AIRHORN! "GET OUT IN THE BAY AIRHORN MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!" AIRHORN WHISTLE AIRHORN!!!

Since I was ready for PT, getting up was no problem when they woke us up encampment style 5 minutes later. Lights were on, my eyes weren’t adjusted, but the shock really wasn’t there. At this point during the week, you could have dropped a bomb next to me and I’d have said "Wow, that’s some draft we got here." I couldn’t be surprised. I moved with a feigned urgency down the stairs.

Outside, we were assembling into flights. A lot of screaming and a lot of me not caring any more, but moving just the same. Then it got real quiet. No one said a word for a minute as Imbriale marched out in front, and ordered "Staff! Congratulate your Cadets!" Since I was in the front row, I nearly fell down laughing, but I held it in, while I shook hands with Benton, Johanson, Lt Hickman, and Lt Liu’s hands. After a minute of congratulations, the squadron staff went behind Imbriale. Imbriale gave a speech about how great we were for volunteering ourselves for this.

During breakfast one day, Imbriale pulled me out of the line. He then muttered… something. I heard "...bullets go whizzing over your head..." but that was it. Then he said, "Hooah?" I started to ask what he had said, but he cut me off with another "Hooah?"

So I said "Hooah!" and he walked away. When I got back my spot in line, Gura asked me what Imbriale wanted. "I don’t know."

"What do you mean you don’t know? He just talked to you!"

"I don’t know," I say again. She gave me a funny look, then we moved on to the awesome Air Force food.

After being congratulated, we went back to bed. Later that monring, Benton came to each of our rooms around 6:15 and gently patted us awake.

Breakfast was blueberry muffins and other dry stuff, which tasted great. I love Air Force food, and the food there was stellar. Some Delta guys had to help with KP after breakfast because someone put a spatula away dirty.

Then we had pass and review practice, changed into our Blues and graduated. We got Honor Squadron, Greenaway got most improved cadet (Hoo-rah), and Erica Honor Staff Member (and to think she came from a back water squadron of about 5 cadets).

After that we came back and started cleaning. I wanted to go home. People were singing in the barracks, I was tearing beds apart; guys were getting phone numbers, I was buffing floors; Taylor and Palombo were shooting the wind, I hefted my stuff downstairs; then I grabbed their crap and brought it downstairs. I helped other guys bring their stuff down, waiting to have my room inspected. It was. I was third in line to sign-out. I wanted to go home. I grabbed my manila folder and ran outside, received congratulations from the Senior Members from my squadron, and left.

I was glad to leave. I missed my dogs, who were at the camp ground waiting to be walked. I missed sleep. The air horns were starting to get to me. For the next week or two, I wouldn’t answer to "Mark" and I was constantly saying "At encampment this" and "At encampment that".

I’m glad I went: I met some great people whom I found on the internet; so Civil Air Patrol means so much more. Next year I’ll be on staff, which is a whole different experience. Not to mention the National activities that I can attend. It was a ton of fun, and next August can’t come soon enough.