Hal writes:
Since Anna was in Texas for my birthday (professional development class), I joined the Army for a few days to celebrate our anniversary. I was invited to be an educational observer for the summer program that has 6500 ROTC cadets come out to the base here in WA for their leadership training. I spent four days with 120 educators (professors and college staff) learning about the experience and more about the Army in general. I took over 100 pictures, but here are some of my favorites.
Ceremony for ROTC cadets who have completed their leadership training and graduated college. On this day we watched a parade and saw some commissioned as 2nd LTs. You will notice some in blue uniforms instead of the typical green. By the year 2014, all army dress uniforms will be in blue, but these cadets were allowed to choose which uniform to wear for their commissioning.
One of the battalions at attention behind the color guard on the parade grounds.
Marching onto the parade grounds.
Cadets in a training scenario. This group of twelve went through a variety of obstacles that day where they took turns as squad leader. You can see in the photo below the squad leader is using twigs and rocks to demonstrate to the cadets the obstacle that is located around the corner from them.
We were also give the opportunity to participate in some activities, and I said yes to everything possible. I decided not to include photos of me in full battle gear on the blog, but I was able to fire a rocket launcher and a grenade launcher; both of which I had "confirmed destroyed" the targets I was aiming for. The photo below is me rappelling off of a 37' tower.
The "slide for life". You will notice there is no harness. It starts at 80' above the water, so I would be a hurting unit if I slipped off. (I had to pass some physical fitness tests before they allowed me to try this one.)
Getting final instructions.
Close up of me heading down the zip line. (Look, ma! No safety harness!)
"He flies through the air with the greatest of ease..."
Ker-splash! (You don't want to hang on until you hit the road, but that's why there are medics in the background.)
The cadet below is in a mock test. He was given a medical situation where he had to call in the proper information to have a helicopter come pick up a wounded soldier.
A squad having a brief moment of rest before marching. Notice the tents in the background where the cadets slept (when they weren't sleeping out in the field).
A lot of the cadets work was observed throughout their process. Each day they were given new educational materials to learn and were tested on it that day. You will notice that in addition to verbal instructions, there were also demonstrations and charts to assist with learning before the cadets practices, effectively catering to all learning styles. The cadets below were learning about IEDs before walking down a road where they had to practice identifying replicas.
Learning to fire the rocket launcher. Again, one person verbally giving instructions, two demonstrating, and a fourth pointing it out on the chart before cadets were given the opportunity to try.
Cadets given some instructions before carrying out a mock mission.
I may add some more photos on to Facebook when I get a chance.
Come enjoy some time on the front porch with your coffee and newspaper or book.
The entry gate to the back yard. (Notice the similar detailing between the porch, above, and the fence.)
Dining room and fire place with a glimpse towards the kitchen.
Three different viewing angles of the kitchen.
The master bedroom. (No furniture yet, but we have a mattress!)
Backyard patio area.
Enjoy a red wine and homemade pizza at the bistro table in the courtyard.
Cap off your evening with our in house spa treatment. The hot tub came with the house, it was by no means an impulse purchase. ;)
