As the semester winds down and the anticipation toward winter break picks up, I find myself once again engaged in an ancient Navy/Marine Corps tradition which comes about only so often: the Fitness Report. Fitness Reports—better known as FITREPs—allow Naval and Marine Corps Officers the chance to sit down with their chain of command and collectively review their personal and professional development within the time since the last administration of FITREPs. In the case of ROTC students, we join in on the evaluative festivities twice a semester—once at the half-way point of the semester (Midterm EVALs and FITREPs) and once at the end of the semester. 

Generally speaking, I’ve really come to adopt the idea of review and reflection following any event on any level. While debriefs serve to allow immediate recaps of an executed mission, FITREPs hone in on the individual as a critical factor in the success of the whole, and offer us a chance to help guide the reflections of those under our command. I chose to spend the last day of the weekend administering my chain’s FITREPs, and decided on a few standardized questions which are left intentionally broad so as to keep the whole picture in view. They were:

1. Which area of life would you say you’ve grown the most throughout the semester, both personally and professionally?;

2. What’s something you felt you could have done better this semester?; and

3. What are some tangible goals you can set moving forward to ensure you become the best you can be?

As Squad Leader of Bravo 1 – 2 (Bravo Company, Platoon 1, Squad 2), I oversaw three individuals who I could not have been more proud to serve and work alongside. Each of them have raised each and every expectation I could have possibly conceived, and I am certain they will go far both within the unit and out in the fleet as Naval Officers. Each of these Midshipmen oversaw an additional two or three individuals, bringing our counts to a total of 12 people. While the team offered many great answers to the broader questions I asked above, I’ll provide some brief reflections from my own recollected answers so as to ensure the privacy of others’ responses. 

1. Throughout the semester, I’ve really come to spend a good deal of time in daily personal reflection. Such reflections have consistently highlighted the importance of understanding others before making assumptions or decisions based on a situation or position I might not yet fully grasp. By stepping into the shoes of others and walking around a while, we can really begin to understand the world from another point of view, and in doing so, greatly affect our own. I’d say my greatest personal development, then, would be in the area of empathy and understanding. Of course, this carries over into my professional life in many different ways—though for the sake of fairness in my answering the question, the practice of delegation has been something I’ve really come to grasp better this year in my role as Squad Leader in NROTC and Committee Chairman within the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA).

2. While I’ve only recently come to really get to work on bettering it, I could have—and perhaps should have—developed my time management skills to better incorporate a schedule required for a student with my involvement on campus. 

3. Sleep has admittedly not always been a priority this semester, which has likely resulted in a great loss of productivity in the long run. I think aiming for at least 7 hours of sleep per night by getting ahead on academic and extra-curricular work, along with fitting more frequent workout sessions into my schedule, are two steps I can take immediately to ensure I’m as productive as possible both physically and mentally. 

While these were only some of my general responses to this semester’s wrap-up FITREP, I’d like to encourage each of you reading this to take some time and reflect on your own semester. What were some of your successes? Your shortcomings? What might you have done differently with the knowledge and wisdom you’ve gained over the last few months, if you’d had it then? What can you do moving forward to be the best version of yourself? How are you helping others become the best they can be?