Day 30/194

Tuesday, Week 5!
It is officially March! We made it through month one, and it feels like a milestone was achieved! I dropped my Jeep off for an oil change and to update a few recalls in the morning. Even though I knew Kev's phone would be off, I text him to let him know. Mr. Soon To Be Officer has been relentlessly reminding me to service my car, so I had to let him know it was finally done! Kev always drives when he is home because he believes the man should drive his lady around;) However, lately he has been checking my vehicle system information to see what needs to be serviced and I think the red warning notices were driving him nuts inside. Well babe, it's handled!! I can't wait for him to check it when he comes home this weekend and sees the oil level is perfect and all green lights!

Anyhow, Kev didn't call me until 8:30 PM. I hate when he has long nights and I don't hear from him all day. He said the staff officers "highly suggested" earlier in the week that they practice PMA and the different baton draw techniques they had learned, so the company commander rounded them up in the gym at 5:50 AM to practice for a half hour. After PMA practice and breakfast they went out to the drill pad to practice marching and formation for Wednesday's Fountain Ceremony. Upon arriving at the drill pad they were told to "open your rank" which Kev said means they take a few coordinated steps to open up the lines of groups. This meant surprise inspections! Kev said it was another massacre. Kev's particular favorite was the guy with a single chest hair poking out of his collar who had to write a gig for "nasty chest hair." Then Kev said he heard the biggest officer yell his last name. He said the officer was looking for him... for no particular reason, but to give him a little endearing attention. Kev addressed him and the officer came over to inspect his uniform. Kev's boots and brass passed. Then the officer quizzed him, and asked Kev the mission of the CHP. Kev recited the mission perfectly. He said he felt great as the officer walked away, until he stopped turned back to him and gigged him. Kev said the officer looked him up and down one more time and then yelled at him for discolored pants - the pants issued by the uniform service the CHP employs! Kev was asked how many pants he has (7) and was then gigged for "poor judgement" when selecting his pants this morning. By the end of inspections, Kev said only a few guys didn't get a gig. However, Kev said he felt good about the incident today. It took the shake up of the lunch time incident last week to get his mind right. This time, he said he was focused, collected, answered correctly, and didn't shake when being yelled at or writing his gig. We talked about how it's good to get gigs and feel out of your comfort zone, because that's the only way to learn to manage a situation of that intensity. He said the guys who slip by without gigs don't necessarily learn the same lesson. We also figured that the real reason they are more lax on the seniors is because by that time they can fully manage themselves in the situation and it is less fun for the staff. The lesson was already learned. Well, that's our theory at least and Kev just progressed in that direction!

After inspections and lunch, he went to class to learn enforcement tactics on how to arrest someone and read their demeanor. He really likes this class and said after watching a scenario video he did well answering a few questions about the scenario and was commended by the instructor. He had his lawful arrest test after and thinks he did really well. This was the one that was supposed to be challenging. His quad also finally met their assigned staff officer who is supposed to act as a counselor for the cadets. He had been on vacation and apparently has another month vacation scheduled soon. Kev liked seeing first hand how much potential vacation time is in his future, and I liked hearing it :) He also got his first paycheck! To wrap up Tuesday, they shined the brass around the academy and had a fire drill when the EVOC class set off the alarm from the smell of burning tires! Kev loved today. Even though it was a long day and he was gigged, he felt accomplished and "OUTSTANDING"! He is clearly picking up the staff officers' lingo and perhaps enjoying the academy a little too much!

- Mimi