NCO Class update

Hello Everyone

I finished the Army PRE-PLDC NCO Class on Friday. We graduated, and I graduated second in the class. The SGT that was honor graduate earned it well. The Army is a different beast than the Navy and after seeing the class I am proud of the naval heritage and history that I am a part of. I am sure the Army feels the same way about their service as well. The Army does their job efficiently and effectively and this was shown throughout the class. The Army expects a great deal from its Junior NCO's and trains them well on how to be great leaders. I enjoyed the PT formation and Drill and Ceremony (DNC) training as well as the Land Navigation course. The stuff in the middle, PowerPoint presentations on EO, and Sexual Harassment etc, are the same for each branch so those were kind of boring. I enjoyed making new friends in the Army and hope to keep in touch with them in the future.

Living at Arifjan however for the week is something that I know I can do without. That place is a dump, and has no character whatsoever. Yeah they have a bigger exchange and wireless internet from AAFES, but gaining access to all those services is like drinking a thick milkshake from a straw...pointless. The tents were dumpy and old, plenty of profane graffiti in the bathrooms that one could deal without. I'll take Camp Patriot over Arifjan any day of the week.

We got our lockers while I was out, so I am trying to put everything I can in there so I can clean up my space and make it spacious again...it is kind of crowded right now. I no longer have the use of a digital camera so I won't be able to post pictures unless I borrow someone else's or get another one. If anyone finds a DC290 on eBay for cheap...that would make an nice early Birthday present :)

I am trying to get some packages out to people at Aon and family and friends around here, and some letters too. Bear with me I'm not the best at navigating communication means other than email or IM or the phone :)

Take care,
IT3