Day 1 - Class 159 - CPO Academy

Right now it is 0617 local time, Sunday, April 19th, 2009. Weigh-in and Personal Wellness Profile day. I am still pretty much on East Coast time. I struggled to stay up to 2100, to try and adjust and I am getting there, but I was tossing and turning by 0430 or so, but stayed in bed until 05.

Yesterday was a very full day. I feel like I have been here a week already, but it has only been two days. I am just a little overwhelmed, but still excited about all we will be doing.
Day one started early for me. I was up at 4ish and ready to do something. I went into the lounge for a bit, but needed something more. I suited up and headed out for a run. At first I was just going to do an easy 2 mile run at a slow pace, but at the point where I would turn to do the 2 mile path, I decided to do 3 along the perimeter.

Just as I started the run, I heard a gobble from the trees at the top of the hill above the club. Very quickly I heard an answering gobble from the lake area. The turkeys are still here. As I headed along the path that is called California Ave, I saw some moving shadows up ahead. As I approached, two deer scampered off the path and into the brush nearby. They didn't move far, being used to us humans. The deer are still here.

It was a cool foggy morning, but the run felt good. I went along at an easy pace and finished in 25:51 with a good sweat. I headed back to the room, cleaned up, got dressed and waited for the galley to open.

My roommate and I headed down to the Galley before 08 and waited for them to open. As we were waiting three gobblers came walking by fairly close. They still know where the food is.

Breakfast was good and then it was off to the Theater and our adventure had begun. We were introduced to the School Chief and all the instructors. We each got up and introduced ourselves, revealing a few tidbits about where we were from and why we were there. Some of the class officers were introduced as the came through the line. I was introduced as the class president being the most senior of the students.

After that we learned a little about what we would be doing for the next 5 weeks and what we should try to avoid doing during that time. We saw an inspiring video about the Maritime Guardian and saw an example of how to introduce someone. We finally saw a quick video of some interesting quotes about leadership.

On piece of advice from the school chief was: How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time. Exactly a mindset to use to get through all we will be doing during our time here.

After lunch we went to the actual classrooms and sat in our new groups named for past MCPO-CGs. My group is Group Patton, named for MCPO Vince Patton.

Here we broke out and each of us interviewed a classmate and then introduced them in front of the class. It was a nice way to learn a little about everyone in the room.

We briefly went over the class schedule which is very ambitious and looks well structured and a lot of fun.

Lastly we each stated a personal goal, a professional goal and an issue that we were concerned about. All this was recorded and we will be seeing it again sometime during the class.

We finished shortly after 1700 and headed back to the barracks to change and go up to the club where the Golden Gate CPOA was sponsoring a welcome reception spaghetti dinner.

I kept the pasta to a small helping and did some salad, but all of it was very good.

I finished the night doing some of the read ahead assignments that we will need to be ready for as the week begins tomorrow.

Today, will also be a busy and I hope fun day. Everyone looks pretty good, so lets hope no one gets sent home today.

Report In Day

Friday, 0400. I'm laying in bed waiting for my alarm to go off, so I can start the adventure. I wait for the alarm to go off then I hit the floor and start the process.

All goes well. Lisa drags herself out of bed to take me to the airport. She hasn't been feeling well the last few days and it is a struggle. Also, she is not a morning person.

I get to the airport, check in at the counter and get my bag on free. As I am talking to the counter person, another traveler says he thinks he is going to the same place as me. We talk a bit. He is a USAF Master Sargent and yes, he is also heading to the CPO Academy. Pretty cool.

We make the flight and land at SFO. The USAF has been kind enough (or rich enough) to fund a rental car for him, so I hitch a ride up the 101. The fancy GPS gets us through the city and before we know it we are crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and heading up Marin County to Petaluma.

We stop in Petaluma for lunch then head to the TRACEN and report in. A very quick and orderly process sees us into our nice rooms in Harrison Hall. I start to unpack and get everything into order. I fire up the laptop and get an IM from Lisa saying she called off sick. Hopefully her body is fighting off this virus or whatever it is and she will be back on her feet soon. I call home and we chat a bit.

I head to the exchange for a lock and some containers and to check out the place that I spent 4 years as an instructor and had only been back once in the last 15 years or so. I saw an old friend by the Fire House and catch up on events before making my purchases and heading back to the room.

I change into workout gear and head to the gym to see what has changed. (The director is still there from the 90s. He has been there quite a while) and then go for a nice 1.5 mile run on the trail and roads of the base. It is a beautiful day in the 70s with a light breeze. I finish the 1.5 in 12 min 13 sec which is pretty good for me.

I have seen a few other students here and there and said hello to a few.

Now I will make sure my uniform is ready for tomorrow and then it will be time for some chow.

I'm still pretty excited and having a really good time already. Let the games begin.

One day and a wake up

My Fresh Haircut

This is my last day of work. Tomorrow I have leave and bright and early on Friday, I am on my way.

I got a nice hair cut this morning, so I am squared away in that department. I packed my suit case last night to make sure I'm not over doing it too much. Everything is fitting ok so far.

I checked the enrollment again on Monday and we lost three more (two USAF), but all were replaced with one extra as a kicker. Let's see how we end up Sunday morning. I hope we can keep the class as full as possible.

We will be Class CLIX . Will we call outselves Class Clicks?

Prep Week

Today I went over to medical and picked up my record for the TAD. I will get a nice fresh haircut on Wednesday and I am taking leave on Thursday so I have some time to tie up all the loose ends of being away from home for over a month. All is on track and I am almost ready to go.

One Week to Go

This time next week, my plane should be taking off on its way to the left coast. There I will embark on an adventure in leadership, fitness and learning. I am ready for this adventure to begin.

Yesterday, I brought home a bunch of uniform items and did a dry run of packing the suitcase to make sure it all fit. I am probably over packing, but that is just something that I always do. I may cut some things out later, but if I can take it, I'm going to.

All other preparations are just about complete. Next week I need to pick up my medical record and get a nice squared away haircut. My uniforms are all ready to go and all my lists are up-to-date.

The excitement builds...

CPO Academy Bound

Late Thursday I received an email from TQC asking if I was still able to attend the CPO Academy at this short notice as it looked like there were some openings and I was almost next on the list. I quickly responded that I was completely ready to accept orders and attend the class.

The next morning I received orders to class 159 or CLIX I guess it will be referred to. I quickly thanked everyone concerned in getting me those orders and checked to make sure the Academy had all my paper work, which I had sent in earlier, just in case I received orders.

The only thing they didn't have was my Profile, which I had submitted on-line, but I think there were some problems with the form, so I quickly re-submitted via email to the Assistant School Chief.

Now I just get the final things together, make sure my uniform is squared away and get all packed and off I go to get me some tool sharpening training.

I am looking forward to this training. It has been a long time since I have received some serious resident training. Wish me luck.

Tick... tick.... tick...

The clock keeps ticking and still no orders. I have pretty much given up on Plan A. Almost time for Plan B.

Update: Something may happen on Monday. Fingers crossed.