Photo By Sgt. Spencer Rhodes | Air Force Staff Sgt. Cody Burns, the first Airman to ever complete the Florida Army...... read more read more
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STARKE, Fla. - “He came very well prepared,” said Army Capt. James Shepard, commander of the OCS program, in reference to Air Force Staff Sgt. Cody Burns. “Having had military experience already, he had no problem adapting to the Army OCS program.”
Burns, whose full-time job is as an active Air Guardsman with the 44th Civil Support Team, says attending the OCS program at the RTI would allow him to pursue a commission without conflicting with his full-time military job.
“Ideally I would like to find a home as an AGR (Active Guard Reserve) lieutenant, but I have 24 months to find a home. I can maintain my current job as an enlisted Servicemember and search for commissioning opportunities during that time period,” said Burns.
The OCS program involves drilling once a month at the RTI, however, due to drills usually being longer than a typical two-day drill and the commitment involved even when in the off periods of the month, it creates a highly stressful and rigorous environment. According to Shepard, the high attrition rate associated with the program usually lowers the starting class number, typically around 50 people, throughout the nearly year and a half long school.
“Often it’s family circumstances that create the most hardships as the actual training itself does. If you miss a weekend, we would have to accommodate a way for you to make it up, which is incredibly hard to do,” said Shepard.
This is something Burns can attest to, as he says time management was far and away the hardest part about the OCS school. The support he received from his family and his wife proved integral.
“It definitely challenged my time management skills. The program is a stressful, high expectation experience that requires an abnormal amount of investment as far as personal time is concerned,” said Burns. “Having to balance my job, my family, and my obligations in school really helped to further refine how I prioritize.”
Regardless of whether he chooses to commission in the next 24 months, regrets are not something that will be present when associated with the OCS program. Burns said the experience gained was invaluable, having provided him with opportunities to grow in his career and leadership abilities.
“Being in a joint environment, it also better prepared me to interact with branches other than my own,” said Burns.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.18.2015 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 173471 |
| Location: | STARKE , FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 240 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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