The Officers Board

Well, Finally some good news! I actually sat my Officers Board Friday. It was quite an experience. I've never had an experience like it before. It was pretty intense to say the least. I found out Thursday afternoon that my board was actually scheduled for Thursday morning, yes you read that correctly...I missed my first board...apparently there was some miscommunication. Oh well. So I was told to be ready and meet my recruiter at the station at 7:30 to head down for the new board. Thursday night was spent in a panic, TG went the extra mile and printed off the Army Core values and a bunch of other study material for me to look at when I got home. She also checked my suit for wrinkles and Ironed my shirt while I was in the shower the next morning. She made coffee and got me ready for the day ahead. It was great. She really made things alot easier and showed me that she really supports what I'm doing and is willing to go out of her way to help me any way she can. Big points for her. On my way from the station, she called and said her mom had brought me up at her prayer group and they had all prayed that I would do well at the board. Now I'm not a super religious guy, but that meant alot to me. Then her mom called me and wished me luck too. I was feeling pretty good at that point. Then I got another phone call from her little sister, who's in Grad school in Indiana, again wishing me luck and telling me she had every confidence in my ability. It was a pretty emotional experience, in a good way. It's great to be overwhelmed once in while, especially with love and support. It really took my mind off my worries and helped me to focus. I can't thank them enough.
I wont get into specifics about what they asked me, but to anyone considering applying for OCS, READ YOUR ESSAY AGAIN RIGHT BEFORE THE BOARD! Know and be able to clearly state why you want to be an Officer in the Army. I will relate a funny story from the board though. One of the members of the board asked me why I wanted to be an Officer in the Army instead of the Navy. Now the real reasoning for this was of course Special Forces, but I was so amped up, I drew a total blank. My first response was "Well, Sir, Thats a good question". to which he replied "Thank you." and proceeded to wait expectantly for my answer. The best reason I could come up with was "Well, Sir, I didn't care for Ship-Board life." to which he replied, "what didn't you like about it?". I replied "well, sir, it's dirty" That casued a few raised eyebrows, let me tell you. There I was, sitting across from from 3 Officers, basically telling them I was afraid of getting dirty. Not my finest moment. I did manage a decent recovery and the rest of the board went pretty smoothly. So smoothly in fact, that The board reccomended me for OCS.
Before I left, I was in the PAO office for the batallion doing some paperwork, and I noticed a bunch of little lapel pins that say "Proud of my Future Soldier". So I grabbed a few, one for TG, her mom, and my mom. I need to get a card out to Indiana for her little Sister. Small gestures to let them know how much I appreciate them. I called TG and told her I had been approved, which prompted another round of congratulatory phone calls from her mom and sis. It was a stressful day, but it had a great outcome. Finally something in the Army went my way!