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Bravo CompanyClass 303-10

Issue #01 15 January 201

OCS Class 303-10 Gets Underwayby Basic Of cer Candidate Molly Broderick

Developing a leader takes many forms. In the Army there are three general

ways to commission an of cer: ROTC, various military schools (i.e. West Pointand the Citadel), and Of cer Candidate School (OCS). OCS has the traditionsand customs of military colleges. However, it is condensed into a 12-week longcourse.

This leadership school used to be limited to a few speci c branches, but intodays modern OCS, all branches are accessible, to an extent. All non-branchedcandidates compete for their branch of choice through a process known as theOrder of Merit List (OML), which is similar to a class ranking. Those at the topof the OML ranking get to choose their branch selections rst from the limitedslots available for each branch on Branching Day. Events such as physical tnesstests and academic exams have largest impact on a candidates OML ranking.

Along with the OML ranking, candidates assume leadership roles suchas company commander, executive of cer, rst sergeant, and platoon leaders.Each week, candidates rotate out of the various positions and are graded on theirability to assume a leadership role, multitask,and manage their time.

With their second week completed,candidates are already being challengedin ways that require them to becreative and resourceful inorder to complete their

tasks. Despite thedif culties foundat OCS, manyc a n d i d a t e s

nd this tobe one of themost rewardingexperiences of their life. Basic Of cer Candidate Davis renders a proper salute.

Student Leadership

Week 1 & 2

BOC Brian Taylor

BOC George Smith

BOC Dewayne Deener

BOC Joseph Shupe

Week 3Company Commander

BOC Jennifer Noland

BOC Seth Banks

Executive Of cer

First Sergeant

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Thursday brought another challenge for Class 303-10: The Combat Water Survival Test (CWST).This test includes three stages and is performedin full action combat uniform (ACUs) and tacticalvest. The three stages include a 15-meter swim

with ri e, a blindfolded jump off a 3-meter divingboard with ri e, and a tactical vest and weaponditch challenge.

The 3-meter drop was by far the scariestpart of the CWST. You cant see anything andhave to jump 10-feet down to the water. You justdont know when its going to hit, says BasicOf cer Candidate Roman.

Safety for this event was a real concern.Because of this, there were both cadre andlifeguard staff on duty to assist in the testingprocess. Despite the company having numerousswimmers ranging from very strong to very weak,Bravo Companys Class 303-10 completed thetesting in record time with no injuries.

Combat Water Survival TestingBy Basic Of cer Candidates Ethan Pointer

& Molly Broderick

To the spouses, families, friends, loved ones and signi cant others of our Bravo Company, Class 303-10:

Welcome to our Family Readiness Group (FRG) newsletter. The purpose of this letter is to keep you, the families,nformed about what your candidates are doing here in OCS. I would like to rst thank you for your support of yourandidate. Without your support of their desire to be a Soldier and a future of cer they would not be here today. OCS isust the start of a very promising career in the Armed Forces.

To give you an update, the rst three weeks have been a roller coaster of activity both before and after holidaylock leave with in-processing here to OCS, leave preparations, Bolton Obstacle Course, water survival, and training onndividual Soldier skills. We are now set for the next 9 weeks, which will hold many more challenges and opportunitiesor personal growth. For the next three weeks, your candidates will receive classroom instruction and will be tested on

military tactics and operations, training management, operations orders, and military history. We will then go to the eldor three weeks to get your candidates hands-on experience with land navigation, collective battle tasks, and then they

will be evaluated on their leadership in those tasks. After the three weeks in the eld, we will return here to garrison forlittle more military history, of cership lectures and the all-popular graduation social, graduation formal and greatly

nticipated graduation itself.There will be a number of events throughout the cycle that are designed for family participation. The rst is the

FRG seminar on 26 January. If you are in the area, I encourage you to attend with your candidate. The topic will be RedCross and what they do for the Army. The next event I would encourage all local families to attend is the Senior Of cerCandidate Review (SOCR) on 8 February. The SOCR marks the transition of your candidate from basic status to seniortatus. After the SOCR we will deploy directly to the eld, and then I look forward to meeting you all at the graduationocial, formal or graduation itself (all dates noted on page 4).

Captain Jonathan Lord

Bravo Company Commander

A Message From the Company Commander

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Bravo Elects Its Student CouncilBy Basic Of cer Candidates Janine Mahan

On January 6th Class 303-10 scurried in from the cold and boarded itself inside Nett Hall with the hopes of selectingts representatives for student council. One and half hours later, after the last voting hand descended from the air, standing onhe stage were newly elected student council President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Affairs Of cer.

The incorporation of student council within OCS plays an invaluable role for student leadership. A request to drinkoffee, wear cosmetics, or simply use a laptop, for example, affords basic of cer candidates an opportunity to participaten proper Army procedures, whether it be using your chain of command or familiarizing oneself with writing proper Army

memorandums.The student council is responsible for requesting a wide range of privileges for of cer candidates in the company.

Everything from the use of cosmetics to being able to use personal electronics, including cellular phones and notebookomputers, requires expressed written permission from the company commander. The student council gets considerable

ractice in requesting privileges utilizing standard Army memorandum guidelines a skill that will be used throughout theandidates military careers. The student council is also responsible for organizing the companys social event, formal ball,nd graduating ceremony.

PresidentBOC Jodi Corcoran

Vice PresidentBOC Seth Norton

PresidentBOC Elisabeth Gunter

PresidentBOC Monica Jemeniz

PresidentBOC Carl Sanford

P i c t ur e Hi gh

t l i gh

t s

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Warrior Tasks & Battle DrillsBy Basic Of cer Candidate Christopher Smith

After a restful and rejuvenating holiday break, the Basic Of cers of BravoCompany 3/11 returned to OCS, motivated to continue their preparation to becomeommissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army.

On Monday, January 4th, candidates broke into their respective platoons andwere marched out separately to elds around the battalion area to practice battle drills. In

e ance of the abnormally cold Georgia winter air, Training Of cers spent the afternoon

eading their platoons through a series of drills that taught candidates how to move inlatoons and squads in various formations, such as the le and the wedge. These exercises

were useful not only for teaching tactical movements, but also for instilling in candidateshe qualities of teamwork and leadership.

The next day, training continued withmembers of Bravo Companys cadre leadinginstruction on Warrior Tasks. Candidates were instructed on how to clear, disassemble,reassemble and perform function checks on the main weapons of the Infantry platoon:the M16 ri e, the M249 squad automatic weapon (SAW), and the M240B machine gun.After a very brief break for lunch, candidates learned techniques for throwing grenadesand practiced the meticulous process of setting up and detonating Claymore mines. Thatevening, candidates retired to the barracks to study the material they had just learnedin preparation for the next days SquadChallenge.

Instruction continued on Wednesdaymorning with classes on rst-aid methodsand procedures, as well as basic radio

ommunications, including how to call in contact reports and MEDEVAC reports. Latern the day, candidates and their cadre marched to a nearby eld to take part in the Squad

Challenge, which consisted of a series of graded assessments that evaluated how muchhe candidates had learned over the past three days. Despite stringent standards, mostandidates passed all of the assessments on their rst attempt, thus earning a ve-pointonus on the Order of Merit List (OML).

With this foundation of basic Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills now established,he candidates and cadre of Bravo Company will move on to more advanced skills latern in the class.

Basic Of cer Candidates Jabar and Drexler demonstratproper technique for setting up a claymore mine in th

eld.

Basic Of cer Candidate Stokes works quickly to disas-emble and reassemble the M240B on timed warriorask event.

Basic Of cer Candidate Smith is graded on his accuracof throwing practice hand grenades at a target silhouettplaced 20 meters away.

Company Highlights & Contact InformationTypical OCS Day445 0545 Wake-Up & Barracks Cleaning545 0600 First Formation600 0730 Physical Fitness Training

730 0900 Breakfast & Personal Hygiene900 1200 Classroom or Field Exercises200 1300 Lunch300 1730 Classroom or Field Exercises730 1830 Dinner830 2000 Platoon Trainer Time000 2100 Study Barracks100 2200 Personal Hygiene & Barracks Cleaning200 Lights Out

Calendar of Events & Important Dates 12-14 Jan Martin Luther King Weekend 26 Jan Family Readiness Group (FRG) Meeting 5 Feb Branching Day

8 Feb Senior Of cer Candidate Review (SOCR) 12-14 Feb Presidents Day Weekend 11 Mar Social Event 16 Mar Formal Event 18 Mar Graduation Ceremony

Bravo Company 3/11 Infantry Regiment (OCS)7480 Riordan StreetFort Benning, GA 31905Phone (706) 545 5396Fax (706) 545 8863

Commander (706) 905 1303