Today was the last day at Ft. Lee for the 182^nd Class, and seeing as we all got the administrative elements completed yesterday, the only thing left for us to do was a little PT in the morning, and an AAR or After Action Report. Today had a couple good one-liners I need to share, then there are a couple shout-outs that should be made, and finally, as promised, MY (emphasis on the first-person possessive) lessons learned.

PT this morning was really rather easy, and for some of us, we were hoping that with a couple days off, we might get smoked by 1SG. Instead, we began with a simple formation, then a short briefing regarding specifics of the APFT. The real take-away from the briefing was the reminder that we will be taking our APFT next week (a diagnostic one), and that we would get our day assignments later at the AAR (mine is on Thursday, Hooooahhh!!!).

The rest of PT was spent jogging around the track while individuals who had questions about the form of their push-ups met with 1SG to ensure that their technique was correct. During this jogging session I personally challenged Captain James to two sprint races, roughly 100 feet for each, and I am proud to announce that I smoked him (pretty good for a round belly!) It turns out Captain James was a fairly talented swimmer in his younger years, and being a former All-American water polo player, I decided to challenge him to a little race in the pool at C’ville, where I plan on smoking him as well.

Once everyone who needed to have their push-ups checked finished, we formed up again and went through more Drill’n’Ceremony stuff. For this we broke up into smaller squads of 12 or so, and each squad was led by a “more experienced marcher” (a relative term for sure). I was fortunate enough to be teamed up with the XO, who, judging on relative standards, is very proficient in his marching ability. So proficient that within minutes my squad was singing cadences, pulling counter columns with our eyes closed, and in one instance halting inches away from another squad, to which we serenaded with a more then colorful cadence that will not be repeated here. I have to admit, I am finding marching to be less then easy, but today was fun.

After “PT,” we had four hours off to do whatever it was that needed before arriving back on post for the AAR. I went shopping for the few remaining cloths I needed, while others just hung around the hotel (it is still VERY hot here).

At the AAR, we were first briefed on the plans for arriving in C’ville. The quote of the day was most definitely, “when you arrive in C’ville, you guys are like a box of new puppies,” the staff is so “excited to see you, probably because they get to play with you and not have to take care of you.” I can’t attribute that quote to anyone in particular, but said in the proper southern accent with literally NO HINT OF SARCASM, it was pretty classic.

The AAR went smoothly, good suggestions all around, but nothing too incredible to report. This evening the class leadership is putting on a social at our hotel with food and beverages included, and I am most certainly looking forward to that event, one last hurrah.

Now for MY lessons learned. I don’t generally like giving advice (some may scoff at that statement, but I see a difference between giving advice and letting people know my opinion, that’s for my friends back home). Essentially, I have one piece of advice, but it has several subsections or caveats that should be elaborated upon.

The over arching lesson is simply; Remember that you are JOINING THE ARMY.

You are not taking a civilian job, this is not a two week or five month training session, when you arrive at Ft. Lee and take that Oath you are bound to the Army, and thus you must have an appreciation for what that means. It has happened to me several times in the last two weeks, and I don’t think I’m alone, but sometimes I forget that I am no longer a civilian, and if you can’t handle that or you have reservations about giving up many of the personal freedoms that you enjoy as a civilian, you should NOT be here.

Caveat One - Once you join this group you have to appreciate that fact that you become a SOLDIER first, and a LAWYER second. The niceties and cordialities that you have grown accustom to in the civilian world, don’t exist here. You are expected to accustom yourself to the Army lifestyle VERY quickly. And, from what I hear, these two weeks are a cake-walk compared to what enlisted personnel go through, so if you’re not ready to suck it up and take what is handed to you, don’t take a spot that someone else might be better fitted to hold.

Caveat Two - Get into shape before you get here, you’re joining the Army after all, being physically fit is by far the most important attribute of any soldier, why would soldier, that happens to be a lawyer, be any different. I’m not saying you need to be a killer tri-athlete, but be able to run a decent two-mile, and do a push-up/sit-up or two.

Caveat Three - Follow directions as they are given, respect your leadership, and as one Captain told me before I arrived here, “in the words of Socrates, know that you know nothing.” This is pretty difficult for us lawyers to fathom, because we are pretty much the smartest people on the planet, but it is good advice. The more you fight the way of life, or the strict dress code/code of conduct, the more you’re going to be punished, humiliated, and laughed at, and no one wants that.

Caveat Four – Be on time. As was told to me; “make sure to be on time, always be early, and never be late.” There are no excuses accepted here for rolling in late to class or formation and your classmates and leadership WILL notice, and it doesn’t reflect well.

Caveat Five – When you arrive here, you automatically become part of a team, a team that takes great pride in looking after their own. Embrace that team, don’t be anti-social or reclusive, this Corp of Soldier-Lawyers is small, and you will most definitely run into your classmates again. Everyone likes to run into a familiar face once in a while, and if you don’t get to know your class, there is no way their faces will be familiar to you.

With all of that said, I love where I am. I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing group. In this class we have some of the most intelligent and talented people I’ve ever met, and I’m honored to be included. I have to give a GIANT shout out to our Student Leadership, who kept the whole class in line, up to date, and informed. You’ve all done a fantastic job answering all of my stupid questions, and calming my anxieties, in doing so, you’ve made this transition as seamless as possible.

Tomorrow we all drive to C'ville where our schooling truly begins. I am not sure my blogging will continue on a daily basis, as I'm not sure you all want to read about me sitting in class. Howevever, I have been instructed to "keep the blog real," which means try and focus less on PT and more on everything else. Regardless, I will continue to blog about all things I believe to be relevant. What would help is, if you have questions, post them in the comment section, and I will make sure to answer them in my next entry. Thank you all for continuing to read my entries, I hope it continues to inform and entertain.