Personal Narrative: Army Basic Training

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

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

The training is described phases; first was the red phase, then the white phase, and lastly the blue phase. The red phase is talked about the most. Once they get off the bus they are greeted by a stereotypical angry Sargent. Before they were even off the bus, they were getting barked commands. Ryan describes the red phase as the worst phase because it is when the Army tries to separate the weak from the strong. They all started drilling as soon as they arrived at the basic training camp. “Soldiers seem so durable, resilient, and so heroic in war novels. On the television screen they're afraid of nothing. I wonder if I have that same courage. Basic training is supposed to teach us bravery and fortitude.” (Smithson, 36). He experiences many hardships while at basic training; the Sergeant makes sure the drills are as hard as they can get to insure that they get the best quality soldiers. On one Sunday, during their “day off”, certain buses would come and pick up people to go worship all types of religion; however on this Sunday Ryan goes into detail about how there was an Atheist that asked the Sergeant what they should do if they don’t believe in a god. Instead of getting yelled at for talking out of line like everyone thought was going to happen, the Sergeant got very serious and simply told her, “There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole,” (Smithson, 39). Ryan expands on this by comparing it to World War II where they would be trapped under heavy fire and everyone would be holding a rosary praying for their

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

Although the training First Year Orientation Progam (FYOP) officer cadets receive is not exactly the same as that conducted at the now defunct Cornwallis training base, the principles remain the same. The biggest challenge observed in the early days of training was to get a group of people to act as one team. Each person arrived as an individual with their own set of values, behaviours and regional characteristics. These individuals were then subdivided into platoons, squads, or sections. During this integration process the instructors ensured stress levels remained consistently high through the use of yelling, inspections that found minute faults that were exacerbated through the dismantling of our bunk space, and decreased sleep. I now realize that these simulated or over exaggerated stresses are required to provide an indication of future tolerance for this in operations.

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

Every new service member must go through Basic Training for up to 12 weeks depending on the branch of service. The purpose of Basic Training is to indoctrinate the new service member into the ways of military life. New service members are taught to work as a group and set aside their individual thoughts and ideas. Strict obedience to military standards

At 17 Richard joined the Army. He went to basic training between his junior and senior year in high school at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. He describes basic training as 90% mental and 10% physical. He felt this was one of the easiest parts of his military service. He had to stay 2 weeks longer than he was supposed to because of an injury. At

Many people have experienced the worst time of their life once. Some of them could say how football practice was bad, or how college calculus destroyed whatever brain cells they had left. Well there is a small number of people who experienced an event that no one else could ever experience. This event is something occurs only if you’re willing to sign up for the military. The day you fly out or ride to boot camp it’s a tradition and procedure that happens with every military all over the world. This tradition that makes people fear the military and the dreaded drill sergeants. No one will ever know the experience of shark attack like I have experienced it.

19 August 2003. That was the date on which I joined the military. That was also the year the United States invaded Iraq. I, like many, joined the military to serve my country. I remember arriving at basic training and I felt that I was prepared for the training and punishment I was going to receive. After all, I had watched war movies such as Major Payne, Full Metal Jacket, and Forrest Gump. I honestly believed I would be cleaning floors with a toothbrush, living in an open hut with fifty other soldiers, and being yelled at constantly. What I experienced in my opinion, was an easy basic training. Do what you’re told and be where you needed to be and you would be fine. After basic training, I remember arriving to my unit and standing at parade rest for Specialists and above. I remember doing what I was told, no questions asked. I remember

I felt sorry for the basics because they were woken up the unpleasant sounds of whistles and metal trash cans. Within five minutes the entire encampment was ready for PT. The PT was easy. It consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks and not so challenging developmental calisthenics. It lasted for about forty-five minutes. After PT was done we were ordered to be at the chow hall at exactly 8:00am. One of the best things about being in the ATF was that we got to take our showers before any other cadets in our barracks did, so it left us with about three minutes every day to inspect and correct our uniforms. We met up with the females in front of the chow hall at 8:00 am and had our breakfast. After having our meal of delicious eggs, bacon, and milk we were taken to the combat simulators. As usual we were the first flight to do the simulators. The first simulator we attended was the convoy simulator. My convoy was with Birthday who was the radio operator and Hermes who was the driver and I got to be the gunner. Unfortunately for me the machine gun broke, so I did not do much and Hermes crashed the Humvee. Next we went to the firearms simulator and shot targets on a projector screen. I was using an M-4 A1 assault rifle, and then I saw the light machine gun which Dancer was using. After five minutes I convinced Dancer to trade firearms with me. Out of all the excitement combined with random adrenaline rush, I

Within the first hour of arriving to basic training, I realized the immense impact the military would have on my life. Faced by people demanding seemingly unattainable feats on a daily basis, I pushed myself to endure the physical and emotional demands of the US Air Force. Above all, the most challenging aspect was being subjected to the proverbial fire hose of knowledge. There were days I wished I could go back to the family dairy farm I grew up on, where the fruits of hard work were tangible goods. I survived the trials and tears of basic training and continued on to the next deluge of education. I repeated this routine for the remaining six years of service and beyond, consistently flourishing under pressure. I was continuously reminded of the core values of the Air Force: integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. It is these principles, along with dedication and enthusiasm, which have since guided me through medical school and prepared me for residency training in anesthesiology.

On the second day, we learned more formation stances and positions including fall in, fall out, present arms, order arms, attention, at ease, left face, right face, and about face. I also was introduced on how to operate a military-style living space. In the morning when everyone got up at 6:30 am, we were required to make sure nothing personal was visible and fix our beds so they were uniform. To do this, we were required to fix each corner of the bed so it had a “hospital corner,” fold the top over, and have the blanket so tight that there are no wrinkles and one could bounce a ball on the bed.

At basic training your life is flipped up side down for eleven weeks with no way of talking to important people in your life ute through letters, you are forced to work with strangers, pushed to your limits, and are yelled at by grown men and women. The determination and dedication is what helped me get though basic training. I would have never guessed how basic would change my perspective in