H Class and Abbreviations

I totally underestimated how much of an emotional roller coaster this OCS process would be.  One day nothing is getting me down, I get an upbeat letter from Will and just feel so encouraged that we WILL get through this!  The next day could entail being mad at everyone and thinking that July is in fact three centuries away and there is no way possible that I will live to see that day.  I also have to give credit where credit is due, so thanks progesterone, for heightening any bit of emotion any normal wife would have going through this process. Fortunately there are many more happy days than sad!

One resource that I hadn't discovered until after Will was away was the friends and family support groups on Facebook.  There seems to be one for every class and without this group, I would be a lost puppy just stalking the mail man.  I can go there and see if anyone else has heard from their LOs (loved ones), read posts of encouragement and be able to encourage others having a bad hour or day or even week.  For anyone who's spouse is about to go to OCS: If you do nothing else to prepare or help yourself during this time, FIND ONE OF THESE GROUPS!! The group I have joined also had tons of files on OCS about graduation, mail etiquette, week by week time lines as well as lists of abbreviations for all of this crazy new lingo we are supposed to know.  

For the sake of keeping y'all up to date on Wills endeavors in Newport I thought a brief lesson on some of these crazy abbreviations might help! Most of these are straight from one of the files that I found on the FB group, and I may or may not have added a few that I found comical or necessary.  

OCS= Officer Candidate School

LO =Loved One

DI =Drill Instructor

H =Holding. Where LO who got rolled goes until they are added to a new class.

Rolled = Held back to join a different class later. Can be illness, failing a test/inspection, physical fitness or a not so obvious reason.

PT =Physical Training

PFA=Physical Fitness Assessment. Three are required (In, Mid, and Out)

RLP =Room, Locker, Personnel Inspection. Very big hurdle to jump. Very precise inspection that will never make sense to the rest of us.

BCG= Birth Control Glasses. Within the first week at OCS, those who wear glasses are given a more sturdy and robust pair for the remainder of OCS.  From the name Im sure you can imagine how great my blind as a bat husband is looking right now. Hehe

ORLP= Officer Room Locker Personnel Inspection. Focuses on gouge and uniform during week 6.

PI=Personnel Inspection. Week 8. Focuses on uniform.

PIR =Pass in Review. Parading at GRADUATION! A very big deal. And a major tearjerker.  

OC =Officer Candidate

CO =Candidate Officers. Next advancement after OC

Candio =CO

PP- Pity Party.  An event experienced by loved one not at OCS.  May last anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours and consist of movies, tears and junk food of any sort. 

Will has also talked about Chow Hall Procedure, which sounded pretty strange to be completely honest, and then I was introduced to this video.  It is just as strange as I had imagined, but is what they do three times a day during their first nine weeks at OCS.  Lets just say I thought twice about sitting down and inhaling my dinner that night.  While it looks absolutely miserable it is always interesting to get a real look at some of the procedures they have to go through at OCS.  This video is definitely worth watching and I am anticipating Chow Hall is going to make for some interesting date nights when Will gets out! 

Since the doom and gloom phone call a week and a half ago, both Will and I have been able to really pray and see the purpose in his time in H Class.  He has overall had more down time and gotten somewhat of a break to be still and actually learn all the things that have been screamed at him the past 3 weeks.  Even when I heard from him early this week his spirits seemed SO much better than the voice I had heard two Fridays ago.  He said one of the biggest helps has been me sending pictures! 

Some nights when I have gotten a call from Will, little Will has been able to get on the phone and can I tell you my heart wants to explode when I see the that little face light up when he hears his Daddy's voice.  The entire time his ear is to the phone he repeats "DA DA DA", I think we would both agree it is the highlight of our evening!

The civilized way to eat a blueberry

Life in New Jersey for little man and myself has been pretty uneventful besides our frequent trips to the park on any day it isn't raining.  We are used to the increasingly warmer weather in Memphis this time of year, but we still feel like we are in an arctic Tundra most days.  We are hoping that May is going to come with many flowers because the April showers have been plentiful!  I can't say that I have hated some rainy days in jammies being lazy watching countless episodes of "Mo"(Elmo).  

We were able to go watch my cousins lacrosse match on Easter in Philly and visit with our sweet Maryland family!  I really thought I took many things seriously in life until I watched a James Madison Womens Lacrosse match!! Woah this sport is not for the faint of heart but so fun to watch.  Will had a big time running up and down the ramps and dancing to the time out music!

The blonde to the left with legs for days…Yes.  That would be my amazing cousin! 

Tomorrow is a big day for Big Will in that he will be joining the new class that came in this past Sunday (4.12)  this means we are one step closer to the end with more tests and challenges but I have no doubt God will sustain him and give him exactly what he needs to do well!  Lots of prayers for my sailor man!!

Thanks always for everyones prayers and encouragement!!