Not much to update. Another week has gone by, and at this point the general orientation is halfway over. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know my classmates better, and all of our instructors/speakers have been wonderful. It’s somewhat daunting when you join such a large bureaucracy, but it is so comforting knowing that the people within have been so friendly and approachable.

One cool thing over the last week was we finally got to go to MED HQ and meet with our fellow MED colleagues. The culture in MED seems absolutely fantastic, and it was really nice talking to other folks in the department that have medical backgrounds. General orientation is run mostly by generalist officers with no medical background, so it was fun to talk shop and be more specific in our questioning. I really hope all this top to bottom friendliness and approachability carries over to my first post and throughout my career.

Speaking of going to post, it won’t be for another 2ish weeks or so that I learn my first assignment. Without a doubt, the waiting and wondering is the hardest part of the orientation. Still sort of weird knowing I will be living somewhere in the world in just a few short months, but still not quite sure where. I’m fairly sure I will get one of my top choices based on my peers bidding patterns, but nothing is certain.

Otherwise, it’s been a fairly unremarkable week. I miss my wife and kids terribly, and am counting down the days until I get to see them. Fortunately, when they do come up to visit later this month, I will have a week of self study, so they will have my undivided attention. I can’t wait.

Finally, I want to congratulate all the future MP’s that got invited this past week to the July combined orientation. A few of you have reached out to me after discovering this site, and I couldn’t be happier to the folks I have met through this blog. Congrats again and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!!!

Until next time, thanks for reading. –Nick