2014-2015 A-Company Leadership

After a long and extensive selection process, next year's Commander and First Sergeant have been selected.

Congratulations to A-Co Commander Jordan Garcia and A-Co 1SG Andrew Hounsel!

I know you guys will do a great job and that A-Co will remain in relentless pursuit in all you do.

Jordan Garcia with B-Batt 1SG Brendan Crouch 

after the A-Co Half Marathon

Andrew Hounsel with General Ramirez

Half Marathon and Reunion

The outfit had an excellent time this past weekend with the annual outfit half marathon and the soon to be annual A-Company Reunion. 

The half marathon is a new tradition started three years ago as A-Co began to discover its identity. Each year we've expanded the endeavor a little more. This year we opened up the run to former members of A-Co with the hopes that we will eventually be able to open to the general public.

The A-Co reunion was an idea that has been about three years in the making. The idea was to build up a strong alumni basis and connect A-Co past, present, and future. The reunion was well received by the alumni and the outfit had a great time swapping fish year stories with our guests. 

I would like to give a special thanks to Jacob Jones and Caleb Jones who put in a vast amount of work on the logistics side of things to make this event possible. You guys are great!

Parent's Weekend Slide Show

Parents, if you have pictures that would be good for the slide show that we are creating for parent's weekend, please send them to Bryan Scott: bryancscott9214@tamu.edu

Thank you!

Bloody Cross

Congratulations to A-Co for running a 20:10 at the Blood Cross Competition! 

The Bloody Cross competition is a 6 lap run around the quad(about 3 miles) that the Corps participates in once a year. During last year's run A-Co broke into the 10 ten; the first time a band outfit had done so in years. This year we made a very strong showing and will undoubtedly be first the band, and ranked well among the Corps. 

Part of the competition is retention during the run. If you lose more than 25% of the block or have people who skipped, you receive a time penalty. I'm proud to say that A-Co had no time penalties. Wolves Run Together!

Parent's Weekend Auction

Each year during parent's weekend, the outfit holds a silent auction to pay for starter supplies for the next year's incoming freshman class. This is a long standing tradition within A-Co and one that incoming freshman and freshman parents benefit from greatly.

If you have an item you would like to donate to the silent auction, please contact our coordinator for this year, Daniel Delaney: delaneydp1992@tamu.edu

Thank you for your support!

Ethical Leadership

This past Sunday, the Corps attended a mandatory briefing on discipline, or as our speaker Lt Col Emerson likes to put it, "Big 'D' Discipline"; emphasizing the positive aspects of discipline rather than discipline as strictly a form of punishment. It would be convenient to say that A&M and the Corps provide a "safe environment" for young people to make mistakes and learn from them, but it is increasingly clear that this is not the case, nor should it be given the expectations that society places on tomorrow's leaders in both the public and private sectors.

When I was a fish, discipline briefings were essentially just reminders to not haze each other and if you were going to, cover it up so a CTO (Cadet Training Officer or "Bull"- member of the commandant's staff) doesn't ever know about it. This is certainly not the message nor the situation that we find ourselves in today. Not only are cadets expected to not participate in incidents of hazing, sexual harassment, or underage drinking, but to also hold those around them accountable to the same standard. It is in this condition where leadership is truly tested.

I spoke to the freshman during outfit meeting about an ethical paradigm I recently heard:

"An organization that is doing things right will demand your integrity, an organization that is not doing things right will demand your loyalty."

I challenged them to consider what type of organization the Corps is, what type of organization A-Company is. As members of this outfit, what kind of culture do we promote? How do we conduct ourselves, and what kind of conduct do we condone?

Ultimately, it is impossible to be perfect, but it is possible to handle any deviations we might have through the proper venues. I'll end with Governor Coke's advice to the first class to enter A&M:

"To the Students: Let your watchword be duty, and know no other talisman of success than labor. Let honor be your guiding star in your dealings with you superiors, your fellows, with all. Be as true to a trust reposed as the needle to the pole, stand by the right even to the sacrifice of life itself, and learn that death is preferable to dishonor."

Fall Semester Grades

A-Co had an excellent fall semester in many respects, but especially our grades!

Every class posted a 3.0 GPA, the highest we've ever had for the fall.

Freshman posted the highest grades in the band and 10th highest in the Corps. This is especially impressive considering most have engineering and science majors which are notorious for tough freshmen courses.

I am incredibly proud of everyone's hard work and looking forward to a great spring semester. We don't have any football games, but will be quite busy with Corps activities to include Aggieland Saturday, Big Event, Hall of Honor, Parent's Weekend, March to the Brazos, and Final Review.

As I've told the fish before, second semester is where you really get to know your buddies. You have the Corps figured out, and classes too for the most part. There is more time on the weekends to hang out and just relax with your friends. I'm glad that we have 100% of the freshmen returning for their second semester as a fish. It will definitely be one to remember.

Tired fish after a long bowl game trip