"Buddy System"
-#6 of the 15 Standard Operating Procedures, COCC Plebe Knowledge
It's been 26 months since I joined the Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, or COCC for short. 26 months of trials, tortures, and tribulations. This is my story.
Chapter 5: A-Run
Around this point, my overall morale was at an all-time low. For the first time, quitting was an option.
Then came our promotion chance to Cadet Trainee 1st class. All we had to do was accomplish a somewhat different version Combat PT, called the A-run. It comprises mostly of endurance tests such as jogging around the Ateneo campus.
It was time. All things went as usual, but then halfway around the campus, just 20 minutes after our jogging, things went haywire. First, it started raining. This slowed us down quite a bit. Second, Mio couldn't keep up. Slowed us down even more. Then, a student of the ROTC, probably an officer, yelled some very encouraging words at us.
"Ambagal niyo puta!! Bilisan niyo!! (You're too damn slow! Faster!)"
Well, that strengthened my zeal. It didn't matter anyway. I knew we were all breaking down. The clincher that ended all would be Jason's injury in his ankle. Right there, almost done with our first lap, Sir Thomas, the one in charge of us, called our A-Run off for another day. But training isn't over yet.
Cadet Technical Sergeant Adrian Bautista continued training from there. He made us do laps around the high school field, but let Jason sit out. The Gatorades we were assigned to bring were left under the Soccer goal post, but Thomas stole them while we weren't looking. Fuck him. That's just low. FUCK him... Jason got back up and did some sprinting laps to make up for the lost training. A few more doses of PT, and then we were dismissed.
Back then, I thought that accomplishing A-Run would be my last hurdle I have to overcome in the COCC, because I thought of quitting after the ordeal was done. My friends kept telling me to back out, and it seemed their words seeped into my mind. My fellow COCC thought my quitting as a joke. Since I said it, I understand them not believing me. Hehe.
The day to make up for our loss arrived. Before the A-run, which was after dismissal time, I drank about 8 bottles of Lipovitan in 2-hour shifts. Our second attempt at A-Run began with stretching and a few words of inspiration from each of us.
The jogging began. Halfway through, we noticed signs of tiredness from Sir Thomas. This boosted our morale quite a bit, for some reason. In the end, the first lap was a success. But of course, it doesn't end there.
PT in the field. Mostly push ups. This is when the fun time started. Sir Thomas was being his usual self and joked around. Here are a few dialogue highlights I previously posted in one of my Multiply blogs:
Captain Thomas: Honestly, sino dito bisexual? (Honestly, who here is bisexual?)
(the rest has been edited for the sake of those who answered this question)
----
Captain Thomas: 1 plus 1.
Deriq: 2!
Captain Thomas: 2 plus 2.
Deriq: 4!
Captain homas: 4 squared.
Deriq: 2!
Captain Thomas:Ti'nan mo 'to. Tatawa si Martinez... (Check this out. Martinez will laugh...)
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Pebbles.
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Bam-Bam.
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Pebbles & Bam-Bam.
Jason: (laughs)
Captain Thomas: Isa pa. (One more time.) Pebbles & Bam-Bam.
Jason: *straight face*
Captain Thomas: Flintstones.
Jason: (laughs)
Captain Thomas: May joke ako. (I have a joke.)
Joseph: Ginoo, ano po, Ginoo? (Sir, what, Sir?)
Captain Thomas: Gwapo si Brillantes. (Brillantes is good-looking).
Captain Thomas: Samonte mukha kang Orangutan seryoso. (Samonte, seriously, you look like an Orangutan.)
Captain Thomas: Recognize yourselves.
Miko: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Brillantes, Sir!
Samonte: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Samonte, Sir!
Joseph: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Espadero, Sir!
Jason: Sir, Cadet Trainee, Second Class, Martinez, Sir!
Deriq: Sir, cadet in training, Second Class, David, Sir!
---
So after the last one, we were told that we were stupid for not recognizing ourselves as 1stclassmen.
'nuff said.
Quitting wasn't an option at this point. It made me realize the good times I have underneath all of the ordeals I go through. And so began our long wait for officership...
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