My name is Kate Polesnak, and I am an Air Force ROTC cadet. This summer, I am spending 28 days in the grueling heat of Panama City, Fla. But I'm not there to pick up guys or play beach volleyball — I will be at Tyndall Air Force Base for field training. While I am away, I will have no access to a phone. I won't be able to leave the base or receive any visitors. This is to keep my focus solely on field training activities. The communication I will have with the rest of the world is via good, old fashioned, written letters. My correspondence with The State News is a way for me to communicate with all of you what it's like to undergo military training as an Air Force ROTC cadet. My experiences do not necessarily reflect those of other cadets or the U.S. Air Force.
During the course of our lives, we prepare ourselves for the events that have the potential to change who we are — classes, job interviews, relationships and trips.
There is something I'm preparing for that millions have experienced and many more never will.
Field training. It sounds like I'll be cutting grass with a machete out in Nebraska.
But I'll actually be undergoing intensive military training in hopes of becoming an Air Force officer.
To prepare, my focus has been on studying my Field Training Manual — full of fun facts like how to fold towels and how to space hangers in a closet — and physical training. But the most important things to prepare aren't my biceps or long-term memory — they're my mind and emotions. Being put under the stress of getting things done quickly while tired and hot is a lot harder when officers are yelling at you.
Field training is meant to test my leadership skills in a high-stress environment with people I've never met and without the comforts of home.
That means this coffee and ice cream addict will stay "clean" for a whole month — not by choice of course.
Field training is also going to "stratify me among my peers."
Rank. In a list of 20 or 30 cadets, I will be given a number. My rank is dependent on physical training, drill performance and most importantly — and subjectively — what my flight training officer and fellow cadets think about my leadership and character.
The hardest part about this is to not think about it.
What sets apart a cadet getting ready for field training from the average college student?
When I went home this weekend, I had to ask my parents for money. But, unlike many college kids, I didn't need money for a car payment or groceries — I needed socks. Good, thick, black socks.
People ask me if I am scared.
The answer is "no." They can't kill me. I trust the older cadets and officers who have trained me up to this point.
My mind is a mixture of nerves and excitement. I'm hoping the excitement will prevail. One can only hope.
With all the warnings and advice that have been launched at me, a few key phrases stuck in my mind.
"Whatever flaws you have will come out at field training."
This isn't saying "if" you have a flaw or your flaws "might" be evident.
No one likes to experience failure or a big mistake. I'm nervous about which flaws will show the most and how they'll affect my performance.
But there is the glimmer of excitement — the excitement of meeting new people and becoming one big, happy and sometimes dysfunctional family — the excitement of hitting a milestone, the excitement of a challenge.
A unique aspect of my experience is that I am the only cadet from MSU going to Tyndall for field training. Other cadets will go to different sessions or different camps. I will be entering a sea of strangers in a strange place with strange practices.
One of my friends will be there, but we won't be chummy ol' pals for a month. He is a cadet training assistant, an officer's helper in getting on cadets' tails and yelling at them.
It's a dynamic that many people won't go through or understand. Taking orders from friends at field training, and then placing orders for pizza with friends when I get home are two totally different lives.
Field training is the only federal requirement to become an Air Force officer. It may not be fun or glorious, but it is something I will do, hopefully cherish and eventually understand.
Remember, as you are enjoying your summer, I will be waking up at 4 a.m., eating meals in 10 minutes, wearing combat boots and yelling "Yes, sir!"
By the time anyone reads this, I will already be in Florida, sandwiched between flight mates, under the unavoidable, grimacing eyes of officers and older cadets.
To hear more of my gripes, sorrows and successes, look for future letters from field training.
