Bravo Company Class 009-10Class Newsletter

14 May 2010

Issue #4

BOC Custodio

Company Commander

BOC Warren

Executive Officer

BOC Oplanik

First Sergeant

Student LeadershipLead from the Front

By Basic Officer Candidate Chris Parker

“The challenge of education is not to prepare a person for success, but to prepare him for failure.” Admiral James Stockdale

Bravo Co. spent much of this week picking apart Field Manual 6-22 (FM 6-22) titled Army Leadership. The purpose was to introduce new soldiers and refresh some of the more seasoned soldiers to the Army’s BE-KNOW-DO leadership doctrine. At the core of Army leadership is what a leader must BE, meaning values and attributes that shape the leaders character. This is followed by what leaders should KNOW; being a leader means that you must know all important aspects of their respective position, for nothing is more important in shaping a leader’s decision making process. What a leader decides to DO is directly related to the first two characteristics, as they lay a foundation for decisive action. After this week’s in-depth lessons on leadership, Bravo Co. has just begun the journey of becoming leaders of character. Becoming a leader of character is a career-long process involving developmental counseling, day-to-day experience, self-development, education, coaching and mentoring. As Sir Michael Howard described military leadership, “It is as if a surgeon had to practice throughout his life on dummies for one real operation.” Bravo has now developed the foundation; we are now preparing ourselves for the real operation.

• 21 May• 24 May• 28-31 May• 22 June• 24 June• 29 June• 30 June• 1 July

Branching DaySenior Officer Candidate Review (SOCR)Memorial Day WeekendFamily Readiness Group (FRG) MeetingGraduation SocialGraduation FormalFamily SRPBravo Company Graduation Ceremony

Key Events and Important Dates

Families are Welcome!

Families, want to see what your candidate is doing? Come to any of our key events!

See Class 009-10 online at the following:www.ocsbravo009.wordpress.comwww.facebook.com: Bravo OCS Class 009-10

Bravo Company 3/11 Infantry Regiment (OCS)Contact Information

BOC (First Name) (Last Name)Class 009-10, (Your candidate’s PLT #),

B Co, 3-11 IN (OCS)6510 Benjamin Ave

Fort Benning, GA 31905

Phone (706) 545-5396 Fax (706) 545-8863 Commander (706) 905-1303

Heart of JamaicaBy Basic Officer Candidate Hulbert

Amidst a day filled with unfamiliar faces, the first day for OCS Class 009-10 had a few students who stood out more than the rest. Outfitted in jungle camouflage uniforms similar to the BDU’s formerly worn by U.S. troops, four soldiers of the Jamaican Defense Force ( JDF)stood proud. Bravo 009-10 is fortunate enough to get an opportunity to train with soldiers of a different culture and ethnic background. Cortess Whilby, Kayzon Gunzell, Caniggia Harrison and Richard Robinson of the JDF went through a very physical and through tactics-based training before attending OCS. The first was a fourteen-week initial course for all JDF soldiers and the second was a six-week course for non-commissioned officers. With a force of roughly 5,000 soldiers, Jamaica only commissions around ten officers per year. The difficulty of being selected to attend OCS rivals that of any selection process here in the states. After six weeks, the JDF soldiers have distinguished themselves as among the best of class 009-10. When asked about the transition to training here at Ft. Benning, OC’s Gunzell and Harrison said the customs and courtesies have been the toughest part (the JDF drills under British formal military customs). So far, they’ve enjoyed the training overall, most specifically the physical aspects. “We enjoy being physically challenged and pushed” said OC Gunzell. Where will they go next? Upon graduating OCS, the four will be commissioned officers in the JDF. OC’s Gunzell and Robinson plan to stay here at Fort Benning and attend Ranger School. OC Whilby is going into engineering and OC Harrison will return to Jamaica to fly Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

This W

eek in Photos

Reaching OutBy Basic Officer Candidate Lyman

On May 8th 2010, more than twenty-five Bravo Company officer candidates drove to Marshall Middle School in Columbus. Candidates volunteered their free time on a Saturday afternoon to help and mentor students with academic problems. We arrived at the school around 11:00 and were given a briefing from the school principal on what to expect and how we could best help the students. The children we were tutoring had not passed the required state exam for either mathematics or English. After the briefing, candidates chose whether to help with math or English and we met the middle school students that we would be working with. The face to face meeting with my particular student was a challenge at first. Her name was Ugina and

she needed help with writing an essay about what she wanted to do with her future. She was timid and hard to talk to at first. I sensed that she was nervous meeting a young adult stranger who was asking her lots of questions. As our conversation progressed however, I realized that she was not lacking in intelligence or drive, she just had trouble expressing herself. I tried my best to get to know her and find out what she was sincerely interested in doing with her life. As I was getting her to express these desires and plans, I would write them down in note form. When she was finished I showed her what the both of us had come up with. She now had a basis for writing a full and informative essay about herself. I told her that whenever she wrote essays in the future to implement these simple steps to help. I could tell that her overall mood and confidence in her paper had gone up considerably. My personal experience at Marshall Middle School was very satisfying. Seeing Ugina’s mood and attitude about learning improve in such a short period of time was extremely motivating. I got to help a stranger in need and I made them feel better. I was not required to go to this event, I volunteered my free time. These experiences, helping others without being asked, are just one of the key fundamentals of what it means to be an Officer in the United States Army.