Where have I been? The past 2 weeks I have been "playing soldier" as Christi put it. I was in a leadership training program called "Civilian Acculturation and Leadership Training", aka CALT. Yea, it's a mouthful. It was a ton of work and a lot of team-building style exercises, but it was fun. They say to bring a 3" or 4" binder for the material covered. It should just be 4", because the stack of stuff was taller than my 3" binder.
The goal was to introduce us to what military officers go through (minus the yelling, although we saw it) and train us to be future Air Force leaders. This is the first selective program for Air Force leadership development. We lived on the Officer Training School (OTS) compound, which is a like a mini-college, only worse. No TV, no internet, no phone, eat at a dining facility, go to class. There is a specific way to fill and eat each breakfast table, a specific way stack your trays when you are done, things like that. We only did it for 2 weeks and could go off campus for dinner if we wanted. We could also bring a phone, but usage was restricted to our dorm room and class room if needed. The officers go 4-12 weeks (depending on their job / background) also get drilled - a lot. I know you're thinking it doesn't sounds like fun, but it was. I met a lot of cool people from all over the country and learned a lot of valuable information. Some states represented were Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.
I won't go into a ton of detail talking about what we did, but some things we learned were handling conflicts, effective leadership techniques, dealing with different personalities, briefing skills, etc. I know that sounds basic, but it was very good. We also learned a lot of Air Force specific things like Air and Space capabilities and strategy (basic level). We played a "real-time" war game on the computer and saw first hand the strategy and planning involved in executing a mission. The most fun thing the class did was something called Project X. Basically, your team had different challenges to complete within time limits. Each challenge had limits and obstacles to overcome, and the only way to finish was if everyone on your team worked together and communicated. It was a great team-building exercise. It was also physically demanding, because sometimes you were climbing walls or building bridges across water, things like that. It was a lot of fun.
I didn't have time to post anything on the blog. There were a few hours we managed to go to another building and use their WiFi, but that time was normally spent working. I really missed being with Christi and Landon. It was tough being away from them for 2 weeks. I know it was hard on both of them, especially Christi since she had to fill both of our shoes. Thankfully her parents helped out with Landon while I was away, which eased some of the stress. Still, I know it was very hard on her.
That's why there haven't been anything on the blog. We were both too busy to post, although I still can't convince Christi to write anything even though I know she would be much more entertaining than me. Stay tuned for some more Landon news and Landon Halloween pictures.
Here are a few pictures from CALT:
My flight (3 flights in the class)
Planning for the war game
Getting instructions for Project X
One of the challenges. Had to get across carrying certain items (wheelbarrow, for example) while balancing and moving the boards in a time limit.
Personal space was limited...
All of the flights (red, white, blue). Each had nicknames: Big Red, Warriors, and Smurfs. Ours was the best, of course.
We also got to see one of the officer classes graduate (we were distinguished visitors!)
Distinguished visitor section. We were right behind the General, which didn't seem to fit, but that's where they put us.
Kevin and Adam, 2 guys I hung out with most of the time. Became really good friends with them.
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