A Morning and Breakfast with TC 1-3

The Corps of Cadets’ Class of 2012 is a tight knit group of people. Adversity will do that to a group. Bonds are formed during hard times and when those times end friendships are stronger then before the trials.

Mornings are especially rough. On Upper Quad and in all the Cadet Dorms freshmen have to “drag” around the halls, following the right edge of halls or sidewalks. Buds from TC 1-3 meet in room 447, “the Call room,” to check each other’s uniforms. After the call room meeting we drag around the hall to the left side and the stop in groups in between our buds’ doors. Seven buds on the first wall section, eight on the second, and six on the third. First call and last call are sounded and we all depart down the stairs onto the VT for Morning Formation. When formation is finished we return through halls past half finished freshman paintings to our rooms. Because we have trouble getting our rooms inspection ready we are assigned a bud’s room to double check before we leave. I am assigned room 450 to check before my 0800 Calculus Class. It didn’t take long because my buds had done a good job cleaning up. The only thing that needed fixing was Bud Bernard’s sandals; they were out of line with the other shoes.

I met back up with my buds in D2 for Breakfast after my Calculus Class. Breakfast is a good time for TC 1-3. We don’t have upperclassmen hounding us or requiring us to greet them. We talk about the day and our homework that is due. A bud from another TC leaves almost as soon as I arrive with my food.

“I have to get to Astronomy, and still need to write an Essay for class so I have 30 minutes to write something,” he said.

Justin, one of my buds, said, “Why isn’t that at night?”

“It’s not a lab, just a class that’s why it’s in the morning,” he said.

We talk about the rifles, Springfield’s M1903, that we use for drill. The only things that prevent them from firing and being serviceable rifles are no firing pins, and some have their barrels plugged. This discussion leads into a debate of which of our cadre members we like the least; whether C/SSG Darnley or C/S1C Wright is the most annoying. At this point the group begins to break up and take the dishes to the Dish Return so we can get to morning classes. We say good-by and go about our ways, to class or to study.