2008-2009: William Day

Alumni Weekend

The beginning of last week was relatively uneventful, but by Friday, we could already tell our weekend wasn't going to be very restful.

Starting Friday afternoon we had a Retreat Parade to start Homecoming Weekend, which is an event where all of the Alumni from the class of 1934 (I believe) until the class of 2008 come back to see the campus. I had always heard that Norwich had a strong alumni base, but being able to see how enthusiastic everyone was to be back at their old University made it seem more real. Of course, the entire campus was looking its best, always dressed in Super Summer B uniforms, and the food at the chow hall seemed to taste surprisingly good.

With Saturday morning came the Alumni Parade, which we had been warned was going to be the most grueling parade of the entire year. Unlike Labor Day, there was no marching, but just standing at attention and parade rest for 2 hours while every surviving alumni who came for the weekend marched past. Awards were given, VERY generous checks presented to the school, and speeches were made. With about 10 minutes left, I must have locked out my knees, because I came within seconds of passing out, and could see everything fading to black before I saved myself with a rather-obvious knee bend. I've never come close to passing out before, but it is definitely not a fun experience. Thankfully, I maintained military bearing as best I could and made it through, and I suppose it's just a lesson to be more careful for next year.

Just a few hours later, we marched back down to Sabine Field for our first at-home football game. Each of the 4 battalions was led by its respective Command Sergeant Major, who led all of the recruits in motivational PT and cheers for the team. We were given halftime and most of the third quarter off to walk around and eat, which gave us a nice break from the day's hectic schedule. Norwich lost by one touchdown, but according to everyone here, we're known for our rugby and hockey, not football. Regardless, it was still a fun time, especially when one of the cavalry recruits was given the privilege to march the entire battalion back to the barracks. It may not seem like much to some, but it's the first time we've been allowed to do that in our 35 days here!

Academics and the corps keep plugging along, and with some careful time management, I've been able to keep around a 3.9 GPA. Of course, many of the big assignments haven't been completed, but it's still encouraging. No major changes on the horizon for us recruits, but then again, things can change here in an instant.

18 days until Parents Weekend! When we make it to there, vacations won't be far off, and our first semester will fly by.

'Til next time,

-Will

A New Milestone

Tomorrow, the new Rook class will have reached one of the major milestones at Norwich: making it through a full month of training! It may not seem like a long time to those "on the outside," but for the freshmen, time seems to have slowed, and each day feels like 3 from when I back in high school. It's hard to believe that less than 30 days ago we were marched away from our parents, not knowing what to expect or what challenges had been planned for us. At this point, many aspects of our routine have become automatic, and (at least for me), it takes a conscious effort to use the pronoun, "I" instead of "this recruit."

This past Saturday, the Rook class went to Abare Farm, a tradition that has continued for more than 20 years. The recruits march 2 miles to meet the Abare family (which includes many active alumni), for a day of relaxation, enjoyment, music, and food at their farm. It was a much-needed day off campus for many of us, and even though I slept under a tree for most of the day, I still had a great time. Some recruits had their parents come up to visit, too.

The next day the NROTC students traveled to Tunbridge Fair to volunteer at the parking and ticket areas. Apparently, for every student that comes, the fair gives money to the NROTC battalion at Norwich to fund various activities throughout the year. For those who have never heard of it (which is probably most people outside of Vermont), it's a huge county fair with pig races, cow contests, and a lot of fried dough. All in all, I had a good time there as well, and was thankfully assigned to ticket sales instead of pushing cars out of a foot of mud!

I'd also like to address a comment made by Old Sarge in my last post:

"Just remember when you go home and you talk to all your friends they'll think you are weird from all the Norwich stories you tell them and you'll realize that your real friends are at Norwich."

It may sound strange, but I'm starting to agree. Since I came here, I haven't had any real contact with my old friends, and the only thing we have in common is what happened during high school. I'm sure the same thing is happening at their college at well (to a lesser extent, of course). It'll be interesting to see how people have changed, or how much they've stayed the same.

We're all counting the days: 24 until Parent's Weekend!

Feel free to keep commenting, too.

Until next time,

Will

And We March On

The past week at Norwich has been pretty uneventful. Well, for most people, it would seem like a LOT that we do each day, but our routines haven't experienced any drastic change. Our typical schedule looks like this: up at 0450 for hygiene, ready for PT at 0520, PT from 0530 to 0645, and 30 minutes to eat breakfast, sprint back to the barracks, shower, change into the uniform of the day, grab books for classes, and bolt back to morning formation. Class from 0750 until 1600, and back to the barracks for chow at 1700. Sergeants training time from 1800-1900, then study hall until lights out at 2200 to do homework, S.O.P. (clean) our rooms, and prepare the next day's uniform. I've found the trick is to stay busy all day, because if I even stay still for a second, I start to fall asleep.

On a happy note, I think that everyone who injured themselves during Rook Week is back to normal. It's nice to not see a pink slip next to every Cavalry recruit's door!

We had the Labor Day Parade last Monday, and despite what everyone had said, it wasn't that bad. I had heard that it was going to be a miserable, hot, and painful event for the Corps, lasting several hours, but by the time we reached downtown Northfield everyone seemed fine, and nobody had passed out (despite bets being placed by the upperclassmen on which Cav recruits would drop first). We messed up the marching at one point (and were reprimanded), but were able to head to a Norwich BBQ afterwards. Another unfortunate event occurred there, after which we were told to refer to our Platoon Sergeant as "Sergeant First Class" until further notice.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, though ROTC PT started on Wednesday (meeting on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday for Navy). It's pretty enjoyable, because all of the Rooks are "at ease" and considered equals with cadets who would normally be officers in the Corps. MCW has its first meeting on Tuesday, and after that, members PT with them every day they don't have ROTC. Fine by me, because I've already lost a pant size since I came here. And that's WITHOUT any regular physical training!

To wrap up the week on Saturday, our Platoon Sergeant told us to put on our combat boots, ACU pants, and PT shirts, and be ready for a smoke show. And boy, did we get it. Alternating max pull-ups with 50 push-ups, Buddy Carries (exactly what they sound like), sprints, bench dips, belly crawling 50 yards and back, flutter kicks, and all other types of intensity. But by the end of it, we were allowed to say "Platoon Sergeant" again, and had apparently made up for our mistakes earlier in the week. Very motivating, though, and I'm looking forward to something like that every week, even if I'm too sore to move the next day.

That's all for now. Abare picnic is this weekend, and I'll touch on that next week.

Until next time,

Will

The Expectations are Raised

Well, it's been 14 days since the Rooks arrived at Norwich, and we're beginning to settle into a routine. The first week of academics flew by, and it's easy to find a balance between classes and the corps... for now. In the next week or so, work study starts, Navy ROTC training begins, and Mountain Cold Weather (MCW, a corps-activity I want to join) commences training. It seems like the longer you spend here, more is expected in less time. But I guess the only way to grow is through discomfort.

Right now it’s Sunday afternoon, and I was able to get a nice break by going to church off campus. We were able to sleep in until 0700 (amazingly refreshing), and can spend the whole day studying, catching up on work, etc. Frankly, as long as we have a day to do what needs to be done, we’ll be able to make it through the year.

Yesterday, we had a regimental room inspection that was supposed to be during Saturday at the end of Rook Week. A couple rooms in our company failed - and because of a miscommunication, almost everyone received at least one of the 3 "Needs Improvement" marks that results in failure. Usually, a failure means marching 2 tours (meaning marching on a cement area for one hour with a rifle in full dress uniform), but the rooms that weren't satisfactory are being re-graded this morning. But for our first time around, I think we were decent, because some rooms received grades of “Excellent” in certain areas. Still a lot of work to go, but I’m confident we’ll improve.

Last night, Cavalry Company went to the barn for the first time where the horses are kept. We saw some demonstrations, had a tour of where everything is kept, and relaxed at a BBQ afterwards. Some of the freshmen played football with upperclassmen, but I was content to just sit and have some time to relax. It was definitely a morale boost, because (from what I can tell), we’ve lost two more people from cavalry.

What shocked me the most this week was when the Cadre asked if we wanted to go see a movie Friday night. The movie was fun, especially being at ease with everyone in Cavalry, but in my opinion, it may have been better to stay in our rooms and clean for the inspection the next day. We didn’t get back until midnight or so, and we still had to get up at 0530, so I was exhausted.

Overall, I know we’re in good hands. It’s been stressed over and over - academics come FIRST, above everything else. Do well in the Corps, participate in clubs, but if your GPA gets too low, you’ll be separated from the university, no matter how great your room looks or how pristinely the uniform is maintained.

Well, I really should get started on my calculus.

Until next time,

Will