Ben Boyle ‘24 and Michael Hao ‘26 sit down to discuss their Corps experiences and the story behind this podcast

Yep, you read that right. My time is up :)

The Corps Leader's Backpack:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UUwhE-FW9eCH-lAvs9Ogy-NaK755pMV-/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104512758598995209094&rtpof=true&sd=true

This is the second half of our new Aggie officers conversation. These recent grads have some awesome insight into life right after you commission and I got a lot from our chat. In this episode we talk about active duty life and their lessons learned, even with just a short time on the job.

Timestamps:

0:00 Episode Introduction

0:40 What does day 1 as a 2LT look like?

1:06 Sarah and the USN

5:04 Jefferson and the USAF

7:29 Haile and the USA

13:04 Haile, what was BLOC like?

16:43 did y’all have any “observation phase” at the start?

17:07 Haile and USA

18:49 Jefferson and the USAF

23:10 Any parting thoughts?

23:32 Jefferson gets excited about NCOs (they’re awesome)

24:45 Haile says put out for your NCOs, stay spongy, take the hard jobs

27:22 Sarah reminds everyone what a privilege it is to serve

28:50 We talk about making smart money decisions

29:58 did you buy the new 2LT truck?

31:08 Haile got a dog instead

31:40 General good money advice

32:40 Last Question

Today we’re talking with a couple of brand new A&M officers from the class of '24. I got to sit down with Jefferson Thomas from the Air Force, Haile Flores with the Army, and Sarah McMurry repping the Navy.

This episode is long and gets pretty in depth. Check the timecodes, as I’ve organized it by ROTC/military branch affiliation. Those will help you skip around to find whatever you think is most relevant.

This is part one of a two part series. This episode is about their experience in ROTC at A&M and how you can set yourself up for success. If you’re a freshman or sophomore who’s passionate about serving in the US military and want to chase a specific career goal there, they have tons of good advice for you.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

4:08 How was y’all’s experience with ROTC?

4:27 Haile and AROTC

5:25 Jefferson and AFROTC

6:56 Sarah and NROTC

8:01 How does your respective MOS/AFSC placement work?

9:17 Jefferson and AFROTC

13:10 Sarah and NROTC

20:16 Haile and AROTC

30:48 What did you wish you knew coming into your first job?

31:07 Jefferson and AFROTC

35:30 Sarah passes because she’s just a baby LT

35:41 Haile and ARTOC

Today’s episode is a conversation with two outfit commanders, James Wilkey from G-1 and Kyle Pate from Squadron 16. They’re both good friends of mine and some of the best commanders I know. I wanted to sit down with them to talk about their experience with Corps leadership at an outfit level. These gents have great wisdom to offer and plenty to learn from their experience.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:04 James and Kyle introductions

2:41 big picture lessons learned as COs

5:20 things we learned from guys who came before us

8:48 when is it appropriate to push back on staff decisions?

13:42 how do you get into Corps leadership?

20:23 transfer leadership vs (almost) triple crown leadership

26:16 staying involved when you aren’t in leadership

31:36 James - “Take every opportunity. Leave the Corps with no regrets”

34:00 Kyle - “The Corps is what you make it. Always stay improving”

36: 50 last question (but we keep yapping)

Today we’re talking with some cadets about how to improve your outfit’s presence on social media and making quality content. My guests today are Bentley Miller '25, who runs the Wing PR, and Liam Snyder '25, the PR Offer for Squadron 8. Our special guest today is the admin for the instagram account Newcorpsder. You probably know them for the Old Army edits and work they’ve done with units like Det 805, SEAL Platoon, and the Marksmanship Unit. This podcast is a bit long and can get in the weeds sometimes, but there’s a lot of gold in here. We talked about everything from the software and techniques these guys use, to the philosophy behind what you’re presenting on social media and the messaging we put forward as the Corps.

Timestamps:0:00 introduction

1:18 random who’s who, newcorpsder introduction

3:20 newcorpsder talks behind the scenes

5:54 setting goals for social media

7:05 how often should I be posting?

8:25 getting a video taken down :(

9:20 working with Corps media

12:20 “Be Proud”

13:47 why do you post what you do?

23:09 newcorpsder unites the corps (unintentionally)

25:51 corps controversies (women in the corps??)

28:50 how do you keep the audience engaged in a post/video?

34:54 why the length of the videos?

35:51 vertical or nah?

36:55 what platforms should you be on?

41:36 what gear do you need?

45:06 which outfits are crushing PR?

48:13 final advice and thoughts

51:05 last question (and a Ms. Frizzle tangent that was too funny to cut)

Today we sit down with Jake Kielty and Travis Griffing, the 2024-2025 Regimental buttpots for Corps Bonfire! We spent our time talking about how Corps Bonfire operates, what the culture and work environment of bonfire is, how these guys are working to change the Corps’ perspective on Bonfire, and what serving such a unique tradition means to them. I came from an outfit with no Bonfire involvement, so this conversation was a huge learning experience for me. These guys and the work they do with Corps Bonfire have a whole new level of respect from me. If you’re interested at all, I would highly recommend you reach out to these guys. You can contact them through the Corps Bonfire instagram pages, or their personal cell numbers. First Cut is Sunday September 1st and it’s not an event you’re going to want to miss.

Howdy all! On this episode of the podcast we grab a few Corps leaders and discuss all things related to the restructure of FOW (now known as "Corps Onboarding"). Hopefully this gives y'all a better perspective on the upcoming changes going into the school year. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below!