like to admit. Suffice it to say, after that event, everyone's adrenaline was pumping, and we actually stepped up the pace. I stopped staring into the stars, and spent most of my time focusing on the happenings in front of me, in the event I had to dodge another vehicle.

By about 0700 the ruck march was completed, and I believe 100% of those who started completed it. Cadre was impressed, and if I'm not mistaken, I believe just about everyone had at least 20% of their body weight, most of us has closer to 30% just to be safe. After the march we had most of the morning off to get chow. Afterwards, we formed up and moved to the classroom to review, via power point, what we had learned the day before. We then had a visit by The Dean of TJAGLCS, and held a short AAR regarding the course, before being released for lunch. After lunch, most of us were wiped out, but we formed back up with our weapons and again practiced patrolling, this time in the wood line, which was helpful, but not all together fruitful given how tired and pretty much "over-it" the entire class was.

Wednesday began with weapons draw, and then a swift movement out to a range to go through full squad patrolling movements and reaction to contact. The weather was continually threatening to rain, but it never actually happened, so that was nice. Most of the day was actually spent laying around waiting for our turn to go through the "Lane" and practice what we had learned. This meant, that of the 6 or 7 hours we were on the range, maybe 1 hour of it was spent actually walking around and practicing, and the remainder of the time, was spent chilling, sleeping, and doing nothing. The best part of the day was that we were provided blanks for our weapons, which "simulate" live fire, though they are kind of disappointing to be totally honest. Near the end of the day, it turns out that my squad was the first to finish both of their lanes so a couple of us got to be the Opposition Force (OpFor) and set up an ambush for the following groups. So that was a good way to end the day, and really dirty up my weapon because blanks really really mess up your weapon (I paid for it later when we got to clean our weapons).

Thursday started at the same time as Wednesday, and after having breakfast, we drew weapons and headed to the PT field where we reviewed IMT again as well as squad patrolling movements and reaction to contact. Basically, we reviewed everything from the past couple days because we kind of sucked the day before and the Cadre wanted to make us a little more serious before we headed out for our last day of actual training. Once we rolled around in the mud for an hour or so we were bussed out to a new range to do essentially the same thing as the day before, but this time the squads for patrolling were bigger, the lanes were longer, and the hostile contact that we would encounter would be "more sophisticated" and not just attack from the front. Again we were issued blanks, and because my squad had done so well at OpFor the day before, we were chosen again to do the same thing. This was awesome this time, we got to plan whole strategies for engaging the patrols as they came through, and we're not locked in one position or another.

After a couple hours of playing the Opposition it was my turn to be the squad leader and actually lead my squad on patrol. Essentially, we got our butts whooped out there. Patrolling is NOT easy, and even in this simulated environment, you get a real feel for what our Infantry and other Combat troops do every day. Its actually kind of scary to think about being in that kind of situation, so I would encourage everyone in future classes to take this section seriously and learn the skills, because we will all most certainly deploy, and you never know when you might need to put these skills to use. So, once we bumbled through that practice run, we returned to the busses and headed back to the barracks.

Friday started with some level of PT, but this was "combat PT" this time. In lieu of what is usually called the "Star Course," which is a final test that integrates Land Nav, with Weapons Maintenance, Commo, and CLS (Combat Live Saver) training, we did a miniature version. The company was broken into 8 squads, and it was a race against time to finish the entire "obstacle" course, which included, breaking down and rebuilding an M16, doing an appropriate reaction to contact bold flanking maneuver, CLS treatment and litter carry of a casualty, calling in a MediVac, and transporting the casualty to the assigned LZ. In all, it took about 45 minutes to complete, and my squad, Team Latrine "because we're the S***" beat all the other squads by about 10 minutes.

After chow, the entire class headed to the classroom to clean our weapons, and there we stayed (with an hour break for lunch) until about 1700 when every single weapon was clean. In the morning, those who had still not passed Land Nav were back out on the India Range for their third try, and shortly after lunch they came and joined us to clean weapons. I'm proud to say that all 100% of the class successfully completed the Land Nav and by 1700 every weapon was spotless. A word of advice... firing blanks in your weapon will make it filthy, but there is no real difference between firing one blank versus 100, therefore, since you're going fire at least one blank, go ahead and go wild with the blanks and enjoy yourself on the patrolling. Cleaning your weapon is a total pain in the butt, no matter how dirty the weapon is, so you just have to bear down and get it done. Even if you keep your weapon spotless by never firing a blank, you're still going to sit there all day helping others clean their weapon, so go for it. On that same note, when you're cleaning your weapon, actually try and clean it, instead of waiting for others to finish and then asking for help. A couple classmates apparently decided to do this, and it is so annoying, very un-Army like, and you'll really anger your classmates. In this environment, tempers are short to begin with, so please don't put yourself and/or your classmates in that position.

With the conclusion of weapons maintenance, I returned my M16 for the last time, in fact, the entire class, except for those individuals who have the ruck march on Monday (because they were on Profile for the real one), turned in their weapons for the last time. That means, all we have left is out-processing and returning all our gear to CIF before graduation, and the mass migration to our duty stations.

A word on Profiles... A profile is essentially the Army version of a doctors note, and anyone in a leadership or teaching position is bound to respect whatever it says, and it is VERY easy to get one. However, you want to avoid them at all costs, because if you start getting a reputation for being on Profile all the time, it is not a good thing. Not to mention, if you get "on profile" when you really don't need to be, you are going to be excluded from most activities, or required events, and will have to make them up at a later time, or graduate either OBC or DCC with lower marks, and no one wants that. The reason I bring this up is only precautionary, but after the ruck march we had all kinds of people going to sick call and skipping most of the days events and that's annoying. Many of them actually deserved to be there, but I want to caution future classes, and people thinking about entering... REMEMBER you're joining the Army, as comfortable and "gentlemanly" as these courses in the JAG are, you are still a PART OF THE ARMY, so be prepared to tough it out, or it will reflect poorly on you. I know I've said this several times throughout my 5 months of blogging, but it continues to be relevant... If you're not ready for the lifestyle, the physical fitness requirements, and the hierarchical/organized/uniform structure Military Service requires, then think twice about your decision...

With that said, my class will be finished on Wednesday, so I will have my final "student" blog post sometime shortly after that, with my final thoughts and advice for DCC and OBC combined. After that, I'll be off to Korea and my blog will be significantly different. What I'm trying to say, is ask your questions now, because after the next blog I'll be less inclined to answer them (though I totally still will). For those in the 183rd, welcome to C'Ville, enjoy your time there, because DCC is a world away.

Thank you to those who posted wonderful comments on my last blog, it has been a pleasure recording my experience, and I'm glad you've enjoyed it. I hope you'll keep reading, and keep asking questions, I plan on continuing to write and share my experiences...