Basic Officer Leader Course instructors develops tomorrow's leaders

FORT SILL, Okla. (March 24, 2016) -- Physical fitness begins with a 5:45 a.m. formation for those in the Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) at Fort Sill. The students, mostly Army lieutenants (with a sprinkling of Marines as well) arrive a few minutes earlier to begin.

Their instructors however, have been there much earlier. For Capt. Grady Dacus, an instructor with 1st Battalion, 30th Field Artillery, the day began at 4:30 a.m. when he woke up at his home in Wichita Falls, Texas, and drove the 50 minutes to Fort Sill.

"Wichita Falls is close to my wife's family so she has that extra support," said Dacus, who pulls out his phone to show off photos of his twin 1-year-old girls, Kate and Maggie. "Some nights I get home late. She's used to it a little bit."

Like other types of teachers, the work hours for instructors at BOLC are not confined to the classroom. Many will spend a significant amount of time outside of the classroom preparing for their lessons, working with students, conducting reviews, fielding calls about assignments but also on "military" duties such as leading physical fitness each morning at 6 a.m. or serving as the field officer of the day.