You're in the Army now!!

Well, I survived. It was mainly Aspie Hell with lots of group discussions and individual presentations and meeting strangers and being asked questions on the spot, but I made it through the Familiarisation and Assessment weekend so that I can be a leader in the Army Cadet Force when we start a detachment at school.

There were some good bits.. mainly AFTER my presentation on the CMA and my interview with the Commandant. The admin in the field sessions were fun.. the ration packs are awesome.. about 4.5k calories! and some of the training officers are funny and friendly (and a couple are complete SW geeks!).

Was good for me to go through it. I'm hoping doing all this will make me more confident and also maybe get me qualified to be a climbing instructor, and give me a chance to get outdoors and play. There are some things I need to remember (and Paul will remind me of if he ever reads this) .. Kris is still baffled.. "I don't know what you said to the Colonel but he's well impressed with you!" Apparently I passed, with some of the best marks in the group. I must remember what the Col said to me.. that I am clearly a very capable woman, who has achieved a lot. He understood how hard the weekend was for me, and how hard I've had to work to achieve all that I have. Next time I'm tempted to wimp out and stay in watching tv I have to remind myself that it's all going to be worth it one day. He also said that his staff said that although I was quiet, and didn't say a lot in the group discussions, what I did say was really worth saying. I didn't ever speak just for the sake of saying anything, it was always important and relevant. So, good to know, that it's not about just seeming like you are super confident and have a lot to say, you just have to make sure you get it out when its important.

Was great to get to know Ant and Jon, and Kris over the weekend, and to find out that the Army guys do have a sense of humour. However I may still be the fastest ever to get thrown out for dissention... as we were leaving Major F invited the HP3 to the LNR Annual Dinner... black tie... I am NOT wearing a dress. The deal at the moment is that Kris has permission to use his big shiny stick for persuasion purposes. I have a better idea of NOT GO.