10 August 2008
BIG SANDY, Texas - When I was assigned as a Cadet Public Affairs Officer, my first thought was that this would be easy: a couple of photos here, a couple there, loads of personal time. Wow, I had a rude awakening coming. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy myself. We worked all day and most of the night on articles and setting up an audio-video presentation for the end-of-course dining-in. I had loads of fun running around and surprising people with an unexpected flash, or making cadets smile. When I would come around to take a cadet basic flight's pictures, and it was suppose to be a silly picture, the cadets would be at attention. But after ten minutes of joking with them, they would finally show me how silly they could be. What made me love being a C/PAO was getting to go to the firing range or ropes course; there I got to talk with cadets and listen to their experience, and what they enjoyed the most about encampment.

When I signed up for staff I had not realized that staff wouldn't get much sleep. On Thursday night we went to bed a little late. I woke up in the middle of the night, standing in the middle of the billets with a hot iron in one hand and starch in the other, ironing my uniform. I freaked out a little and put everything away, trying to make it look as if nothing had happened. Luckily, no one was awake.
Friday night, during the dining-in, I was unable to stay and watch our own presentation, that we had worked on so hard throughout the week. I had to take care of an emergency. During a friendly game of soccer that morning, one of the cadets from my home squadron, who was more important than the presentation and the food, had been accidentally kicked where she had had recent surgery. Fearing she might have internal bleeding, we rushed her to the hospital as the dining-in was getting started. At first she hadn't wanted to go, so we had to persuade her not to be stubborn and let us take her there. Finally she agreed, but only if I stayed with her the whole time. As C/CMSgt Caroline Morton and I carried her out to the van, my shoulder slipped out of place. Boy, was I glad I still managed to carry her, without dropping her.

                              1.2. 3.

[1] C/SMSgt Kayla Cassel, 2d Lt Nancy Spanial, Cdt Jagur Roach and Cdt Samuel Morton, all of them members of the Gregg County Composite Squadron. [2] The colors head the graduating class, as they pass in review. [3] 2Lt. Cassie Stephens,C/SMSgt Kayla Cassel, and Major Davis chatting while the cadets practice for pass and review.

We hung out at the hospital together with 2d Lt. Nancy Spanial, and goofed around while waiting on the CAT scan results. After about six hours in the hospital, she was finally released at around one in the morning. She was excited that she would still be able to march in her graduation. So before heading back to the ALERT Academy, we decided to make a quick stop at McDonald’s to celebrate with a couple of milkshakes. Oh, did they hit the spot!

Saturday morning, the big graduation day for all the cadets, had been a day that I too had been waiting for. Not to end encampment, as some cadet basics felt, but to finally put my shoulder back in place. After being put back in place, and the cadet basics passed in review, I enjoyed watching all the familiar faces that I had visited and taken pictures of during the previous week.
But this was not the last day at ALERT for me. The same as many other cadets, I had also signed up for LESA.
 

Article and pictures submitted by C/SMSgt Kayla Cassel