OTS Tips From the Trenches – 18-04 Cadet

Just some small snippets of advice I wish I either would have been told before coming to OTS, or would have listened to better:

• Prepare physically for this.  Run, run, run, and then run some more.  But don’t just focus on push ups and sit ups and running.  Do full body workouts.  Do cardio and legs and back and everything else.  You’ll thank yourself later if you do.
• Don’t get caught up in the prior vs. non-prior divide that some people do while here.  Understand that everyone earned a spot here, regardless of previous military experience.  Learn from each other.  Help each other.  Lead each other when appropriate, and be good followers of each other when appropriate.  Everyone has something to learn here, even if you’ve been in the military for a decade or more.  And for the non-priors, please don’t ever get into the mindset that you have nothing to offer to the priors.  Because you do.  Find what it is, and don’t be afraid to speak up or offer your opinions/suggestions.
• Manage your time wisely!!!  OTS is all about how you handle and work under stress.  They will push your buttons and push you past your limits.  They will dump assignment after assignment on you and then make you do even more additional duties and then tack on a 6 mile run to top it all off.  There will be days when you’ve got 6 things due but only 30 minutes to get it turned in.  So manage your time wisely.  Don’t put assignments off or procrastinate because you will rarely have free time here.  And prioritize!!  Do the things that are graduation requirements first and put the most attention in them.  Then work on the other stuff.  They throw all this stuff at you to see if you can prioritize and figure out what is most important, so prove to them that you can.
• Don’t listen to those who say to keep your head down and go with the flow and not really make much noise.  Because while it seems like a great idea, it is not.  The staff will notice you.  And they will purposely put you into hard positions to see how you will handle them.  And once it gets to that point, it’s sink or swim.  So speak up and volunteer for things, especially the stuff no-one else wants to do.  The staff look highly on that and are more forgiving if you mess up some because at least you volunteered and are trying when no one else did.
• You will fail here.  Accept that now.  There WILL be something you do poorly on.  Everyone will have something they do poorly on.  Some more than others, but none the less, there will be one thing at least for everyone.  Don’t take it to heart or let it eat you up when you do fail something.  It’s not the end of the world.  Failure is the best teacher.  Learn from your mistakes.  This is one of the few times/environments where failure is encouraged.  Take advantage of that culture and take risks.  You’ll be better for it.
• Try to get along with everyone.  A lot of people have thus mindset that once you leave here, you’ll never see most of these people again, and that’s simply not true.  The air force is extremely small.  You WILL run into each other again.  So make friends, or in the least, be acquaintances.  You don’t have to always agree with one another, but definitely don’t be rude or mean to one another.
• Be open to constructive criticism.  Get used to getting it, too.  Because you will get it a lot here.  Don’t take it on a personal level, but pay attention to what is being said and work on those things mentioned.
• Enjoy it and “embrace the suck”.  Because it’s going to suck at times.  Big time.  There will be lots of hard days.  But get through it, however you can.  Cry if you need to.  Call home if you need to.  Go for a run, complain to a friend, do yoga, scream into your pillow.  Do whatever it takes, but don’t give up.  Because there will be days when you want to.  But just remember that it’s all temporary.  And remember why you wanted to become an officer in the first place.  And hold tightly onto that; you’ll be able to accomplish more than you ever thought you were capable of if you can just keep sight of why you’re here.
• Survive the first few weeks.  They’re going to suck.  No need in sugar coating it.  They freaking suck.  But the experience gets so much better as the course progresses.  Enjoy every moment you can.  This is a once in a life time opportunity that many people never get to experience.  Be humbled and proud by the fact that you are one of the few who have earned a spot in this program.