The Saga of Cadet Soldier: Cadet Captain

"Although the end may seem near, and a cadet may slack off, we are reminded that the yearling if ever he turns into a cow can easily rot and waste his training with his own overconfidence by reaching what he may think is near the finish line. All is not over."

-Cadet Trainee 1st Class, Vincent Aureus

Chapter 7: Cadet Captain

Right now, people would tell me that my journey is finished. I've finished my Cadet Officer Candidacy Course, and the struggles have ended. I would reply back with a simple "No," and move on, thinking that these people may be too shallow to grasp my explanation, or that the said explanation would be too long to keep them entertained, because when I talk about a part of my life, especially something as significant as this, I'd like to explain it in as much detail as possible, so as not to exploit possible misinterpretations by the audience.

As of June 2009, I am now Corps Adjutant and Cadet Captain Espadero. It wasn't the kind of induction I had hoped (Adjutant Yucoco just told us somewhat informally during one of our meetings minutes before being presented to the whole batch) but it was an honor. I'm quite disappointed that I was not able to attain the designation of Corps Commander, but I still got what I wanted as a second.

Here are our current positions:

Corps Commander and Cadet Major Lorenzo Miguel Samonte
ExecutiveOfficer and Cadet Captain Jason Patrick Martinez
Corps Adjutant and Cadet Captain Joseph Wihelm Espadero
Logistics Officer and Cadet Captain Melandro Lopez
Intelligence Officer and Cadet Captain Michael Brilliantes II
Operations Officer and Cadet Captain Deriq David
Logistics Officer and Cadet Captain Melandro Lopez

I'm disappointed with Adjutant Yucoco and Commandant Santos for choosing Samonte as Commander based on seniority alone. Sure, he was in the COCC the longest, but quality over quantity any time. I guess it's also a big plus when he always sucks up to "The Man" every chance he gets.

So what does an "Adjutant" do? Basically, he is the face and the voice of the officers, directly commanding the cadets. I'm fine with the officers taking over my job once in a while, but Jason Martinez always insists that he command the cadets. Obviously he likes the spotlight. I'm quite peeved by that, but I let him do what he wishes anyway.

I haven't seen Retired Cadet Colonel Rendor or Retired Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Thomas ever since. I saw some of the retired Master Sergeants and 2nd Lieutenants, but I'm really interested to see how he will react to our being officers already. Taking advantage of our not-anymore-so-professional relationship, I added him as a contact in the social networking webite, Facebook. Sure enough, he accepted my invitation request. Seeing his images, wall posts, and comments, one can hardly find a trace of his days as a CAT officer. He (literally) outgrew his 3x4 white side wall military haircut and leads a very jolly life. As for the others, I heard they're doing just as well and grew just as much hair too. Occasionally they come back to the High School and check out how the CAT is doing. A talk with them about things of the yesteryear would always take place every time they pass by. Those who used to punish me with intense physical training are now my good friends. Besides, they would always remind us last year that whatever they made us do is "nothing personal."

This year, the effects of the slow demilitarization of the Ateneo cadet Corps can clearly be seen. The maximum amount of physical training we, the officers, can give is merely nothing compared to last year, and the CAT is more focused in being a righteous citizen than a disciplined man trained in the military ways.

It feels good to be an officer, mainly because it's what I worked so hard for. People sometimes harmlessly tease me about my being an officer, but it's fine as long as they don't go overboard. During CAT time held every Friday after classes, I do my usual roaming around the classrooms and stop by mine to watch how my classmates are doing under Cadet Trainee 3rd Class Aquino, a member of the NCOCC (Non-Commissioned Officer Candidacy Course). My classmates happen to form the noisiest class in the whole batch, during and outside of CAT. Sometimes I get a kick out of it whenever they joke around, and sometimes I tell them enough is enough.

I now handle the next batch of the members of the COCC, while the others handle the Medics, Air Police, NCOCC, and Honor Guards. It is my job to shape them up into formidable officers for next year. They would have to be as physically, mentally, and psychologically strong as we are, perhaps even more, to lead next year.

My journey isn't over. With the way things are going, I hope it will never be. The Saga lives on.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: CAT Graduation

"Often the struggler has given up
When he might've won the victor's cup"

-Don't Quit, 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 6: CAT Graduation and the Aftermath

From January until the end of February, COCC was already difficult to balance with other aspects of my life. There was training every Recess period, everyday, held by the Honor Guards. I don't get the point of this. Sure, it's probably another loyalty test from Sir Rendor, but come on, why force fatigue right before the second batch of classes start? I was barely able to keep my grades within the passing range, and I'm pretty sure my comrades had a hard time, too.

Around February, my comrades, along with the Honor Guards-turned-Technical Sergeants practiced our silent drill for CAT graduation. During one of these days, Sir Rendor gave me my most painful activity I have ever experienced in my cadet life: knuckle hops. The objective of this "PT" would be to hop using our knuckles while in push-ups position. Simply said, right? Well, easier said than done. When knuckle hopping, one should also advance forward. I could get a good 6 inches to a foot in my hops. However, after 10 of those, I started feeling exruciating pain. I saw that my knuckles were bleeding, so I forcefully pushed myself to the beyond my limit and kept going until I could finally go no more. As I stopped in a pyramids position, I looked back at my trail and saw blood at the last few of my hops. Finally, Sir Rendor told me to stand up and get back in line. Yeah, I was the ONLY one who had to go through that.

This affected my performance in my individual rifle exhibition which I worked so hard to perfect. I couldn't get a good grip on my rifle; and thus it flew away from me while I was about to throw it above my head. The silent drill continued, with me being rejected to do my individual rifle exhibition.

Around 2 hours in training, I saw an old friend of mine who just came from the States. We call him Orvz, and he was being accompanied with two of his bosom buddies who were equally surprised to find him here. Obviously, I wanted to greet him, but of course, I was bound tightly to my training, and all I could do was watch as more of his friends surrounded him. Eventually, they all looked at me and teased me from afar. The temptation to just run over there and talk to them was growing by the minute. I had to supress them, and soon, their group went their separate ways.

February 20, 2009. CAT Graduation. It was a day where the regular cadets didn't care diddly-squat about CAT, just like every other day. Honestly, ever since Ateneo High School CAT has been demilitarized, the regular cadets didn't give shit about the this.

First in the graduation program was the presentation of each flights' (regular and special) silent drill. No one brought much to the table, except for a few flights who did some extreme dancing. But other than that, nothing special.

Then came our silent drill. Everything went smoothly until someone gave the cue to do our special move at the wrong time, and everything wrong followed. Well, at least hardly anyone noticed.

A merienda break followed. Special flights were given an exlusive room with called the Alumni Lounge to eat in a special buffet. That, to me, was already a highlight. Sir Rendor, Sir Thomas, the Honor Guards, NCOCCs, Medics, Air Police (let me remind you, all of whom are officers at this point) and the COCCs ate side by side as sort-of-equals (they still ordered us to do stupid things, but it was all for fun).

I'm not sure what happened next, because Mio and I were given a post to guard the gates of the venue. All we did was guide the parents to their sons and warned people who were just "passing by" not to cross the venue again.

And then, the graduation itself.

Then recognized as Cadet Major Rendor, now Retired Cadet Colonel Rendor. Then recognized as Cadet Captain Thomas, now Retired Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Thomas. The Honor Guards, Medics, and Air Police were promoted to Cadet Master Sergeants in their retirement, while the NCOCCs became 1st Lieutenants.

A year of taking shit from them. A year of practically swallowing the phlegm they spat on us. And still, I salute to them? Maybe because that year will be the last year I will ever see them. Maybe because uner all the shit-taking and phlegm-swallowing, I had accomplished something more. A year of memories. A year of physical, mental, and psychological self-improvement. A year never will I regret.

Of course, our training wasn't over yet, and it still isn't. At March, the Summer CAT was held, for those who didn't pass and for those who were in varsity teams. I was in charge of flight Bravo, a mix of jocks and student officers. Under my command, I feel they've become the finest among all five Summer CAT flights. I've pushed them hard, and I've gained their respect; and because of that they followed my every order. I could tell they didn't follow me because of fear. Sure, I gave punishment to those who don't do my orders well. But still, I could tell. They were flight Bravo, and for the five days I've stuck with them, I had a tremendous amount of fun.

After a Summer CAT session, my comrades and I would hide from training while the officers were distracted by the other cadets. This brought my famous (ehe) quote: "COCC training is applied to avoid itself." citing the stealth techniques we were taught before. We weren't always successful, as we were caught a number of times trying to hide. Narrating how exactly we were caught that one time would just ruin how extremely funny it was.

Ahh, life.

Soon it was time for OUR "private" graduation, called Recognition Night, or "Recognight" for short. There are two versions: "Rendorognight" which should be held by Sir Rendor in secret (epic PT, and more epic final tests), and "Yucocognight" which should be held by Adjutant Yucoco (graduation rites, and that's it). By the way, Sir Yucoco doesn't and should not know about Recognight. Because CAT was demilitarized, this type of Recognight was banned.

Unfortunately, Sir Yucoco DID find out, thanks to Samonte. We went through with it anyway, and we were caught the same place we had Combat PT, only this time, Sir Rendor was no where to be found. Moments before our doom, Flashlights and motorcycle headlights were advancing toward us. We were already sure of our being captured, yet we remained down as a last desperate attempt to hide. And so we were caught and brought to a room in the faculty lounge ironically named "Salvation Heights." Here we were questioned about our actions. They considered suspending us, but decided not to in the end. We found out the next week, the week the COCC would practice bearing the colors (bringing the flags) in the Batch 2009 High School Graduation, that Sir Rendor as well as a number of Honor Guards were suspended for trying to go with the Rendorognight. It was also this week that Sir Rendor talked with me heart-to-heart for a few minutes about our thoughts of Rendorognight, this year's CAT program, and next year's CAT program.

Everything went smoothly in the bearing of the colors during the CAT Graduation. We were commanded by Retired Cadet Major Martin, who left for the States shortly after being promoted to office and thus never was able to participate in the colors.

There was no training ever since, and up to now. Here I am, narrating the saga of my life in the cadet corps, waiting to be initiated to office, myself. My saga still isn't over yet. I will continue writing about it until my connections with the Ateneo High School cadet corps have disappeared. By now, this should be needless to say, but this means my story will continue long after I graduate.

I hope someday I to come back to CAT as a retired cadet officer to observe and teach the new generation of special flights. This way, my connections will never sever, and my saga will live on.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: A-Run

"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...

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: Secondclassman

"But as long as you are part of the institution,
Do not condemn it."

-Loyalty, 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 4: 2ndclassman
 

Training resumed immediately after Holy Week. The coming of the holidays made me restless.

Sir Thomas was abusive with his power. Little by little, all of us special flights dissed him as an officer, and eventually, we lost many of the special flight cadets on account of their shared perspectives about him. Even Diego, the one who had persuaded me to join COCC in the first place, quit under these circumstances. The NCOCC was down to seven, the Honor Guards were down to seven, the Medics, once a flight of twenty four, were down to five, and the Air Police were down to 5 as well.

These were desperate times for Sir Rendor. He had to do something before everybody quit; thus, their promotion was moved early. All they had to do was survive Combat PT. Yeah, same as what we did, only they instantly became officers afterwards.

By the way, Mio and I were there to supervise and help out with the Combat PT. The Communication Arts Cluster Night was held on the same date, so we decided to go for kicks. It was the first time for us to talk to Sir Rendor eye-to-eye. Very unusual. Since there were about twenty or so cadets in the CAT Shack, we decided to divide them. Mio and I handled the Medics. I was personally in charge of Poblete, a large man with fluent English skills, and Sy, who was in the same Organization as Sir Rendor: InDAK, a dance performance group.

All I had to do to them was make them go through what I did in my Combat PT: torture.

An hour passed and Sir dismissed us so that we could return to our Night.

The next week, the special flights attended the raising of the flag. Unusual, since it was only the COCC and the officers who were supposed to attend. After the flag ceremony ended, Sir Rendor introduced to us the newly promoted officers: the Honor Guards, Medics, and Air Police were now Technical Sergeants, while the NCOCC were Master Sergeants. We had to obey them now. Fine with me, I thought.

Initially, training under them was fun. the Honor Guards taught us new rifle tricks (We had recently been told that we're worthy of rifles), while the NCOCC handled PT. All was going well for me until one CAT session, which were held every Friday. Sir Rendor put me to the test, making me do tasks and PT. It seemed that I failed to live up to his expectations and stripped me of the title of Flight Sergeant. Things went downhill from there.

Sir Rendor came to a training session one day and told us whoever can hold one hand knuckle pyramids the longest will be deemed Flight Sarge. Samonte was taken out first, as he had stupidly switched hands. Deriq, Mio, then Jason followed. It was down to me and Brillantes. I looked at him, and saw him praying. I figured he wanted this more than I do, so I dropped out anyway. It didn't matter, because I knew Sir Rendor's strategy already: make a cadet feel good about himself, then bring him down when he's at his peak confidence level. It's devastating when morale so high crashes so low. That's what happened to Samonte and I when we were still Flight Sarge. I realized this the day after I was, well, devastated.

More misfortunes. The newly ordained officers became cocky and abusive. I know it's all part of training, but sometimes they tell us to do things they can't do, like recite certain codes in plebe knowledge, or do PT that would be difficult for us, but impossible for them. At least Sir Rendor can manage everything he told us to do. That's why I respect him. My hatred towards certain officers grew.

Soon, it was time for the COCC to get promoted, at least to 1st class.

What did we have to do? What did we have to accomplish? My mind raced as we prepared for the challenge, expecting something as grueling as Combat PT.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: Adjustments

"If you work for a man,
In heaven’s name, work for him."

-Loyalty, 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 2: Adjustments

 

July, 2008. Heavy rain.

Aldous quit immediately after our initiation. He joined the Football team instead.

Kenoy quit a week later. He couldn't stand his own suffering any longer.

I stayed. Yeah, insanity.

The first few weeks of my COCC training was not how I visioned it. I kept goofing up while Comrade Samonte gets the blame. I guess it's natural, especially when Samonte has been around longer than me. Every time i goofed, he gets a number of push ups. The higher the number, the heavier the guilt.

Oh yes, I was also introduced to the other cadet officer, Lance Reynard Thomas, recognized by us then as Cadet Captain Thomas. He's loves joking around, in contrast to Sir Rendor, but has a power tripping streak that would be the reason of the downfall of all special flights. But save that for another day.

The faculty in charge of CAT were Adjutant Yucoco, Adjutant Hernandez, and Commandant Santos, all of whom are Ateneo High School teachers.

During the next couple of months, more would join me and Samonte, but still some would just leave anyway. Among those who joined early in the year were Jason Martinez, Patrick Abad Santos, Abella (Sorry about forgetting his given name), and Michael Tomas Brillantes.

Jason was a slow starter. When he joined, the title of the "bringer-downer" switched from me to him. He had low stamina (His reason would be that he "runs on a set time."), and like me initially, he had trouble adjusting his schedule.

Abella was just plain noisy. On the outside, he tried to show he had heart, but everyone can tell he didn't have shit. Sorry, I'm just about peeved at him. He was also impatient and irritating. On the bright side, he did have potential when it comes to the more physical side of COCC. He quit weeks later.

Patrick, was, I thought, the ideal cadet. He had the most common sense and heart out of all of us. He had the right build, was knowledgable when it comes to military, and was diligent, COCC-wise. I wanted him to be the Wing Commander next year, on account of all of this. He was even able to show a good impression on Sir Rendor quite a few times (but of course, Sir Rendor, with his cold heart, would not show any recognition). Sadly, he had to quit because of his Sun-sensitive skin, daily schedule problems, and conflicting perspectives of his parents.

Michael, or Miko as most call him, was short, but showed a lot of what Patrick had to offer. His downfall maybe, was his voice and his tendency to fidget and make troubled faces when his errors are exposed. Still, he had a damn good build.

Samonte was, naturally, still the most knowledgable out of all of us. He knows the basics and also a variety of rifle tricks, so he had the advantage over all of us, although not one of us like hi because he was too "in to it." Of course, one mistake would set him falling.

That very simple mistake - reporting at the wrong venue - would cost him his title as Flight Sergeant. He was replaced by none other than me, simply because I said I could be Flight Sarge. From that moment on, I knew my title was at stake too. Whenever I would slip up someone else would take my place, I thought. Maybe that's why my dedication and heart strengthened. I tried to be a good example whenever I can. I think I was able to do that. For a time at least, I was on a roll.

Outside COCC, I had trouble adjusting to my new schedule. At 6:00am I was brought to school and at 5:30pm I was be picked up. Once at home I would rest and eat dinner. My exhaustion from training would barely give me enough time to study and do homework (Yes, I do homework where it's supposed to be done once in a while). I barely had time for my friends, too, who would meet up after Tuesdays to play a game of Basketball. The most surprising thing was, I didn't regret it.

I didn't mind the exhaustion. I eschewed my studies. My friends, I thought, would always be there. Did I like the everyday torture?

Answer: Oh yeah. I did.

The Saga of Cadet Soldier: The Beginning

"I am but a plebe, a pledging, a good for nothing,

With not in my head but vacuum and nothing to do
but trip and fall and perpetrate infinitesimal mistakes."

- Stupid, 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 1: The Beginning

June, 2008. A cloudy day.

The bell has rung, signifying the start of recess. My classmates, still high from the Summer hype, divided and huddled into different groups of close peers. I, of course, was no different. My friends began telling each other their Summer experiences while I listened on and made an occasional joke to keep myself in the conversation. Yeah, when you have no "Summer experiences" to narrate, it would be hard to keep up with the crowd.

Enter Lorenzo Miguel Samonte, 3G. It seemed he was going classroom to classroom looking for new recruits for the COCC. Since I foresaw nothing special or exciting in my Junior High life, and since I was bored out of my wits, I decided to join this anyway, along with a close friend of mine. Little did I know what I got into...

I was told to report to classroom 4G for a "meeting." Samonte gave me, my close friend, Kenoy Martinez, and a former classmate and fellow batchmate, Aldous Hizon, a quick tutorial on the most basic yet one of the most important lessons in the COCC: how to stand at attention. Stomach in, chest out, shoulders back, tiger look, feet creating a 45 degree angle, clenched fists above the seams of my pants, chin slightly up, and of course, mouth shut.

And there I was, just in front of the blackboard of 4G, doing my best to execute just that, although looking back, I was very sloppy that time. I saw a high school student in my peripheral vision approaching towards us. He was no taller than me, and had a light mustache going on for him. As he came closer he looked drowsy, like Tracy McGrady: his eyebags were more visible than the average guy. His hands were behind his back, his head slightly tilted as he walked by us.

His name was Vittorio Rendor, but recognized by us then as Cadet Major Rendor. He was the Wing Commander of Citizenship Advancement Training batch 2009.

I didn't realize.

"Alam niyo ba kung ano'ng ginagawa niyo dito? (Do you know what you're doing here?)" Said he. "Alam niyo ba kung ano ang COCC? (Do you even know what the COCC is?)" There was silence, because honestly, I didn't know the answer to both those questions.

He went straight to the point. "Gusto niyo ba sumali dito?" Our answer: "Opo. (Yes)" Of course, we didn't know how to reply back to our superiors that time, so he corrected us. We replied again: "Ginoo, opo, Ginoo. (Sir, yes, sir.)"

He asked us if we wanted an initiation. All of us said yes, for reasons I still cannot remember. He told us to drop. "Drop?" I thought. We didn't know what to do, so we still stood there like dumbasses until Samonte gave us a hint. We all dropped in front of the Wing Commander. "Sinabi niyo ah. (You asked for it.) Do 500 push ups."

And so we did. At least, we tried to do. By my 50th push, my arms were starting to hurt. Yes, I was weak that time. It was obvious the others were also exhausted. We teens from the upper half weren't used to this kind of workout.

As I did push ups, another batch, the members of the NCOCC's were also doing what we're doing. They were another special flight. Wearing blue jeans, a garrison belt and a white shirt, complete with CAT pin, rosary, tickler notebook, handkerchief and black ballpen, they seemed to have prior experience before that day. Indeed they had, remembering my conversations with Diego Nepomuceno, an ex-COCC who accompanied me to Germany. He was actually one of the primary influences of my decision to join (Still, the real reason of my decision was that I was just bored).

Sweat covered the floor. Sweat drenched our high school uniforms. Sweat glistened down our body like a river under the noonday Sun. I reached somewhere above 300 push ups. the others didn't do as well, but it didn't matter hell to anybody. He told us to stand at attention once again. His intimidating and powerful overall presence lied beneath the otherwise mundane exterior. Without any recognition whatsoever he told us to report to a multi-purpose building (locally known as the Information Technology Center... I think) the day after for some briefing and told us to fall out and disappear from his sight. Hell had just begun.

We retreated to the nearest bathroom, checking out how we looked after the ordeal. The mirror confirmed what we already knew: bloodshot eyes sweaty body, and the telltale expression of pain on our faces. Our mouth gaping open from difficult breathing, our back slumped, our body leaning on the sink counter, and our spirit drained dry, we now had a taste of what we had gotten into.

That day, I learned to respect and fear Sir Rendor. That day, I still did not realize the extent of my physical and mental exhaustion I would get into in the coming months. That day, I made a decision I would never regret.