Philippine Military Academy Class of 1978 History

Yearling Year 1975-76

No longer plebes
A brief span of time had passed and we found ourselves with familiar faces, no longer tense, rather more relaxed, as different cadets; different in the sense that we now had a new role to play. We were the exemplars of the Corps, perhaps the "Tigers of the Corps" as well but no longer plebes. And we now occupied our place as "the yearlings".
We were eager, much too eager, to start a new term. Maybe, this was so because we wanted to see the new batch of plebes and more so because of the new life that was ahead of us.
Yearling Academic Trimester
And so we dealt with the academic term, routinely with new subjects, and the varied duties and schedules which were incorporated with every phase of cadet life. We were then "on our own", no more reminders of what to do and "what not to do", less pressures but more responsibilities. We found these easy because we had already inculcated in our systems the "cadet way of living" through the period of training in the past. Now we had to show that all were not in vain. We had to live-up to expectations, perhaps give more than just what there is to it because we were "models", the "fresh products" of dynamic change. From then on, we did strive to do well, until the first term had come to an end.
Nueva Ecija Field Training
Our military term that followed gave as much experience to the lives we were being fit into, as military men.
In the classrooms, we found new techniques in all aspects, particularly in leadership, teawork, and camaraderie. These were all put into practice. Finally, we underwent our practical exercises in Laur, Nueva Ecija, the home of the 1st Infantry (TABAK) Division.
Both individually and in teams, we learned through hard work, that our profession was so exacting that lives depended upon our accuracy in decisions and executions. There were different courses we had to undergo; obstacle courses, bayonet courses, infiltration courses, rapelling courses and the like which we went through with excellent results.
But we enjoyed most getting the feel of firing the different weapons which were made available to us. We had howitzeres, mortars, recoilless rifles, machineguns of different calibers, semi-automatic and automatic rifles and rocket launchers to add to the experiences we already had. We even learned to operate tanks, armoured-personnel carriers and commando cars. Also, there was the feeling of throwing live grenades. Yes, we got the feel of what it really was like to be engaged in combat, where we had to be ready to operate all these when the need was inevitable.
All these were capped by maneuvers. Within a week's span we developed our skills in map reading, bivouacs, raids, ambushes, troop movements, communication and so on, because we were to be professional soldiers. There were difficulties we encountered, numerous cuts and bruises, burns and insect bites, and all, we were told, were part of the game. Later, victorious in our own right, we knew we were better prepared to face future contingencies.
But it was not all hardwork. We still mustered enough time for socials and other recreational activites. There were new friendships made and particularly more interaction evolved and in-between, there was a still a moment of spreading goodwill.
Silent Drill Company Performance
The performances of the Silent Drill Company of Class 1978 added life and meaning to our stay and to the people we had been with during our stay in Nueva Ecija. Being the first performance outside of Baguio, it proved all the while that we, too, could entertain and gain the warm-headedness of others through exhibitions. And it was shown that we were no bunch of "aloof cadets" as the misconceptions always went.
Back to tough Academics
Short-lived as it had to be, we moved back to the Academy to tackle more tasks slated for us. And after a brief break, we delved into a new academic term. This was with a different thinge because aside from the regular duties, we were also made to supervice the plebes. Gradually, this turned us into leaders that we had started to be; drill supervisors, academic coaches, orderly supervisors, that is to say, we inspecteed the roster of duties which the plebes had as barracks orderlies and saw to it that it was carried out properly and perhaps the whole lot which we were taught to do and which the yearlings before us had to do in such a situation.
Another chapter ends
The year's end came as fast as it had begun. When finally, February came again, we saw ourselves adding another stripe in our sleeves and shoulder boards. We were now faced with a new role, no longer as "models", but then immediately behind the scene, who ran the Corps, even at our own level.
We soon felt that as we moved onward our goal, the burden of responsibilities was soon slowly creeping down our shoulders, as we were the second ranking class in the Cadet Corps. Faced with such a condition, all of us were filled with such anxiety, enthusiasm and desire.