Beginning of BCT Week 2
Hello Families!
It is hard to believe that a week ago we were in-processing this class. I got to spend today at the dentist. Not personally, but I was there with Executioners and Demons. We also covered Barbarians and a few Hellcats in the Cadet Store. Note... We expected to get a lot more Hellcats this morning, but they came and went earlier than they were scheduled and we missed them. (Grrr?) We will make that up to you Hellcat families next week. I love covering the dental clinic. It is one of the few places that the Basics are really at rest and where we get those genuine smiles during BCT 1.
If you are a family of Demons, Executioners, Barbarians, or Flying Tigers, you have probably been feeling the WebGuy photo love. Other squadrons like Guts, not so much. We have heard via our Facebook and Email accounts from both groups. We have tried to respond individually to those of you who have taken the time to write, positive and negative. With that being said, I would like to once again reassure you that it will all come out pretty even coverage wise in the end. I know that is little comfort right now to those of you who may have trouble understanding why it seems like we have taken multiple photos of some basics and almost none of others. Let me explain once again. During BCT 1, there are only certain activities that we are allowed to cover. Here is a basic (no pun intended) list. Cadet Store, Dental Clinic, Clothing Issue, Tailor Shop, Noon Meal Formation, Intramurals, PFT, BCT Heritage Tour, Terrazzo Drill training, Field Day, and a few others. There are many other activities that we are not allowed to cover for various good reasons, either security, privacy concerns, or Cadet Wing Training Integrity. We support these constraints.
BCT squadrons do not typically do activites as a full squadron. They do most things as a flight (A-E), so they may not all go to the Cadet Store at one time. They may go by flight at different times over several hours or days. As I have said before, WebGuy photographers have been granted a great deal more access across the Academy than most "media", but during BCT when were want to photograph activities in the Cadet Area (inside the gates where a access card is required for entry), we have to be "escorted" by a Public Affairs Person. We can have all the photographers we want, but there are only a limited number of escorts, so we are limited by their numbers. So, if say Guts and Aggresors are both doing something we want to cover in different locations at the same time, we have to choose which to cover because we only get one escort. That's what we live with. That's why we can't cover every squadron every day. It's not that we don't want to. Despite that, we have still managed to take thousands of photos so far. I know that's way too much info for some of you, but many of you have no prior military experience and by some of your comments I get the feeling that you think we just arbitrarily choose to exclude some squadrons. It is not that at all. We live within the military system and now you do to.
So, there you go. Many of you have told me that you like the straight answer and now you have it. Thanks to all for taking the time to write both positive and negative. We read every post. Thanks to all who have offered goodies. No offer is refused. The typical BCT WebGuy day lasts about 16 hours and your food and goodie contributions sustain us. I am particularly partial to Skittles (just sayin) and WebHatter has an affinity to anything homemade. Come to think of it, so do I. We share everything with all our hardworking photographers.
In the next week, the squadrons who have not felt the WebGuy photo love will have their cups running over. We will cover Guts alone at least 3 times next week, but every squadron will be covered individually at least seven times before they March out to Jack's Valley, so there is still a lot of coverage to come.
All the photos from today are up in the BCT 1 galleries. If you are looking just at a particular squadron, then there are new photos for Barbarians, Demons, Executioners, & Flying Tigers today. For you Hellcats, there are about 30 photos from the Cadet Store this morning intermixed with the Barbarians from today. Too few to pull out separately, but they are there. Tomorrow I will preview the weekend, and Summary Sunday will have videos galore and some cadre photos and anything else we can throw in. Sorry this blog has no cool photos, but I am out of gas and need to eat. There are plenty of cool photos in galleries however.
Enjoy!!