8 Oct 2006

Well, I’m back from “Warrior Leader Course.” I must admit, I had more fun than I thought I would. Unfortunately, the happy memories were somewhat spoiled by the death of truly beautiful young woman–from my squad–named Allison Hoskins. Not just physically pretty, she was a quiet, determined young woman with a smile that truly lit the room around her, and without whom the world is a darker place.
That having been said, I did really well–had my APFT score been higher, I would have been on the Commandant’s List; as it was, although I barely passed the APFT, I still got two Superior Comments and some excellent peer reviews (they generally rated me higher than I rated myself). I also have some interesting stories to share later.
I have finally been inducted into Freemasonry. Actually, my “Entered Apprentice” initiation won’t be complete until next Tuesday, but I am a Mason. The initiation ceremony took long enough that I showed up to work in my “Sunday best”–half the people there thought I’d been promoted (including the ones who thought that I’d been fired because I’d been gone for two weeks).
Also, I am considering returning to active duty with the Army. My two-week “camp” at E-5 pay netted me more than I gross at MBS, and if I stay in the MP field, I can get choice of duty station (say, Fort Leavenworth). And, now that I’m an NCO, I’ll probably have more free time in the military than I do working at MBS and the National Guard. I’m going to postpone my decision until after the Marine Corps ball, however; not only because I want to be certain that I can attend, but also because I’ve got one final application in for a federal position. I actually got two call-backs for interviews… set for two days before I got home from WLC. Oh, well.
I suppose that’s about it. I’ll be checking Columbia College’s academic calendar to see when I can apply for a new set of classes; otherwise, it’s just the off-season at MBS.
Oh–due to my current involvement in an evening activity (Freemasonry), I’ve changed my activity schedule. I now go to bed right after work (actually, 8am), and get up at about 4pm–so I’m actually available in the evenings, now.