...to Arnold Air Society. An honorary, military, service organization. Basically it was a semester long process consisting of two or three training days a week, fundraisers, service projects, candidate books with each member requiring a page and having certain requirements for their page. Remember when I asked for a picture of Homer Simpson in a military uniform? That was for this. There were thirty-one members we needed to do pages and get signatures for.
Thirty some odd people were at the first training day, way back in January. We had 21 for the majority of the program. 16 made it to Formals, the final night and deciding factor for admittance. Thirteen made it.
We are voted it, and we do bear certain similarities with fraternities. We have Jerseys, with our nicknames and numbers. A long time ago, I would have been a pledge. But I was a candidate. We had to wear 'candidate pins'. However, it is co-ed, the only prerequisite for becoming a candidate is being a member of Air Force ROTC.
But above all, we are a society of cadets who frankly have to go through a lot to become AAS members and as a result, are higher speed than most of the rest of the cadet corps.
Our detachment has a Cadet Wing Commander, basically, the cadet in charge of all the other cadets (numbering 600 this year, largest in the nation by far). Last semester's Wing Commander was a member of Arnold Air Society. Next semester's Wing Commander is also a member of Arnold Air. Last night we had our Detachmant's Military Gala (military prom is the best way to describe it). The guest speaker is a Brigadier General Select, a former Cadet Wing Commander and former member of Arnold Air.
Also at the Gala, we, the new class of Arnold Air, knew more POC than any other GMC there. To describe those two acronyms, GMC are freshman and sophomores and POC are juniors, seniors, and super seniors. POC are contracted to the Air Force, get a paycheck from them, run the detachment, etc.
We also get chords (ropes worn on the left shoulder) which are blue and gold. There are three other kinds of Air Force Extracurricular activities on campus, each with their own colored chord. However, Arnold Air is the only that also receives a badge pin worn on the right breast and a ribbon as well.
Formals were this past Wedensday. The Iniation Dinner was this Friday, where we actually received our chords and badge pins. Afterwards was a party, during which I drank with the former and future Cadet Wing Commanders of Det 157 - as a freshman.
Unlike fraternities, we don't use Greek letters for class designations. Each class is instead named after a military aircraft. Our candidate class was the Commanches. Don't ask me why ours is named after an Army helicopter. When given thirty seconds to choose a name in a training environment and having each one being repeatedly shot down by the training staff, eventually you just start throwing out names, and we threw that one out not ever expecting them to actually accept it. But oh well, its not the name, its how we earned it.
My nickname is "Navy", because I am gung-ho Navy. Why I'm in the Air Force is a long story (though I'm pretty sure I've already said it in Hobbes' enlisting thread), and this post is too long as is. But I have been notorious for my Navy leanings throughout the semester. My number is 151, for the drink. I have also gained a bit of a reputation with a different group of people (the drama club) from a party last semester concerning 151.
There are staff positions within Arnold Air. Myself and three other Comanches have been given the responsibility of planning and organizing the Veteran's Day Ceremony for next fall. Basically, it will take all summer to plan, as it takes awhile to get through all the paperwork for F-16 flybys. Yes, that's right, that will under my and my teammates pervue. Also, we're responsible for coordinating with the Air Force Association, VFW, the school, the Army ROTC detachment and the brand new next year is the first year Navy ROTC detachment. We book the speakers (last year's list of possibilities included John Glenn, John McCain, Under-Secretary of the Air Force, etc.), plan the ceremony, and make a few million phone calls. It is an incredible responsibility and at the same time an incredible opportunity to get to really know a lot of people in a lot of high places.
It's gonna be sweet.
This has been quite a long post, but this is the culmination of a semester's worth of ass busting work and something I am really proud to have been a part of and have successfully completed.
Posted by Malnurtured Snayer (Member # 411) on :
Congrats.
Just send me an invite to the monster party and point me towards the keg and girls. Thanks.
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
Congrats, any society thet requires a picture of Homer to get in is ok with me. I'll be at the keg with snay.
[ April 07, 2002, 20:43: Message edited by: Grokca ]
Posted by U//Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Whooo. Keggers. Whooo.
So, this like a Mason society, 'cept for the Air Force? An offshoot of the Order of Cincinati?
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Congrats, that sounds cool....
(((Now wishes he'd done something for college....))) Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Getting refused entry into the OTC was the best thing that ever happened to me. Instead I was free to spend my university years the normal way, in pursuit of alcohol, drugs and TEH WLID SEXX0R!!! 8)
Posted by MaGiC (Member # 59) on :
Which I'm sure you attacked with gusto.
Posted by U//Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Though, only after episodes of Deep Space Nine.
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
anyone whos ever gotten alcohol sex and drugs simultaneously WHILE watching DS9 (or any sci-fi/fantasy-genre viewing) please chime in now.
BTW, the closest i have gotten is 3 out of 4:
Alcohol, sex(-type stuff) and Monty Python
and also the less impressive:
alcohol, drugs and Deep Space Nine
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Dr Pepper, horny, Ibuprofen, and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is the closest I've gotten to that combination.
Posted by U//Magnus (Member # 239) on :
My copy of STV is broken, but in any event, that sounds unfortunately familiar.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
I can top that.
Mountain Dew, Maximum strength Tylenol, and getting a BJ during a Next Gen rerun ("Parallels," I think it was.)
Posted by U//Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Aw fuck. That was great. *ugh*.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Parellels is a good episode. You should have got it done during "The Masterpiece Society" or something. That's dull enough that I need to do something else when it's on.
"Which I'm sure you attacked with gusto."
Well, some men do have to go to more extreme lengths to get the wild sexor.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)