The Man is Home!

 After living apart from us for 5.5 months, Matt is branch [job] qualified and home.  Home, I tell you--HOME!  

See the silver pin above his name and red bar?
That represents his completion of BOLC (Basic Officer Leadership Course),
and is pinned on at the end of graduation ceremony.

Yeah, so yesterday evening me and the boys went up to South Carolina so we could attend today's graduation ceremony.  (Sorry, Dana, it was a spur of the moment thing.  I tried to call you this morning!!)  

I'm a little road weary, but I'm glad we went.   It was great to meet the people that Matt has been working/learning with for the past 4 months, and to see how much people respect him.  He's a good leader, works really hard, and cares for people.  I think the Human Resources side of the ARMY is a great fit for him... 

... and the ARMY thinks so too!   Matt graduated top of his class (on the Commandant's List), and was recognized for having "physical fitness excellence" with his 288 PT score.  100-ish people graduated today--the top 20% were on the Commandant's List, and only 1/3 of the class had "physical fitness excellence."  Yup, I'm bragging.  

The graduation ceremony lasted about 40 minutes, the main speaker was short and sweet, and the boys did really well!  Eli had an emergency poop before the handing out of diplomas, but he went quickly and we were back in time.  (Eli about had a nervous break down when I asked him if he could hold it in, poor guy.  He got all red and sweaty, and those blue eyes pleaded with me to leave and find some indoor plumbing!)  

Matt, and other graduates, stood to be recognized for having "physical fitness excellence."

Lest I forget to mention: I forgot the camera.  BLAM IT!  I got the boys all ready, marched them up the hill (which Eli cried, cause he was cold), got us all seated, and realized that I left both cameras back at the lodging.  Yeah... The BlackBerry was just gonna have to do.

Matt walking across the stage after receiving his Branch Qualification.

One of Matt's good buddies.  Matt's head looks extra large in this shot!
It's the edge of the lens... whatca gonna do?

Two attempts at a family photo.
(Eli refused to be in one, which turned out to be blurry anyway... maybe he knew...)

                                        

This afternoon we got home around 2pm.  Matt drove the '07 4runner home with the 3 boys, and I got drive BY MYSELF in the '93 Carola (Matt's military gear to kept me company).

   

Highlights of our evening:

The boys loved wrestling with Daddy. 

Matt loved the homemade dinner--with vegetables! 

And I'm hoping that I can get enough rest to catch up on blogging and commenting on other people's blogs. 

Thanks for all the love and support, guys.  Much appreciated!  

General George C. Marshall Award - April 15-18, 2012

This is Matt - not Shannon.  So if this post is not as cool as other posts that is why.  It's simply to give a little info on what I was able to attend and be a part of.

Back in April I attended the General George C. Marshall ROTC Award Seminar in Lexington, VA for excellence in leadership, academics, physical training, and such.  I was selected as the one cadet to attend for the year from Boise State University, Northwest Nazarene University, Idaho State University, Brigham Young University - Idaho, and College of Idaho.  For my two years in ROTC I was the number one cadet from each of these schools in my class.  As such, as a "senior" I was selected to receive/attend this George C. Marshall Award.  More information can be found here: http://www.marshallarmyrotc.org/.    Also note that photographs were taken from that site.

Because this was an awards seminar I was put on official Army orders and all expenses were covered ranging from travel to hotels, to food and "entertainment".

On Sunday, April 15 I Flew to Virginia, checked into my hotel, and in-processed for the seminar.  I flew out around 6am and got in to my hotel in Virginia around 9pm.  It was a LONG day of travel.

The seminar:

Monday and Tuesday, April 16-17 consisted of, in a nut-shell, wake up and drive to Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Campus and begin the day(s).

Each day consisted of two 'round-table' open discussions on various strategic/important subjects relating to our national security, ethics and decision making, professionalism, global strategy, military life and career, and various other subjects.  Each cadet attended four round table discussions; two each day.  The round table discussions I selected to attend were in order: The Battle of Roberts Ridge (Afghanistan), The Role of the Platoon Leader and NCO - Non-combat Arms, US Military Support to Stability and Peace Operations, and The Profession of Arms.  I thouroughly enjoyed day two and especially the Profession of Arms round-table.  That round-table was very well set up, presented, utilized multiple mini case discussions, and had great debate/conversation amongst the cadets and lecturer.  Each round table was two hours long and was presented by an authority figure on the subject matter; many of them retired/active military/govt. personnel.

In addition to round-table discussions there were a few keynote speakers:

-General (4 Star) Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Staff, US Army
-General (4 Star) Robert Cone, Commanding General, Training and Doctrine Command
-Command Sergeant Major Scott Schroeder, DCSM, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, KY
-Lieutenant General (3 Star - soon to be 4 Star) Dennis L. Via, Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, US Army Material Command
-Major General (2 Star) Jefforey Smith, Commanding General, US Army Cadet Command
-General (4 Star) Richard A. Cody, USA (Ret.), Seminar Chairman

This is the main auditorium where the seminar began and ended.  You can see my bald head about 5 rows back from the front near the center of the row.

This is an "arms" room VMI has that has tons of different rifles and pistols old to new.  It's pretty amazing.

VMI Cadets on the parade field.  The nearest cadets are the regimental staff - they're "running the show".  Everything about the school, uniforms, traditions, etc. are all historically based.  It's really pretty cool.  The building you see past the cadets are the barracks.  On the back side of them there is an area that has three unexploded cannonballs, from the Civil War, sticking out of the wall.  There is some serious history at VMI.  The jacket that General "Stonewall" Jackson was killed in is in the museum on campus; and he's buried just off campus  It's quite amazing.  In a picture below you'll see the tomb that General Robert E. Lee, of the Confederacy, is buried in.  Pretty cool place.

See me right in front of the question asker?  The guy to my right is Omar Sharif - he commissioned as a branch detail Infantry Officer and will ultimately be a Signal Corps Officer.  He and I were in the same squad at LDAC last year and became pretty good buddies.  He's a good guy form Northern Alabama. 

General Cone was super funny and very informative.  I really enjoyed his instruction.

Our final meal at VMI was in this hall.  The food there was quite amazing!  In this view i'm in the back right corner area.

                 The aforementioned Tomb of General Lee.                      See me?  Just past the instructor on the right.

VMI's chow hall.  Where most meals took place.

Chief of Staff General Odierno.

Overall, the seminar was a very positive experience.  I learned a lot, got to know some new people, and even met Richard Petty (who just happened to be there).  The seminar had one cadet from each of the 273 ROTC Battalions in the nation attend.  It basically works out that around 5% or less of eligible cadets are chosen to be awarded and attend the George C. Marshall Seminar.  It's an honor and privilege to be selected for something like this and i'm quite grateful for it.  I've had and look forward to having many more wonderful learning opportunities in Army.

Thanks all,

-Matt