Week 2

This week along with week three are probably the most stressful at OTS. This is due primarily to task overloading combined with a lack of understanding of the responsibilities and expectations at OTS.  During these weeks, you will probably be the most sleep-deprived and it will feel like you’re not going to have enough time to complete your assigned tasks.  But, don’t let the stress overwhelm you–if you’re prioritizing your tasks correctly and managing your time, it’s really not as difficult to complete everything as it might seem.

Academics

This week you’ll have a lot of classroom lectures.  You’ll take your first (one of two) academic assessments which are graduation requirements.  There’s not much advice I can give for this except for try to pay attention in class and study the standards of behavior (SOBs).  They will ONLY test you on material pertaining to the SOBs.  I didn’t find either of the tests too difficult and only really studied the night prior due to time constraints, but, was able to score in the 90s.

Briefing

You’ll get your briefing one expectations, which will be on your first paper (informative briefing).  If you’re even somewhat comfortable with public speaking, it should be a breeze, but there are certain grading requirements you must incorporate in the briefing, so do some dry-runs before.  The most important thing is not going over or under your time limit (5 – 9 minutes).

Leadership Reaction Course

You will also partake in the Leadership Reaction Courses (LRCs). These also aren’t bad, and like the TBEX, you don’t have to actually complete the event to “pass”.  The important thing is that the leader is displaying good qualities, like effective communication, problem-solving, delegation, organization, understanding of task requirements, and maintaining composure.  The BIGGEST reason I’ve seen people fail these is when another flight member either intentionally or unintentionally takes control of the event, undermining the assigned leader.  So, if you’re not the leader, try your best not to take over the event.  Most people enjoyed the LRC’s and we only had one failure out of 14.

Peer Feedback

You will also have your first peer feedback session where you critique your flight members.  Be honest, but, professional and don’t take criticism to heart as it’s meant to be constructive.