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Posted: 5/21/2003 6:07:13 PM EDT
I ship Tuesday morning to Missouri for BCT - Army Reserve. I'm in decent physical shape; i run for 25 minutes every other day, and have been doing a lot of reps of pushups, free-situps, and crunches for the past couple months, too. I'm up to about 60 chest-to-the-ground pushups without stopping. I realize i'm probably a little behind on the running, but I'm honestly not to worried about it, as i figure the first week or two most will be in similar shape.
Memorized the rank structure (oh, how difficult...), the 3 general orders, and can easily do all the facing movements (dad taught me those when i was about 4), so that little stuff is out of the way. Rifle marksmanship doesn't worry me; i've shot probably 8 to 10 thousand rounds in competition and know how to zero a rifle, not cocky, just confident... for Cincinattus: yes, i'll bring a dozen phone cards and lots of change for the pay phones and junk food machines that don't exist. [;)] Anyone have any advice to share? I'd really like to hear it, no matter how unimportant you think it might be. Thanks, Nick |
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Don't go out and get puking drunk the night before you ship out.
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Ears open, Mouth Shut. Be Motivated. Help your buddies.
Aviator |
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Ears open, mouth shut. Don't be eyeballing the area, move like you are on fire and yell [b]LOUD[/b].
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Show up wearing plain clothes, no jewerly, mabye a plain looking watch, no peircings, dont shave your head, but dont have a mullet. Just try to be the nameless face for 8 weeks (or however long) like Avaitor said, try to keep your mouth shut and don't volunteer for anything. Take only what you'll need, they'll search thru your stuff the first day and have you put anything unnessicary in a locked room for the rest of the time. Don't have a bruce lee fighiting book or big rubber dildo or anything. Take plenty of socks and underware, about 8 pair each, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving accesories (i recomend dispasoable), deoderant, body soap, and any other personal grooming items you can think of. Glasses if you wear them, they'll tell you not to wear contacts. Some stationary if you plan on writing home (stamps/envelopes/paper/pen). Some money, like $60 or so. You might want to stash a little pack of kleenex (the TP sucks) Just dont have anything in your bag that you won't need, they love finding all your goodies, and no candy or food.
And take some soap on a rope [sex] haha, just kidding. Good luck, just remember they WILL yell at you, just lock up and wait till they're done, it's all part of the game. |
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Don't worry when it is time to get that shot in your left ball with the square needle. Ignore the screams of your fellow soldiers. Those guys are pussies and it really doesn't hurt that bad.
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Quoted: Don't worry when it is time to get that shot in your left ball with the square needle. Ignore the screams of your fellow soldiers. Those guys are pussies and it really doesn't hurt that bad. View Quote LMAO. THanks. [B)] thank you. |
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I hope you like hot humid weather, because the State of Misory has it this time of year. Just try to enjoy yourself, and get along with the other recruits. They will have black flag days when the Heat index gets too high- so you won't die of heat stroke. When you are dealing with all the bullshit- just remember: You are part of the greatest fighting force the world has ever known. Good luck
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Don't loose your earplugs, you'll probably need them when all the other idiots won't shutup at night. Don't fall asleep on fireguard ever, write letters or something. Also, do not EVER EVER EVER even look like you are tired or sleeping when on the FTX and pulling guard. Then again, I went through Infantry OSUT, which is different than BCT. Some guy at Benning just got done with BCT when me and friend went to get our finances straightened out. He said the 8 or 9 mile march they did at the end was really tough. He asked how long we had to march, and when we said 25 miles, I thought he was gonna faint.
It's all mental dude. Just about anybody can make it if you want to. Just don't quit. Good luck, and yes, do bring phonecards, not change. |
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Take all the Gay porn you can.... As a matter of fact take nothing but gay porn. You're training instructors will love it![BD]
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don't know about the [i]Army[/i], but the answer for Marine Boot Camp was, "Do Everything as Hard and as Fast and as Loud as you can, and realize you will STILL get shit on".
With that FIRMLY in the front of your Brain-Housing-Group, it's all 'easy'. |
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Quoted: Ears open, mouth shut. Don't be eyeballing the area, move like you are on fire and yell [b]LOUD[/b]. View Quote This about hits the nail on the head. |
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I will mostly likely sbe signing up for my time of duty soon. My visions getting a little blurry but I havent had it checked out. Will this be an issue? Or will the military issue me some rape prevention goggles?
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when the yelling gets loud and you get stressed, just remember, they can't kill you and if they do the will be court martialed.
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The first few days are always tough, they are looking to get rid of those who really dont want to be there.(we lost 3 the first night) Each phase of training will be just like the first days of bootcamp and the games will seem to get going again. Those who dont quit will leave in uniform, those who let themselves become victim of the games will walk away with a shaved head and the clothes they wore when they got there. I dont know about the Army but during my 13 weeks we were all singled out and all of us were given a hard time but it only lasted a week or so, then you were just another turd that wont quit.
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Quoted: Volunteer every chance you get.[;)] Sgtar15 View Quote [ROFL2][LOLabove] [size=5]GOOD IDEA![/size=5] [ROFL][LOL] You can learn to scream "F**king Legs" at the top of your lungs. [wave] Just do your best and leave any Cell Phones behind. They're not needed. By the way, Army food isn't that bad. Really! You are, however, going to miss out one of the best treats ever given to a Soldier anywhere. Canned Peaches from C-Rations. I don't believe they were equaled at any time. You New Guys will Never learn the thrill of using the P-38 Can Opener. That and eating John Wayne/Dead Duke Bars. |
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Im not shitting you, the first night at Ft. Sill, I was in bed and thinking to myself "WTF am I doing here?" ( I had 3 years of JROTC also) by the 3rd week I was loving every min. of it!...now I would love to do it again just because I know how the game works and it was fun as hell!...and our FTX road march was only 15 miles back to main post. You will learn to make all of your food into a sandwich, the Veal pattys are ok...and I to this day mis Chili-Mac..I would take at least $100.00 I remmember that you could get travel pay if you needed it to buy your stuff, but that was 11 years ago, and I remmember it cost about 50-60 bucks for all the crap they told us to buy when we got there. Good luck man! and remmember...
[size=6] YES DRILL SGT.! [/size=6] |
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Quoted: Ears open, Mouth Shut. Be Motivated. Help your buddies. Aviator View Quote What he said! plus don't "waffle", if you mess up, take you lumps like a man. Forget every thing you learned about "boot" in the movies. That ain't it! As a "dark green" friend once told me, "It ain't nothing but a thang, and it ain't fo-ever" Hundreds of thousands have gone before you, you can and you will make it! Have a great Memorial Day weekend and then go and make your Mama proud. You are joining an elite group of men, men who are not a part of the problem, but part of the solution. Men who are willing to put it all on the line to preserve our way of life. Good luck & God Speed! Hessian-1 out! |
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Don't let them boss you around. Be your own man, sleep in and take extra desert in the chow hall. Shinny boots and pressed uniforms are for fags. The Drill Sgt's will rspect you for not being cowed like evryone else. It ain't no thing...
ps....when you get a chance...send us your unit address...we'll send some stuff for you. [b]HAHA REMF! YOUR GOING TO THE HOUSE OF PAIN![/b] Don't do any of the stuff I said above. Aviator hit it right on the head... |
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Quoted: Show up wearing plain clothes, no jewerly, mabye a plain looking watch, no peircings, dont shave your head, but dont have a mullet. Just try to be the nameless face for 8 weeks (or however long) like Avaitor said, try to keep your mouth shut and don't volunteer for anything. Take only what you'll need, they'll search thru your stuff the first day and have you put anything unnessicary in a locked room for the rest of the time. [blue]Don't have a bruce lee fighiting book or big rubber dildo or anything.[/blue] Take plenty of socks and underware, about 8 pair each, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving accesories (i recomend dispasoable), deoderant, body soap, and any other personal grooming items you can think of. Glasses if you wear them, they'll tell you not to wear contacts. Some stationary if you plan on writing home (stamps/envelopes/paper/pen). Some money, like $60 or so. You might want to stash a little pack of kleenex (the TP sucks) Just dont have anything in your bag that you won't need, they love finding all your goodies, and no candy or food. And take some soap on a rope [sex] haha, just kidding. Good luck, just remember they WILL yell at you, just lock up and wait till they're done, it's all part of the game. View Quote [size=5]LMAO![/size=5] |
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My advice would be to join the Marines. Otherwise, Wil-N-Va said about everything you need to know. Good luck!
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Just remember, Once it starts the end is comming. One thing that they can not do is stop the clock.
Best of Luck Badredfish [devil] |
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You won't need underwear and socks. You will be issued underwear and socks. Razors, all that junk.
When I went to boot, I took myself, and not much else. Your recruiter or the MEPS station will be able to tell you what to take, but you don't need much. They also had us put our clothes and stuff we couldn't keep in a box, address it, and they shipped it back home for us. Good luck. Keep your mouth shut and do what you're told. Pay attention. Scott |
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dont bring more than you can fit in a small hand bag - you will be hauling all your new shit back home with you along with your civi stuff.
Get a P38 and put it on your ID tag chain- saved my ass once. if they ask you if you have a drivers license in a looking-for-voulenteer-to-drive sort of way, dont say nuttin- they want you to "drive a broom/mop" |
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Acting squad leader or Platoon leader gets you nothing but trouble. If you get one, don't think you will keep it the entire time. Watch out for fire plugs when you are running in the early morning hours. Every so often a recruit will run smack into one while running in formation. Put your name in all your pants. If you have to wash in mass, you'll get them back. If you have nude photos of a babe, put them in your wall locker. The DIs will look at them and not your gear (as much). If you GI a Latrine for an inspection, make it a point to check each stall in the last few minutes. You may find a surprise that turns the inspection into a show stopper.
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If you would have asked this a month ago I would have advised you to get a pair of poor fitting stiff leather boots. You could have worn these and built up some really good calluses on your feet. You'll get them anyway.
As others said here it's 90% mental 10% physical. Good luck to ya and thank you bro. Shabo |
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Just keep telling yourself, I volunteered for this shit and take what ever comes.
Things must have changed alot since I was in for we didn't show up with anything but the clothes on our back and they took those. Everything else had to be issued or bought and match the next guys to a tee. The smokers had to buy smokes for the non smokers so that our lockers all matched. We even had to have combs but wasn't a hair on our head. The drill sargent found a 3" hair on a comb in inspectin one day, talk about a guy who took some flak. "Just what the hell have you been combing? D...head!" Good luck and enjoy the guns. |
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Do your best at everything, understanding that no matter how hard you try you won't be able to please your Drill Sergeant. Don't let that discourage you. He'll notice, but he doesn't want to give you a big head with his compliments. [;)]
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I went to basic at Ft. Leonard Wood at about this time in 1995. Be prepared, it is hot as hell their, especially in MOPP 4. You might actually drown from the sweat that pools in your protective mask [;)] As for the "YES DRILL SERGEANT!" Ft. Leonard Wood was one of the only boot camps (in 1995) where you called the drill sergeant "Sergeant".
Seriously though, it is easy. It is all a big game. They can't hit you. So really all they can do is yell at you and make you do push ups until you can't do anymore. When you think about it, it isn't that bad. 1. Don't volunteer for anything! The exception is special weapons day. A few people are selected to fire an AT4 and a claymore. 2. Go to church. Great place to get an extra hour of sleep. 3. Be prepared to be sick the first couple of weeks you are their. The upper respiratory stuff goes around real quick. 4. Get over and clostraphobia. Those cattle trucks say they can only fir 80 people on board, but they will get at least 100 on there. 5. Don't be a Blue Falcon (aka Brovao Foxtrot, Buddy Fucker) 6. Depending on your MOS, boot camp might be the easy part. 7. The first 2 weeks is NOT boot camp. So don't expect the rest of your time to be that easy. 8. Blend in. If you would have asked this a month ago I would have advised you to get a pair of poor fitting stiff leather boots. You could have worn these and built up some really good calluses on your feet. You'll get them anyway. View Quote Bootcamp nowadays is easier. Hell you can where tennis shoes with BDUs if you get a blister... Waaaa, my pussy hurts! |
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Quoted: Don't loose your earplugs, you'll probably need them when all the other idiots won't shutup at night. Don't fall asleep on fireguard ever, write letters or something. Also, do not EVER EVER EVER even look like you are tired or sleeping when on the FTX and pulling guard. Then again, I went through Infantry OSUT, which is different than BCT. Some guy at Benning just got done with BCT when me and friend went to get our finances straightened out. He said the 8 or 9 mile march they did at the end was really tough. He asked how long we had to march, and when we said 25 miles, I thought he was gonna faint. It's all mental dude. Just about anybody can make it if you want to. Just don't quit. Good luck, and yes, do bring phonecards, not change. View Quote Dont spaz out. If someone decides to boss you around about cleaning the barracks or something else then stop what you are doing and let him do it. If he doesnt do it some one who is scared shitless of the drill sgt will. Play it cool dont make any enemies and do what is expected of you. when the lights go out close your eyes. Every minute of sleep is important especially when you pull the 2nd to last fire guard shift (always fucked me up when i had that one) Buy gold bond foot powder and use it liberally. Get that tough shit that is in a blue container (extra strength foot powder or something). The stinging means its working (this is not a joke I really used this stuff all over) Always wear clean socks. Buy some throlo brand socks at the PX when you get a chance. They are about $10 but worth every penny Dont take shit from the mess hall. If you dont get caught some other idiot will and when they search the barracks you will get pinched too. Dont smuggle dip in from the px. If you do then dont share or let anyone see you using it because the drill will find out go to church if all the work is done and some people are spazzing on a sunday afternoon trying to fix problems that dont exist tell them to F off. If they persist go to sleep in your wall locker. Dont wake up the guy on the next fire watch shift too early, thats a f'ed up thing to do. Get up for firewatch when your buddy wakes you dont fall asleep on fire watch if the DS walks in speak to him loud enough so that your buddy on firewatch gets woken if hes not awake or atleast hears so he can come forth if necessary if you get a chance try to get every damn war story and bit of info on tactics, weapons, schools etc out of your drill sgts. Make them earn that e6 adn e7 paycheck [;)] dont drop your rifle. make sure the damn thing is empty before you drop the hammer during turn in. Some how this guy had a live round when we got off the range and were inspected. He dropped the hammer as he was turning it in and the m16 went off. thats about it. Try to have fun with it as there was a ton of cool shit at basic that you will never see or get to do anywhere else |
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Quoted: Don't let them boss you around. Be your own man, sleep in and take extra desert in the chow hall. Shinny boots and pressed uniforms are for fags. The Drill Sgt's will rspect you for not being cowed like evryone else. It ain't no thing... ps....when you get a chance...send us your unit address...we'll send some stuff for you. View Quote When I was in basic, OK USAF basic, there was an Irish guy from Boston that could do nothing right. When the TI said left O'Donnle would invariably react right -- a total fuckup. Then one day when the TI was tossing out the mail in the dayroom he picked up this one envelop and started to smile. He looked at the letter and said, "O'Donnle -- front and center!" O'Donnle went up there and the TI instructed him to open the letter in front of him. He did and a really sweet looking bud [smoke] fell out of it! We all gasped [shock] then at once began to laugh [LOL] -- and so did the TI. The best part, the really best part is that his buddy from home must have been as dumb as he was because he included his return address on the envelop! [chair] Ah yes, the good old times! Later, |
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buy foot powder and use it liberally View Quote That reminded me of something else. Get Gold Bond Body Powder. If you don't the prickly heat will drive you insane on those road marches with your ruck sack. Your BDUs (undershirt and BDU top) will be soaking wet, all the time. At the end of the day they will be white from the salt in your sweat. |
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Quoted: buy foot powder and use it liberally View Quote That reminded me of something else. Get Gold Bond Body Powder. If you don't the prickly heat will drive you insane on those road marches with your ruck sack. Your BDUs (undershirt and BDU top) will be soaking wet, all the time. At the end of the day they will be white from the salt in your sweat. View Quote thats the brand name. I couldnt remember it. There were 3 strenghth yellow, green and blue. Blue was the strongest and it really helped on my feet and nuts. We also sprinkled it around our shelter halves to keep bugs away but im not sure if it did any thing |
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good advice here. thanks loads. I'm a little bit worried about getting singled out because i'm head and shoulders above the rest (literally) - 6'4" and 200 pounds - but i guess a few extra pushups never hurt anyone. I keep getting told to blend in but not sure that it's going to be real easy. Anyway, thanks, guys, and i appreciate your time!
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What are your current numbers for push-up, sit-up, chin-up, and 2mi run?
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Quoted: good advice here. thanks loads. I'm a little bit worried about getting singled out because i'm head and shoulders above the rest (literally) - 6'4" and 200 pounds - but i guess a few extra pushups never hurt anyone. I keep getting told to blend in but not sure that it's going to be real easy. Anyway, thanks, guys, and i appreciate your time! View Quote TOO Tall you are in trouble now [:d] |
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The freakishly tall people [;)] always get picked on. Just hope you don't get stuck in the platoon that gets in trouble a lot. When I was in, one platoon failed an inspection and had to take everything (beds, wall lockers, etc) out of the barracks (3rd floor) and reassemble it on the PT field for another inspection. The same platoon also had to wear their class A's for firewatch the whole time they were there. As for push-ups, you only need to do 13 correct push-ups to go from reception batallion to boot camp. Don't seat the chin-ups either. Never had to do one the whole time I was in.
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I would whak it non stop until they put me on the bus. I don't think I could handle not having enough time to jerk it properly for 8 weeks.
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Quoted: What are your current numbers for push-up, sit-up, chin-up, and 2mi run? View Quote Pushups, 65, Situps, 64, Two mile run, I don't know, i'm slow; around 16 minutes. *cough* FATASS *cough* pullups not chinups...? I don't know. let me see how many i can do....and i just did 16 full arm hang pullups. |
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Quoted: I would whak it non stop until they put me on the bus. I don't think I could handle not having enough time to jerk it properly for 8 weeks. View Quote LMAO. I already got that under control, i don't get to see my girlfriend enough and my shlong just about has calluses on it from pounding it so much. [;)] |
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