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.