Basic Training

Growing up the daughter of an Army Basic Training failure was an embarrassment for quite some time. My father went to Army Basic Training straight out of high school, and came back shortly after leaving. He was discharged for injuries of his knees; he was weak. One would not assume a child of someone who failed Basic Training would be eager to go, however I knew it was my time as soon as I received a call from a recruiter asking me to come in. It was my chance to show my dad the person I am without him, as well as fight for my country. I conquered Basic Training the summer in between the summer of my junior and senior year at the age of seventeen. There are four easy steps to Basic Training: two flights, reception, training,

The couple of months prior to leaving for boot camp, I was really motivated like most people. My brother had given me a lot of guidance on what boot camp was going to be like. Honestly when I got there, I wasn’t scared. I knew exactly what to do. Two days later I was sent to the hospital because my appendix was about to rupture and had to go into surgery immediately. I was at Paris Island an extra month. When I graduated, I loved being a Marine. Because I felt like I had already made a difference already. MCT, was similar, but I slowly started losing motivation. I was a dumb ass and wore my contacts and 3 days before I graduated I got dropped for pink eye in both eyes. Yes it was my fault and I sucked it up, but another month on Camp Geiger didn’t help. But still I was proud of being a Marine. MOS school went well. I was finally happy to be doing my job and being trained in my MOS. When I found out I was going to Cherry Point, I was furious. It kind of killed everything I had worked for, knowing I was going to the biggest POG base in the Marine Corps. After making fun of me for a while, my brother helped me out and got me back on

The next weeks were filled with classes and exercises, waking up before the sun and not getting enough sleep. During my classes I learned not only survival skills but skills that would help me pick my rate in the Navy. Although the exercising was brutal, it taught me self discipline and will power. Along with the skills I learned in class, I was also taught how to be a proper military member. I was taught that my shoes always needed to be shiny and my uniforms were always to be ironed. When I was not in classes, I was in tech training. Tech training was the time where I learned basic survival skills that would ensure my safety whether on the ship or on shore. In Tech training, I learned the skills of a Sailor. I learned to handle and shoot the M9 service pistol and M870 shotgun correctly. I also learned the basics of a seamanship which included basic water survival and fire fighting because a fire can break out on ship without any notice. While the time in boot camp was stressful, I can look back and see how it prepared me for the life ahead of me while I was serving on board the USS Enterprise. I left boot camp on January 23, 2002. years but it help shape me as a better

Boot camp is the starting point of any Enlisted persons career when they join the military. It makes most people nervous, and it should because you are heading in to the unknown. The experience can either make or break the recruit, and will give them the tools they need going forward in there career. Your first night in boot camp will be a roller coaster of emotions, and reactions to everything going on around you.

men Marines!” As soon as that was said four ferocious looking men wearing the most sharp pressed, clean; crisp looking BDU’s (Battle Dress Uniform) I have ever

Going through and graduating Air Force Basic Training changed me both physically and mentally as a person. First, physically the experience taught me how to push my self in ways that I had never before and accomplish tasks that before seemed impossible. Also, my experience changed me mentally by teaching me how to be strong in stressful situations and how to handle situations in a calm and collected manner. My experience of graduating from basic training did not change my perception on society, but instead it gave me a group of people that have been through the same experience and have the same passions to serve our

At times the language and environment was harsh but I came to the conclusion that I needed to take a step back and allow someone to help me progress myself as an adult. For me, graduating basic training was one of the proudest moments of my life and whenever I look back at that day, I know that if I hadn’t of been put through that stress, I wouldn’t have the skills I do today to deal with that. The military was a great thing for me to experience, and I will always be thankful for

I left for basic training on July 30, 2008, and arrived in Fort Leonard Wood Missouri on July 31, 2008. Before we entered into our extreme training, we processed into the Army for a whole week at reception. On the day of actual basic training, we realized our great lives changed to instructions all day, miserable feelings, separation from family, and extreme exhaustion. Although, this was our life much more horrifying things were about to happen. We finally realized all the negative feelings we were having seemed to get worse, such as receiving a shark attack from our drill sergeants, we were told

I would like to share with you some of my experiences. I joined the military in 1996, after high school and I went directly to Marine boot camp. There I learned some of my most important personal values such as pride, perseverance, team work, and attention to detail. Marine Corps boot camp is an experience like no other I have had in the world and one I am immensely proud to have. I rose in the ranks quickly, I started as

Joining the military was astonishing in very many aspects in my life and it truly molded me into who I am today. I will genuinely say that the most important people in my life are my mother and father. I am not a parent myself but I have had years to only imagine how tough parenting can be; especially when raising three stubborn boys. My mother and father are very open minded and kind hearted to everyone regardless of who they are. I will be honest here and say that I may not have been as grateful as I should have been when I was a younger kid, but that’s just life. When you are younger, everything is very simple and do not realize the little things in life. I had no other worries except for, “What’s for dinner?”. The military made me realize how much I appreciated and very much needed my loved ones. Travelling far away to Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, San Diego California and starting my very own journey was one of the toughest decisions at that time to make for myself.

It was no different for the individual I chose to interview. My interviewee is a male that served in the United States Marine Corps. He grew up in a small town in Mississippi. He remembers himself as a rebellious teenager. He knew that he did not have the money for college, and joining the military was an option. The Marine Corps, not only would assist in college funding, but it would give him the chance to travel the world. At 17-years old his mother signed the paperwork in 1995 so that he could enlist, but because of delayed entry he did not go to boot camp in San Diego, California until July of 1996.

My military service reshaped who I am. My training stripped away any sense of entitlement and I learned more about myself in four months than I’d ever known before. It not only gave me discipline and taught me to perform under pressure, but everything I did wasn’t just for me anymore. I was working hard for the marines next to me in my platoon. The time came when each of us hit a breaking point physically or mentally.

Basic training is two months and a person has to learn how to be a soldier. For example, learning how to shoot even if you were a combat medic. She couldn't handle talking to her family for two months straight and getting emotional didn’t make it any better. The physical labor of the training was extremely difficult and she had to do an additional four months for her field. During training exercising, she had a difficult time repairing soldiers and sending them to the civilian hospital or a military hospital. She is ready for any war that comes her way because she went through the training process. The Army taught her how to be disciplined and to perform for her country. Mentally the Army has taught her how to control anger and she can work under any pressure applied. I am thankful to know this proud

It was hours before I was to depart for the airport. My list already being checked twice was checked for a third. I sat there staring at the packed bags, as the dreadful “what ifs” ran through my mind. These “what ifs” left such an impact which created a gut wrenching sickness that could not be ignored. But no matter what happened I was to hold my honor proudly by representing my school, state, and country in the utmost way. This was just the beginning of my truly mind etching experience which altered my life forever.

I served my country for five years, nine months, three weeks, and five day in the active duty status. Prior to enlisting I weighed my options about which branch of service I wanted to join. I looked at the United States Air Force (USAF), Untied States Navy (USN), United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Army (USA). Each branch of service had a delayed entry program put in place to slow down the overwhelming numbers of individuals bombarding all their initial training programs, so I decided to join the Army since it had the most available slots for a person to enlist. I joined the Army in July of 2009, and started basic training in October of 2009. All Soldiers must go through Basic Training to make sure they can physically and mentally handle what is required for a soldier. After graduating basic training most soldiers are immediately shipped off to Advanced Individual Training (AIT), so that the soldier can train to be proficient in his or her job that he or she chose before beginning basic training. Once fully certified for the job, soldiers can graduate from AIT. After graduation, most soldiers get about a month of leave to go back home to make arrangements for the transition to their first, new duty station. Finally, after arriving to the new duty station, I began to see a dramatic change of how many soldiers were coming in and going out. In comparisons to what I was led to believe was the “norm” from my home town friends and family