Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 4

Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 4

Upon valentine's Day, we prepared the battalions, secured our partners and invited our parents as well as our foster parents for the event. During this time, we did almost the same program we had during the acquaintance party. The only difference is that this time, it will be a month to go and we will no longer be treated as pesky varmints but a little bit higher in the caste of mammals inside the Academy.

Finally, March came, suggesting what recognition day was drawing near. Recognition day is also called the batch pinning wherein our class seal. authenticated by our hardships will finally become a part of our uniform... of our pride. It was comforting to breathe the air of the seemingly endless world. The blue sky looked brighter; a hope for a new tomorrow crept in the nerves of our face that invited a smile for a job well done.

the end...

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Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 3

Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 3

Upon the graduation of class 2002, we were utilized as parading elements and most of the time, we were confined to our quarters to do things for them. It was encouragement for us, our hearts seeing the graduating class step into the pedestal of success while we were just beginning.

Then the month of September came, - the excitement of the Acquaintance party filled the air together with our beloveds, we watched the Silent Drill Company perform for the first time. Open house then followed. We made preparation to entairtain our guest. It was during this time when we introduced our family and friends to our upperclassmen. Later in the evening, we had our catered dinner at the Mess Hall. The band serenade us as we enjoyed our meals with our special guests. As the night went deeper, the dance floor got filled with overwhelming joy.

Semestral break finally came; and for the first time, midshipmen were allowed to go home.

Time passed swiftly and the cold breeze of December filled the Academy atmosphere. IT was a feeling of both happiness and anxiety, for everything we did pointed to our Christmas vacation, a time we plebes can finally spend wholesome hours with our families.

to be continue...

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Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 2

Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 2

As days passed by, our upperclassmen grew in number. Bursting with rage and loudness, the third classmen came; they were like an armada ready to clash. We seized every second and every split opportunity to know their names. We looked at their nameplates, uniform and even their slippers as well as every single clue that could tell us their identity. Our already crumpled world became smaller and smaller each day as the first classmen and the second classmen came aboard. Most of the time, we moved as if we had thousands of unaccomplished jobs, so as not to be caught in the limelight. Reporting, compliances and other rituals of the lowest mammal in the Academy seemed to be unending.

The mess hall, under its hollow structure could not accommodate silence against the shouts of our upperclassmen as well as our voices that needed to be raised to the highest power every time we made a statement. "Chow time" is a definition of "inverted meals"' "raising feet", "exaggeration", "the usual condiments" etc., exercises, new offenses, compliance and other similar things. Being the last to finish eating is a dining faux pas which eventually results in facing scary upperclassmen. If you are unlucky enough, you will end up at the back of the battalion for the due process, with unthinkable reporting as a supplement.

Formation time from reveille until the last muster could not be complete without double timing in place. Exercises then followed the sequence of typical events that a fourth class midshipmen always expected.

to be continue...

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Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 1

Class 2006 Our Story? (Taming the Beast) part 1

FOURTH CLASS YEAR
(Taming the Beast)

A very short shore pass revitalize our weathered body and enthusiasm; it was again time for us to muster the courage that seemed to have gone on AWOL. Anticipation of the life that we would adapt inside the battalion , the mess hall as well as the action - packed daily routines made our hearts pound so hard it could be felt nautical miles away, and was subtly accompanied by a brief gulp of saliva.

As we neared the mighty gates of our deer PMMA, the sight of its mighty gates in a very bareen background stirred quirky feelings from within us. Our bodies seemed to shake together with the leaves that quivered as the warm breeze blew against the needles of the pine tress. With our left hand holding our luggage and the right on thrust position, we moved on the double toward our second home.

Entering the barracks was never easy, our feet needed a jostle to make a step. After arranging our thing and cleaning our quarters; the heads made us busy the whole day. It was quite all right during that time because only few of our seniors were onboard. Knowing that it would be quite sooner or later that the empty deck be infested by tyrant dragons, our senses wanted to slow every second that passed to delay our doom.

to be continue...

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Class 2006 Our Story? (Reinventing the Steel ) part 5

Class 2006 Our Story? (Reinventing the Steel ) part 5

The last two weeks of the month seemed like a year-long showcase filled with unending riffle drills, mass punishments and other strenuous physical activities that defied our medical certificates and neuro exams; even if they held true amidst the tempest. The absence of tree canopies, the dusty brown fields and the extreme heat of the Zambalanean sun during the day evaporated every drop of sweat we made. The sight of an ice-cold bottle of cola being poured onto the soil in front of us buy an orientation staff while saying, "Those who want to resign can drink...," dried our throats; but for some, it dried their will and rung the quarter deck bell to signify their weakness and end their endeavor as probess.

Finally the day when we are accepted as part of the Corps of Midshipmen - the Oath taking Day.


A multitude of young lads once filled with courage and fears as a schooner were outnumbered in thirty one days of probation. We were told to embrace onto our emotions in the crowd; but the sight of our beloveds after a month of isolation without letters and phone calls, even a single picture brought tears of joy that we held back in our eyes. Our parents did not recognizes us because of the very dark complexion the sun had uniformly clothed as with, and the unbalanced atmospheric pressure that actually shrunk our skin to cling closer t our bones. For us, we had already tested our ships, but the long voyage was just about to begin.

the end...

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Class 2006 Our Story? (Reinventing the Steel ) part 4

Class 2006 Our Story? (Reinventing the Steel ) part 4

A day later, our hairs were cut millimeters above our scalp. Those who overly treasured their good looks were sent home. We are also taught the proper posture and bearing of a cadet. One might think it easy but in reality, it is a posture that defies the longitudinal and transverse stress tolerance of our keel and framing system in short, unstabilized. It is a conglomeration of "heads up", "chin-in", "look straight ahead ", "shoulder's back and down" and "hands back"; all in one to forge a PMMA fourth class midshipman.

For the first two weeks, indoctrination of the regimental rules and regulations popularly known as the Triple R was facilitated. The tiresome daily routine of waking up very early and staying late at night made our eyelids heavy, but the presence of the Orientation Staff restricted even limited air to be gathered in our throats to make a discreet yawn. Many lost hope and missed the comfort of civilian life. We did not just become slim but actually became very thin. As our metabolism increased, we hungered like prisoners of war.

We are hungry yet strong; alive and kicking! We thirsted like desert soil in abyss to which a raindrop was bliss. Determination was the keyword for everything.

to be continue:

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