Health Goals

 
Jack LaLanne is someone who has inspired me ever since I found out who he was.  I found him during a time in my life when I went absolutely crazy with fitness and healthy eating.  Even though I didn't know what I was doing I eventually got in the best shape of my life.  I was slim, healthy, flexible, and athletic.

After another kid, 2 semesters of college and student teaching, and being a first year teacher I can say that it didn't last...

I grew up in a small town and went to a school where I could be in almost every elective they offered.  Throughout my life I have been in any of the following activities: baseball, soccer, basketball, football, bowling, and track.  Wait, bowling isn't a sport... :)

So I guess you could say that I've stayed active over most of my childhood.  Since I started college, though, things just haven't been the same.  I've finally come to understand why people yo-yo through this whole "Being Healthy" thing.  With a wife, kids, a dog, a pool, yada yada yada, it's tough.  But I've done it before so I know I can do it again.  Plus, I don't have a choice.  If I want to succeed in a military career I need to be physically fit.  Not to mention I know it's one of the best things I can do for my family.

Here are my goals for 2012:

1. Score a 90 or above on the AFPT before I go to OTS (Hopefully early 2013)
2. Run a 1.5 mile in less than 9 minutes
3. Have a body fat percentage of 6% or less by new years 2013.

AFOQT Practice

I've heard of people taking 5 days to study for this test.  I am not one of those people.  I studied for over 3 months.

In case you didn't know, AFOQT stands for Air Force Officer Qualifying Test.  I haven't taken a math course in 3 years and have 0 flight hours or experience.  So I really felt like I needed to cram as much information in my head as possible.  Here a few things I've been doing to help me survive this test:

1.  The first thing I did was join airforceots.com, Baseops, and Wantscheck, printed out hundreds of pages of information from the forums, and READ LIKE CRAZY!
2. The second thing I did was go to my local library and check out all of the military officer tests I could.  Here is what I checked out:
1. Barron's Officer Candidate School Test
2. Barron's Master the Military Flight Aptitude Test
3. Arco/Peterson Master the Military Flight Aptitude Test
4. Officer Candidate Tests by LearningExpress
5. The Complete Private Pilot by Bob Gardner
6. Gleim's Pilot Handbook
7. As many military plane history books as I could
8. A couple SAT style test preps
3. Next I looked everywhere online for resources to get this test down.  Here are a few places that gave me a lot of information, especially on my weaknesses.
1. Here is on online version of the ARCO test - ARCO test online
2. Here are some sites that give a lot of math practice.  Some the things you won't need to study for the test, but after you find your weakness (what you forgot since middle and high school) the index is invaluable.
1. http://www.themathpage.com
2. http://www.purplemath.com/modules/index.htm
3. http://www.math.wsu.edu/HS/problems.html
3. There were so many aeronautical websites I used that I couldn't remember all of them so I listed what I am using now:
1. Resource for the Private Pilot Test
2. Lots of info on the runway layout and such
3. Very useful website about many aeronautical concepts
4. Helful site on airport lighting
5. Transponder Codes 
6. VASI video is most useful
7. FAA Flying Instrument Handbook
8. FAA Airplane Handbook
9. Private Pilot Exam Prep./
10. Useful pics of a Cessna 150
11. Useful pics of the instrument panel of a Cessna 152 and what they mean and do
12. Walkthrough of a Cessna 150 Pre-Flight
13. Explaination of the lighting on an aircraft
14. Airport Beacons
15. Airport Beacons

I was pretty unorganized in my planning at the beginning and just ended up reading all the time and taking a bunch of practice tests.  Here is what I would do if I could do it all over again:

1. Take a timed practice test
2. Prioritize your weaknesses and strengths and attack those weaknesses with research and practice.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have to take the real test.

I made the mistake of taking too many practice tests on my weaknesses and didn't spend enough time just sitting and figuring out hard problems that I didn't get.  Once you find your weaknesses take the time to figure out the answers to all those that you don't understand.

Especially if you have a family, prioritizing and organizing are the names of the game.  One could study for a year on this test and still not be able to know everything that is covered on the entire test (especially the science portion).  Only work on what you need to work on and nothing more.

Even if you're not good at rotating blocks or hidden figures, DON'T STUDY THEM!! They don't count for anything on your test. Study Smart!

Also, immerse yourself in aviation if you don't already.  Go take an introductory flight, YouTube cockpit views of approaches, take-offs, night landings, etc..., and read read read all about planes and their history!

*My detailed experience on test day*

*My Scores*

The Beginning

This is my first blog so please bear with me as I learn how to do all of this.

I never thought I would have the opportunity to be a pilot in the US Air Force, yet here I am.  Ever since I was young I have always wanted to join the military.  My father is an Army vet., I have two uncles serving, and my grandpa was a WWII Army Air Corp veteran who repaired plane engines.  He used to tell me stories about how close he came to death in the air over Europe.  Very chilling things for a 12 year old to hear.

I am now a 24 year old second year band director.  I have been married for 5 years and have 2 awesome boys.  I have no military experience except for what I've heard from my relatives.  I am writing this blog as a self-indulging way to remember my journey, and hopefully help some other perspective officers become successful at their goal of becoming an Air Force Officer.

I started my journey after my grandpa died in late August of this year (2011).  One of my uncles has always been an enormous advocate for the Air Force (according to him the AF changed his life), and this family reunion was no different.  He had a lot to say (a lot of stuff I'd heard before), but this time it stuck with me.  I thought "maybe I can actually do this".  So my wife and I talked for weeks about it, and finally decided that this was for us.  

I contacted my recruiter in October 2011 and officially started my AF journey.  Since that time I have been studying for the AFOQT and researching like crazy about everything I can absorb.  I am in the infancy stage of this whole process, but am extremely excited to have the opportunity to serve my country in this capacity.  In the next blog I'll give a rundown of what I've been doing to study for the AFOQT.