Well, "hump day" is nearly at its end and this morning marked the end of yet another subject, Fiscal/Contract Law, as well as the beginning of our last month in C'Ville. Its hard to imagine that it has only been two months since we arrived at Ft. Lee, it feels (at least to me) that is has been so much longer, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think my blogs have reflected just how much fun I am having, and I don't think that is going to change when our time here is done and we move to Ft. Benning for DCC.

So, what has happened this week. Monday started as just about every Monday before it... PT!!! Monday's are usually Run Group 1 days, and this morning was no exception. Lt. Heller took command of Run Group 1's workout, and with instructions to "make us cry," did his best to break us, in what he called "push-up improvement." it was definitely a good smoke session with a mixture of traditional push-ups, holding a plank position, and repeating over and over again (integrating blocks for a little deeper burn as well.) In the middle of the workout we paired up and started throwing 12lb medicine balls back and forth to add just a little more cardio/burn into the workout. Being the biggest guy in group I had a distinct advantage, and I felt bad for my two different partners, I think I was a little over zealous with how hard I was throwing the ball.

After PT, we had our first of two blocks of instruction on "Operational Fiscal Law," essentially the real practical aspects of Fiscal Law that apply predominantly when you are deployed. The focus is very much on Iraq and Afghanistan, as you might imagine, but there are also different laws that apply to just about ever region, outside of the US, where troops are currently stationed, thus it can get VERY confusing.

After a three hour block of instruction, the class broke up into our small seminar groups, took a quick (ungraded) quiz and discussed it before heading to lunch. I made the trek to Darden again and really enjoyed my time there before coming back for two more hours of seminar class/discussion on Operational Law. After class was out, Battle Buddy Boggs and I walked down to the Football stadium and purchased 31 tickets for our classmates to attend the home opening UVA v. U Richmond football game this weekend. After spending some time using every bit of leverage we could think of (within the legal and ethical boundaries placed on us by the Army and our legal profession), we were able to get the "standard" discount and some pretty awesome front row seats that I think everyone will be excited about. We were met at the stadium my Cpt. Powell who drove us back to the gym, where Cpt. Powell and I had another epic squash match, where I prevailed once again. The day ended with the completion of a quick email exercise regarding Operational Fiscal Law, which is always a good time.

Tuesday began with, as you might imagine, PT again. Like most Tuesdays and Thursdays we have "Squad PT" which is led by a member of your squad with some supervision from an NCO or, in my squad's case, a Chief Warrant Officer. This particular morning, the soldier in charge of PT collaborated with our CWO in creating a total SMOKE set that consisted of 8 exercises done in succession without stopping, and the major focus was definitely on the push-up with some incidental abs mixed in. I'm not sure how many times we repeated the circuit, but it hurt something good and I am still sore.

Class today was the second half of Operational Fiscal Law, which focused on specific funds that can only be used in Iraq or Afghanistan which are exceptionally confusing when looked at in the context of the methodology that we had learned in the prior four classes, but as always, we had seminar classes after the lecture to help iron out the details that were slipping past us. After a quick lunch in my room (and a nap) we had an hour on Fiscal Law Research before a rousing game of Fiscal Jeopardy (i.e. exam review).

Once that was finished, it was again time to fill out travel vouchers so that we can get paid our per diem as well as have our hotel expenses paid. After that briefing, I again attended Totally Awesome PT, but we were released relatively early because of our exam the next morning. The rest of the evening was a studying/tabbing-of-outline experience and early to bed.

This morning started a bit earlier then normal, as we had a 4+ mile ruck march with 30+ pounds in the ruck. The entire company formed up at 0525 and we set off on the march around 0535. Impressively, only a few people fell out, and many of those who were expected to fall out didn't, or if they fell behind they fought it out and refused to give up, so a big shout out to those people (I'd use their names, but I haven't gotten they're permission to do so, so I can't yet, but I think you know who you are...)

The first thing after PT was of course the exam. It is open book, note, and anything else that was handed out in class. I felt that the exam was very fair, and as this was the first subject where there was NO "foot stomping" to indicate what would be on the exam, this exam was well written and not frustratingly tricky. Does that mean I got a 100%? No, but I only missed one, so I can live with that score. Immediately after the exam, we reviewed all 50 answers, which I thought was a little excessive, and then had lunch.

For lunch this afternoon we had the opportunity to have pizza with some of the Senior Officers (Colonels, and LT Colonels) who are are attending the Senior Officer Leadership Course over the next two weeks before they return to their brigade command at their respective installations. This was an excellent opporutnity to meet some of the Senior Officers (who are NOT JAs) and discuss other issues within the Army and in particular what they see is a JAs role in the Army. Not surprisingly, the Colonel that I was talking to had a wealth of information and, of course, experience and he was more then willing to share his candid thoughts with all of us. Not everyone in the class took advantage of this opportunity (in fact, only 30 or so), and I encourage everyone reading this in future classes to take every chance you get to talk to ANYONE that is not a JA, you get quite a different perspective, and it is invaluable.

After lunch we had a one hour block of instruction on Contract Process and Authority (yes, the first exposure to the Contract side of Contract and Fiscal Law), before an After Action Report (AAR) with the head of the department. An AAR is used by the department to elicit both suggestions on how to make the education more effective and learn what to "sustain" and what to change.

When class ended I headed to the squash courts once again with Cpt. Powell, and in a five-set clash of the Titans, I let my superior win for once (I wish). I got beat today, I don't know what my deal was, but I just couldn't find a weakness, but in my defense the game did go to five sets, so I'll get him tomorrow, plus, I'm still up 2-1. Hooooaahhhh!!!!

There were no questions posted, but I want to revisit the contact issue briefly. I want to thank Andy for mentioning AR 670-1, which if the Army Regulation that controls Uniform and Insignia. This leads me to a bigger point I'd like to make, and may have mentioned before; essentially, the Army has a regulation (AR) for EVERYTHING, and you can find all the ARs on a public site if you want to research a particular issue on your own. The website is www.apd.army.mil and it wouldn't be a terrible idea for those entering later classes to start to familiarize yourselves with some of the obvious and applicable ARs and FMs (Field Manuals).

As for the specific issue of contacts... Yes, it is true that you can't wear contacts in the "field," but when it comes to all of my experiences at Ft. Lee and OBC (with the exception of the NBC Training, and that was limited to the Gas Chamber) I, and ALL of my classmates who have contacts, have been allowed to wear them without question, and the only regulation is they must be "clear," so they cannot color your eyes in any way. When it comes to DCC, I do not know what to expect, but all of the literature that has been forwarded to me thus far does not say anything about prohibiting contacts, so unless otherwise ordered, I intend to wear them the entire time, and avoid the dreaded BCGs...

On another note, it dawned on me yesterday that I haven't been writing anything about Airborne or Air Assault training while at OBC, for the obvious reason that I'm not doing it. However, I know all of my classmates who are doing the training, and I am pretty aware of their morning workouts, so if anyone is interested in knowing more about that, I can certainly elaborate more in future blogs. However, the biggest difference in their PT schedules is that on Tuesdays and Thursdays mornings, their PT begins at 0500 and goes just passed 0600, but not much further. Airborne essentially just gets smoked on those mornings, and so does Air Assault, though Air Assault will have lengthy ruck marches with more weight then the rest of the class, as they are building up to a 12-mile ruck march that they have to make in under 3 hours (15 minute mile pace, pretty darn fast!!!). If anyone wants to know more, let me know, and I'll see what I can share, the more specific the question the better, otherwise you'll just give a chronology of their workouts for the week.

Thanks for reading everyone, I know there isn't a lot of excitement in this entry, but this is my life in JAOBC, and I think its pretty standard. Keep reading and asking questions if you have them...