It is amazing how many things have happened to me in just 2 short weeks.  I can safely say that the last 13 days have been the hardest of my life. Each day since starting my training in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets has been one crazy roller coaster ride after another. However, whether it is another obstacle, another hardship, or just another cadre yelling in my face, I won’t let anything stand in my way of becoming an officer in the Air Force.

To start off with, I’ll simply say that new cadet week was hell. I don’t think we ever made it 10 minutes without being yelled at. Some of the biggest pains were the time hacks. Everything we did was timed. We only had 10 minutes to eat, 3 minutes to get dressed, and 3 minutes to shower (which is pretty difficult to do with 14 guys and only 6 shower heads). We also had superman drills. They consisted of getting dressed in uniform properly and returning outside in 3 minutes. Then we would repeat this process several times with different uniforms. I honestly don’t think any of the 30 people in my training company ever managed to beat these time hacks. Apart from that, we were constantly marching; in the hot sun might I add. We spent most days learning how to properly march in formation. After 2 or 3 days we began marching with riffles. By the end of the week there wasn’t a single person without a sunburned scalp. Throughout the week we learned how to properly make our uniforms. We had to iron creases, shine shoes, polish brass, and lint roll our clothes. Not only did our uniforms have to be perfect, but our rooms as well. They had to be spotless because they were inspected every day. I don’t think my room has ever been so clean. I have to make my bed to corps standards, shine the sink, sweep the floor, dust all the furniture, and properly fold and store my clothes. All of this is done 2 or 3 times a day because rooms can be inspected at any time. Probably the hardest part for me was learning all of the cadres’ and cadet officers’ names.  We also had to learn the first and last name of the 30 people in our TC, their major, and what ROTC they are in. But to be honest, I still don’t know them. However there were some bright spots to the week. We got the chance to try out the obstacle course and the rappel tower. My favorite part was rappelling down the 40 foot wall.

The football game last night made all of my hard work worth it. At 1930 we all marched in formation to Lane stadium. Everyone was clapping and cheering as we were going by and I realized how much everyone respects the Corps. The best part of the night was when we got to walk out onto the field and form the tunnel for the football team. The bright lights and screaming fans were overwhelming and I couldn’t help breaking my military bearing to smile. I don’t care how lame this sounds but something happened during halftime that truly touched my heart. My bud and I went to the concession stand to get a drink when a 5 year old boy and his grandfather came up to us. The boy wanted to shake our hands. He told us that we are an inspiration to him and he want to be like us when he is older. His grandfather took a picture of us and thanked us for what we are doing; for preparing to serve our country in the world’s greatest military. The night ended with a bang when Virginia Tech won the game. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of my career here at Virginia Tech in the Corps of Cadets.