Captain Mac and Bravo Company

One week done at OCS and with three of the highest point events behind us, Class 010-09 is happy to have a long weekend to catch our breath and get ourselves organized for the next couple of weeks. In general our spirits are high and everyone is grateful to have classed up with Bravo company, which has a reputation for being the most relaxed company here at OCS. Thus far it has lived up to that reputation; while I have no real basis for comparing Bravo to any of the other companies here, I can say that the environment here is very laid back. The cadre are all quite personable and approachable and it is refreshing. They will jump on your ass if you look like shit or you don have your required equipment or you are jacked up in one way or another, but that is to be expected. Otherwise they are quite cool, not sadistic at all, but rather caring and helpful, which after Basic Training, is sort of a shock at first.

What I love most about Bravo company thus far is our Company Commander, who I will call Captian Mac (I don't want to use anyone's real names). He is a character. Tall, but not too tall, strong, but not overly muscular. He has a slight receding hair line and a partial comb over of sandy blond hair on the top of his head, though he keeps his sides rather high and tight. He has large blue eyes, whcih seem to be easily aggravated, as they often appear red and puffy around the edges. The way he carries himself he gives off the energy of a bygone era. One can easily picture him well at home in British India as a colonial Officer or Magistrate. He has a classical look to him in that way. I don't know his age, but if I had to guess I'd say he is almost forty. In many ways, in fact, he is the product of a bygone era and a bygone Army, raised as he was in the Army of the Cold War.

Despite all of his antiqueness, however, Captain Mac is not at all a square. In fact his wit is quite sharp and his humor is suprisingly light. He jokes and laughs constantly. He talks to us and tells us what he expects of us in a direct, non-pretentious manner; he praises us when we perform to the standard and impress him and he is quick to let us know when we are running ourselves afoul. He can be as tough as any Martinet out there, but he is like a good father, who is more eager to have fun and enjoy in his children's success rather than to wallow in the saddistic joys of lordship and discipline. Captain Mac sets the tone for the training environment here at Bravo company and I feel fortunate to have classed up here. I have heard some horror stories about some of the other companies, in particular, Echo, which starts up again in a couple of weeks. 

One thing he said I found at once to be so funny and so true that I wrote it down. It was when we were in the classroom and he was talking to us about our questions and concerns in the first couple of days. One female made some sort of a complaint about the little time we have to eat our meals (usually under ten minutes). He sort of stopped her halfway trhough and in a very matter of fact way was like "Ok let me stop you right there. Ok. . .ummmm. . . Food is not soemthing for you necessarily to enjoy. Ok . . It is something you eat to give you more energy so you can continue killing the enemy. Hooah". Funny the way he said it, but it is completely true from the vantage point of an Infantry PL, or any Combat Arms Officer, commisioned or otherwise. 

It also illustrates that the toughest part of the transition for many of us college options is not physical at all, but is learning to view the world through a new lens, through the eyes of a soldier.