The Board

The day of the board entailed a lot of preparations for me. First of all, Connie put my hair up in this french braid-ish type thing that was AWESOME. As far as good hair days go, this was by far the best -- you know, in that military regulation kind of way. If you're a woman you'll understand that a particular hair style can make or break your day. Connie definitely set me up for success this day. I was so please how feminine yet military regulatory my hair was. It wasn't in that librarian bun either. So, that started my day off.

I already had my uniform prepared; shined, polished, pressed, pinned, straightened, measured, starched and sharp! Once I was dressed and ready to go, I had a few stops to make. I went downstairs to our training NCO and he gave me some last minute tips and words of encouragement. All along, he had been helping me prepare for the board because you know, that was is job! He checked my uniform and sent me on my way. I also saw my 1SG and he gave me some encouraging words as well. My JAG NCOIC's came over to the training room to see me too because well, that too was part of their job. Now, it wasn't just me you see. There were several soldiers from our company appearing before the board that day and even another JAG soldier. It wasn't All About Melissa Day --but I was one of the starring roles.

I stood before my NCO's for inspection --they checked out my uniform, etc. We went over the latest current events and then --they sent us on our way. We had to go over to another building where the board was. When we got there, there were many other soldiers there too from other companies as well. We were, after all, the Division Headquarters. So we all stood in the hall waiting for our names to be called. One by one, we were called in and had to stand before the board. Connie went with me for moral support because you know, she might be stingy with her lipstick but as far as friends go, she was one of the best. She was already an E5 so her input was very valuable.

Was I nervous? You bet I was. I had never done anything like this before. There was so much to remember, so much to think about. As it was explained to me, the board starts grading you the very second you walk into the room. You have to march or well, use military steps and then walk right up to the board, salute and say, "Specialist Dodge reporting." And then the board instructs you from there. I was also told that during the questioning you do get to sit down but the board NCO will say something like, "Take 3 steps back and take your seat." So still in your military stance, you have to take as many steps as they tell you backwards, without looking down, and then in a kind of "trust fall" manner, just sit down. Don't look for the seat, don't feel for it --just sit.

As I stated in an earlier post, as soon as I walked in and saw Mess Sergeant I knew I was in trouble. The other Sergeants were males and I didn't know any of them and I figured that probably worked to my advantage. The NCO of the board, sitting at the center of the table, was nice as he could be. He made me feel at ease and he clearly understood how nervous the soldiers were. They all had to do this at one time too. After reporting, I was told to stand at Attention and then do an About Face (turn around) so they could inspect my uniform from the back as well. You know, is my hair off the collar, jacket fitting right, etc. Then I was told to execute another About Face and told to take 3 steps backwards to take my seat. Now keep in mind, you're not taking just regular "street steps". You're still in a military stance. So, I took 3 steps back and then I was getting ready to sit down and I just couldn't! I had to look. I had to see --I knew I wasn't supposed to and I knew that chair was there. The trick our training NCO had told us was to feel for the chair with the back of your leg and tried as I could, I just couldn't feel that chair and before my body would allow me to sit, I had to look . . so I did. No sooner than my head bowed down, every board member started to frantically write on their papers. I knew they were taking points off and it kind of threw me off track from that point on.

I get seated and you're supposed to sit straight up, feet together and arms and hands on the armrest of the chair. Just sit straight and still and look forward. At one point, without thought, I found myself starting to cross my legs, just out of habit, but before I did I caught myself and went back to my military stance but not before the board members were again frantically writing on their papers. More points lost.

Let the questions begin. Now to answer a question, you must repeat the question and address the person that was asking it. You know, sort of like Jeopardy in having to answer a question with a question - - you can't just blurt out the answer. So for instance if the question was, "What year was the US Army established?" Your answer would be, "Sergeant, the United States Army was established on June 14, 1775." If you did not know an answer, you would respond with, "Sergeant, I do not know the answer to that question." Or you could say, "Sergeant, I do not know what year the US Army was established." Okay, so you get it now.

So I'm sitting down now, more nervous than I had been only because I know I messed up on sitting down. I'm trying to talk myself down and mentally prepare for my first question and then as soon as it was asked, I was floored. I was confused and wondered if this was for real and I didn't know how to respond.

"Specialist Dodge", the Board NCO asked, "Do you have a circulation disorder?"

Excuse me? Come again? Do I --I --do I have a --a what? Is this some tricky Army thing I forgot to study?

"Excuse me, Sergeant? Do I have a --I'm sorry, can you repeat the question, please?"

The Sergeant was grinning so I wasn't sure if he was just messing with me or what. He kind of chuckles, "Your hands. Look at your hands. They're bright white!"

So I look down at my hands, only after hesitating just a second or two wondering if I was "allowed" to do so. Like, were they trying to trick me and see if I fall for the bait? I'd look down and they'd all start to furiously scribble on there papers again! I wasn't sure what the question was about but I did look down and when I did see my hands its true, my knuckles were void of any color at all. I looked back up and said, "Oh, my grip was just a bit tight. Its just nerves." The Board NCO gave me a warm smile, told me to take a deep breath and to relax, "You'll do just fine", he said. That did help me to relax and I think I was a bit more focused after that.

Much to my gleeful surprise, I was able to answer every question they asked me. Well, except towards the end when one of the Sergeants said, "I see you're from Chicago. How them Bears doing?" Is that a trick question? Does this fall under "Current Events" or is he just making small talk? Am I supposed to know this stuff? THE BEARS? FOOTBALL? Is he for real? I didn't prepare for that. I don't know stuff about football!!!!! I was trying to think of something to say and I was lost. Come on! Ask me about an Army tank, please! So all that came to mind was the 1986 Super Bowl win so I said, "Sergeant, I'm really not sure how the Bears are doing this year but Chicagoans are still on a Super Bowl high from 1986 so I think we'll be okay either way." To that, the entire board erupted into laughter well, entire board with the exception of Mess Sergeant, of course. She just gave me stern disapproving look as if I was getting a little too cheeky with the board.

To be continued . . . .