Physical Readiness Test... aka PRT

So this Saturday, in a mere 3 days, the United States Naval Academy will be running its "spring" PRT. For some this test is a walk in the park, for others its the worst day of the semester, with the exception of the Electrical Eng II final. Some will get surprised and find that they did not pass the run or another portion of the test, and others will surprise themselves and perform personal bests.

I fall under the category of once was a PRT super star, scoring a 95 coming out of plebe summer to at the point in time, am unsure whether I will pass. It is truly sad to say these things and I am embarrassed. However, it is not b/c I'm out of shape, ok a little but I'm in good enough shape to pass, I am unsure of whether or not my knee is going to allow me to complete the run fast enough.

The PRT is a simple test, but I challenge you all to try it and see if you are deemed physically fit, by the Navy stardards and then see if you qualify as "fit" by USNA standards.

At USNA in order to pass, a male must do 65 sit-ups, and 40 push-ups in 2 minutes, with a 1 minute break between the exercises where they test your sit and reach ability (passing is touching your toes). Then you jog out the starting line for the 1.5 mile run which must be completed in 10:30 sec. Again those are the minimums, and I honestly never have heard of anyone not passing push-ups or sit-ups before. In order to attain a 100% you need to do 101 push-ups, 101 sit-ups and run 8:15. My personal best I did 97, 101, 8:50. Last prt I did 101, 101, 9:45. I am expecting the same results this time around, hopefully.

The fleet standards are much different, and in my opinion are a joke. 58 sit-ups, 48 push-ups and 12 min mile half. A "100" is 105, 87, 8:30.


So get out there and see if you meet the Navy's fitness standards! But rememberbe honest with your scoring b/c your only cheating yourself

Honor

One of the defining features of the United States Naval Academy is the Midshipman's Honor Concept. Sure some schools have statements that no one really even knows about, saying not to cheat and what not. Here at USNA, our Honor Concept was developed by the Midshipman in order to uphold a higher standard and to prepare use for our future role as an officer in the Fleet and Marine Corps. Originally written by Ross Perot, the concept has been refined throughout the years and currently reads:

"Midshipman are persons of integrity: They stand for that which is right" They tell the truth and ensure that the full truth is known. They do not lie. They embrace fairness in all actions. They ensure that work submitted as their own is their own, and that assistance received from any source is authorized and properly documented. They do not cheat. They respect the property of others and ensure that others are able to benefit from their own property. They do not steal.

I have the honor of being apart of the Honor Staff this semester serving as 2/C Representative for my company. It the lowest level in the actual Honor chain of command, but I am involved more than I was expecting to be. I am currently working on a case of 3 sophomores in my company who are being investigated and will most likely be charged with an honor offense. But being involved I am starting to formulate my own opinions on the whole situation. These 3 guys have all admitted to what they did, and if you ask me, what they did doesn't require the attention they are receiving. They admitted to the lie minutes after it happened, but because of two people's frustration and inability to handle the situation they just forward it up to the company officer and senior enlisted. Its not like those 2 are about to be officers really freaking soon, so why not just pass a piddly insignificant case up to LT and Gunny, great idea.

But what gets me is I feel that since LT and Gunny already have a predisposed opinion on these 3, because they aren't perfect midshipman, they are goofballs, they are slamming them. There has been talk of forwarding all the way up to the Brigade level, this is where they talk about kicking kids out!! I know of a lot worst honor cases that didn't even go past the company level, but yet these three who admitted to what they did almost immediately and being threatened with being kicked out, are you kidding me?!

How can their case be fair is you are judging them on what you think about them and not on what they did?

Faith of a Centurion

So this week, I began reading Matthew with two of my closest friends at the Academy. It all kinda happened by surprise as I was walking in to ask them for homework help (they are the other 2 systems engineers in my company) and they were pulling out their bibles to read. I asked if I could join them. Its been a while since I opened my Bible. I kinda lost my faith when my family lost a Church, I still don't know if I've found what I believe about the Church and all that, but I know that whenever two or more are gathered together He is there. I know that even just the last two nights of quiet reading out loud of the Gospel has helped me begin my journey of finding... essentially finding myself again.

"And to the centurion Jesus said, 'Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.' " - Matthew 8:13


On another topic... I am sick, which really stinks, b/c I didn't have any energy today and I wasn't able to work out tonight like I had been the last few weeks. Ten days until the PRT and I still am unsure of my knees abibilty to complete the run :(

Tuesday Morning Ass Whooping

So this semester i dread Tuesdays. Why? Because every Tuesday from 7:50 till 8:40 I get my ass kicked in martial arts class, but not because I don't know what I am doing. I get paired with bigger, stronger guys who basically muscle out of whatever choke I attempt to put them in and then just smother me with their weight. Or I'll get paired with a seasoned wrestler that just knows how to torque someone's body in painful directions.

But hey, it makes my next hour nap that much better!!

first time is never the best time... sometimes

So... this is it... after reading several different blogs for the past few months, I've decided that I need to start a blog ... if for nothing else but to ramble away my thoughts of a day. Right now though, I am studying for two exams that I have tomorrow, so really this is more or less a procrastination effort.

So you'll probably hear from me soon, but I am gonna mess around and edit things up a little bit then maybe go back to studying (especially seeing how I haven't even begun studying for my econ test).