Army Basic Training

From 3arf

Basic training is the first real immersion into the Army life for prospective soldiers. This experience can seem like a frightening prospect for someone who just "signed the line" to make the decision to join. After all, most people who join the military have already seen Full Metal Jacket and various television specials about basic training programs, albeit these programs are typically about the Marine Corps or French Foreign Legion as they can garner higher ratings. The future Soldier who just committed themselves to three, four, or more years in the Army might wonder if they can make it through the beatings that they have seen in Hollywood depictions and the rigors of physical training, the obstacle courses, and being away from the rest of society. The reality is that Army Basic Combat Training is an experience that can be challenging at times but is something that almost any healthy individual with enough motivation can get through, and may just have fun in while they do it. This is just a little bit about what to expect if you are about to "ship off" or are strongly considering a career in the Army.

The first steps happen before you even arrive on post. You will be staying at a hotel overnight to wake up very early and go to the local Military Entry Processing Station on about two occasions. The first is to get your physical examination and take the ASVAB, a test that determines what careers you qualify for. Expect a lot of waiting, standing in lines, and MEPS personnel being very stern about you following instructions. Remember that you are applying for a job here, and they can turn you away for constant sleeping, talking loudly, or being disrespectful. Put all bashfulness aside on this day, as you will be required to strip down fully for a doctor and then do a few relatively simple exercises in your underwear with other applicants. The "Boxer Olympics" can be embarrassing, but will be even worse if you forget to wear underwear that day. Do not be that person. After you pass the physical you will speak with a career counselor who will show you the open career fields and the bonuses associated with them. Be wary of taking longer contracts or a job you might not like for a few thousand bucks. Remember, the Army will be paying you well enough already, and you can always reenlist.

The day you ship from MEPS is a hectic one. You will be staying at the hotel once again, and once you arrive at MEPS they will weigh you, make sure you have no new tattoos, and give you a pregnancy test if you happen to be of the female persuasion. Then you will go to the career counselor's office to review and sign paperwork. Your family can generally come and wait with you after this point, giving you a little more time with them. There will be an officer to swear you into the military, an important ceremony that family is encouraged to watch and take pictures or video of. Soon after that you will be issued your itinerary for your plane flight, the documents you will need to present when you arrive (medical records, contract, etc.), and a meal voucher to use during the trip, usually worth about $20. There will probably be other recruits going to the same post you are, meaning that you will be sticking together with them until you arrive. They will call you to the bus to the airport soon, give you a chance to hug mom and shake dad's hand one more time, and then you are on your way to the airport. Get a nap on the airplane, the next few days will be busy.

You will land, possibly get dinner, and then find the Army representative in charge of getting you to the base. You will sign in and wait around for another bus, and the next thing you know the bus will stop outside the Reception Battalion. An uncharacteristically pleasant Drill Sergeant will instruct you to get off the bus and line up to begin a long evening of processing. First you will do some paperwork, throw away any drugs, tobacco, knives, or anything else you should not have with you in an amnesty room. Then you will be issued a green duffel bag with a full physical training uniform and a few other things that you will need. They will have you change into this uniform and put all civilian clothing you brought in the bag you came with. Say goodbye to your civilian clothes, you will not be wearing them until you graduate. This includes underwear. Guys, get used to not having your favorite boxers, since you will be wearing tan briefs. Girls will be wearing similar articles, so forget about the silky lingerie you might have packed. After you don your snazzy new workout clothes you will be rushed to a storage room to put away your personal bag you brought, along with the computer, iPod, and just about any other electronic device you took other than your cell phone. (They let you use your cell phone at night while you are still processing in.) Then you will get your sheets, get to your barracks, set your things down, and go to a late dinner. Bedtime comes soon after, but sleep time that night might not be very long.

The next few days are filled with a haircut, paperwork, shots, uniform issue, eyeglass issue (if you need them), and other things that will bore you to no end and involve long lines with no talking. They will also give you time to buy running shoes, socks, hygiene items, letter writing supplies, and anything else you are authorized to have. They have a lot of things that you have to get done and have no time for your conversations or antics. You will be getting used to the military schedule during this time, getting up at around 5 am and going to bed around 10 pm (2200 in military time). After you finish your processing you will spend the days before shipping to training cleaning, raking leaves, and doing pretty much anything else that they will find for you. The Drill Sergeants at reception will probably teach you a few things too. Take everything with a grain of salt, as they may do things differently than your Drill Sergeants at Basic and you might get ridiculed once training actually starts if you do things like they teach you at reception. They should teach you the four most important things about speaking with a Drill Sergeant though. Always stand at Parade Rest, always end your statement with "Drill Sergeant", never say "Thank you, Drill Sergeant", and never say "Sorry, Drill Sergeant". (Thank you implies they did you a special favor. Saying "Sorry, Drill Sergeant" implies that you think they are a sorry excuse for a Drill Sergeant. It's a bit outside of what you are used to, but just roll with it.)

Eventually the day will come when enough Privates have processed for your Basic Training company to come get you. These Drill Sergeants are the ones you will be with for the next 9 (or longer if you are infantry, armor, a scout, or an MP) weeks. They will have you throw your duffel bags full of everything you need in a truck and then you will load up into a bus to your new home along with your civilian bag. This is where the "fun" starts. They will get you off the bus in a parking lot, where your platoon's Drill Sergeants are waiting for you with your bags. Grab yours and dump it out when instructed. They are checking to make sure that you have everything that you need and nothing that you are not allowed. You will be dumping everything, so keep things like razors in the original packaging. (I say this because one of mine sliced my finger pretty deeply as I was scrambling to put them away again.) After your things are packed again you will be moving to the barracks to set your things in your new room, possibly a room with 8 other Privates or maybe a very large squad bay, depending on the post. They will lock your civilian things away, and then training begins.

The first week or so is about teaching you the basics. You will be learning about how to perform the physical training exercises, how to march, how to make your bed, and how to arrange your wall locker. Attention to detail is very important here. You will also be getting classroom instruction in things like Army Values, Army history, sexual harassment/assault prevention, equal opportunity issues, and personal hygiene. (That was my favorite lecture, mostly because of my Drill Sergeant's very adamant warning about falling in love with strippers and how they lack souls.) Along with learning the basics comes being punished for the countless errors that you and your "Battle Buddies" will be making. This means lots of physical training throughout the day, but it is nothing that you cannot do as long as you are in decent shape. This will also be the phase where you take "combat showers", showers that last about 45 seconds each. Wash your armpits, groin area, and rinse. It will get you through.

The next two weeks involve actual training. You will be issued your rifle that you will carry everywhere except for the latrine (restroom), church, and sick call (that you want to avoid) as well as your combat gear (ruck sack, helmet, body armor, etc.). This is the week that you will get Combat Lifesaver training, a very serious course on the few things you can do if your buddy gets hit in combat. They teach you how to apply a tourniquet, apply a pressure dressing, and set a fracture, as well as how to evacuate a casualty. You will learn that you cannot save everyone in this course, and the reality that you might die or become seriously disabled in combat will set in. This is also a course that you must pass to graduate, so pay attention and study for the test. You will go to your first obstacle course, a land navigation course, and a teamwork development course the week after this. These events can actually be quite a bit of fun, especially the land navigation course as you will be set out in the woods with about three of your "Battle Buddies" to find points on a map. This lets you get to know them well as you search, and it keeps you away from the watchful eye of your Drill Sergeants. You also get to take a trip to the gas chamber, where they show you just how well your gas mask works. It clears the sinuses nicely.

The next three weeks involve harder PT in the morning, less physical punishment as your fellow Privates begin to get their acts together, and a lot of time getting to know your rifle very well. You will get two weeks of basic rifle marksmanship training, which involves sighting in your rifle and learning to hit silhouette targets from 50 meters to 300 meters away. It culminates with qualification, requiring you to hit at least 23 of 40 targets that pop up quickly. Not passing will mean being recycled back into the company behind you, but if you did as you should throughout the rest of BRM you should qualify with no problem. (I only missed four targets.)

Advanced rifle marksmanship is next, involving shooting with red dot and night vision laser sights. You will also be wearing your combat gear, which can be difficult to adjust to. The trick is putting the rifle into your bicep instead of your shoulder, as the rifle's slight recoil gets worse if it is placed against your armor and your sight picture will be thrown off. This training is a lot of fun, as the sights are a lot like those in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and you get to do fun things like reflexive fire (quick shooting, walking and shooting). There is also no specific requirement for what you need to hit, so you can just have fun and shoot. Next is American weapons, where you learn to shoot the AT-4 rocket launcher, the M203 grenade launcher, and the M249 and M240B machine guns. This is a very fun day of training indeed. The only unpleasant parts about range days are adverse weather conditions (rain, cold, snow) and the shakedown. Shakedown involves emptying your pockets and removing all gear so the Drill Sergeants can pat you down and ensure that you have no ammunition on you so you cannot kill someone back in the barracks. Shakedown happens even if it is 5 degrees outside, and some Drill Sergeants have a lot of fun with it. Do not worry though, they will not hurt you.

The rest of Basic Training is focused on combat. You will learn basic infantry tactics, basic Army combatives (wrestling), and how to operate in a forward operating base. You will also go through the night infiltration course, involving crawling under barbed wire and other fun activities in the dark. This portion is also when you will take your physical fitness test that you must pass to graduate. It involves two minutes of push ups and sit ups as well as a two mile run.

After completion of these requirements you will either graduate and go on to your Advanced Individual Training or will continue straight into it if you are infantry, armor, a cavalry scout, or an MP. After that training you will move to your duty station where you will begin your career as a Soldier.

Now for the burning questions. No, the chow is not as bad as your dad says he had back in the 80's. Breakfast is actually really good, and they let you have cereal, fruit, and just about anything else you would like other than coffee, tea, etc. Do not try to get caffeine or desserts unless the Drill Sergeants specifically tell you that you can. Yes, you will get haircuts once a week or so. They cost about five Dollars and they just cut off all your hair. No, this does not include you if you are a female.

Yes, you can attend church services. Sunday morning services (sorry if you are Jewish, but Friday evening is still training time) are one of the things that Privates look forward to each week. Yes, you will be taking showers with other Privates. You're naked, get over it. Yes, you will have to make your bed, keep your locker clean and arranged, and keep the barracks looking spotless. You will have to share sweeping, mopping, and cleaning the toilets duties. Yes, you will need to stay up at night for fire guard shifts every few nights. Yes, you have to do your own laundry. Yes, the Drill Sergeants are profane. No, they do not care if you do not like profanity. Yes, you have to shave your face every morning if you are a male. Yes, it is a waste of time to "manscape" for males and shave legs for females.

Yes, you will get the chance to write home. No, the mail does not work the same way as the civilian world. It takes longer since it all goes to one place and they have to sort it by company and then your Drill Sergeants have to sort it by platoon. No, you will not be able to call home very often. They will allow you to call around week three or four or during national holidays like Thanksgiving. The calls are short, and you better have a phone card. Yes, you are probably going to be able to put pictures of family, girl/boyfriends, pets, or friends in your wall lockers. No, you cannot put up sexually suggestive ones, so tell your significant other(s) not to try sending them.

No, you cannot have food in the barracks. Yes, it will get you in trouble. No, you cannot keep your cell phone. If you get caught with it it will result in you losing pay (yes, the military can take your pay away for you screwing up) and doing extra duties like raking leaves, etc. No, you cannot have books or magazines. You can have a Bible or other religious materials though. And most Drill Sergeants will not really mind if your loved ones send sports scores or a news clipping every now and then.

Yes, your fellow Privates will get on your nerves quite often. Male soldiers will find each other pulling their Battle Buddies apart over stupid things that they are suddenly fighting about. The testosterone is running high and some people you will be there with are pretty immature.

No, the PT is not really that hard. Yes, ruck marches are done at a fast pace and the ruck gets heavy if you load it fully. Yes, they check to make sure you load it fully.

This may not answer all of your questions or concerns about Army Basic Combat Training, but it will be a great place to start. Just remember that the Drill Sergeants are not taking things personally and are there to train you. They are not your friends, and will not try to be. Keep a positive attitude and you will have a good time while you learn to be a Soldier.

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