Training

This wasn’t necessarily a project, but more of an experience that I learned a lot from. This training I went to was called LEAD, or Leadership Evaluation and Development. This is the basic training for cadet’s who are trying to be officers in the United States Air Force. The length was 19 days long and it took place in Alabama and Mississippi. We spent the first 10 days in Alabama and the last 9 in Mississippi. In Alabama we focused on marching, uniform inspections, discipline, and leadership skills. In Mississippi we focused on discipline and leadership skills, but in a simulated deployment type of environment. The goal of this training was to evaluate each cadets leadership skills through various tests. Not everyone made it, but those who do are that much closer to being a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. This is the biggest hurdle for any cadet throughout their ROTC career and I was fortunate enough to make it through.

Field Training is something that may seem like it can be done alone, but in reality it is the exact opposite. You need to rely on your cadets that are put into the same group as you. It was a total team effort in everything we did. There is no way I could have gotten through this alone and I would have failed miserably if I even tried. Their were times throughout field training where you are put in charge of problems and you must lead and show the evaluator the skills you have learned throughout ROTC up to that point. Even though at times I would be the leader, I relied a lot on my teammates to help us accomplish the goal. I made the final decisions, but I needed my group every step of the way. Field Training was for sure a group effort because like I said you literally need your group every second of the day. There were days that were harder to get through than others because I missed home and talking to my friends and family. My group, which is now my second family, helped me get through these times. We all helped each other out and picked one another up whenever we were down.

I learned so much while being there. I can apply what I learned here to computer science and software engineering. One thing that I mentioned already is teamwork and working with others. This made things so much easier because we all have different ideas that we can use to solve problems. I can apply this to computer science because whenever I get stuck it is important to have people to go to help you out because you will not be able to do it alone. Field training also frustrated me at times and I wanted to give up. As more challenges came about I realized that giving up would teach me nothing. I needed to push through and realized that pushing through was always the best option. The process was hard, but achieving the goal and finishing the task was very rewarding. This mindset can be directly applied to Computer Science because their will always be times when you want to give up, but taking things slow and working through the problem is the best approach. Like Field Training, accomplishing the task will be very rewarding.