18 July, Sunday: Sarah, Bronson, and I leave around 6 am, having packed all our stuff in Bronson's car. We go to Angola to pick up Joanna. We cram all her stuff too, and the car sags dangerously low. Mapquest directions on hand, we fearlessly begin our journey. We stop several times at rest areas, and then stop for lunch in Massachusetts, sometime around 1300, I think. While on this journey, I am notified that we have different barracks this year than we did last year. This will play a part in our story later on.
We get off the thruway around 1600, and after driving some distance pull off to figure out where exactly we need to go. After utilizing Bronson's GPS (which begins by telling us we are in Canada), we find the Massachusetts Military Reservation, and then try to find the new barracks. After a 15 minute search (along with another lost senior member), we find the barracks and begin cheering loudly in the parking lot (it has been a long day). At this point, Col T, Maj G, Lt B, and possibly others come forth and greet us. We attempt to figure out what to do. This translates into unpacking, for now. After that, we go up to the chow hall (roughly a mile away) to help Lt R clean the kitchen. We feel as though we are transported back into time, possibly several centuries back. The buildings themselves date back to WW2, never mind the kitchen equipment. By this, I mean that we are pleasantly surprised to find running water, although it is orange. We tell ourselves that a little iron has never hurt anyone.
After we clean the kitchen, we eat supper, and there we meet several other staff people, including Zac (his last name is nearly unpronounceable, so this using first names thing works well in his case!), the RCLs c/cc. He remains a good friend throughout the coming days. In the evening, we unpack, and we (Joanna, Sarah, and I) explore the barracks. While on our exploration expedition, we find a moth of epic proportions and put it in Bronson's room, which he is sharing with Zac. Then, I head downstairs (I roomed on the second floor...that's where the RCLS and academy cadet staff slept. Encampment was 3rd floor, and seniors were first floor. For the first two night, Sarah, Joanna, and I roomed together, then Joanna went upstairs and Sarah and I stayed together, as I was the only cadet on academy staff and she was the only female RCLS cadet. This is like a paragraph in the middle of a sentence. I hope you can follow the train of thought, as this parenthese is about to come to an end.) to figure out the schedule for the next day. The schedule consists of getting up, eating breakfast at 8, and then setting up.
19 July, Monday. That is basically what we did. In the evening, we did staff in processing at the barracks, instead of at the admin building. See, the admin building was near the chow hall, and that is where the offices were. I had my public affairs office there until we were kicked out around Day 6 because the military needed it.
20 July, Tuesday: This is the day the inflights are to arrive. We are still setting up the office area when a van from Pennsylvania comes. I quickly catch a ride to the barracks where I change from civvies to BDUs, and then we all eat lunch. Then, we start in processing. Cadets trickle in for a couple hours. Sarah helps me, and we are bored while waiting for cadets to get to our station (where I take their ID card picture, and she writes down their name, grade, and flight they have been assigned to). By 1500, we are done and head over to a classroom building for what is on the schedule as a "Welcome/get to know you" session. We soon find out that this is code for "Don't be stupid/be scared of us" session. This is only natural. We have dinner and I work on the newsletter for the next day. This involves interviewing the encampment and RCLS cadet commanders.
21 July, Wednesday: [My memory is hazy at this point...I think I missed opening, but I'm not entirely sure how or why. But I would have gotten up to the admin building sometime before 7 to print the newsletter.] After breakfast, the encampment and RCLS had classes, predominately, and I took this time to make a header, start on the next newsletter, and stuff. I think. Then we had drill (photo op!!), and lunch. After that, we were going to do a navigation course. But, something happened, and that caused the encampment to come back and not do the navigation course. It got confusing here because I didn't know what was going on, but we all knew that for some reason the encampment was in trouble. It turned out to be a misunderstanding that escalated (I think it was several misunderstandings, actually). After supper, the encampment and RCLS played volleyball.
And then I was ready to go to the admin building and finish the newsletter for the next day. Only the encampment problem was still going on, and the person with the key for the admin building was rather preoccupied in a very much so do-not-disturb sort of a way. So I hung out, rather out of sorts and mope-ily, with various RCLS people. Keep in mind that my bedtime was set at 2200. At 2130, I headed downstairs to try one last time to figure out the newsletter deal. This time, they were less busy, and between Lt B and the Colonel Cs (there are two and they're married), we determined that I would ask Col T for the admin key (taking Lt B with me for protection), and I would go get my laptop, bring it with me to the barracks and work on it there. And my bedtime would be extended a half our. As we discussed this, Col T walked in and we got the key, and I got my laptop, and finished the newsletter and it all worked out. Not at all confusing, was that?
22 July, Thursday: This was a fun day. It was the Day of the Tadpole. Only there were no tadpoles...just large frogs and little 3-legged froglets with tails. By this, I am referring to the Leadership Reaction Course. The encampment and RCLS went to the LRC in the morning, and the staff with them. And the staff's cameras. And notebook. I documented every sighted frog and froglet. I think the army should pay me for taking a census of their LRC's amphibian population, but will they? No.
After lunch, we drove back to the LRC, and the RCLS stayed and did that while the encampment went to the obstacle course, and the staff with them. And the staff's cameras. And notebook. Sadly, there were no frogs to document. After supper, I worked on the newsletter till bedtime.
23 Jul, Fri: I think this is the morning that we fell into a routine...Sarah and I would get up, and then Lt R would take me to the admin building when she went to the chow hall to make breakfast for us. I'd get there around 6 and would start working n the next day's newsletter, and print the one for that day. Then around 7, I'd head over for breakfast. This morning, the encampment went rappelling, and I had *so* much fun taking pictures! They let me go up on top and attached me to a pole so that I could lay on my stomach at the edge and take pictures of the cadets going down. That was cool. After lunch, the encampment and RCLS were going to switch...RCLS had been at FATS and were now going rappelling while encampment went to FATS. And I was going with the RCLS to photograph them rappelling. However, there was a bomb threat in the rappelling tower area (it wasn't me, promise!!), so the RCLS went to their classroom. And Stefan (the medic) and I had no group. So we stalked down the encampment at FATS and joined them. That was really fun. FATS stands for Fire Arms Training Simulator, and it's basically a rifle with a laser that you point at and shoot targets and a projection screen on the wall. Once I figured out what I was shooting at (and what I was supposed to line up so it was straight), it was pretty cool! After supper, I believe I worked on the newsletter and walked back to the barracks.
24 July, Saturday: This morning, the RCLS went rappelling, and once again, I tagged along to take pictures. This time, I went down the tower. After lunch, I worked on the newsletter and then went and watched Star Wars with the RCLS...they watched one episode and I had never seen Star Wars, so Lt B and I integrated with RCLS for a couple hours. Then there was more newsletter, supper, and newsletter.
25 July, Sunday: The encampment did something special in the morning...they went swimming in the base swimming pool! I went along and took pictures of them and dangled my feet in the water. It felt good. Then we had lunch. In the afternoon, the encampment went to PAVE PAWS, and I went along and took notes for the newsletter. The one AF guy took a group picture of us at the end...he said he felt bad because there were no cameras allowed inside the building! After supper, I worked on the newsletter in the admin building, and walked back to the barracks. I figured out that I could save 5 or 10 minutes by taking a shortcut...only thing was, the shortcut led behind other barracks that some people (contractors, I believe) were working on. So it was a little scary walking there myself, but I only did that once.
26 July, Monday: To the great chagrin of my RCLS buddies (read: Sarah), I spent the day with the encampment, touring the Coast Guard station in the morning, and then the UTES facility in the afternoon. I would tell you what UTES stands for, but I've forgotten. Something-Training-Equipment-
27 July, Tuesday: This was a fun day. In the morning, the encampment and I went on a tour of Camp Kelly and the Colaris (not sure about spelling...too lazy to look it up :P ) Post, which is there on base. Then we went back to the chow hall for a quick lunch, because we were supposed to be at the Blackhawk place by noon. We went in and sat down, and a man gave a short briefing. Then we were split up into 4 flights of about 9 each. I was assigned to the fourth one, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to go up. I mean, I'm the kid who doesn't even like the Farris Wheel! Nomes was in the first flight, and she cam in saying how awesome it was and how smooth it was, so I decided I might as well try it. And I am glad I did. It was awesome. I got to sit next to the door (it was open), and we zoomed around really fast for about a half an hour. They tilted it some, and for part of it we got pretty close to the trees. About 10 minutes before we were done, I started feeling sick, but we landed and I was fine. Then we loaded back up into the bus and went back to the barracks. I worked on the newsletter and slideshow stuff, and then worked on the newsletter and slideshow stuff. We had a picnic supper with the local squadron, and then Lt R and I worked on the slideshow. We finished it around 3 and went to bed.
28 July, Wednesday: So this was it...last day. We dragged ourselves out of bed and were happy to learn that the uniform (at least for staff and RCLS) was PT gear. We had opening, I printed the newsletter, and we learned the sad news that Lt B was sick with a cold (or something). The senior members sent him breakfast, but we skipped Pass in Review because he was the person who ran the music part. And the music part is pretty important. So instead of practicing Pass in Review we walked over to the base theater to practice for the graduation ceremony. While I was walking over, I was stopped by Col T, who asked me if I had the laptop. He reminded me that I would need that to play the slideshow for the ceremony, the slideshow that we had worked on until 3 am. So I walked back and grabbed it...nice to have people like that! The ceremony went fine...Bronson got the Eagle Award, and everyone liked the slideshow. Afterward, we went up to the chow hall for lunch.
Following lunch, it was time to go back to the barracks and clean them so we could leave. I think we were done by 2:30 or so. We mournfully bid our friends farewell. Joanna's sister, Abby, had come for the graduation (she had just got on leave from Okinawa...she's in the Marines), so Joanna didn't ride back with us. It was just Sarah, Bronson, and me. We got home around one o' clock and went our separate ways.
NERCA was awesome. I can't wait till next year! Hopefully we'll have more people...this year we had a total of 41 attendees. Including seniors. Yeah.
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