The At Ft Sill, Oklahoma From Florida

Between 150 people, we had two horse trailers to fit on. We carried two large duffle bags, one on our back and another on our front. Our face crammed in our bags, getting screamed at by who we would shortly find out is the company’s Senior Drill Sergeant, and all you could smell is sweat, fear, and tears. When we arrived to Echo Company we were placed into platoons and shoved and pushed off of the trailer. Everyone got in a single file line and dropped their bags dress right dress. A lot of people struggled with this for some reason, between drill sergeants a little too close to you and getting screamed at for looking around some cracked under the pressure. The first three weeks of Basic Training is “Red Phase.” During Red Phase you receive death by power point everyday on anything that has ever happened in the Army, and the fundamentals of what you are expected to do over the next 9 weeks. During red phase your Drill sergeants work 20 hours of the day. They hate Red Phase just as much as you do. They tell you when to wake up, utilize the latrine, eat, and put you to bed every day. This is the phase that you lean everything you need to know when it comes to talking to a noncommissioned officer and anyone else of a high ranking in the military. “White Phase” is four weeks long. This is where you are given your first shot at freedom, or what your Drill Sergeants consider freedom. You are not around a drill sergeant

Without a doubt the single most influential experience in my life has been graduating from Marine Corps boot camp at MCRD San Diego. They say less than one percent of United States Citizens serve in the military and a small fraction of them serve as United States Marines. I take great pride in the fact that standing on those famous yellow footprints separates me from more than 99% of people I will meet. Some people claim boot camp was easy for them, that they didn’t struggle or second guess themselves; unfortunately I am not one of those people. I greatly struggled, not physically as that was easy but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Initially I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision in enlisting right out of high school. But then

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

Being in war is definitely one of the most life changing events a person will ever have whether it be for the better or for the worst. Soldiers will witness events that are impossible to forget or see back at home in the states. Some soldiers may have even seen one of their best friends that they’ve known for forever get blown up into pieces right next to them, or they might even get one of their own limbs blown off of their own bodies, becoming handicapped for life. As a result of seeing something so intense like that, most soldiers are usually traumatized. In matter of fact, a great amount of soldiers are traumatized from the very beginning of being in war. It’s without a doubt difficult to deal with this but there are some ways where

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

Basic and advanced individual training pushed me to give my all in everything I do. The ability to serve my country and travel made me proud. When I was direct commission as a physician assistant in the National Guard it thrust me into a leadership role that I was not trained for, but my life experiences to this point helped me on this path. Training soldiers and maintaining battalion medical readiness was the core of my duties. Amongst the most valuable attributes I developed while serving was time management, extensive preparation and

As the plane lands in Atlanta, Georgia two hundred others and I are escorted by Drill Sergeants to the buses. Several hours go by and finally I arrive at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I glance at my watch, it’s three o’clock in the morning. The Drill Sergeants are screaming “MOVE PRIVATES! WE DON’T HAVE ALL DAY!” I run as fast as I can to formation just to stand at the position of attention for three hours. The morning sun is beating me in the face and the Drill Sergeants are still yelling.

Overall, my feelings and thoughts about this experience were positive, emotional, as well as informative. I feel that some of the things that were mentioned I would have never known until this interview was actually conducted. The thought of troops living conditions while being deployed was just horrific. You have military troops out fighting for our country and protecting, ,but don’t have a descent bed to sleep in, no air conditioning, being on missions that they don’t know whether they are going to make out dead or alive. They are not able to contact their families as much as they would like to because they are so many miles and hours away. I give the upmost respect to our military troops because it if wasn’t for them who knows what the world

Airports seemed to be the biggest concern. No longer could family members walk their loved ones to the front gates of an airplane. Going through airport security was now a long and challenging process. Military installations also saw measures being taken to keep soldiers safe such as long lines to gain access to the base and large barricades protecting important structures such as the commissary and PX (Post

My experience includes three deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and one deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). This is an account of the first few days of my third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a Sergeant, I deployed to OIF in 2007 with Darkhorse Troop, 6-8 CAV, 3-1 AD. My platoon was composed of twenty-two scouts, a medic, a forward observer (FO), and eight HMMWV’s. We received eight Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) after six months of the fifteen month deployment. I was a team leader in my platoon’s Bravo section. Our squadron was first assigned to FOB Falcon. After four months, we were relocated to COP Fish (later renamed COP Derby). COP Fish was located 10 miles south of FOB Falcon, down a road that was known as Chicken Run. The COP was surrounded by vast amounts of mud huts, empty fish ponds, and several chicken huts, where insurgents were known to conduct random attacks on United States soldiers. The insurgents in the area were known to use both direct and indirect fire.

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

When I received my orders to be stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii with 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division I was beyond excited. One, it was in Hawaii, but also, it was because I would have the opportunity to further my interaction with the people and

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

From the beginning of boot camp we are taught to listen to the details and follow direction to the exact point. We are also taught to give your one hundred percent effort in everything you do. It is ingrained in us as Marines; that our core values are Honor, Courage, and Commitment. These traits of hard work that are instilled in us during boot camp will help me in my pursuit of my college degree. I will be ever attentive to the details of assignments and will give my all to the work that needs to be done. After boot camp I went to my job training school in California. It was an intense two month class learning about my job as an Air Support Net Operator. During those two months I learned about time management skills, the importance of studying, and

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