BBQ update

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving - I know I did.

A quick update about the BBQ time. Due to spirit band we are having the BBQ at 1 o'clock. Hope this still works with everyone. We are expecting over 200 people - it's gonna be a large party.

Nuke Run

This past Friday the outfit completed our longest run to date... a nuke run.  The nuke plant is on the other side of the airport - a solid 4.5 miles away.  For those of you keeping score at home that means we ran 9 miles Friday afternoon.  Everyone pictured below completed the run.  It is hard for me to think of another time this year when I have been more proud of the outfit - great turnout, great effort, great time and great run. 

Important Times

I hope everyone is having a great week.  Be prepared for a crazy Saturday because we are going to be busy.

0700ish - drill
0900     - first call for review
0920     - fall in for review
0940     - step off to head to Simpson Drill Field
1000     - Review at Simpson Drill Field
               During this review the freshmen will receive their Corps Brass.  This is something they have been     working for unknowingly for the duration of their stay in Aggieland.  This piece of brass will only be surpassed by their Band Lyre that they will receive at a later date.   
1045ish - return to the Quad

1150ish - Spirit Band

1220     - first call for march in
1240     - fall in
1300     - step off

We will be having a BBQ after the game and victory yell.

*As you can see there is no time to eat from the time we wake up until after the game.  In light of this, A-Co will be providing sandwiches for our cadets.  We will set up tables in the hallway between the review and Spirit Band.  Don't feel like you need to fight traffic and make yourself crazy to provide your cadet with lunch unless you want to...  and if that's the case I'll take a #1 with no pickles.


Next Week
We will have a practice on Friday at 1900 hours (7 pm).  I believe all cadets will need to be back by 1800 hours (6pm) at the very latest.  I would prefer that everyone was back and settled by 1730 (5:30 pm).  The game is at 6 so if we decide to have a BBQ it will be before the game.  I will let you know as soon as we decide something.

Fish Band

Last night the freshmen participated in a really fun and unexpected event - fish band.  During fish band all leadership positions  (ie drum majors, bugle rank, bass drums and cymbals) are held by freshmen.  These fish get chosen by the senior or upperclassmen in that position to fill their shoes for the "parade" through campus. I can not describe how fun it is... fish that aren't totally sure of themselves trying to lead a band of more fish that aren't even sure how to totally play all the music - it is awesome.  Let's just say that on Kyle Field it's not the fish carrying the band.  I have included pictures of all the A-Co bugle rank and drum major zips along with the fish that took over for them.  I also have a few pictures of all the A-Co upperclassmen and fish that attended Fish Band.  It's kind of hard to tell, but if you look closely, you will notice that we are dry in the before pictures and wet in the after pictures... that's because fish band marches through fish pond.  Like I said earlier - it was a blast.

  

Running

60.5 - that is the total amount of miles we have run as an outfit so far this year.  We are over halfway to our goal of 100 miles.  Will it be hard to accomplish? Yes, but most things that are worth it are challenging.  One way that we plan on meeting our goal is to go on several nuke runs (8 miles) as soon as football season is over and we have the use of weekends again.  I'll be sure to keep you posted so you can talk to your cadet about these huge runs they will be participating in.

The biggest issue that Patrick and I have with our run total is keeping everyone updated on what our mileage total is.  So we came up with a solution - a sign in the hallway that would keep a running total (pun intended) of our miles.  Since neither Patrick or I have any time to devote to sign making we decided to task the sophomores with the project... because we both know they have plenty of time for one more project.  I am very pleased with the result of the PH's work.  Actually I'm ecstatic.  I'm not sure I have been more proud of the class of '15 this year than when they revealed the sign to the outfit leadership on Sunday night.  It is absolutely everything that I wanted and had in mind.  Please look at and admire the pic below.  Next time you see a PH, regardless of who your child is, please express your awe and amazement at their creation.  This sign will be around A-Co for the foreseeable future and I think they did an awesome job.
  

In case you were wondering, the honor of changing the numbers will go to the fish who showed the most heart on the run.  This might mean that they fell out but met back up later and finished with us, they were encouraging their buddies the whole time, or that they threw up the whole time but hung with us.  As you can tell, the reasons for and the fish picked will change every run.  The first fish selected to turn the numbers was fish Gonzales for her effort every time we run and the drastic improvements she has shown every time we "lace them up."

I haven't posted lately but I wanted to assure you that we were still In Relentless Pursuit of the goals before us.  We are doing well and progressing nicely.  It will be fun to see how the rest of the semester plays out.

GW

P.S.  This past weekend in Auburn I asked the love of my life, Leigh Smalley, to marry me.  I know that I normally don't post personal things on here, but I wanted you to know the reason your child received JP's for the rest of their Corps career.  

Freedom

Everyone is ready for this weekend - our first free one in who knows how long.  It feels like forever.  It drives me insane to hear the turds complaining about not having a weekend off every other week... but that's just part of being in the band.  The turds will never understand what all we do and we still preform at a higher level than they do.

Just so everyone knows - everyone is free as soon as their classes are over on Friday.  We will let everyone know later this week what time they will be expected back.  Please make sure that your cadet arrives back at the correct time. 

The fish of the week is fish Edwards.  She has been doing a great job living fish life and has impressed the upperclassmen.  She will receive her reward of JP's on the next game weekend.

Just to keep everyone up to date we are aver 50 miles.  Although we are behind schedule due to weather and different issues, we (Patrick and I) still think we can make up the miles and meet our goal of 100 miles for the semester.  

Hope everyone has a great week.  Pursue something relentlessly this week.

GW  

FRAGO for stepoff

We are stepping off at 9:15 due to the "Rally to the Guidons" - please plan accordingly.

Everybody is safe and accounted for.  Just one more story to tell everyone about.  "Remember that one time when we sat in Double Dave's for 4 hours in B's..."  Memories.  Gotta love 'em.

GW

LSU BBQ

Hope this post finds everyone doing great.  Sorry, but this post will not be nearly as entertaining as the last one - unless you like to eat.

The Menu 

Pork Loin

Green Beans

Potato Salad

Bread

Water with flavor packets

We are going to be charging 8 dollars for this BBQ.  I know this is a little bit more expensive than we have been charging, but this is one of the best meals we serve.  Last year this was far and away the best BBQ we had.  And we have all the cooks back!  This will be a good one, hope to see everyone there.

In Relentless Pursuit

GW

The first SEC roadtrip

This past weekend was long, thrilling, cold, wet, exciting, miserable, memorable and over all a great experience.  So much stuff happened over two days that I'm not sure where to begin... get ready, because I'm sure this is going to be a long one.

The trip started at 2330 hours (11:00 pm) when we loaded the buses.  We loaded all our stuff under the bus and tried to get comfortable knowing that the next stop was in 9 hours.  At 0000 (midnight) 11 buses pulled out.  That's right I said 11.  I typically sit near the front of the bus on trips; I did that in high school as a football player and I guess old habits die hard.  Sitting close to the front has it's perks, including seeing where we are, being able to see the road, talking to the driver, being in control of the air and tv... and also hearing "I'll catch up, I'm getting stopped" over the CB radios the bus drivers use.  Apparently the last bus ran a red light trying to keep up with the train.  So he got stopped, at midnight, in College Station.  I guess I give policemen to much credit because I thought of all places for the Aggie Band to get stopped on the way to a performance in the middle of the night, it would not be in cstat.  How do you not see the other 10 buses and think "I bet they're going somewhere" and just wave them all through the red light.  Or even better, how about an escort?  Ole Miss provided one for us from where we practiced to the University, about 30 miles, but we can't even get one in College Station.

So when everyone started stirring on Saturday morning, if I remember right, we were in Louisiana about to cross into Mississippi, we (I) decided to watch something on the TV's in the bus.  Guess what?  The bus had satellite, so the A-Co zips and fish got to watch ESPN College Gameday while we ate our snack of muffins. Isn't that a great start to the day after spending all night on a bus?  I know of at least 2 people that were thrilled with channel selection.  It was so awesome that I included a picture.

We arrived at the hotel around 9 and ate like Kings.  It was a full on brunch meaning they served eggs, bacon, and biscuits as well as baked chicken, green beans, corn, pasta salad, rolls and dessert.  It was one of the better meals I've had in a hotel with the Aggie Band.  From here we changed into uniform and got back onto the bus for the next leg of our journey, a 3 hour ride to the high school where we would practice.

When we arrived at the high school 2 things were immediately apparent - 1. it was cold and 2. it was raining.  Either one of those factors by itself would be fine but both at once?  Remember, we were already in uniform - meaning once we got wet, we would be wet the rest of the night.  Good thing every cadet has a raincoat issued to them... of wait all of those were nice and dry back in or rooms.  Oh well, as the saying goes, "when it rains, the Aggie Band gets wet."  The best part about this stop was the Jimmie John's sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies provided on the bus.  The warm bus... in fact, it was so warm it got hot real fast.  As in we were sweating so we had to ask the driver to turn the heater off.  It must be horrible to drive for the Aggie Band, we are hard to please.

To me the game ranks right up there with the Nebraska and Oklahoma games in Kyle Field 2 years ago.  To be losing by 10 with 6ish minutes left in your first SEC road game only to come back and win... Amazing experience.  There were so many reasons to lose that game, the biggest being 6 turnovers, but somehow we found a way.  I thought the band was located in a great spot, probably because the location meant I was able to hang over the railing and feel like I was in the action.  On our second play when we ran for a 60 yard touchdown, we (Corey Broadway, Justin Jones and I) were waving in Ben Malena to score.  You can believe what you want, but we know that he was making eye contact with us as we were telling him to keep coming.  And then Johnny Manziel came down and celebrated with us.  Later in the game Mario Noll and I were yelling at Spencer Nealy to pump him up and he responded by turning around and pointing at us.  I know I sound like a groupie, but it was awesome to be that close to the team and action.

Of course we won halftime.  There's not much to say about that except when we ran up the Ole Miss fans were booing but when we ran off they were standing and cheering.  One guy after the game gave me this big handshake/hug and said "Y'all made our band look like it was a high school. Y'all kicked our ..."  

The 3 hour bus ride back to the hotel had the potential to really stink, but as we were pulling away from the stadium, we started picking up a game on the satilite.  It was the NC State vs. Florida State game.  NC State was unranked and Florida State was #3.  Well, NC State pulled off the upset in the final seconds by converting 3 4th downs on the final drive.  It was really cool because NC State is known as the Wolfpack.  I enjoyed it because it was a good game, but it was neat to hear the whole bus cheering when the Wolfpack won with no time on the clock.

Aside from my room having 5 grown men assigned to it, the night at the hotel was uneventful.

After breakfast, we loaded up to return home.  When we stopped to eat at the Golden Corral in Beaumont, it appeared that they forgot/neglected to hold the restaurant for us, because the parking lot was full of people eating lunch after church.  So instead of getting to eat immediately we had to wait while people cleared out.  After about half the band came through the doors I think the other customers realized that they weren't going to get anymore food so they left pretty quickly.  It wasn't as bad as we expected... especially when we realized they had cotton candy.

We arrived back in College Station around 9 on Sunday night, ready to attack the week.  Well it didn't matter if we were ready or not, Monday was coming quickly.  Like I said at the very beginning, the trip was long, thrilling, cold, wet, exciting, miserable, memorable and over all a great experience.  It might have not been ideal, but it is something we will be talking about for the rest of our lives.  

Hope you have a great rest of the week.

In Relentless Pursuit,

GW  

I need a fish

"I need a fish" is a statement that brings freshmen running.  This statement means a senior needs a fish to help him pull off his boots.  Because senior boots are custom made and knee high, it is close to impossible to remove them by yourself.  Freshmen look forward to pulling senior's boots because it is one of the few times they can truly bond with the upperclassmen.  In addition to getting treats, candy, drinks and small snacks, the seniors typically ask about the fish's day, how things are going and any concerns they may have.  Some of my fondest memories from fish year were pulling boots and being allowed to watch 10 minutes of Sports Center during the day.  One day when you are curious, ask a fish how they actually pull the boots, because there is a method to the madness.  It seems like fish Fry is my personal boot puller because he is the only fish in the dorm when I get back from class every day.  I don't even have to tell him anymore, I just walk by his hole and knock on the door as I go past and he shows up at my room about a minute later.  Freshmen have been pulling senior boots since cadets have been wearing them and I don't see this tradition going away anytime soon. 

In case your cadet hasn't told you, this weekend is going to be crazy.  We are loading the bus at 2330 hours on Friday night.  We are then driving through the night to arrive at a hotel in Mississippi around 0900.  Then we are eating brunch and changing into our uniforms.  At this point we are getting back on the bus for the 3 hour drive to Oxford.  After the game we are driving back to the hotel, arriving around 0130ish and then having breakfast at 0730.  We are then getting back on the bus for the 9 hour drive home.  We are scheduled to arrive around 2000 hours Sunday evening.  And then class again on Monday.  Long busy weekend, but this is how memories are made.

Remember "Today is going to be a good day.  Why?  Cause I said it was."  Same goes for the weekend.

In Relentless Pursuit,

GW

PS - We went on a 4 mile run this morning and are planning on a 5 miler next Wednesday.  The freshmen are catching the upperclassmen's excitement about the run goal.  It really is a honor and joy to lead the block when the Wolf-Pack is on the move.

Weekend update

I'm sure you know, but there is a major chance of rain this weekend.  I'm not sure what will happen with the game, but regardless the BBQ will still go on.  If the rain holds off we will eat outside like normal.  If the weather is not cooperating will will serve the food in the dorm and then you can eat in your cadet's room.  Like with everything else I just ask you to remain flexible and go with the flow.

BTHO rain and hogs 
GW

Arkansas Weekend

Drill - ? (really early)
Fall In - 9:36
Step Off - 9:51
Kick Off - 11:21

BBQ - 5 pm

Menu - $7
Fajitas (Beef and Chicken)
Rice
Beans
2 waters with flavor packets
brownies provided by some of the A-Co moms

We have had great turnouts for the first two BBQ's.  It is awesome to see everyone hanging out enjoying each other.  Compared to last year I think the BBQ's are running very smoothly.  Thank you for being flexible and just going with the flow.

We have started a new thing in A-Co.  Fish and PH of the week.  These are two cadets that have caught the eye of the leadership team in A-Co for their performance during the week.  This week we are honoring fish Heartwell and Jordan Garcia.  Along with the distinction of Fish and PH of the Week, these cadets will be receiving JP's for the entire weekend.  The only people that can revoke these are myself and my First Sergeant.

"It's gonna be a great week.  Know why?  Cause I said it would be."
                                                                            - Garrett Williams '13

BTHO tests and homework
GW

Things happening this weekend

We will be taking band pictures on Sunday at 2:00.  This means your fish will need to be back in the dorm at 1:00.  We are going first so they cannot be late.  There has not been a weekend yet that everyone is back when they need to be.  This weekend is not the time to push the envelope - if they are not present they will not be in the outfit picture.  After we get done taking pictures they will be free until EST starts.  I understand that this might be in the way of you spending all weekend with your freshman, but there is noting I can do about it.  Again, they need to be in the dorm by 1:00 and should be free again by 3:00.  At that point they can do and go where ever as long as they are back by EST.

This Saturday infantry band (A-Co and B-Co) will be responsible for performing at Spirit Walk.  Basically we play and escort the football team into the stadium.  I believe that we will meet in front of Duncan at 3:15 and then make our way to where we form up (the road between G. Rollie and Koldus).  I think that we try to be formed up by 3:30.  

There has been a slight change in the menu for the BBQ.  I believe that we will be have chips again instead of potato salad.  If you were just dying for potatoes, just grab a bag of lays and have it in a different form.

Everything is going well in the Wolf-Pack.  We just took our first PFT of the semester.  Although not everybody did as well as they wanted too, overall I was pleased with our performance.  By the time we see yall this weekend, our run total will be over 20 miles.  We are well on our way to 100.  I hope everyone is having a great week.  Looking forward to seeing everyone.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -  Will Rogers

Be in Relentless Pursuit today.  

GW 

Plan this weekend

Here is the plan for this weekend.

8:00 - Drill
12:00 - BBQ
4:15 - Fall In
4:30 - Step Off
6:00 - BTHO SCS

The menu for the BBQ will be hamburgers, potato salad, corn, and two bottles of water with flavor packets. The cost for this week will be $6 again.  We should have more change this week, so it is not imperative that you have exact change.

As everyone can tell after the Florida game, cstat is not big enough for game weekends.  I know I'm a bit biased but it just makes more sense to me to eat with the outfit than deal with all the people.  Looking forward to having a great turnout this weekend for the BBQ.

Garrett

Getting back up

"Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Oliver Goldsmith

"The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back.  That's real glory.  That's the essence of it." - Vince Lombardi

These are two of my favorite quotes and very applicable to the Corps.  The freshmen will fail, the upperclassmen will fail, I will fail, but the key is getting back up and continuing on.  Being in Relentless Pursuit does not mean quitting if things get tough, it means trying that much harder when they do.  We are all starting to hit the wall, but we will overcome and we will continue on.

GW

The first smoking

     Alright parents, the day of reckoning has arrived.  We have been telling the freshmen that one day they will be held accountable for their actions/inactions.   Tomorrow is that day.  Your freshman will talk about getting "smoked" and how it is the worst thing ever, but I wanted to give yall a warning so you don't freak out from the horror stories I'm sure you will hear soon.
 
     To begin with, we do not just smoke freshmen just for the sake of doing so.  There is always a reason.  Sometimes it is for not following directions, sometimes it is used to refocus the group - but there is always a reason.  No matter how long your fish tells you it lasted, a smoking will not last longer than 15 min.  It might seem like forever, but it is not.  The only exercises authorized during a smoking are pushups, situps, and flutter kicks.  Upperclassmen will do everything they ask the fish to do.  If they tell them to do pushups, there will be 5 seniors, 5 juniors and at least 5 sophomores doing pushups with the freshmen.
 
     Yes it is controlled, yes there will be yelling, yes there will be a lot of sweat, yes the fish will hate it, yes this is normal, yes it is approved, yes the adults know this is happening, yes I will be there, yes we will do it again.  I hope that answers any questions you have or will have after tomorrow morning.  Remember, it will be ok.  I will not put your cadet into a compromising position.  Will they be stretched, challenged and tried?  Yes, more than ever before, but I will not set your fish up for failure. 

     "You can't choose the ways in which you will be tested."
                                                                      - Robert J. Sawyer

In Relentless Pursuit,
Garrett

Midnight yell

The pictures speak for themselves...

Almost here

It's so exciting that football season is fixing to start for Texas A&M.  Everywhere and everyone on campus can only talk about one thing... the first game in the SEC.  Kyle Field is going to be a mad house.  I can only imagine how loud it is going to be during the game.  But the part that is always the best to me is when we form up in the end-zone.  The stadium has been respectfully enduring the visiting team's band, but when they realize that we are stating to fall in everyone starts rising out of their seats and cheering.  It is so hard to describe, but one of the best feelings ever.  And the only people that ever have or ever will experience it are BQ's.  It is such an honor to march halftime with the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band and on Saturday 30 more people will know exactly what I am talking about.  It is going to be an awesome experience for everyone involved and one that everyone will remember for a long time... the first halftime as a member of the SEC.  Starting Saturday the SEC will start to realize what the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is all about.  As I said before, everyone is super excited... including the fish.  I included a picture to show you just how excited they actually are.

Please be flexible this weekend.  We have a lot of commitments with College Gameday and no one is entirely sure what all will happen.  If you can see your kid before fall in great, but please don't be banking on that.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone and starting football season off right.

BTHO florida,
Garrett

More hair cut pics

These are all the pictures I had on my phone from haircuts.  I will work on getting some more out in the future.  As you can tell, the first haircut is done by a real barber... but the longer fish year goes, the more your old lady starts looking like the real deal. Especially with the price of haircuts...

Game day BBQ and times

Game day schedule (times subject to change without notice)
     - morning drill (not sure on the exact times yet, the directors haven't told us)
     - 12:25 first call
     - 12:40 fall in
     - 1:00 step off
     - 2:30 kickoff
     - BBQ immediately following game/victory yell (I'm hoping that we are eating by 7:30, but it might be later) on the basketball courts behind Dorm 9.

BBQ
     After much discussion, we have decided to have the outfit BBQ after the game on Saturday night.  I know that this might mean a late night, but with the game being early afternoon, we felt that there might not be enough time before the game to cook, set up, eat, and clean up and still not feel rushed.  It was probably doable, but I don't think that it is necessary to feel stressed out about something if we can avoid it.  I understand if you need to leave right after the game in order to make it home.  Hopefully our remaining games will be either earlier in the day or later, just not right in the middle.

     The menu for the first BBQ - cost 6 dollars
           2 hotdogs
           Chili
           Beans
           Chips
           2 bottles of water with flavor packets
     I really wanted to make sure the first BBQ was simple so we could ensure that it would be prepared and ready when everyone showed up after the game.

     One thing that will be different than previous BBQ's.  Instead of waiting for most of the group to show up before starting serving, this week we will begin serving at a certain time and as people show up they can pay and get their food.  This is to allow people the chance to eat quickly and leave if they need to.  I'm probably going to shoot for serving 30 min after the last event ends, whether that is the game or victory yell, but I will decide a final time later.  If you don't hear a final time by game time, ask the your cadet because we will at least tell the outfit Saturday morning.
 
     Also, part of me thinks that 6 dollars is kind of steep for 2 hotdogs, but we are having to purchase permits to serve food this year and this allows us to cover the price without dipping into outfit funds.  I have told everybody that the point of outfit BBQ's is not to make a ton of money, but I would like to turn a small profit each week in order to help pay for outfit activities later in the year.  For example, when we go play paintball as an outfit, we might buy paint for everyone and the only cost to your cadet will be the entrance and gun fee.

I hope this answered more questions than it created.  Look forward to seeing everybody this weekend.

In Relentless Pursuit,
Garrett

    

First Week

I hope everyone is enjoying the last day of the week before the weekend.  I know I am.  Thank you for being understanding about the schedule for the schedule this weekend.  Things are going good, the fish are starting to really pick up what we are teaching.  We still have a ways to go, but progress is being made.  fish Lopez really impressed the upperclassmen (mainly me) at chow this morning.  If that is your child, maybe mention to him that you heard he was standing up, sitting down and busing really well in Duncan this morning.  I already told him as well as the rest of the fish class that what he was demonstrating this morning was what we were looking for, but it might be cool if his parents mentioned it as well.  Keep encouraging your kids; they will make it and be better because of it.

In Relentless Pursuit,

Garrett

9/1 - 9/2

fish parents, this upcoming weekend will be an A-Co focus weekend for the freshmen.  This means that the freshmen cadets will remain in College Station.  A-Co will start off Saturday morning with a run followed by a recap of the skills learned during FOW (making bags, wiring uniforms, etc.) as well as learning a few new aspects of cadet life.  After training is over, upperclassmen will be available to answer specific questions about academic matters (how to study for certain profs, etc.).  This weekend will be run by the 1st SGT Patrick Casey and the PSG's (platoon sergeants).  Every other member is invited to attend, but not required.  This is not something I just came up with on the fly, but has been approved by the Combined Band Commander.  The cadets will be free around 12:30 on Saturday, but I would ask you not take them home for the remaining time.  Not only do they have to be back at 11:30 on Sunday morning, but we are just getting over being homesick and seeing everyone/thing again would set us back to square one.  It should be a very beneficial weekend to all involved.  We had these a lot at the end of last year and they were very well received by freshmen as well as upperclassmen.

First Run

For those of you keeping track of our mileage total, check off 2.5.  We lost a few fish, but they all joined back up after we turned around.  I was extremely happy with the results of the run today.  We ran at about a 7:50 min/mile pace with only a handful of fish fall out.  I told the fish that when we get to the level we want to be, this will just be a quick warm-up.  We are not there yet, but we will get there.

Don't forget to be in an attitude of relentless pursuit as you attack the day.  Don't let the day come and happen; go and pursue it.  Don't be passive, be active!  That is my challenge to you today.

Psalm 32:8
Garrett
 

Testing the waters

There is really no explanation to this post. I'm seeing if this will be acceptable. If it is fine expect a few more pictures over the next few days. Obviously this is the day your freshmen started looking like fish. I tried to choose group pics so maybe everyone could see their kid. If you can't don't worry there will be more pictures later. Enjoy and have a great day.
Garrett

First day of class

     Today is the day everyone has been waiting for... or maybe dreading.  At this time most of the freshmen have attended or are on the way to their first class.  It is definitely an eye opening experience.  I remember my first class as I sat down with more people than went to my entire high school.  In the span of about 4 classes I had been in the same room with more people than my town's population.  I know I'm from a very small town, but I don't think anybody is ready for a history class with 350+. 

     

     Just so you know, FOW is over, meaning that we will only be doing Corps activities from about 5:30 until 8:30ish am.  After that the rest of the day, barring evening formation, is personal/academic time.  I would be willing to bet that most of the stress in the next week will be from class and not the Corps.  

     As soon as we know for sure times for the Florida game on Sept 8th I will give everyone the BBQ times.  These BBQ's are not required by any means, but I would encourage you to attend a few.  The guys that cook for us do a great job.  Remember the goal is not to make a huge profit, so the prices will fluctuate between 6-10 dollars per person depending on what we are serving.  The first game prices will be on the low end of the scale, so please if you are in town join us for the BBQ.  Also keep in mind that College Station was not designed for game day traffic, so eating with the outfit saves a lot of time and traffic stress.  Not to mention every restaurant being extremely crowded.  I know I'm biased, but I think that outfit BBQs are the best option for food on gameday weekends.   

       I have informed the fish that although they made it through FOW, they have not made it yet.  They will have made it when they march 2nd pass of final review.  I gave them my word that I will be their commander until the very end, and in turn have their word that they will be fish until 2nd pass.  The moment we think we have made it, we tend to get complacent.  And I hate complacency!  That is why the outfit will be in Relentless Pursuit as long as I am in charge.  I refuse to let my people be ok with just settling.  We are striving for excellence. 

     We have a goal of running 100 miles as an outfit this semester.  We haven't been able to go on an outfit run yet... but that changes on Wednesday.  We will be running somewhere between 2.5-3 miles.  This is something that the outfit is really excited about, and something the freshmen will learn to be excited about.  I ended outfit meeting last night with this quote.  "Better get your running shoes tied tight, cause we're hitting it on Wednesday." - Garrett Williams

In Relentless Pursuit 

Garrett

 

Boom...

And just like that the "biggest secret on the Quad" was out.  At 10 o'clock Parson fired the canon and chaos ensued.  Well, at least for five minutes.  Last night your fish experienced one of the most memorable things in the Cadet Corps.  AIROUT.  Nobody breathes a word about airout until the night it happens.  The freshmen are put to bed thinking that the day is over only to be woken up to loud music and lots of yelling.  Believe it or not, but this is the one time that the upperclassmen really get to be loud when dealing with the fish.  Everybody looks forward to it, in fact, I would be willing to bet that your fish already has plans for next year.

Now that I have caused you to wonder why you thought the Corps was a good thing and why you entrusted your child to me let me explain some things.  Yes we were loud and yelled at your fish in the middle of the night.  Yes they didn't know what was going on and might have been scared.  But this event symbolizes the culmination of FOW.  They made it.  Aside from a few meetings today and the review tomorrow, your fish is now truly a cadet in the Corps.  Is there a lot of work still to be done? Yes, but they made it.

After the initial shock of being yelled at while sleeping wears off, the fish were taken to the end of the Quad where they had a fish yell practice and got to have a good time with their buddies.  Following the yell practice, the freshmen ate watermelon and cookies with the zips behind the dorm.  It was and always will be an extremely fun and vivid memory.

Talk to your fish about it... in fact, I would encourage you to talk to your fish about the experiences they are having , not the standard "how are you today? hope it's not to hard."  Ask them specifics about actually what is going on.  Don't waste your time with "is it hard?" because if I have my way it will be.  It will be tough, demanding, draining, and hard, but it will also be enriching, teaching, developing, and memorable.  

Remember, for me, it's about way more than the Corps.

1 Cor 9:24-27
Garrett

 

FRAGO

Your freshman will be free tomorrow from 5:00 pm or (whenever drill ends) until 9:45.  On Saturday, they will be free after the fish review.  There will not really be anytime before to hang out.  You might get to see your fish in passing, but we will be working hard to get the freshman ready for the review so no promises.  Have a great day.

Garrett

Howdy, fish __________ is my name...

     "Howdy, fish _________ is my name sir!"

     Tonight was the night all of my buddies have been waiting for.  Tonight was when we got to meet our fish.  We have been waiting for this day since we were fish ourselves.  And let me tell you it was as awesome as we had imagined it.

     Before the whipout party, the day had been pretty mediocre.  Drill, some training, meetings for me, and eating.  Pretty normal stuff, and then... the highlight of the day, perhaps the week.  It's always fun to meet and interact with your zips, but it gets really fun when you take into account where we were.  I'll give you a picture hint.

     In case you can't read the writing it says Kyle Field.  That's right, Kyle Field.
 
     Tonight I led your children into the stadium to meet all of my buddies.  The first time they stepped onto Kyle Field it was to meet us.  That means the world to us.  Let me assure you that it is something we do not take lightly.  Tonight your child gained 10 more protectors, overseers, mentors, leaders, caretakers, and every other role I have been filling up to now.  My buddies have met their fish and it is a very high honor to them.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Williams sir!"

It's going to be a good year.

Garrett

FOW Review

     Fish review is going to be at 9:00 Saturday morning at Simpson Drill Field.  After that your cadet will be free until 11:45am on Sunday.  Please ensure that they are back NLT 11:45 because we have to turn in accountability shortly after that.  Normally I would have them back sooner than that to make sure everyone is on time, but I  want yall to have the max amount of time with them as well.  So I'm asking you to PLEASE make sure your child is back by the correct time.  If this fails to happen, they will have to report back earlier next time.
     Please keep in mind, the fish are starting to hit their first wall... they need encouragement from you, not pity.  The Corps is a learning experience, in fact, I'm learning more now than I did any of the other years combined.  Granted I'm learning different things and skills, but i'm still learning.
     I know this entry was pretty short, but it's late and we have a PFT at 0530 tomorrow morning.  I'll make it up to you later, but I at least wanted to get the times out to you.

Garrett

The start of something new

In processing - check.  Room assignment - check.  Meet old lady - check.  Learn music, March with Band, Get goose bumps while playing Noble Men - check, check, check.  The next logical step in the life of the fish BQ's is to get a haircut.  And boy do some of them need one.  Starting tomorrow at 1230, your children will look like squared away Q's for the next 4 years.  I want to remind you that I will be taking pictures of the event, but will be unable to post them until later.  I would also like to inform you that the road is fixing to get harder for your cadet.  Thus far in FOW we have been focused on academics; starting tomorrow that focus will shift to the corps.  Your freshmen will meet their direct trainers, the "dreaded pissheads", tomorrow.  I would like to assure you that the horror stories you have heard will not be true in my outfit.  Yes the heads will have high standards, but so do I.  They will expect more out of your kid than your kid even does out of himself, but so do I.  They will be stern, but I will at times this year as well.  The point I am making is that the "mean pissheads" are leaders that have the freshmen's best interest at heart, just like I do.  Although I  trust the cadre with anything, I assure you my first sergeant and I will still be very present.  Please do not worry about how your child is being treated.  We will treat everyone fairly and with respect.  It's a growing process and sometimes you child will not like what they are going to hear, but they will not be disrespected.  I would like to remind you, if you ever have any concerns about anything please let me know.

In other news, we have received the time for the Florida game, it will be at 2:30.  We will have a BBQ that first game, but my leadership team and I are still deciding if we want to do it before or after the game.  The tentative menu is something really simple like hamburgers and hot dogs with chips and drinks.

I've included a quote that I think applies to all classes within the Corps, as well as life after.
"Be miserable.  Or motivate yourself.  Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice." -Wayne Dyer

Garrett

Couple of Issues

     First of all let me say that all of your children are doing well.  Today, we were actually marching on the drill field.  Although the freshmen didn't have their instruments it was still really cool as they "marched" as a member of the Aggie Band for the first time.  I'm not sure what all the fish thought, but I know that most of the Bugle Rank had chill bumps when we turned for the first time and saw everyone behind us... Wow.  Mario, my old lady (we also march on Bugle Rank beside each other), made the comment as we were marching "That was so cool!"  I know I keep saying it, but today might have been more fun for the leadership in the band than for the freshmen.  However, the fish will get to play the War Hymn and attempt to march at the same time for the first time tomorrow.  I still remember that day three years ago.  My greatest memory in the Aggie Band goes to marching on Kyle Field for the first time, but my most vivid memory was the first time I marched up and down Joe T. Haney drill field playing the War Hymn and Noble Men.  Make sure you ask your kid about it because it will probably be the highlight of FOW.
   
     Issues (not pertaining to fish)
     The first issue is that I have noticed that the time stamp on this blog is about two hours behind when I actually post.  Not sure why this happens, but in my last post I mentioned that the freshmen were all in bed and I was heading to practice.  It was not 8:53, but actually 10:53.  Just wanted to mention it in case anyone was wondering why their kid was getting to sleep so much in the Corps. haha

     Just a reminder that the Outfit dues are $35 and Band dues are $15.  If you haven't paid, it's not a big deal I just didn't want it to be a surprise later in the year when your kid starts asking for more money.

     I'm sorry that I am unable to post pictures of FOW, but I'm having to follow Corps policy.  Although I'm pretty sure that I will be able to post outfit related pictures on here after FOW, I'm still in the process of confirming that.  Because I can't post pictures of the fish, I thought I would include a picture of myself in meetings.

Hope that will suffice until I can get some pictures of people you really want to see on here.

It's going to be a great year and I can't wait to get started.

Garrett

Well, day one of FOW 2012 is in the books.  Everyone is in bed and I'm headed off the bugle rank practice... it's going to be a long night.  Just wanted everyone to know - your fish are fine.  They have a pretty taxing day of meetings tomorrow... the challenge will be to stay awake in all of them.  I enjoyed talking with everyone this afternoon and am looking forward to getting to know everyone better in the future.  I wanted to wrap up today with the quote that my mom used in her discussion.  "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing it scared." -Jill Briscoe

Garrett 

In Relentless Pursuit

     If you are around this outfit for any amount of time this year you will probably hear the phrase "In Relentless Pursuit."  I thought I would explain a little of the background behind this saying and motto.

     Last year shortly after I learned I would be commander, I read this story on Mike Powell in Sport Illustrated (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1194725/1/index.htm).  I remember thinking after reading that article, "If only I could bring that mindset to my outfit."  So I printed out several copies of the article, using all my ink in the process, and distributed them around the outfit.  I also sent the link out to cadets that would be stepping into leadership roles this year.  The mindset change had to be initiated at the top if it was to gain any traction.  The three words "In Relentless Pursuit" kept looping over and over in my mind over the course of the next few days.  I remember thinking, "If the outfit stayed in a mindset of relentless pursuit all the time and applied it to everything we do, we would be pretty unstoppable."

       The other thing that helped to inspire this attitude of Relentless Pursuit is 1st Corinthians 9:24 - "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win."  To me this Bible verse is an encouragement not to grow complacent, to not settle for anything other than all you have to give.  If you have an attitude of Relentless Pursuit you are not going to settle for something less than your best. 

     Parents of upperclassmen cadets, you heard me talk about this last year.  I just wanted to reassure you that nothing has changed; we will still be putting everything we have into everything we do.

     New fish parents, I hope you like the motto, because you will hear me say it a lot this year.  I hope that your child takes it to heart, because when it comes down to it - there is more at stake here than the Corps.  I am trying to set your child up for life.  This whole thing is bigger than the Corps. I understand that it doesn't always seem like that and that your kid will tell you otherwise, but we (the upperclassmen) really do care about the future of your child.  And not just the future as in the next year.  We are trying to develop young men and women who will be successful in life, not just the Corps.

     My challenge to you today, August 14, is to find something in your life to Relentlessly Pursue... because tomorrow August 15 at 2:30 the Wolf-Pack will begin our Pursuit.  

Garrett

   

It's good to be back

Nothing in the world smells quite like new dorm.

One last time

     It seems like just yesterday that I was headed down to College Station to begin my career in the Corps of Cadets.  I had no idea that my journey would include Guidon bearer, Aggie Band load crew, First Sergeant, Ross Volunteer, Bugle Rank and A-Company Commander.  It has been a great ride so far and I cannot wait for this year to start and see what is in store.  The freshmen will arrive on Wednesday and by that afternoon we will already be in Relentless Pursuit of our goals.  This is an exciting time for me and the rest of A-Company as we await the freshmen's arrival. 

     Parents of incoming freshmen - your child is about to receive a mindset change.  This process will be hard and tiring, but it will be worth it.  I do not settle in my personal life and I do not expect your child to either.  I have high expectations for my outfit, but I will always be fair.  I give you my word, I will always be fair.

     I will be using this blog as a way to keep you informed of what is happening and going on in your kid's life as well as explaining the purpose of what we are trying to achieve.  This will also be a place that I share my heart in order for you to learn about me.  Sometimes I will be brief and talk only about the plan and upcoming events, but other times I will share my experiences.  I think that this blog has the potential to be a very powerful tool for me and a very valuable resource for you as parents.  I am looking forward to meeting everyone and getting this year started.

In Relentless Pursuit,
Garrett Williams