A wet XO: CFIX part 2

No one was worried. What's a little rain? We are native Washingtonians for the most part, so why would we care if it's a little wet? It was still the same Saturday when the basics were to arrive and arrive they did. As soon as they were settled into their barracks, the weather declared itself. This was going to be a wet week--that was the report anyway, and when they predict rain it's a good idea to believe it. What are the chances of getting out of a reported rain shower in Western Washington? 'Nuf said.

So it rained. I went about my daily tasks as unfazed as was possible. My daily tasks? You don't know what that means I suppose. I was the Executive Officer (XO). It's a command position that ranks around number 2 in the cadet chain of command. I had charge of the "support staff" I mentioned in my last post. To summarize my tasks, I'll just say that if things were going well, then I had almost nothing to do. It follows then that I would have had a lot to do if things were not going well. I won't say that things were perfect but then I wasn't totally swamped either! In fact, I think the cadet commander and I got more naps than anyone else--a sure sign of a successful encampment!

About that rain, though...

Much of what was planned didn't happen because it was too wet. Not everything was canceled though and a lot of us liked the wet! The gravel "quad" in the center of the barracks area was pretty close to a lake by the next morning! We loved to march sturdily right through the deepest puddles--like we were somehow more hardcore because of it! It was all good fun really. The medical staff put an end to all legal "puddle marching" on the grounds that wet feet make cold cadets--don't know what gave them that idea.

Later in the week, as some puddles morphed into reservoirs, we made sure to post warning signs: "Danger, NO Swimming." Yes, we'll try to avoid that.