It's neat, flat enough to fit underneath my headgear, is strikingly similar to the twists I had before (but are now braids), and I got the approval from my colonel. "It looks good," he said.
I'm certainly going to miss my hair stylist when I leave. I told her that I wish I could take her with me when I leave for training. I know this is a topic that has been beaten like a dead horse, so I'm not going to say too much about it. But I know that there are a lot of African American lawmakers out there working to get the regulation changed and I think that's great. That's all I'm going to say about that.
As for everything else, graduation is in my sight picture and I can almost taste walking across the stage. Even more exciting is my commissioning ceremony the day before. Right now I've been scrambling and making multiple trips to Ft. Campbell to make sure my uniforms are all squared away. This is just me holding up the AG insignia with my gold bars. That day can't come soon enough.
The biggest blessing of all has been that God has allowed me to still have my grandfather around so he can pin my rank on during the ceremony. He's been very influential in molding the person I am today and helped raise me.During times when I thought I wouldn't make it through to this point or when I just had a bad day in ROTC, he always encouraged me and reminded me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm finally starting to see the light.
After a year of waiting, I finally found out where my first duty station will be: Ft. Bragg, NC. At first, I was a little discouraged that it wasn't home--Ft. Campbell. But then I started counting my blessings. From what I've heard, Ft. Bragg is a nice post and it's still on the East coast close to home. I asked about the selection process and how it worked. Of course Ft. Bragg is home to many jumping units so the fact that I'm airborne qualified sealed the deal for me being stationed there.
When I head to BOLC, I'll have a chance to ask if anyone wants to switch duty stations but if that doesn't work out, I think I'll be satisfied with this assignment. It's definitely not a permanent location.
But I really can't complain at all. The day after graduation, my active duty pay will automatically start. I've been given the opportunity to work in the ROTC office on campus as a Gold Bar Recruiter until I leave for BOLC in July. Gold bar recruiters are newly commissioned second lieutenants who remain on
campus after graduating while they await their slot for BOLC. This basically means I'll be helping the cadre get potential cadets interested in the program during the summer by helping with recruiting events and whatever else they may need done in the office. Not a bad deal at all.
It helps add a new perspective in the ROTC office for new college students who may be interested in joining the program because of my familiarity with high school, college and cadet life. Here is a short blog post of an AG Captain who wrote about his experiences back in 2009 as a Gold bar recruiter when he first became a 2LT. I found it very interesting because he is very similar to myself and what what he studied in college and the military path he took. Check it out: Captain Rigg's Blog
I'll definitely try to reach out to him and get some insight.
If you're interested in reading blogs in general about military personnel to gain some insight and advice for yourself in your MOS or branch the Army Strong Stories is a great page to look into. I think there are bloggers for just about every branch so I really encourage you to take a look! I'm considering becoming a blogger for them. ---> Army Strong Stories
If anyone has any advice or knows the ins and outs of Ft. Bragg, please let me know! I want to know about good nearby cities to visit and places I should probably avoid. What are the people like? Anything you'd like to share!
As for the next blog, hopefully I'll be able to give you some more info on Ft. Bragg and what I'll expect there. I'll also try to share advice given to me from current AG officers.
18 more days until commissioning and graduation!
~ Melissa
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