Sunday, January 30, 2011

OCS: First Phone Call

I was shocked last night around 11:15 p.m. when I got a call from Quantico. Matthew earned liberty which lasted from last night until 7 p.m. Sunday. He wanted me to apologize to everyone that he didn't have time to call each individual person but he was still expected to accomplish a great deal...even during his "off" time.

The Highlights:

1. He had a cold, which turned into bronchitis, which is now a sinus infection. He sounds horrible but he says that has more to do with all the yelling and less to do with his illness. They do have medical personnel on staff if he gets much worse.

2. He was able to leave base, so he and a buddy booked a room at the Comfort Inn about 30 minutes away so they could sleep in warm beds and take long, hot showers. Next weekend, if he gets liberty, he plans to spend it at a place on base called the Harbor House. It is run by the church and it is a place for the guys to decompress, relax, talk on the phone, and get free meals.

3. During the entire phone calls (both last night and this morning) he was eating. He ate cheese sticks, a chicken flatbread sandwich, ice cream, candy bars, nuts, and Cheetos...just to name a few. He was completely insatiable.

4. He is doing very well on his tests! Approximately half of his platoon is on probation because they failed the tests. If you fail, no liberty!

5. He is getting along with every candidate except one. This particular guy speaks nicely to his face but speaks horribly about him to the upper chain of command. Matthew is very unhappy with this particular situation.

6. Four guys have already decided to opt out of further training come Wednesday when they are officially allowed to drop out. There are a few others that he speculates will be cut around the same time.

Overall, he sounds exhausted and hungry. He commented that a lot of what they have him do is "stupid" or "ridiculous" but he hasn't wavered and he is working very hard. I really think he is picking up on the culture and necessary strategies of Marine Corp officer school.

If all goes well this week he will have liberty again next weekend, starting on Saturday night and extending into Sunday. I will keep you updated!

1 comment:

Keren Skibinski said...

Glad you heard from your best guy( I won't tell your Dad he isn't your best guy anymore....but he is mine!)
I am sure it made you happy to speak to him twice! Hope you hear from him again soon!

Love, Mom