2008-2009: William Day

Over So Soon?

Well, to think that this is my final night at Norwich until next fall seems pretty amazing. And I know it sounds horribly cliche, but it feels like last week I was still squaring the gutter and giving panicked salutes to people I didn't know at all.

But in reality, that was almost 9 months ago. Now I sit here after finishing my last final and getting ready to pack up in the morning.

I think back to all those times during Rookdom when I was either depressed, stressed out over Corps and academics, or just plain angry at what I had gotten myself into. Getting up at 0430 every morning, looking down at ripped up racks and a dusty floor, and prepping the room, myself, and my rook buddies for a 0510 room inspection every morning before PT. It's amazing to think how far we've come in such a relatively short time.

I suppose this is where I give my recap of advice for next year's freshman class:

1.) Whatever you do, make sure this is what you want. There were plenty of people who came here at the start of this year, and for a variety of reasons, realized the military and its lifestyle isn't for them. That's perfectly fine - just make sure you're doing this for you and not because someone else wants you to.

2.) Stay motivated. Even when you feel like you've reached that breaking point, find a quiet place to compose yourself and carry on, even if that means taking some time from studying. It does a world of good to sit back, think of what you've accomplished and still need to do, and mentally regroup. Mental/emotional health is just as important as the physical aspect.

3.) Keep the standard and stay busy. Keep your physical fitness up, especially during the winter where everyone seems to gain 10lbs because of the weather. GPA is goal #1, PT score is #2. Those are the two quantitative things that made a sucessful cadet, and says a lot about your character based on how well you do in each. If your major has you doing nothing most of the day, then join a special unit on campus or get involved in a club. Trust me, staying busy helps pass the time more quickly.

4.) Dont come here with an attitude. A little harsh, I know, but this place is all about tearing you down many months on end. Whatever you did back in high school, however high ranking in JROTC you were, or whatever you thinks makes you better than anyone else, forget all about it - until recognition, every recruit here is completely equal. Humility will take you a long way wherever you go, and this is the perfect place to start.

The rest you'll learn in time. It will overwhelm you in the beginning, people won't explain to you how everything works, and you'll find yourself getting yelled at for breaking rules you didn't even know existed. But that's all part of the fun, and you'll look back on it and laugh. Eventually.

I hope through my highs and lows I was able to offer a good view on what the first year at Norwich is like, and answered some questions that anyone thinking about applying may have had. It's definately been a great year, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

-Will

2 Weeks to Go...

Well, a lot has happened since my last post:

Most importantly, we were finally recognized into Cavalry Troop on April 15th, and received our sabres that afternoon from our corporal upperclassmen. It was a much different year than other classes have had since the company was founded in 2004, and though the training was reworked to fit policy changes at Norwich, all of the provisional battalion companies were able to have another successful year of Qualifications. Congratulations to Band, too, who were also recognized the same day that we were.

Being accepted by our company is definitely a weight off of our shoulders, and even though it was a bumpy year at times we managed to pull through and finish what we started. Of the original 26 that began on August 17th, 18 became Cavalry Troopers, and with 2 sophomores who chose to go through and attempt to earn their sabres as well, we stand at 20 total.

Now that we're completely at ease with our upperclassmen for the first time in 8 months, academics start to draw all of our attention. Next week is the final week of classes for us, then finals come. I really have no idea what my grades are in Chem II and Calc II, though I'm hoping for a B and a C respectively in both as the worst case scenario. English and Naval Science are pretty locked on to be As, though, which should help my GPA and give me an average of around a 3.3 for my first year here.

Test tomorrow in Calc, next Monday in Chem, and my final English paper next Thursday. Time to get back to work!

Til next time,

Will

No more snow!

Well, it's finally happened. Days are getting longer, we've hit high 50s on most days the past couple weeks, and all but the most stubborn snow piles are long gone. The UP is even starting to turn a shade of green, something I thought I would never see again. It's almost hard to remember how this place looked when we arrived back in August.

The NROTC unit (Navy side) had a successful trip to Mass. Maritime Academy last week while the Marines conducted their Field Exercise (FEX) on campus. We stayed on the Kennedy, the training ship used at their school, and were able to take advantage of their simulators. From what we heard, they're going to attempt to make this a lasting event and hopefully involve other maritime schools, which would definately be a plus to Norwich, as we're completely landlocked.

On the academic side, I decided to pick up a Biology minor (hoping to eventually switch it to a major) on top of my current Chemistry major. Most people think I'm crazy, but I always had a strong interest in it back in high school, and have a lot of elective spots to fill up as my time here goes on. And with Rookdom finally over, I'll need something useful to occupy my time!

Qualifications for Provisional Battalion keep going, though we're hoping for it to be over before Junior Ring Ceremony, which is less than 2 weeks away. Just last week, Drill Co. received their "Tabs" and were fully recognized by their upperclassmen, but Band and Cavalry are still pushing to finish out strong. We'll have them when we're ready, though - we can't be too far off.

Til next time,

Will

Lots to look forward to...

Well, I just finished my first week back after Spring Break, and it was definitely a lot easier coming back than when I was a Recruit. Plenty of time to sleep, the whole weekend off, and ability to come and go as I pleased in the barracks. All in all, my life has gone from horrible to great in a VERY short time.

Last week was uneventful, but things are going to start picking up soon. This upcoming weekend is the Navy FEX, and we'll be traveling down to Mass Maritime for a few days. The Ranger Candidates have Cat-Eye weekend to become full-fledged Norwich Rangers, and MCW has their blackhate testing soon as well. On top of all of this, Provisional Battalion Qualifications (formerly known as "Candidacies") have to conclude by Junior Ring, which is less than a month away.

In addition, I'm applying for a Navy scholarship, and should be finding out whether I've been selected sometime soon. Would definately be nice to have the rest of my college paid for and never have to do work study again, but my main reason is for the commission at the end. But we'll see how that unfolds as the year goes.

Classes are going well, even if Calculus II is a struggle at times. GPA will probably be around the same as it was last semester, which is just fine by me (about a 3.5 average is safely into good standing territory for pretty much everything at Norwich).

Thats all I have for now, but I'll keep this updated with how the next month or so plays out.

-Will

"Regiment! Prepare for the most memorable night of your Norwich career!"

At 2100 on the 1st day of March in the Year of Our Lord 2009, the class of 2012 was officially recognized into the Norwich University Corps of Cadets.

It finally happened last night, and even though every single freshman on the hill knew it was coming, it didn't detract from the feeling we had. The suspense was essentially over when they switched training day to Sunday and told us to to shovel the entire iced-over parade ground using a few shovels and our plastic trash cans, then bring the snow behind the barracks and throw it over the hill. And after getting hit in the face with a trash can full of snow and being out of commission for the last 45 mins of it with a resulting bloody nose, I heard that we completed most of what we set out to do.

The rest of the day was full of strange formations and meetings, until around 2020 when they told us to drop out books during study hall and get outside in Super Bs for a mandatory formation. And after marching down to Plumley, past the shouts of the Norwich Independent Battery next to their howitzers congratulating us, we were finally recognized, 196 days into our Rookdom, and earned the following privilages:

-Permission to talk outside, in the chow hall, and cut across the paths on the U.P.
-Allowed to listen to music and videos
-Wear our black name tags to replace the white Rook ones
-No more calling hall/room/table at ease unless the person is a cadet captain or above
-Completely at ease in the barracks, allowed to cut and speak in the hall, visit eachother's rooms without permission, and sleep when we want during the day
-Civilian clothes when leaving campus and after 1700 each day
-General leave from campus on weekends

...and several other little ones to make our lives even easier.

I still have to go through Cavalry Qualifications to earn my sabers, but for now, these privilages have made my life better in ways I couldn't have imagined. 4 days until break! Could life get any better?

Til next time,

Cadet Day

Almost the end?

Hello all,

Well, the month of February is finally drawing to a close, and for many of us it's good riddance. Cold, dark, and wet, and with nothing to look forward to the entire month, thing seemed pretty bleak. But with the end of this month comes the beginning of March, and most importantly, Spring Break! It's been a long stretch since Christmas, and it will definitely be the boost I need to get myself and my Rook buddies to the end of the year.

The Norwich Rumor Mill is on fire with all sorts of recognition rumors, and the general consensus is sometime before break. I've heard anywhere from tonight until next Wednesday, but with no reliable source, I guess we just have to plug along. The entire freshman class is a little on edge lately - many of us are just ready for this all to be over. Some may say that each year gets easier, but as our Platoon Sergeant said, "Don't let anyone tell you their year was harder than yours. You've all gone through the same crap in one form or another." Regardless, this whole experience has not been for everyone, and we have the loss in numbers to prove it.

Classes for me are going well. I dropped one rather difficult math elective to bring me down to 4 classes, and while I would like to be taking 5, it was past the add/drop period and I was stuck with my current amount. Calculus II and Chemistry II are proving to be more challenging than last semester, but I've been able to keep my grades up, and hopefully raise my GPA above a 3.5 by the end of year (I'm a 3.4 right now - aggravatingly close). So far, my advanced chemistry lab has been the most unique experience. I have to say I enjoy the semester long project focus instead of independent week-long assignments, as I'm able to work independently in a quiet area (only 8 people in the class), while taking my time and not worrying about completing the experiment in 4 hours, because I can resume it the next week.

Other than that, life goes on as normal. Or as normal as it can be in a place like this. Hah.

10 days until break!

-Will

Halfway there!

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry for not posting in some time, but weeks up here seem to go by in and instant. As of yesterday, we've been back for 4 weeks, meaning we're halfway there and have 4 weeks left until Spring Break. And from what all the upperclassmen say, everything is downhill after that. I can't believe we're already halfway there - the 8 weeks after I came back in January was possibly the most depressing though I'd ever had on this campus. But with such a busy schedule, I don't have time to dwell on misery, and next thing I know it's already Friday again.

Two Sundays ago the school sent all of the Rooks to Sugarbush Ski Resort for free. I've never been on skis or a snowboard in my life, so everyone suggested the first. And after 3 and a half hours of trying, I STILL couldn't make it down the bunny hill without crashing, and twisted my ankle at the same time. So, I spent the rest of the day in the lodge, but it was still nice to get off campus for the day and try something new.

This upcoming week is the last rotation for Corporal Training (at least that's what everyone says), though I'm not entirely sure what happens after that is finished. It's been a good experience, with both effective and ineffective staff, and has definitely given us a perspective on how to adapt to different leadership styles very quickly.

At least the weather has been tolerable. We haven't had a -27 day in a while, and it actually warmed up to 45 on Saturday night. Weird.

Until next time,

Will

A Slow Week

Hey everyone,

This past week has been entirely uneventful up here at Norwich. I suppose it didn't feel slow because of my packed schedule, but nothing new an exciting has been happening. 2nd semester up here is a lot different than the first, as well: its cold, there are no breaks, and the Corps and professors expect the freshmen to live up to higher standards. At least in September, we were constantly working for Parent's Weekend. The good news, though, is that January is almost over, then we just have to push through February (which from what I hear is the most depressing month up here).

For the Corps, corporal leadership rotations are starting their third round this week, and we've been getting better at adapting to the different leadership style each cycle offers. Artillery candidacy has started as well, which means that the rest of Provisional Battalion should be starting soon as well. I'll let you know how that's going when we start.

A short post, but hopefully this next week will be a little more exciting than the last.

Until next time,

Will

Back into the Routine

Hello all,

I'm sorry for the lapse in my regular posting schedule, but this past week has been jam packed with new classes and lots of changes.

This semester I'm taking Calculus II, English II, Chemistry II (with a small, advanced lab for Chem majors), Naval History, and Math Modeling, which is a lot more theoretical and loosely based than Calculus. I'm a lot more excited about this semester than last, mostly because it marks the eventual end my rookdom, and also allowed me to choose the professors that I preferred. And with the ability to choose what times I want my classes, I was able to fit in more work study time as well.

The temperature up here has been ridiculous, with several days last week plunging to the -20s, and a "warm" day was when we finally clawed our way above zero. Thankfully, the jackets they issue keep us warm enough to where even double digit negatives aren't miserable. It seems like all of our PT sessions have been brought inside for the winter, which is just fine by me!

As far the Corps goes, 4 Sophomore Corporals have taken over the direct command of every freshmen platoon, and will continue to rotate out each week for about 2 months. I guess it's a nice change of pace to see different leadership styles, though it can be challenging to change the standard operating procedure from what we had been taught since Rook Week. All in all, I think it's good for every party involved, because not only does it teach the corporals valuable lessons to carry onto cadre positions next year, but demands that the freshmen adapt to unfamiliar situations.

That's all that's new for now. Things have been moving quickly after break, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of news for next time.

-Will

Nearing the End

Hello all,

After a nice, long, relaxing break, I'm finally looking ahead to the end of my vacation this coming Sunday. I have to say that I'm a little concerned, because I noticed how relaxed everyone was after Thanksgiving break, and how much trouble it can cause if everyone isn't 100% in Rook mode the second they enter the hallway.

Corporals (sophomore) will take over much of the hands-on management of our company as part of their leadership training, while our normal cadre take a back seat for several weeks. More challenging classes will make the semester even more different than the first, though I have yet to see whether it will be as challenging.

Either way, I had a wonderful Christmas with family, and actually began to settle into life as a "normal" person again. My friends all seem the same, though they tell me that I'm more confident than I used to be. I can't say that I've noticed much of a difference in myself, but I do like to think that this past semester at a Senior Military College has done some good for me. I wonder how much more will change as time goes by?

Until next time,

Will