My guard unit finished up our annual training this year with Dining Out. The Dining Out is a formal dinner for members and wives, family, ect. I took a good friend of mine that I have known for almost 10 years now. Amy Danielson used to work with us at the roller rink, served a mission in Moscow (right next to pa's cow), and now works for John Austin in his office. We had a great time and pictures will follow.

During AT I was made the Battalion Safety Officer (Acting). This is a job that I've really been able to sink my teeth into. Im able to affect policy and actually make a contribution to the unit. I was able to run through our new Pre-Accident Plan, and make the commander of our rear detachment aware that we were late on some inspections and meetings. Its amazing to see how easy it is to actually get things done and the reaction people have to what is really a simple accomplishment.

I really feel at home in the unit. I love being to do something productive to do. Ive been so bored lately waiting for my commission and siting around with no responsibility. Now the trick is to get the job done, make the program work and not get over zealous as a new butter bar.


Here are some pics.



The first pic is from the right rear seat of the black hawk. Now this is the worst seat in the helicopter but I didnt have a choice...the flight was full. The reason its the worst seat is with all the lift on the right hand side...the rotor wash slams into the right rear seat. Dont open your mouth or saliva will fly out of your mouth.

The next one is of my two friends. They met each other and really hit it off during AT. Warrant Officer Coleman (Patrick) and 2LT Barrington (Patrick). When Coleman shared a Zinger with Barrington it changed his life somehow becuase he had never had one before. There seems to be some latent feelings there.

The last pic is of my buddy Aaron and me waiting around for our turn to qualify on the m-16. Fun time.

Until next time.

Today was the Day!!

After 8 weeks of OCS and 3 months waiting for paperwork to get across the country and back I was finally commissioned in the Utah Army National Guard.
















That little gold bar is completely worth the trouble!


With only a day notice, John and Melina, Aaron and Natalie, and a few friends from my unit were able to drive to Guard headquarters in Draper. Montel Guymon, a friend from OCS, was commissioned at the same time and his family was able to be there as well. Everything went really well except that the officer that I had planed to give me the oath was not there and I could not reach him so I had my current commander do the honors. Capt Card is a few years younger than I am and I was happy to have him help me out. Dad was going to drive out and give me the oath but the opportunity came up so quick that we decided to get it done. I just couldn't wait any longer!

After the oath, and forgetting one of the words, I shook the Captain's hand and had Aaron pin me. He carefully ripped off my old rank and tossed it behind him. He put the bar on and tapped it firmly in place. It was great! We did a quick "First Salute" and I owe him a silver dollar.

This is it.















After I drove back to the airport to get back to the 2 week annual training our unit is currently doing and I signed paperwork to make me the batallion safety officer. So now I have to give the safety brief every day of AT for the days events. Tomorrow the only thing we are doing are classes on first aid and convoys. So the safety topic im guessing is how not to slam your head on the table in front of you when you fall asleep during class!

So thank you all for the support and prayers that helped me get through OCS and all the help before hand to help me prepare.

At the moment I am completely broke. I am living on my Discover card. Starting the new job with Blendtec used up my 3 months of living expenses and has caused some problems. If you ever sign up for a "no preset spending limit" Amex business card, just know that it has a limit. Usually about 2400. I tried to put a total of just 5000 for my first show and they shut me down. So much for no spending limit. So I had to cough up 800 to get the card turned back on and continue with the show. Now I sit with no checking and have not been reimbursed yet.

Today, none of that matters. I have done good things and helped friends out. Now I'm trying to understand what I should be doing for a job. Im not sure blenders is the way to go. I will give it a whirl for the month of July since there is no drill and I should have 2 shows. One last hurrah. I'm thinking that a full time Guard job is looking pretty good. The pressure is on to finish my degree as I have 2 years to get it done.

Im not worried about much at the moment. Things are looking pretty good from here and opportunities are on the horizon.