BOLC B

Basic Officer Leadership Course II has been done away with. I was scheduled to take that January-February of this year.

Basic Officer Leadership Course III has been replaced with/renamed BOLC B.

I start BOLC B February 16th, and should finish sometime in June. By then, I'll have orders and we'll know where we're headed next.

Since we arrived at Ft. Sill in October, I've been on what is known as "casual duty," mostly serving as the Executive Officer of a Holdover Battery for the Warrior Transition Course. Prior service sometimes attend WTC instead of Basic Combat Training. When, in the course of WTC, these soldiers are hurt or when they prove to be unable to complete the physical fitness test, they come to us to heal and train.

I've been working with an outstanding group, dedicated to their work and to the soldiers they train, and though I'm glad to be getting on with my training, I'll miss being at Fox 1/79.

Peace through victory.

A Cool Site

Shel's dad, Vernon, introduced me to a website I really like. It's called FamilyLink. It's a genealogy site associated with Facebook. I've managed to put together a decent little family tree just from what Shel and I could remember off hand and what I could copy of Vernon's work.

I've always thought that genealogy was fun, but it can be a tremendous lot of work - not just to create, but to peruse and enjoy even. This is pretty simple and intuitive, so I'm sold.

A Webcomic

I've discovered a webcomic I really like. Check it out.
http://xkcd.com/

Happy Halloween

update for no one?

I think that everyone who ever reads this blog knows that I have now finished OCS and that I am now tremendously enjoying some much needed time at home with my wife. We're packing up to move to Oklahoma, where my school will be. In the meantime, I'm doing hometown recruiting duty in Yuba City with an outstanding group of professionals.

32 Days to Go

We just finished our first of three weeks in the field and are headed out to our second. Fun in the sun, U.S. Army style.

Branch Selection Complete - Field Artillery - King of Battle

• "Ultima ratio regum" English: "The final argument of kings" - Louis XIV's inscription on French artillery
• "Do not forget your dogs of war, your big guns, which are the most-to-be respected arguments of the rights of kings." - Frederick II of Prussia
• "The artillery lends honor to that which would otherwise be a vulgar brawl." - Frederick II of Prussia
• "God is on the side with the best artillery." - Napoléon Bonaparte
• "The first shot is for the Devil, the second for God, and only the third for the King." - Napoléon Bonaparte
• "The best generals are those who have served in the artillery." - Napoléon Bonaparte
• "I do not have to tell you who won the war. You know, the artillery did." - General George S. Patton, Jr.
• "Brother, your best friend ain't your Momma, it's the Field Artillery." - A sign at Fort Benning, US Infantry School
• "The Guns, thank God, the Guns." - Rudyard Kipling
• "Renown awaits the commander who first restores artillery to its prime importance on the battlefield." - Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill
• "Artillery is the god of war." Joseph Stalin