Saturday, October 18, 2008

OCS Gradutaion

These are way past due, but better late than never!

Change of Command Ceremony & Hi Moms Dinner


At the Change of Command Ceremony, Matt is in his khakis. He graduated 2nd in his class!! Which means he was in charge of the class flag at the ceremony. That's why he is wearing those silly white gloves.
Matt's OCS class also hosted a Hi Moms Dinner the night before graduation. Matt was recognized as earning the highest grade for physical fitness in his class at the dinner! The Class Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Jackson, also made the class put on a little show for us! He made them perform some PT (physical training) in their summer white uniform. There are some pictures of them doing push-ups and up-downs. It was really fun to watch!
Rian made a few friends at the dinner too and they spent most of their time out on the dance floor!


Matt's Private Commissioning


Because Matt's Dad is Retired CWO4, he was able to commission Matt in a private ceremony before the actual class commissioning. Matt's Mom, Dad and Grandad presented Matt with an officer's sword. It was really great to be able to celebrate this moment with both sets of parents and Matt's Grandad.


Class 22-08 Commissioning & First Salute


The top 4 in Matt's class had a special part in the ceremony. The top 2 also received a Challenge Coin from the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. That was cool that Matt got one! After the commissioning they also held a First Salute. Which means it's the first time their Class Drill Instructor and Class Chief Petty Officer salutes them as officers since the class now out-rank them. It was pretty cool to see in a matter of minutes, how the class now out-ranks the drill instructor, who put them through *$&# the past 12 weeks.

Overall, Matt says of his experience at OCS: It was tough and something I would NEVER want to do again. I'm lucky to have the Class Team that I did (ie instructors). I have much respect for them.

We are so proud of Matt and his accomplishments at Officer Candidate School. His dedication and hard work paid off in the end! We know he will continue to go on in the Navy and accomplish many great things!
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6 comments:

val said...

Awesome. That's so neat. Way to go Matt. You're awesome.
And Tracy-you're like the sexiest thing in that white and black dress...work it. (your old gym partner can say stuff like that)
love ya!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Matt! And Tracy, you do look awesome in that dress! Can't wait to see pictures of your new home/neighborhood... it's getting pretty cold here, and I want something to dream about :)

Anonymous said...

Wow Matt, you look so intimidating! Congrats again on all your hard work. Trac, I want to borrow that awesome dress! You look amazing. I'm glad Marlene talked you into it.

Nancee

Unknown said...

Yracy you do look AWESOME in that dress, and with the sassy new hairdo...muah! Perfecto!

Dad looks so proud of you Matt congrats!

Unknown said...

Sorry I spelled your name wrong. I realized after I published, and I can't fix it now.

AARRRGGG!

april said...

Way to go Matt!! We are so happy for you guys. Wish we could get together for games and dinner ;)