The Marathon Day

Our marathon day was off to an early start as we departed from our hotel at 5:45 am to make our way to Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK for our day as a soldier. Physical training with drill sergeants always creates quite the sense of anxiety within the group of students but pretty soon they experienced that their forty five minutes of training was not all that bad.

The class began their experience with a quick lesson in military formations and marching as they were led to their workout location by our three drill sergeants. As we began our morning exercises, soldiers continued their cadences and Basic Training objectives all around us. Our students were able to witness the military in action, seeing the hard work and dedication necessary to defend the freedoms we all cherish. Our morning exercises consisted of push-ups, set-ups, and a few sprints around the parking lot. The students were active listeners and although it may have been difficult, continued to keep their spirits high and work hard to accomplish any task the drill sergeants presented to them.

Following our morning physical training we made our way to chow, marching in line to the military cadences led by our drill sergeants. The drill sergeants recommended hair cuts to a few of our guys and the best quote of the morning was from Mia Malone of Noble, OK “I mean no disrespect drill sergeant but has anyone ever told you that you resemble

After breakfast we made our way to Engagement Skills Training in one of the Ft. Sill virtual facilities. Within the EST facility our students were placed in a fictitious environment in which they were approached by virtual targets. The students had to heed careful instructions to use their weapons (virtual arsenal—no live ammo here, folks) successfully. The technology was able to create different environments based on location, weather conditions, and more. The software told participants how many shots they took but also their accuracy rate. 

We ended our time at Ft. Sill visiting another facility full of virtual training simulations and incredible software. The Director of IT shared with us the multiple uses of simulators that allowed soldiers to perform all sorts of different tasks. One simulator modeling an abandoned home in the Middle East could have a set temperature somewhere in the low fifties and could increase all the way to one hundred degrees in order to model a variety of weather climates. Directors for these programs told our students that a variety of individuals used this software for training, from soldiers at Basic Training to members of Seal Team 7 just recently.

Leaving Ft. Sill is always an incredible eye opener that while we spent one early morning there, soldiers are there daily waking up early and training to protect our country. I had many students share with me of their appreciation not only for their experience this morning at Ft. Sill, but ultimately for our military who choose to serve on daily basis. It may have been an early wake up call, but it was a wake up call well worth the experience and newfound appreciation for our military.

On our way out of Lawton, OK we stopped for lunch at Wayne’s Drive-In owned and operated by Wayne's grandson, a Leadership Oklahoma graduate of LeeAnne’s class. Students were treated to a great lunch of hamburgers and a good story of a business built on family values and pride in a community. Joe had originally lived out of state, but later had the realization of how much he loved Lawton, OK and the appreciation he had for the state of Oklahoma. Joe is currently in the works of opening a new restaurant in the next few years and he shared a few trays of chicken nuggets that would be a headliner on the restaurant’s menu—a solid choice considering the nuggets were devoured in less than 10 minutes.

I call this day the marathon because not only are we on the bus by 6 o’clock in the morning, but we also travel from Lawton to Sulphur and from Sulphur to Tulsa all within the span of an afternoon. They are both long trips, but the students have found a way to utilize the time to really build some great friendships within the class!

We soon found ourselves in Sulphur, OK at the Chickasaw Cultural Center. This museum just six years old hosts a variety of information about the Chickasaw Tribe and their history within the state of Oklahoma. Students were able to tour the museum and interact with volunteers in the living village. Members of the Chickasaw Tribe demonstrated social dances traditionally used by men to select their significant others from the women in the tribe. They also demonstrated a traditional stomp dance passed on from generation to generation to preserve the heritage and history of their tribe. It was a great afternoon spent at the Chickasaw Cultural Center and we walked away with some stellar gift bags and amazing cookies.

    

We ended Day 3 strong and spent our evening in downtown Tulsa to reenergize as we prepare for the next few days ahead! We are looking forward to the many more adventures along the way.