Consolidated Written Test (CWT) 1
As I alluded to in my week 2 posts CWT1 was scheduled for first thing Monday morning. I was a little overwhelmed by the spectrum of responsibilities I had to manage at OTS. There were so many things that I had to worry about and divert my attention for and there was literally not enough time. Not all of the tasks or responsibilities were hard. Laundry was an example of something that was easy but time consuming. Doing laundry meant you had to babysit the laundry room so you didn’t hog the machines. It also meant rolling clothes would be in your future and that would require even more time.
All of the “graded measurements” are tasks which you have to take seriously. There were a lot of people who failed at least one graded measurement. There were also a lot of people who failed more than one. I do not want to scare you because in my opinion if you made it to OTS you have what it takes to pass. My goal is to hammer in the idea that you need to take the academics seriously.
CWT1 was a written Air Force test developed by OTS. The curriculum they give you is the testable material from which the test is written, and the SOBs are what help you prioritize your studies. If I could do it all over again, I would have spent more time studying for CWT1. I knew exactly what I needed to do, but I allowed myself to become distracted and not complete my studies to the level I wanted to. There is no doubt in my mind this effected my score. Luckily I still achieved a decent score, but it would have been easy for me to fail.
Project X
Prior to OTS I had zero knowledge of Project X. Basically your small team is dropped into a high pressure scenario and told to solve a problem. This is not graded but it is a great leadership training experience. This is also the introduction to Leadership Reaction Course which is a graded measurement. I know I talk about how the graded measurements are important, but don’t get too tied up in this. Everything at OTS is important. Believe it or not, almost everything you do at OTS will produce a numeric score which will be recorded for you. Be sure you are attacking everything with a positive attitude, doing your best, learning from your mistakes, and you will come out ahead no matter how you got there (even if you failed something).
Here is another blog I found which talks about Project X. I read through it and it is still valid info.
Combatives
While Project X is a very hush-hush graded measurement, combatives is much more public. The point of combatives is to teach you how to defend yourself if you get in a scuffle with someone else. COMBATIVES IS NOT A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT. I say this because if you are unable to participate, you will still graduate. On the flip side if you injure yourself, your PT test IS a graduation requirement. Don’t hurt yourself but have fun. I wasn’t really “feeling” combatives until we started sparring. Once it was game time and it was just my opponent and I fighting for dominance, I had a blast. Tackle combatives like everything else in OTS: have a positive attitude, be motivated, learn as much as you can, and apply 100% effort. And don’t get hurt.
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