TFOT FY2019 – Week 1, Day 1-3

Week 1, Day 1

After the fiasco of the communication breakdown, I was actually happy to see the MTIs again to bring sanity and order to our lives.  I didn’t think I would ever say that. 

• No questions or comments yet. (SR)

We did more and more drill.

•  Expect to do a TON of drill until the pennant test.  (SR)

We learned all the dos and don’ts for room inspections.

• This one could mean a couple of different things.  First of all, it is possible the MTIs took some time to teach the cadets some tips about how to pass a room inspection.  The MTIs actually want you to pass because if the entire class fails it is a poor reflection on them.  I am going to go out on a limb as well and say that for the most part, as long as you make an attempt you are going to pass.  The people who fail room inspections are the people who don’t take the time to both know the dorm manual and do the work.  If you are struggling with your room, lean on your roommates or flight-mates and have them help you out.  It is also possible this simply means they had their first dorm room inspection but this early in training I assume it is the former not the latter.  (SR)

We had a welcome for the OTS Commandant.

• The Commandant of OTS is in charge of both TFOT squadrons and Commissioned Officer Training (COT).  This position is the first O-6 in the chain of command.

Had a brief on Air Force Leader development and a brief from the Judge Advocate General (JAG) office.

• No questions or comments yet. (SR)

Week 1, Day 2 (Air Force’s Birthday!) 

We did the blue line ceremony this morning, and were handed off to our Flight Commanders to start the academic portion of OTS.

• When I was at OTS I had never heard of the blue line ceremony.  This is a ceremony where they get you up super early and you march over to the parade grounds.  Your squadron commander will likely give a motivational speech and afterward you will be asked to step over some form of a blue line to signify your dedication to the training.  It can be very powerful or it can be very cheesy, depending on your point of view.  Either way it is a milestone of the beginning of training.  (SR)

We had welcome briefings by our Squadron commanders, and by our Flight Commanders, then went straight into academics.  Today’s lesson was on the Air Force Core Values.

• There will be SOOO many academic classes until they are all over.  (SR)

Did the pennant test.  Those flights that failed needed to retest on Friday. T hey said there is usually a 40% fail rate.

• 40% sounds about right.  It isn’t the end of the world if you fail but life is a lot easier if you pass.  If your flight is struggling I recommend you march each other around or work on movements in the dorm prior to the pennant test.  (SR)

Week 1, Day 3 

We had to change rooms this morning.  It was a ILO (initial leadership opportunity) for the someone in the flight.  Pretty much, they picked one person from each flight to be in charge of their flight, then gave us like 2.5 hours to get everyone moved so we were all in the same hall, and also to eat MREs.  Only 4 people per flight could be eating at a time.  It was a great exercise of time management, organization, decision making, and leadership.  Oh, and rooms had to be inspection ready as well.

• I have never heard of this before, this is awesome!  It is really cool that someone got credit for this and it sounds like a fun implementation of a very common problem at OTS.  This sounds like a great way to bring the flight together as a team.  Det 12 leadership, if you are reading this, good on you.  This is the difference between maintaining the status quo and making the course outstanding.  (SR)

Had a few more lessons for academics .

• SOOOO many classes.  Try to stay awake.  No I take that back, STAY AWAKE AT ALL COSTS!  (SR)

We learned the requirements for the first writing assignment.  Honestly, it doesn’t look too hard.  You just have to make the formatting and the content perfect.  It’s not really what your write, but how you write it that matters.  It’s due on Sunday night via online submission.

• This is exactly right, this is more an exercise of attention to detail.  The Tongue and Quill and AU Style Guide is your friend for this one.  I am pretty sure it is a graded measure toward your academic score so you will want to do well on this.  Like all graded measures it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t do well though.  (SR)

We took the test for the pre-requisite work.  For my class, passing this test isn’t a graduation requirement and I don’t even know what my score was.  However, I still suggest you take the time to study all the material very well.  Lots of what you learn in the academics is either a repeat of it, or builds off of it.  This will help as you start taking the tests that really do matter.

• He is probably right about the score not really mattering, but I am guessing the score will play a role in the student record they build for you while at OTS.  Your student record contains the type of things your Flight Commander go over during your initial feedback sessions.  If you are struggling with the actual written tests they give you later in the course, one of the things they will look at is how well you did on the pre-requisite course work.  If they continue digging I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked you if you filled out your note-taker.  (SR)