Day...0?

And so, it begins.  I got to Benning early, so I decided to use the time to take care of some miscellaneous things - ID card, vehicle decal, uniform parts, etc.  Things went smoothly until I went to Olsen Hall to check on the BOQ reservation that I made a few weeks prior.  While they knew I was coming and had me in the system, there were simply no slots available for me.  They sent me on my way with a 'Non-Availability Statement' and an explanation that I would be reimbursed for up to ten days of staying in a hotel, until my housing situation was settled - either by a slot opening up, or me finding a place.  Needless to say I decided not to bank on a slot opening up.  While it's never a joy to shell out money for a hotel, it's the nature of the beast; there's simply too much going on here for them to have space available for everyone.

Speaking of money, I seem to have been bleeding it since I arrived.  Nothing major, just little things, but one of those 'death by a thousand cuts' feeling.  Two particular things stood out - we are required to have an orange reflective vest with our name and rank embroidered on white tape, front and back.  There are several military stores around the area that will take care of that for you, for about 25 dollars.  Twenty minutes later I have a nice shiny reflective vest.  We also need a canteen - I gave myself a couple of kicks for deciding to not bring mine along, but such is life.

Once I took care of this stuff, I reported in proper.  As you would expect from a course of this nature, in-processing is more or less down to a science.  They'll give you all the info you need to get started.  You'll know when, where and in what uniform to show up to events, and how to get the ball rolling on BAH.  As I said, they'll give you everything you need to get started, but in case you're curious, DA-5960 is the form you'll be dealing with.

Other than that...once you report in, you'll be doing PT and showing up to formations.  From what I gather ,the following week will be devoted to getting all the admin stuff out of the way before IOBC starts proper.  I'll keep updating as I go along, but for now my only concern is housing.

Observations and Advice :

• Make finding housing your priority - from what I can gather from my fellow LTs, everything else will be taken care of during in-processing, but a place to live is all on you.
• If possible, start travel early.  This gives you time to take care of any little details that need to be taken care of before class, and if something delays your travel, it gives you a buffer.  If you show up before you report date, they'll still in-process you - easier for everyone all around.
• Check in with DEERS / ID cards and make sure you've been moved to Active Duty - if not, they can take care of that for you before it rears its head later.
• Places you should know how to get to - Olsen Hall (Housing), Soldier's Plaza (Admin and DEERS/ID), and PX (Clothing Sales).  You should do a route recon from where you're living to the IBOLC building, so you know how to get there.
• Make copies of everything, and keep all receipts.  From my limited experience with military orders, you always are required to make far more copies than you end up using - as soon as you try showing up with fewer copies than listed, however, Murphy's Law will kick in and you'll end up needing them all.  
• Never give up your original copies - in fact, I would leave your originals in your room altogether, and carry only copies.  If you're down to your last copy of something, tell the person wanting your copy that they are free to make a copy for themselves.