BCT Last Leg Days 4-6 (28th-30th)

[see important note at the bottom!]

Wednesday, July 28th

Here's WebGuy's summary:

Let me give you an overview of the day before I can diverted with something else.

Aggressors - AFT; Haircut; Flight Drill; MKT; Cadet Store

Barbarians - AFT; Rank Issue; Flight Drill, MKT, Flight Drill

Cobras - AFT; Haircut; Room Set-up; MKT

Demons - AFT; Room Set-up; Haircut; MKT; Cadet Store

Executioners - MKT; AFT; Flight Drill; Rank Issue; Room Set-up

Flying Tigers - MKT; AFT; Flight Drill; Reporting and Open Ranks

Guts - MKT; Flight Drill; AFT; Flight Drill

Hellcats - Flight Drill; Haircut; MKT; AFt; Rank Issue

Interceptors - Email Netiquette; Flight Drill; MKT; Rank Issue; AFT

Jaguars - Flight Drill; MKT; Cadet Store; AFT

After Dinner tonight, it's pretty quiet. No intramurals or big briefings. Just the weekly height and weight check. Then TAPS at 2100.

All the names at the beginning are the different BCT squadrons. Nathan is in Aggressors, so he did the AFT (Aerobic Fitness Test), got his hair cut, did some flight drill (marching), took some/all (I don't know which) of the MKT (Military Knowledge Test), and apparently was able to go to the Cadet Store.

Here's a picture of Nathan in PT gear plus a hoodie - so I would assume this was before or after doing the AFT.

And here's a picture from the flight drill. Nathan is on the very right of the picture. Pretty blues!!! :D

A couple other things WebGuy said on the 28th:

The first is about what happens after BCT is over.

Question:

But WebGuy, if they have their luncheon on Saturday afternoon and move to their academic year squadron on Saturday afternoon, why is Acceptance Parade on Wednesday?

WebGuy Answer:

Although they have the Commandant's Luncheon on Saturday, they are still basics. This will last through the next few days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday). The most obvious evidence of this is that they are not permitted to move from place to place unescorted. An upperclass cadet must still lead them to all of the briefings and equipment issues over those interceding days. Only after they are "accepted" by the Cadet Wing, into the Cadet Wing, and receive their fourthclass shoulder boards, are they truly "cadets" in the Air Force Academy.

They need to receive briefings such as Academic Services Briefing; Computer Training; Library Briefing. They need to pick up their computer, additional clothing items, and textbooks.

Also, they get a briefing on the "Fourthclass Year Experience". It's sort of like the "Star Trek Experience". The upperclass cadets are the Klingons.

and

Tomorrow looks very similar to today. You'll notice many of the same activities as squadrons try to get everything finished off. This is the goal since Friday is mainly made up of briefings.

Also, part of Friday night is "Pack for AY Move"! That stands for Pack for Academic Year Move! Ta Da!!!!

Since they have their "Commandant's Luncheon" on Saturday and begin moving to their Academic Year squadron on Saturday afternoon, they need to start packing Friday night and finish packing Saturday morning.

WebGuy Note: Their Academic Year Squadron will be the squadron they move in to on Saturday and remain there through their fourthclass year. For example, Aggressors A-Flight will move to Squadron 1. Jaguars D-Flight will move to Squadron 40.

After their fourthclass year, they will move to a new squadron and likely stay there through graduation. For example, I was Jaguars B-Flight. I moved to Squadron 38. Then after the fourtclass year, I moved to Squadron 25 for the rest of my cadet time.

Also, there was a flyover by a parent of a current cadet! Here are a few pictures. Who knows if Nathan actually got to see it or not. I'm quite sure he would have wanted to :D

Thursday, July 29th

First to WebGuy:

Here is how the day is shaping up.

(1) It was sunny and hot this morning.

(2) it is lightly raining and hot in the afternoon.

Aggressors - Flight Drill/PFT/Room Set-up/Rank Issue

Barbarians - Flight Drill/PFT/Haircut/Cadet Store/Room Set-up

Cobras - PFT/Cadet Store/Reporting and Open Ranks Evaluation/Flight Drill Evaluation

Demons - PFT/Rank Issue/Flight Drill Evaluation/Flight Drill/Room Set-Up

Executioners - Flight Time/PFT/Room Set-up/Haircut/Reporting and Open Ranks Evaluation

Flying Tigers - Flight Time/PFT/Rank Issue/Haircut/Room Set-up

Guts - Flight Drill/Haircut/ PFT/Rank Issue

Hellcats - Flight Drill/Room Set-up/PFT/Cadet Store

Interceptors - Room Set-up/Haircut/Flight Drill Evaluation/PFT

Jaguars - Haircut/Room Set-up/PFT

This evening they will have dinner and then a heritage briefing before having hygiene time before bed.

The PFT is the Physical Fitness Test. How it differs from the other one, I'm not sure.

And here are a few pictures. The first one is back in Mitchell hall, the Academy's cafeteria. And it looks like Nathan actually has food in his mouth this time! ;-)

More drilling in Blues. Nathan is over the right shoulder of the guy in front.

Friday, July 30th

WebGuy said:

I just posted the schedule for today. You can see, it was not a very difficult day for them. Probably the toughest thing was keeping awake during so many briefings.

The last briefing of the day is about to end. After that, between now and TAPS it will be mosltly packing.

and the schedule:

0430 Reveille

0430 - 0700 Hygiene

0700 - 0800 Breakfast

0800 - 0930 Briefing in F-1 Auditorium

0930 - 1000 Transit to Arnold Hall

1000 - 1100 Honor Lesson

1100 - 1200 Transit

1200 - 1330 Lunch

1330 - 1400 Transit to Arnold Hall

1400 - 1500 Heritage Speaker

1500 - 1600 Transit

1600 - 1700 Personal Time/Optional Chapel

1700 - 1730 Transit

1730 - 1830 Dinner

1830 - 1930 Pack for Academic Year Move

1930 - 2000 Evening Brief

2000 - 2100 Hygiene Time

2100 TAPS

Back in ABU's today :P Nathan is just to the left of the guy with the blue hat (the guy with the blue hat is a cadre member - one of the ones that bosses the basics around.)
I think they're drilling. Not sure though. Also, I think the guy with the glasses is Bruton, Nathan's roommate. Not sure about that either.
Another Mitchell hall photo! How exciting! ;-)
The end for tonight.

Oh yeah, the IMPORTANT NOTE:

You will probably not hear from me again for about a week. Sorry about that, but I have a very good reason: WE'RE GOING TO SEE NATHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, we're going to watch the Acceptance Day parade, which is basically the basics graduation from BCT and which marks their official entrance into the Academy as cadets and no longer basics.
We will see Nathan on Wednesday. So once I do get back, I'll have lots of catching up to do from WebGuy, but I'll also have info straight from Nathan!

Okay, I'm about to fall asleep.....play the TAPS for Esther - goodnight :)

BCT Last Leg Days 1-3 (25th-27th)

Just text for tonight. I've got to get to bed and don't want to do pictures at the moment. I will get some pics up tomorrow.

Sunday, July 25th

Webinator said:

Well kids, I am going to call it a night. The day's activities for the Basics included Chapel time, a Briefing, flight drill, more flight drill, lessons in parade procedure, then Intramurals. I also posted today's schedule.

The most exciting part? The basics got their blues uniforms! They look so nice in them, and I would guess that Nathan is happy :)

Monday, July 26th

WebGuy:

well, this day is sure uneventful compared to the last two weeks. The schedule is composed of the following items:

(1) Flight Drill

(2) Room Inspection

(3) Training on Officer Development System (See below)

(4) Cadet Store (Only Flying Tigers and Guts)

(5) Training on Cadet Discipline System

(6) Room Set-up

That's the entire morning and afternoon. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

If anyone wants to read more on the Officer Development System, the Academy has some information on their site at http://www.usafa.edu/superintendent/xp/xpl/ODS.cfm

The basics also did intramurals that evening. Nathan is doing volleyball again.

Tuesday, July 27th

WebGuy:

As I mentioned, the morning was tied up with one big briefing. The afternoon had a number of activities, including some visits to the Cadet Store, classes on "Reporting and Open Ranks", and E-Mail dos and don't.

The thing that caught my eye on the schedule was "Rank Issue". They must be getting "issued" their fourthclass shoulder boards. These will be worn on their blue shirts once they are "Accepted" into the Cadet Wing on August 4th. Until then, they cannot be worn.

In the evening, the basics have an hour study block. This seemed odd until I looked at tomorrow's calendar. Tomorrow, they begin taking their Military Knowledge Test (MKT). This test will cover the fourthclass knowledge they were supposed to learn during BCT.

The briefing about email is called "email netiquette"! ;-)

Goodnight!! As I said, I will add pictures to this tomorrow. I'm just too tired right now.

7/30 update: Well, it's not tomorrow, but here are finally the pictures! The only ones I have are from the 26th - we didn't see any of Nathan from the 25th or 27th.

These first two are of his flight drilling in blues. Don't they look nice?????? :D

Nathan's in the center, 2nd row back.

below, Nathan is basically in the center of the picture. You see how flat and smooth his shirt is? I'm pretty sure that's from garters. Yep, he's an extra good "former" CAP cadet :D
Below is Nathan and some of his fellow basics sitting in a briefing - and Nathan actually looks like he might be having fun for once!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D
And an intramural shot...not very exciting, sorry!

Oh, and here's a link to a video of Nathan's group doing volleyball. He's in the background and doesn't do much other than rotate out...bu still :)

http://usafawebguy.com/blog/found-video-jaguars-vs-aggressors

Jacks Valley Day 14 (24th)

Saturday, July 24th - the last day at Jacks Valley!

After some morning competitions, the basics broke down camp and marched back to the main campus.

Here's what Webinator said:

Hello families, well sadly Jacks Valley has come to an end. Okay, the Basics aren't sad, and maybe we aren't too heartbroken, but it seemed like it flew by.

Just to recap, as WebGuy blogged today, the individual events included Obstacle Course; Assault Course; the Run; Pull-Ups; Sit-Ups; Knowledge Test; Football-like Obstacle Course; Rifle Drill; Pugil Sticks.

Tomorrow the Basics will have a light day as they settle back in. Since the Basics will be settling back in, I will be catching up on some blogging and behind the scenes items to prepare for next week.

We hope you enjoyed the day. Congratulations again to the sweepstakes winner, COBRA! Also, Congratulations to Basic Perkins (Interceptors) and Basic Luebbe (Flying Tigers) on earning the BIG BAD BASIC titles!

We don't know what, if any, competition Nathan personally took part in. The only pictures we saw of him were on the march out.

(I will hopefully get some pictures up tomorrow)

7/30 update:

Here's a picture of WebGypsy (I think) and WebGuy (on the right) taken on the 24th. They are the terrific bloggers and photographers that keep us, and thus you, updated!!! :D

Jacks Valley Days 11-13 (21st-23rd)

Wednesday, July 21 - Due to heavy rains, some of the courses got cancelled that day. Nathan's group was supposed to go on the Confidence Course, but instead they apparently had an inspection, did some laundry, etc. Here's a picture of Nathan being inspected (I think his room mate is the one on the left):

(Inspection basically means that an inspector {a cadre member in this case} comes and examines every bit of the basics' uniform and/or living area)

Thursday, July 22nd - Nathan and his group did the Assault Course for the second time that day (for my post about the first time he did it, click HERE, or scroll down to the post on July 15th). The second time through the course is somewhat different than the first time...here's what WebGuy said last week to explain the difference:

I was out with the Hellcats [Esther's note: that's another squadron] for their second run at the Assault Course. Since it was the second run, they did not go through the initial time of learnig the moves, then running the course. This time, they broke into flights to do the pugil stick competitions, then ran the Assault Course.

WebGuy Note: These pugil stick competitions within the squadrons produce male and female winners for the squadron. Then, on the last day of Jacks Valley, the squadron finalists compete in front of everyone, including news crews, to determine who will be the male and female "Big Bad Basics"!

When it came time for Aggressors (Nathan's squadron) to do it yesterday, they had a special guest!

"This was a strange Assault Course. The Vice Chief of Staff was visiting, and he went out to see this squadron on the Assault Course," said WebGuy. As in, the Vice Chief of Staff for the Air Force from the Pentagon! :D

Here are a few pictures of Nathan......

He got his face painted! I don't know if he put his own paint on or if cadre members put it on......but I would guess he did.
Above: Running by a cadre member...
And doing the low crawl....I can't imagine doing this with a gun in my hands :/
They get all dirty :P (notice the bright orange mouth guard again!)

Friday, July 23rd - Today was a make-up day for any random cadets who missed one of the courses, and also for the squadrons who missed a course because of the weather on Wednesday. So Nathan and his group ran the Confidence Course today. Here's what WebGuy said a while ago about the confidence course, including the official description of the course:

As I explained yesterday, the mission of the Confidence Course is to "develop and assess basic cadets' self confidence and physical capabilities by guiding them, as individuals and teams, through a selected group of 15 obstacles which vary in height and difficulty. The course will require all basic cadets to demonstrate physical dexterity, teamwork, and cohesion to achieve successful outcomes."

This area is pretty fun. Many of the tasks result in a sense of accomplishment. Others, are just plain fun.

Most of the pictures of Nathan don't show much of what he's actually doing. So here's a link to a post of WebGuy's, including other pictures from Nathan's squadron, that gives a slightly better idea of what the Confidence Course is: http://usafawebguy.com/blog/aggressors-confidence-course-0.

And here are the pictures of Nathan:

In the first one, he's apparently watching someone else climb something high.

I don't know what he's doing in the one below. My best guess is that he has to make his way across something along the lines of parallel bars made of logs???? I really don't know though.

Well, that's all I've got. Tomorrow will be a big day - the basics get to leave Jacks Valley! No more living in tents :) Here's a link to a post that explains what the weekend will look like for the basics: http://usafawebguy.com/blog/outlook-tomorrow-continued.

Jacks Valley Days 8-10 (18th-20th)

Warning: lots of pictures tonight!!! :D

Sunday, July 18th -

As I said Sunday evening, Nathan and his squadron did Operation Warrior. Here is the official description of it (which WebGuy copied and posted on his blog):

"Mission: OPERATION WARRIOR will train basic cadets on basic individual and team ground combat skills in accordance with USAF lesson plans and AFM 10-100, Airman's Manual. Skills will be assessed during training and highly controlled tactical scenarios."

And here are links to two blog posts that Webinator wrote when different squadron did it on different days:

post 1, post 2

Now for the pictures that have Nathan in them!

Here he is running up a hill with some of his fellow basics to get there (I guess). He's the one to the right of the girl in front.

Below he is getting all his equipment (he's on the left):
And here he is jogging with his gun to the training area (he's just to the right of center).
Here is a picture of Nathan's BCT roommate - first one I've seen of him at BCT - but of course I haven't really been looking for him!
Below is Nathan getting taught how to hold the gun, I think.

Monday, July 19th -

Yesterday Nathan did the Obstacle Course again. WebGuy said "It was a quick run through, as they were running it for time." So here are a few pictures from that....

Getting to the course - they evidently didn't have to march! Nathan is between the two basics on the left side.
Waiting...I'm not sure what for... Nathan's the tall one :D
More waiting - Nathan's holding his mouth guard. At least he's kind of smiling...
Nathan wearing his mouth guard - yep, that bright orange thing :D
Climbing up one of the obstacles!!! This one is like a giant A-shaped ladder made of big logs. And no, he's not scared of heights, he's probably just watching what the person above him is doing.
At the top...
and climbing back down!

After completing the course, the basics were able to relax for a bit I think! :) Nathan's about in the center, closer to the camera.

Tuesday, July 20th -

Today was probably the most fun day Nathan's had at BCT - I'm just guessing, but it looks like he was able to fly! So I bet that made his day :) One squadron at a time gets taken out to the air strip, and some of the basics get to ride in gliders. Below is a picture I found of Nathan sitting in a glider, so I would guess that means he was able to go up!!!!!

Next time I will hopefully be able to share a bit from the two letters we've gotten from Nathan since the phone call.....

Jacks Valley Days 6 & 7 (16th and 17th)

This one will be short because I don't have much info or many pictures, sorry!

Friday the 16th -

Nathan and his squadron went to CATM. Here is the official description of CATM:

"CATM (Combat Arms Training and Maintenance)
Mission: The course will train basic cadets on the nomenclature, assembly/disassembly, and safe operation of the Colt M-16A2 rifle. Basic cadets will fire the Air Force Qualification Course (AFQC). If basic cadets earn an expert rating for the M-16 AFQC, they will be authorized the wear of the USAF small arms expert ribbon."

And that's all I know about that!

CATM is one of the places that is off limits to WebGuy and his team, so the only pictures of Nathan were---guess what?---marching in formation! There weren't any really good shots, so I won't bother you with those.

Saturday the 17th -

The basics actually got a day off!!! In the morning they had "honor lessons" (which they have been doing every evening), and then in the afternoon they left Jacks Valley and went to a rodeo! :D So they had a more relaxing day :-) There were a few pictures from the rodeo, but the basics are just sitting in the stands (nothing exciting) and I'm not positive that I found Nathan in any of the pictures. So no pictures from yesterday either!

Today has been a different story - Nathan did Operation Warrior. I will post pictures and descriptions, hopefully tomorrow! The basics do still have an opportunity to go to a chapel service in the evening.

Jacks Valley Days 3-5 (13th-15th)

Sorry I haven't updated sooner!!! But this one will have lots of pictures to make up for it :D

Tuesday the 13th -

Nathan and his squadron did the Assault Course. This is basically to teach the basics how to fight with guns and hand-to-hand.

Here's some of what WebGuy said:

"You see, the basics need to learn how to act on the Assault Course. So, without rifles, they learn how to punch, kick, and head butt.

Webguy Note: When I went though basic, this was easy for me since I already knew how to do all this stuff. I grew up the as the 4th of 5 children.)

Next, they get their rifles and learn how to thrust and parry."

For the first two pictures, we're not positive it's Nathan. It's harder to recognize him with a helmet on!

Oh, and that thing in his mouth above is part of his mouth guard...in case you were wondering ;-)

It might be Nathan in the front left below.
The picture below is of a different squadron on a different day - but Nathan would have done something similar. This is called pugil stick fighting. Once one basic hits another basic three times, the first basic wins.
Here is a link to a WebGuy blog post with pictures of Aggressors going through the Assault Course: http://usafawebguy.com/blog/aggressors-assault-course

and here is a link to a short video about it: http://usafawebguy.com/blog/fun-aggressors

Wednesday the 14th -

Nathan did the Leadership Reaction Course (problem solving - what CAP calls something else that I'm not remembering! ELP's maybe...) That's one of the places that WebGuy can't really get to/can't take pictures at. But thankfully, WebGuy or one of his teammates did catch Nathan's flight headed to dinner - so here's more marching pictures! ;-)

(Nathan is just to the right of Mr. Orange Vest below)
(Nathan is in the center of the photo below. I think that the flight's three columns were merging into one)
And there he is below almost smiling! :)
WebGuy saw a menu for the day and took a picture of it! (click to enlarge, then hit the back button to come back).
And then here is an eating shot of Nathan.....

Thursday the 15th -

Nathan and his group did the Obstacle Course today. Here's how WebGuy described it:

"When they go through it the first time, it is quite unpleasant. On the first day, you go through it one obstacle at a time, learning how to do it slowly and safely. That's not so bad. Then you go through it again fast. This time, however, it is intense and tiring, with many "repeating of the obstacles" taking place. Also, if you have to wait for the person in front of you to get done with an obstacle, you are supposed to run in place, and somtimes yell out knowledge or quotes.

Overall, the first day you go through the Obstacle Course is not a fun time."

Before the basics actually got to the Obstacle Course, they did some stretching.

Here's a picture of Nathan in formation. I think they had been waiting for another flight to arrive, and so it looks like he was studying the stuff he's supposed to have memorized. He's the 3rd one from the right.

And then they do some stretches/warm ups! Nathan's on the left side of the picture, in the second row back.

more stretches...and they get to wear bright orange mouth guards! ;-)

Then they actually get to the obstacle course! Below is a picture WebGuy took of the map with picture symbols for the 17 different obstacles (I don't know what they all are).

Below is Nathan jogging in place waiting for his turn. He's the 3rd one from the right.

And here he is actually doing the obstacle. This one was the kind of thing where you walk over water on a rope while holding onto another rope.
And he finished it! YAY!!!! :D
And here he is running up to another one. He's in the background on the right. I think this one they had to use the ropes to swing over a pit of water.