Its Saturday morning (technically afternoon) and I needed to write an entry now before the weekend (Labor Day) really begins and I forget to write another for a couple extra days. The last couple days have really been fantastic and I have a couple great questions to answer that have been posted so there is plenty to talk about... lets begin.

Thursday morning, like the last couple weeks of Tuesday/Thursday PT is squad PT. This morning it was my turn to create the workout, and seeing as my squad was smoked on the push-up Tuesday morning, naturally, I went straight for the abs. Mixed in with near constant pressure on the core, was several trips up the 82 steps that lead from the TJAGLCS down to the "park." We finished up with some core/stabilizing holds (planks, if you will) before finally calling it a morning.

Thursday's classes marked the beginning of Legal Assistance and Tax/Estate Law. Seeing as I just received my sponsor's letter in Korea which said I would be assigned to the Legal Assistance Division, this topic is particularly important to me. We began with a general overview of the Legal Assistance program as well as Tax/Estate issues, as well as Wounded Warrior Law, which as you might imagine is a pressing new topic seeing as battle field medicine has become so effective we only lose 1 our of 9 injured soldiers in the field now.

For lunch, I was one of twelve fortunate individuals to be selected to have lunch with the Commanding General to discuss how to make the JAOBC more effective. It was a great discussion, and as you might imagine, my biggest concern was the flow of information out of JARO and the JAG Corps in general to those about to start classes. This is an issue that is near and dear to me, and it partly the reason I write this blog. Interested in what I had to say, the CG gave me the task of compiling the information that, (1) we would want to know before showing up, and (2) providing the means of disseminating that information more effectively. So, since the Army is all about collaborative efforts, and seeing as I am already well into this course, I am now going to ask for help from all of you... WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? Tell me in the comment section below, what information you want and what you think is the most effective (and efficient I might add) of getting that information to you? I plan on having this memo to the CG by the end of the week, and I want to integrate as many points of view as I can. Now, this memo is not a list of complaints, I want constructive suggestions, and I will take everything said into account when I put my final product together.

After classes Totally Awesome PT was cancelled because our XO, Chief, was being promoted and we all wanted to be there to celebrate with her. This was my first promotion ceremony, and it was very touching, Congrats Chief!!! Once that was finished, Cpt. Powell and I had a rematch for my loss the day before, and finally everything in the world was returned to normal as I trounced the Ranger, 3-0... HOOOOAAAHHHH!!!! Wildebeests rule.... On my way back to the school, Cpt. Powell and I ran in to Battle Buddy Boggs who was going to workout, and being the good Battle Buddy we are all trained to be, I couldn't let her workout alone, so I went back (besides I had some extra energy left over).

And then the strangest thing happened.... When BBB and I returned to school, we got this strange text message from the Class Leadership, saying that we had Friday morning PT was cancelled? It couldn't be, why would that ever happen? But, once confirmed, it was as if the TJAGLCS spontaneously combusted in celebration, we were actually going to get our four-day weekend. That night it was on, and it would appear that the entire class was out. There is a lot of cohesion among everyone, and just as the title of this blog indicates, its all about the family...

Friday morning, even with the later start and no PT, was painful. We actually had a full day of lectures, ones that we actually had to pay attention to, and people were soldiering through, just like we're supposed to. Once that was completed, I went straight to sleep until dinner time.

Which brings me to the first question that was posted on my last entry, which was "how old is too old?" I'm paraphrasing the question, but I think that is the gist of it. Well, to answer that question with a story, dinner Friday night was a birthday celebration for the oldest member of our class, and one of the greatest men I have ever met. Cpt. Horne officially turned 52  earlier in the week, and Friday night was our chance to celebrate. Cpt. Horne is officially the oldest soldier to begin JAOBC, however, that record will be broken with the 183rd class, as there is a gentlemen set to come who will start the class at 54. Cpt. Horne is an exceptional individual who never uses his age as an excuse, and perfectly balances humor with seriousness, and brings to the table a wealth of experience from his 25+ years of service. As for women, I believe the oldest female member of our class is 44, and she totally kicks butt too!!!

After dinner, as you might imagine I was wiped out, so I went back to bed.

This morning, I woke up with my first full 8+ hours of sleep since I arrive in C'Ville. I promptly received a text from BBB who is in charge of setting up the tailgating festivities for today's UVA v. U Richmond football game. So we started moving cars to reserve space for the 31 of us who are sticking around town for the weekend. Once that was completed, BBB, Cpt. Powell and I decided to take part in a Scorpion Death Run, led by Ranger Powell. It was trouble, we went straight up the side of mountain to start, when we reached the top, we headed down a different way then we came up. When we reached the bottom we had two choices, head back on flat ground or retrace the route we just came down. Not being able to make a decision, we asked a very nice older lady what we should do, and she didn't even hesitate, she basically told us to sack up and run back up the hill, so that is what we did. We named this little path "O F--- Hill" as it is way harder, steeper and longer then O Hill on the UVA campus. However, we dominated it, and we now truly deserve the tailgating that is about to begin.

Now, to the other questions. Chris, I think I answered your question about age, but you also asked about reading material. If you're really interested in learning about how the Army operates and you want the actual language then I would go ahead and ready through the Army Regulations (AR), that you can find on the Army's public website; www.apd.army.mil. Each AR is titled in an obvious way, so you can go through them and select what you think is more pertinent to your interests. There are also Field Manuals (FMs) on that website, which will teach you practicalities of the Army, like PT exercises. As for books to read, I don't have many suggestions, but if anyone does, please post those in the comment section.

This is a good time to put in a reminder... Please tell me (1)what information you would want provided to you before you show up to Ft. Lee, AND (2) what would be the most effective/efficient means to do so. Please remember that the people a JARO are limited, so ideas like more availability of JARO individuals will not be practical, they work very hard and with the number of people applying these days and the size of classes it is VERY difficult to handle hundreds of calls. However, I was thinking that setting up a "mentor" program between current students and students in the next class, might be more effective way of communicating questions that is less public then posting questions on this blog, or trying to call JARO about. I need ideas like that, and I want them from the people who they will effect... YOU!!!

Lastly, there was a question about being a vegetarian. There is absolutely no issue with being a vegetarian. In the field, there are vegetarians MREs and when you're at Ft. Lee or C'Ville, you eat out the entire time, so you control what you eat, and you shouldn't have an issue. Now, if you have a more restrictive diet, for example, you're vegan, THAT will be difficult. MREs are highly processed foods, so I'm sure they have non-vegan components, and I doubt the Cafeterias at Benning will be concerned with the use of animal products. But barring those more restrictive dietary styles, vegetarians don't have any MORE of an issue then they would in the civilian world.

Thank you everyone for reading, and I'm going to thank you in advance for you ideas, they will be used SO DON'T BE SHY. My parent's are coming this weekend, so I'll be offline for a couple days, can't wait to show off my bald head and new buffness (whatever... as you all role your eyes) As always, you guys are awesome, keep reading, keeping posting questions, and thanks for the support....