Academy Update

impulse418 wrote: Are you guys required to ride the tazer? If so please take video for us. Oh and the OC exposure.

Reb Cpl wrote: USAF.....how are you making out?

Edited by usafpilot07 - 31 January 2013 at 6:18pm

I'm not going to start a new thread, so I'll resurrect this old thing.

We're a month in and I'm still alive. I did very well on our first written exam, and my academics are on the whole pretty decent.

Physically, even after only a month, I'm a different person. There's no limping or whimpering when we get done with a PT session, and I'm running our 3, 4, 5 mile jogs while staying near the front of the pack.

All that is pretty good, but we're in rough shape as a platoon. There are a couple of habitual screw ups that are STILL bringing us down. We're waiting for them to fail out academically or on demerits, but in the meantime we're taking severe beatings for their transgressions. Its to the point where the academy directors called the DIs on the carpet for not having us into shape by now. Since 'you know what' rolls downhill, the DIs are taking it upon themselves to smoke the daylights out of us every spare second we have. They'll walk in at the start of class, and rather than do a uniform inspection, they'll just yell "On the deck!" and we get out asses beat as the nimrods who screwed up this time are pulled to the front and we thank them as we work.

And its usually the same ones. One guy is really, really bad. He doesn't belong there. I'm not a stellar recruit, but I'm not at the bottom of the pack either. This one dude though....he STILL doesn't sound off when he's spoken to, he forgets his PT gear at home, he fails exams, he doesn't hand in paperwork....he's a mess, and we're getting creamed for it.

When we actually HAVE class or PT time though, I rather enjoy it. I like learning new things, and I like the fact that I've never worked this hard for anything in my life....I just can't stand the fact that we're expending so much energy on these cretins this late in the game.

We can't really beat the hell out of them, but good lord I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed every single one of our minds.

USAF.....how are you making out?

We've lost 5 so far, and there's two hangers on that are like stubborn dingleberries. They won't drop off, but they've honestly go no business being there.

Our sessions start at 6pm. Most of us elect to get there at 5, so we can square away uniforms, submit paperwork, and get everything set before the DIs start mashing us to teeny little bits, and our classroom stuff starts.

We've got two people that show up at 5 to six, which balls up the paperwork submissions since it all has to be handed in alphabetically, their uniform isn't square, and its throwing us all down a hole.

We had one guy say 'thanks dude' to a police officer who helped him unlock his car before class....the academy director got wind of that and was PISSED that the recruit didn't show more respect than that.
hell, we didn't even have a uniform inspection last night, we were smoked early and hard until class room instruction, then they ran us for an hour and a half.

One of the other recruits grabbed the habitual late-comer, and I think he gave him the run around last night.
These dopes are claiming issues with family and work, thats why they can't square themselves away. Well, a good number of us have families, and every one in the class works a job atop of academy. There's not much of an excuse. If your job demands keep you from doing whats necessary for the academy, maybe this isn't the right time for you to be there.

.....but no. They continue to screw up and are really getting the rest of us run through the ringer. Simple nonsense too, like if you're going to be late or miss class, you're supposed to call both the academy directors and your squad leaders, as well as email them AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. We have people just not show up on occasion.

We get beat up for that too.

I need to shave 41 seconds off of my run time to graduate, and that's worrying me a little. But there's time to get that done.

tallen702 wrote: USAF, "Come To Jesus" meetings aren't about encouraging people to do better. They're about telling them that under no uncertain circumstances will you tolerate their continued ineptitude and that they'd better make a visible and unmistakable improvement immediately or GTFO. Everyone in the class needs to tell her point blank that her inability to get it done in a reasonable time is hurting YOUR performance. That's why the DI's have you do those forward leans. They want you guys to band together and either get her to improve, or get her to quit. It builds the reality that you can't have people who can't do the job serving with you because it compromises everyone's safety and ability to do the job correctly.

I'd agree, if it was bothering me to the point where I thought I'd up and quit. They take the definition of 'paramilitary' very seriously.

I think the whole point of that stuff this week was to find the people who might be there for the wrong reasons, and to weed out anyone who can't take some stress. And to also force us to pay attention to detail. All in all, I'm not really that worked up about it no matter how insanely over the top it might be.

There's no question that these guys are hard. Its reputed to be one of the hardest academies on our part of the state.

We re-did the PT test tonight, the one that I passed a month or so ago to get INTO the academy.
I missed the mile and a half run time by ONE SECOND- but that's after a week of constant nonsense, and it was cold and raining. Luckily, this was just a benchmark, and it doesn't really count for anything.
The fact that they spent all week with us holding out gear bags over our heads, doing duck walks and 'smurf jacks' (you don't want to know) and they only managed to add about 4 seconds to my run time is sort of heartening. In six months, after the workouts and physical training, I think I can make the graduation requirements now.

Besides, I've never been challenged at this level in my whole life. If they want to give me hell and push my ass to do something, so be it. Excessive or not, It helps me paint a picture of who I am, beyond the squishy wuss that fixed computers in a previous life.

Reb Cpl wrote: usafpilot07 wrote: We got absolutely smoked today. I am close to death. Its incredibly comforting to have someone I know going through the same thing. I know the feeling. Helps to keep pushing through it. We lost 3 recruits last night. Uniform inspections, close order drill, then our very first PT session. 1.3 mile run in the cold AFTER cycling through various calisthenics stations. This is after doing duck walks, and squats with gear bags over our heads the other day. My quads have been on fire for four days now. I think we're starting to get into the 'training' next week, easing out of the 'ass kick' stage though. Our DIs are making up infractions at this point, like putting their thumb on your tie bar, then yelling at you for fingerprints. We have had that a few times too. "Lint" on uniforms, people supposedly leaving chairs out/hangers in the bathroom, etc. Sucks.  I still haven't gotten a hold on what our PT is going to be like. Supposedly our Wednesday was supposed to be pretty indicative of what PT is like, but a few of us stayed late yesterday and today to do some extra because the weakest member of the class destroys the quality of our runs. There's still a few people in there who don't think the rules apply to them though and almost refuse to sound off when spoken to, and all I can think of is how we'd have a sock party a'la Full Metal Jacket if this was a full time, sleep in academy.   I really really really wish our weak link was a guy. I think he'd get a come to Jesus meeting Monday morning. As it is, today the switch really got flipped between everyone trying to motivate her; most of us are just done trying to be positive to her, while a couple guys were TICKED. Having to stay in the front-leaning rest for long enough while the weak one walks to catch up will do that.  Good luck.  You too, bud.

You and few others may have to have a, "Come to Jesus" talk with the dimwits that feel they are above the rules.  Ours was meeting at the flagpole in the parking lot.  Usually one "talking to" was enough.  If not, they might be next few to washout.

usafpilot07 wrote: We got absolutely smoked today. I am close to death.

Its incredibly comforting to have someone I know going through the same thing.

We lost 3 recruits last night. Uniform inspections, close order drill, then our very first PT session. 1.3 mile run in the cold AFTER cycling through various calisthenics stations. This is after doing duck walks, and squats with gear bags over our heads the other day. My quads have been on fire for four days now.

I think we're starting to get into the 'training' next week, easing out of the 'ass kick' stage though. Our DIs are making up infractions at this point, like putting their thumb on your tie bar, then yelling at you for fingerprints.

There's still a few people in there who don't think the rules apply to them though and almost refuse to sound off when spoken to, and all I can think of is how we'd have a sock party a'la Full Metal Jacket if this was a full time, sleep in academy.

 Good luck.

We got absolutely smoked today. I am close to death.