Preparations to Travel

Well this is the last day I will be in Pittsburg, I am not going to sugar coat it I have mixed emotions. I am so ready to get out of Cadet Command and start my career but at the same time I would like to see the type of leaders some of the cadets turn out to be. That is someone else's job now and I know that cadet leadership as well as cadre will help to produce excellent officers.

There is a lot of preparation you have to do before moving. 1) When you get your official orders get a digital copy of them so that they can be sent, everything you do you need official orders. 2) Get onto the Electronic Transportation Aquisition (ETA), you can find it on a google search. Create an account and set up a move, its easy if you follow the steps. First you have to know if you are doing a House Hold Goods (HHG) move or a Do-it-Yourself (DITY) its called something different now but its the same thing. The difference is that the DITY is exactly what it sounds like, you do everything yourself and the government will pay you to move. In my opinion if you have a small amount of stuff and a vehicle to transport it, it's absolutely the way to go. 3) Confirm, re-confirm, and re-confirm again with your assigned transportation officer that everything is finalized for the move. 4) Finally, drive the 1,000 miles to get to Ft. Benning. Don't try and do it in one day, they will pay for the hotels. I will have more to follow on procedures of getting checked into the class, vehicle registration on post, and anything else that comes up.

Jumping around a bit I figured that I should share some of the resources that were helpful to me preparing for IOBC. Of course each BOLC has a reading list most are helpful but some books were written 30 years ago and although they give insight into leadership, it just doesn't resonate like a current account of combat. Beyond books, there are hundreds of sites that could help you out with information, but I found forums to be one of the best assets, and it kept me from driving all the IOBC grads that I know crazy with questions. Here is a list and small description of books I read and sites I found helpful.

1. War. Sebastian Jungar- Great account of a platoons fight in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. The best book I have ever read. The documentary "Restrepo" was made at the same time by Jungar and another journalist and as good as it is it still fall short of this book.

2. Strongest Tribe. Bing West- An account of the surge in Iraq over a series of 15 visits by West a former Marine from Vietnam, that specialized in counterinsurgency. Great read and good overall description of the war from the Secretary of State to the Joe on the ground.

3. House to House. David Ballavia- Another book on the Iraq War, the Battle of Fallujah, told from the point of view of a squad leader. Easy and exciting read.

4. Joker One. Donovan Campbell- Best account of PL leadership from training to deployment and back. The only snag is hes a Marine, but I would still suggest it to anyone.

5. Lone Survivor. Marcus Luttrell- Navy Seal who survived an ambush on his Seal team. A good book on perseverance, good story too.

6. Never Surrender. LTG Jerry Boykin- One of the founders of Delta, and was in every famous Delta operation from Grenada to Somalia. Nice glimpse into the Special Forces Community.

7. Not a Good Day to Die. Sean Naylor- First large scale operation in Afghanistan (Operation Anaconda). Look into the pros and cons of the Special Operations community. Really good book, full of useful information.

8. Descent into Chaos. Amhed Rashid- Great background of Afghan War and were things went wrong.

9. FM 3-21.8 The Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad- Everything that you need to know and much more as a cadet. It is the Bible for IOBC as I hear.

10. Ranger Handbook

Internet Sites and Blogs

milspace- You have to have access to AKO to get this. Search milspace on AKO and it should take you to it, if you have any trouble let me know and I can send a link. milspace is a forum for LT's and it is segregate into branch specific as well as other categories. Great tool to learn about schools or get first hand accounts of leading people.

An LT's Journal - Experiences from Army Schooling- This is the blog that kind of inspired me to write this blog. Its in blogger.com and just use the search, it is very detailed and is well worth reading.

Anything else that you can find, but be weary of blog or forum complainers that make easy tasks seem unattainable.


Well that's it for me, I will post again before class starts to let you know how to check in and what you need to have or bring for the course. Next time will be from Ft. Benning Ga.