All I can say is... Wow. What a day. The day started with a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call and ended at 10:45 p.m. when we finally got to our hotel. The 83rd JCOC has 37 participants that are broken down into 5 teams: Army, Marine Corp, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. I am a member of the Air Force team and we are led by Captain Bryon McGarry. For security reasons, I can't disclose all locations but I will be as detailed as possible.

Our first stop this morning was at the Pentagon. What a huge and amazing structure. We visited the Press Briefing room first and had our week outlined for us, including an overview of the Department of Defense. The highlight of the morning was an address and Q&A with the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr. He was extremely open and candid. It was a great start.

We also had the chance to visit the Hall of Honor. The hall contains all of the names of the 3,458 people who have received the Medal of Valor, the highest award for valor in action in the U.S. Military. Our final stop at the Pentagon was a visit to the 9/11 Memorial. It's a beautiful display and a humbling reminder of the threats our nation faces.

From the Pentagon, we headed to Andrews Air Force base to board our aircraft for the week, a C-17. From there, we flew to "Air Force Special Operations Day." We were greeted warmly by the men and women from the Air Force. "Air Powerrrrrr" is the greeting members use and chant. The afternoon included a command briefing from the Lieutenant, followed by a static tour of a special operations capable aircraft. These included both planes and helicopters. Following the tour of the aircraft, we experienced the daily workouts that members participate in. Ummmm... Let's just say I'm out of shape!

We then experienced what a troop goes through when they are deployed abroad. It was amazingly thorough and we each received our own military "dog tag." After a quick dinner, we then began to prepare for the main event of the day - a simulated night mission. What an incredible experience. We started by being briefed by a superior, who outlined in detail what was expected of us. By the time he was completed, we made our way outside into the now-dark night. The special tactics team led us to our designated aircraft. On the "import" trip, my chalk group took the CV-22. Our "export" was on the MI-17. Both trips were amazing, but the CV-22's speed and rapid ascent/decent was extraordinary. We literally felt as if we were in a mission. It left us all speechless.

The final part of the mission was a simulated mission that included gunfire from the C-130 planes. We were given night glasses to view the fires. The C-130s circled high above and fired time and time again, repeatedly striking their targets perfectly. Impressive, to say the least. I would love to include more, and I hope to in future days. But for now it's time for bed. Our wakeup call is late tomorrow... 7 a.m.

Special shout out to Operations Manager Jeff George who went out of his way to say hello to me. He heard I would be in attendance. Jeff is originally from Zelienople and went to Riverside High School. It was great to talk about Pittsburgh. He has been serving our Country for 18 years now with multiple deployments overseas. Thank you, Jeff, for keeping us safe and for proudly representing Pittsburgh.

- MLR