CLS 09

Well, I really don't have a big long wordy thing like last time. Hopefully my pictures can give you a glimpse into what the other cadets' CLS was like, and if you can picture me either behind my camera or behind my laptop, you'll have a pretty good idea as to how my CLS was.

These are the basic cadets in-processing. You can see a pretty good mixture of staff, basics, and senior members.

Friday night, after everyone had more or less arrived and gotten unpacked, we had introductions of the staff and exec flight, plus opening and welcoming talks, and our safety briefing.

Saturday morning we had opening formation. That was at 0730, if I remember correctly. I went to sleep a little after midnight Friday night/early Saturday morning. This was after we had 2 fire drills. A fire drill, for those of you who are unlucky enough to have never participated in one, is where you are in your room, dressed, sleeping, or otherwise, and staff begins yelling "Fire! Fire!" You pull on your shoes and wrap a blanket around yourself and dash outside. Then, those in charge tell you the time it took everyone to get out (4 and a half minutes the first time; 3 1/2 the second), and you laugh at everyone else for looking like a mini Lawrence of Arabia. Then you go back to bed. Repeat.

Anyhow. We had our opening formation, and then breakfast.

After lunch on Saturday, the cadets did PT (physical training). Another public affairs cadet and I went over to the gym to observe and take pictures. I think they mostly speak for themselves.

These are the stretches

Above is what is called the shuttle run. You have to run, pick up an object, go back to the starting line, drop it, come back and get the other one, and then run back to the starting line. The catch is that it is timed.

I should hope you all know what a push-up is.

Okay, so there was this little balcony type thing behind the basketball hoop. Far off the floor, let me add. Being the naturally inquisitive photographer that I am, I decided that I wanted to go up. Seriously, how many of you have been in the balcony of the gym of the local Air Reserve base, taking pictures?? I asked around a bit (I'm not stupid enough to go up into balconies without asking first), and the cadet commander (who is in the above picture holding the orange things) assisted me in uncovering the ladder. It was a little unnerving the way the ladder creaked, but I climbed up, got some cool "above" shots, and then climbed down. That was my exciting adventure for the day.

The cadets had classes and drill in another building.

Graduation.

Above, the cadet commander is at the podium, giving his closing remarks. The rest of the people on the stadium are (from left) a colonel from the base, the group commander, the school commander, a lonely chair and the cadet commandant.

This is me getting my loverly certificate.

So I'm sure you all are asking, "Well, what exactly did she do?" I was on Public Affairs, which meant that I and the two other cadets and our senior member mentor had to create a "yearbook" for the weekend. It was really close. By that I mean that 2 minutes before we were dismissed, she literally ran in with the yearbooks from the printers. As we filed out of the theater, we grabbed our books.

That was about it. I got home around 2000 Sunday night, tired, but still glad I went.