One Little Dot
I couldn't believe our good luck! We'd had the evening off the night before, which Jill and I had spent first folding the graduation programs, and then eating cheese puffs and watching TV. Now PT had been cancelled, and we were allowed to sleep in until 0600!!!! This was the best weekend of OCS yet, and graduation was today!!!
We checked and double-checked our uniforms for strings. (They'll count off for any they find during inspections.) We made sure we had all our gear packed and ready to go. Then Jill opened the door - and started laughing. During the night, some of my fellow graduates had rolled my Jeep with toilet paper! It was so funny! I knew without much doubt who was behind it, though they denied it when I asked.
Graduation practice seemed to take forever, but the cadre did surprise us with a great slideshow that showed what we had been doing the whole 6 months we'd been there. This would be showing when our families were waiting for the ceremony to begin. We set up for the reception that was to follow, and had our final inspection. The night before, our honor grad had named me as the guidon bearer, so we worked to iron out the particulars of my duties as such. Lunch time rolled around, and I jumped in the truck with Sandy and Jonathan to meet Jonathan's family at McDonalds. We did our usual thing of working hard to crack each other up before heading back to GPSTC. Finally it was time for the families to begin arriving. I looked through the big glass wall and saw my family and MG Larry Ross coming up the sidewalk together. The General opened the door for Papa's wheelchair to pass through, then asked, "Is it appropriate for me to hug the new warrant officer?" I told him I thought it was a great idea, and he gave me a big congratulatory hug. After mobbing me, the boys went straight over to look at the antique fire engine and police car that sit in the atrium. This gave me time to have folks meet Papa, who turned out to be the real star of the show.
The ceremony began, and OCS Class 08-03 marched down the aisle. There were several speeches including one from Mr. Doubleday, the civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, MG Ross, and our honor graduate, OC Bryant. She called us to attention and one by one we marched across the stage to receive our diplomas and shake hands with all the dignitaries. Once we were all standing at the base of the stage facing the audience, LTC Watts administered our oath of office. Finally the time arrived for our pinning. Several folks were pinned by their spouse or father. One was pinned by his daughters and one by his grandson. When my turn came, Barry rolled Papa forward in his wheelchair. As I leaned slightly forward so he could reach my rank, my whole class came to attention and rendered him honors. In the photos you can see the OCS commandant smiling as Papa pinned me. I gave him a big hug and took a seat with my class as the final candidates were pinned. At the conclusion of the ceremony, we lined up in the atrium to "buy" our first salutes from CSM Parmenter.
I felt very good about my service today. This one little dot that I now have earned will hopefully help me continue to make a difference. As usual, Barry has been right there to help me through. He gave me many pep talks to keep me going through this challenging 6 months. Now there are two warrant officers in the house, and Papa is the one who pinned on that first little dot for both of us!
We checked and double-checked our uniforms for strings. (They'll count off for any they find during inspections.) We made sure we had all our gear packed and ready to go. Then Jill opened the door - and started laughing. During the night, some of my fellow graduates had rolled my Jeep with toilet paper! It was so funny! I knew without much doubt who was behind it, though they denied it when I asked.
Graduation practice seemed to take forever, but the cadre did surprise us with a great slideshow that showed what we had been doing the whole 6 months we'd been there. This would be showing when our families were waiting for the ceremony to begin. We set up for the reception that was to follow, and had our final inspection. The night before, our honor grad had named me as the guidon bearer, so we worked to iron out the particulars of my duties as such. Lunch time rolled around, and I jumped in the truck with Sandy and Jonathan to meet Jonathan's family at McDonalds. We did our usual thing of working hard to crack each other up before heading back to GPSTC. Finally it was time for the families to begin arriving. I looked through the big glass wall and saw my family and MG Larry Ross coming up the sidewalk together. The General opened the door for Papa's wheelchair to pass through, then asked, "Is it appropriate for me to hug the new warrant officer?" I told him I thought it was a great idea, and he gave me a big congratulatory hug. After mobbing me, the boys went straight over to look at the antique fire engine and police car that sit in the atrium. This gave me time to have folks meet Papa, who turned out to be the real star of the show.
The ceremony began, and OCS Class 08-03 marched down the aisle. There were several speeches including one from Mr. Doubleday, the civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army, MG Ross, and our honor graduate, OC Bryant. She called us to attention and one by one we marched across the stage to receive our diplomas and shake hands with all the dignitaries. Once we were all standing at the base of the stage facing the audience, LTC Watts administered our oath of office. Finally the time arrived for our pinning. Several folks were pinned by their spouse or father. One was pinned by his daughters and one by his grandson. When my turn came, Barry rolled Papa forward in his wheelchair. As I leaned slightly forward so he could reach my rank, my whole class came to attention and rendered him honors. In the photos you can see the OCS commandant smiling as Papa pinned me. I gave him a big hug and took a seat with my class as the final candidates were pinned. At the conclusion of the ceremony, we lined up in the atrium to "buy" our first salutes from CSM Parmenter.
I felt very good about my service today. This one little dot that I now have earned will hopefully help me continue to make a difference. As usual, Barry has been right there to help me through. He gave me many pep talks to keep me going through this challenging 6 months. Now there are two warrant officers in the house, and Papa is the one who pinned on that first little dot for both of us!
posted by Jennifer at 10:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home