So, Friday marked the end of Week #3 and now there are 15 weeks left of Chris' training. This last week was a tough week for the Airmen on account of the short-week due to MLK Day, which was a Holiday for the group. There were 2 important tests last week, which I am proud to say, the whole group (9 total) all passed! These tests included a 500 yard gear swim, which is just like it sounds. The candidates had to swim 500 yards in less then 11 minutes with all of their gear on. The other test was the Basket Test. In this test the Airmen had to rescue a non compliant drowning victim and place them in the helicopter basket. Of course, this test was completed in the pool; so, there was no "real victim" and no "real helicopter." The tests next week will consist of saving a drowning victim and putting them onto a litter ( I think that's how you spell it??) Anyway, a "litter" is the backboard-thing that would be used to save people and hoist them into the helicopter. I believe they will also have a test next week on the belt-device that is used to hoist victims into the helicopter.
Well, moving onto the *Big News* and title of this post...Chris was appointed the New Assistant Class Leader! It's a bit of a sad story because Chris' "promotion" came because the other guy was "fired." This all happened on Friday. I guess the old Asst. Class Leader was having a rough day, and was just "off his mark" (we all have days like that). He was making silly mistakes and forgetting simple steps. So, on Friday, they had just finished getting out of the pool for the day and we're waiting to be dismissed. They asked the old Asst. Class Leader to "Pop Tall" - which, for those of you who have seen The Guardian know that that means to stand up...clap 3 times...and yell "HooRa!" So, they asked the old Asst. Class Leader to Pop Tall...to be singled out of the group, they knew it wasn't good and that he was probably going to be reprimanded for his poor performance that day. After they asked him to Pop Tall they asked Chris to Pop Tall, and Chris was thinking "What did I do..." - With both Chris and the other guy standing at attention, they simply said: "Smith, you're fired! Moore, you're the New Assistant Class Leader!" So, as I mentioned, the promotion is a little bittersweet.
The week also ended with an unhappy ending. Another AST Candidate threw in the towel and called it quits. So, now the class is down from 11 to 8 people left.
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