Finals Week Shminals Week

Well, it's the last stretch of the semester, and I couldn't be happier with the things that have unfolded. All the new friends I made and experiences I had made for an unforgettable last few months. Only one semester left until Pararescue tryouts, and I'm giddy with excitement. All that's left really to talk about are my finals.
     Today I had 2 finals, one for Aerospace Studies and one for Russian. My aerospace final was a complete joke, 25 multiple choice questions AND there was extra credit. It was almost pointless. My Russian final however was a different story. I studied all week for that and it still hit me like a brick wall. I think I did decent though. Tomorrow is the day I am dreading. First is Latin at 7:30am. That's not SO bad, but I still should study more for it. Then is Hawaiian Studies. Our study guide is enormous, almost 5 pages. And me, hailing from New Jersey, have absolutely zero background or previous knowledge to help me on this test. The professor was so boring during class it was impossible to take notes, and it didn't help that his slides had no words and he just orated everything.
     Anyway, tomorrow is my last day, then I get a nice 4-day vacation until I'm back on the plane to Jersey. Of course I am excited to see my family, but they can be a handful after a while.
     What I'm looking forward to most this break is my friend Eric's birthday on the 28th. Eric is a buddy of mine all through high school, and we both came out to Hawaii for college. When we go back for break, we are going to Atlantic City for his 21st. His parents bought us and a bunch of our other friends a 4-bedroom hotel suite at a 5-star hotel (yeah, they are loaded...) which has an enormous indoor pool with beds and a swim-up bar. Then we plan on hitting the casino and going broke. But it's okay because we will just get really drunk and try to forget I guess..
    I assume this is our last blog post as well. These were actually quite enjoyable for me to talk about whatever, whether people were reading them or not. It was also fun reading all of yours! Hope you all had a great semester as well and good luck in all your future endeavors.

Field Training Preperation

     As this semester comes to a close, us sophomores in ROTC need to start preparing for Field Training, which takes place over summer from sophomore to junior year. It is a rigorous 5-week long program at Maxwell AFB, Alabama used to train and test your aptitude to become an Air Force Officer. The get ready for that, the spring semester of your sophomore year  is designed to emulate certain aspects of the program to spectate how you all work under pressure and stress. The freshman still have a pretty lax semester, but get an insight on what to expect when it is their turn.
     I don't know too much about Field Training itself, because you're not supposed to tell anyone anything about it. You're supposed to go in there fresh without knowing what to expect, anything else is considered "speeding" and is highly frowned upon because it gives an unfair advantage. What I do know is that it is very challenging both physically and mentally, and you better know your stuff when you get there or you'll get ripped apart.
     A lot of people tell me they think I will do really well though, so that helps me be a little more relaxed about it. If I rank high against my peers at the end, it should give me a huge boost in competitiveness while applying for an ENJJPT slot.

ENJJPT

     So recently I had a counseling sessions with my Captain, and a lot of what we went over were my plans for the future. Even though since the beginning of this blog, and actually the idea that manifested it, were these plans of me wanting to become a CRO, I had somewhat of an epiphany during our talk. When going over my recent AFOQT test scores, Commander's ranking, and other factors involved in career selection, he told me my scores were highly competitive to compete for an ENJJPT slot. ENJJPT, or "Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training", is a 55-week training school at Sheppard AFB, TX designed specifically to train pilots for Fighter Jets (F-22, F-15, F-16 etc.) It is used primarily to train jet pilots for NATO.
    When I heard this news my jaw dropped. Yeah, I always wanted to be a pilot, but a fighter pilot? There is a huge formula that calculates each potential candidate a score between 0-99. They say 80s are competitive, 90s should be just about a guaranteed slot. As it stands right now, my score is a 93.5, and I still havn't taken my TBAS (see previous post) or gone to Field Training. And if I do well in those, I can potentially raise my score to around a 97. (There are other points awarded if you have private flight hours logged already, but that is just too expensive for me).
     I;ve been doing a lot of research, watching a lot of videos and trying to get in contact with a lot of people that could help me out. Because if I was able to get a slot to ENJJPT, one of the most prestigious jet training facilities in the world, who wouldn't take that opportunity. Guess I'll have to make a decision soon though.

TBAS (Test of Basic Aviation Skills)

     Now that my AFOQT is over and I qualified for a Pilot slot, I thought I would take the next step and take the TBAS test next and see how I do. My dream is still to be a Combat Rescue Officer, but I thought I may as well take this test now in case certain circumstances lead me to becoming a pilot instead.
     The TBAS, or Test of Basic Aviation Skills is exactly what it sounds like. It's not a written test, but more of a physiological one. Back at our ROTC detachment, in the back of the classroom there is a single computer hooked up to some instruments. There is a joystick, rudder pedals and a Collective pitch lever, trying to simulate a real cockpit. Basically, it's a video game. Technically you're supposed to go into it not knowing anything about it, but everyone pretty much knows the basics. If you've ever played a flight simulator game, it's sort of like that from what I understand. My Captain actually told me to get ready for it I should play a bunch of first-person shooter games (The kind of homework everyone wishes for) on inverted joystick controls.
    If I do well on that, I can almost guarantee a pilot slot if I want it. (It would be pretty cool to think being a Pilot is my fall-back). Anyway, this test probably won't be for a few more weeks. I'm just trying to think of things to write each week so I don't bore anyone just talking about workouts.

Unfortunately, there aren't really any pictures from the TBAS, considering it's supposed to be "secret."

21st Birthday! Epicness Ensues

Today, Nov. 17 was my 21st birthday, and this weekend was crazy. To start things off, on Friday, I got my AFOQT scores back. I scored in the top 5% in the NATION for all sections: Pilot, navigator, academic aptitude, math, science and verbal. My commander told me they were some of the highest scores he's seen. I couldn't explain the happiness and relief from that; I studied my ass off and it really just put me in an awesome mood for the weekend.
     Next was Saturday, where the bulk of my birthday weekend took place. It started off with the Turkey Trot 10k at MCBH, and we came in 1ST PLACE! Our total time for our 6-man formation was 00:44:2. We got free shirts, a medal and some other random things from the sponsors there. Following that we headed to Koa Pancake House, where I proceeded to stuff my face with about $20 worth of food, which my buddy Sam paid for without me knowing for my birthday. Pretty awesome day so far?
     Right after that was probably the most exhilarating experience of my life: skydiving. I had never gone before and it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I went with my friend Jacqueline who, turns out, has the exact same birthday as me and she was also turning 21. I wasn't really nervous at all until they opened the door and made me jump first. It was such a rush. Falling over 120mph at 14,000 ft. I also paid the extra money to have a photographer jump with us, and the pictures came out awesome (see below).
     After being safely back on solid ground, my roommate and I headed to his friends house in Mililani to watch the UFC fights. My two favorite fighters, Georges St. Pierre and Johny Hendricks were fighting each other, and it was a ridiculous fight. I didn't know who to cheer for. But you know we got pizza and wings and had good time for a few hours before heading out.
     Once back home, we had to get ready to go out. I met a ton of my friends down in Waikiki. First we went to the strip club. (Couldn't go to the bars until midnight). That was a lot of fun, my friends paid for everything, haha. As soon as midnight rolled around, and Jacqueline and I were finally of-age, we went bar hopping. I really don't remember much, considering there were 15 people shoving alcohol in my face all night, but I know I had a blast. It wasn't until this morning I suffered the consequences.
   

Another Week Down

     There isn't much to say about this week, pretty average if you ask me. So in this blog I'll just ramble for a while. First off, some good news for me, the pool at UH extended their free swim hours to be open Monday through Thursday now, which means I can get in twice as much pool work. That's probably the most exciting thing this week.
     Also this week I had my Hawaiian Studies midterm in Thursday. It went alright I think, I studied a lot more than I did for our first exam (which I did horrible on). So I'll see how I did probably this Thursday.
     Speaking of test scores, my results for my AFOQT still havn't gotten back yet, but they said they will be coming in early, probably sometime this week as well. Still can't decide if I'm happy about that or not. I guess it just lessens the time of me stressing about it.
     Lastly, some of my friends and I created a 6-man team for the MCBH Turkey Trot 10k (6.2 miles) this weekend the 16th. Our projected time is around 46 minutes. It should be a good mark to see how our running has progressed lately. We're dressing up like farmers (not sure why, just thought it was funny). ALSO, my 21st birthday is on the 17th. So it should be a pretty interesting weekend, we have a lot planned.
     Other than that, I don't have much more to talk about. Another week of training down and I'm looking forward to the next one.

AFOQT

     Today I took my AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualifying Test), and it was mind-numbing. It was just as psychologically demanding as it was mentally. Basically, the AFOQT is a standardized test designed to assess your eligibility to become an Air Force Officer and plays a HUGE part in determining your career. There are verbal sections, math sections, science sections, aviation/navigation sections, and then a few extra ones meant just to strain your brain. The math, science and verbal were easy to me, it was just like the SAT or ACT. The hard parts were those extra ones I just mentioned.
     First was the Instrument Comprehension. The section tests your navigation aptitude by seeing how well you can read instruments. I'm usually pretty good at these, but during the test there are just so many and you have such little time that it can become very difficult if you don't concentrate. (see photo below; correct answer is C)

     Next was the Rotated Block section, and it measures your ability to see rotated objects in space. These really mess with your head after a while because they all start looking alike after a while. Again, not extremely difficult, just very very annoying. (see photo below, correct answer is A)

      The last main section that kills a lot of people is the Hidden Shape section. Here you need to find the hidden shape in each block of lines. There's only one of the shapes in each, and there are some where there are no shapes. It's hard to explain so just refer to the photo below again. I actually do not even know the purpose of this section, except to really frustrate people. I'm also too lazy right now to try and find the correct answers.

     So there it is, my thoughts on the AFOQT. Total test time was just under 4 hours. You are only allowed to take this test 2 times in your entire life. And they don't take the highest grades, they take your most recent. Meaning if you take it a second time and do worse, then oh well that's your score. I think I did decently well though, I get my scores back in 3 weeks and we'll see.

Kettlebells

Recently kettlebells (refer to hot chick below) are becoming more and more popular within the fitness world. They are quickly becoming my favorite tools to workout with, and for good reasons. 1.) You get more bang for your buck, 2.) they link up your entire body, 3.) They are convenient and time efficient. 

     When I say "more bang for your buck," I am not just referring to price, but calories as well. Due to a kettlebell's offset center of mass, you are forced to stabilize the weight much more than with traditional dumbbells. This forces not only the primary muscles to contract more, but also forces additional motor muscles to work that would not typically be used with dumbbells, leading to faster muscle gain.

     When you workout with kettlebells, it's a full body workout. Referring back to what I said earlier, you use additional muscles to complete a lift, including back, legs and especially core. You can say they "bridge the gap" between upper and lower body workouts, ultimately leading you to training how your body is already designed to move: fluidly. Not like a robot where you separate body parts into different days.

     Lastly, kettlebells are convenient and time efficient. Due to the enormous range of exercises available, they can provide a solid workout wherever you are, meaning you can do it in the comfort of your own home without interruption. And, because you can do every workout that dumbbells offer and more, going from one exercise from the next is as easy as just changing positions, usually without even putting the weight down.

     

Water Confidence Training

     Well it's the end of another week, and so ends another week of training. This post will cover mostly of what I cover during my water training sessions, more specifically our Wednesday workout this week.Water training for me is particularly difficult, due to UH's ridiculous free-swim hours at the pool, but I go whenever possible and try to make the most out of my time. I tend to go Monday's and Wednesday's from 7pm-9pm. It's then that my buddy Dan and I conduct our exercises.
     We started of with some breathing exercises  for about 10 mins to get our lungs warmed up, then moved on to the workout. The first exercise of all of our pool workouts is the 25m underwater swim. We do between 6-8 sets of this on a 1:30 interval. Each week we try to make the rest time shorter and shorter to work on lowering our heart rates and increasing lung capacity. We always have a spotter though, because these can get somewhat difficult and we've almost passed out a few times from going to fast.
     Next we moved on to treading. We used the egg-beater tread with our hands out of the water. We completed 2 sets of a 5:00 tread, with a 1-minute rest in between. These really destroy your legs, but are something that can always be improved on.
     Thirdly we went into drown-proofing. This exercise can be extremely difficult or extremely easy depending on how confident you are in the water. Basically, you tie your ankles together, then tie your wrists together behind your back, and you bob up and down consistently for around 10 minutes. As long as you stay calm and relaxed, it is pretty easy.
     Our last exercise is my favorite: the mask and snorkel recovery. This builds off of our 25m underwater. For this, you swim 25m underwater (no goggles) into the 17ft deep end, find your mask and snorkel, which have been tangled up, untangle it, put your mask on, clear the water, then controlled swim to the stop and clear the snorkel. (There are a lot more details but I won't bore you). These are one of the hardest evaluated events at Indoc. Simply because you need to swim all the way to your mask, use more air to clear t, then use even more air to blow the water out of the snorkel. I've posted a video below explaining.

Mask & Snorkel Recovery

Dry-Land Training

Saturday's mark the last day of another week of training for me, and what a great week it's been! Along with our daily ROTC physical training sessions at 6am, I conducted much of my own workouts as well. A major part of CRO training is dry-land work, which happens to be my forte. Monday, Wednesday and Friday night this week I went on a leisurely 3-mile run around campus, sporting my brand new "Elevation Training Mask," (picture posted below). This training mask restricts air flow to your lungs, simulating high altitude and really pushing your body to the limit, increasing cardiovascular and pulmonary muscle strength. I ran with the oxygen mask set at about 12,000ft, which really makes it a tough workout. Following up with those runs, I participated in the 5-mile run at Fort Island this morning for Breast Cancer Awareness, and it was loads of fun with my friends by my side. I ran with the training mask at a reduced difficulty (6000ft) so I could make sure I would finish. What I am currently waiting on now is purchasing a rucksack, to practice my ruck-marches; I need to get used to carrying around pounds of gear while staying mobile.

What is a CRO?

          When most children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, very few would say an officer part of US Special Forces. I am part of that few, as my dream job since I was young was to one day become a Combat Rescue Officer in the US Air Force. But some people may ask, what is a CRO? Dictionary definition: Officers in charge of conducting USAF personnel recovery and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) operations. In layman's terms, they rescue downed pilots or other personnel in need of extraction.  It is a career field I have been very passionate about for years now, and have been training endlessly for. During the indoctrination phase (sort-of like their own boot camp), the trainees undergo training that mimics Navy SEAL training. Despite always being overlooked and living in the shadow of SEALs due to the media's portrayal, Pararescue men are just as tough and just as badass, with medical certification, something SEALs do not get. In the rest of these blogs, I will post updates of my training and any news that pertains to it.