If you’re reading this, it’s too late. You must have already signed your contract. How long are you serving? Four years? Six? You must have sworn in, taken an oath to defend your country.
And if you’re reading this, you must be at Basic Combat Training. Can’t beat the heat, huh? Well, you’ll be spending the next ten weeks here, so get used to it.
Here are some things you can expect: learning to shoot an M16 rifle, physical fitness, discipline, both physical and mental, and a life changing experience. But there are things about Basic Training that people don’t tell you. The small things recruiters forget to mention, things you wouldn’t see in commercials. But these small things seem much bigger while you’re going through training. And I’m writing to you, soldier to soldier, to tell you that I’ve been there. So here it goes:
Week 0: Reception
Easily the worst three days of your life, reception is where you will be introduced to all things Army. Reception mainly consists of standing in endless lines, receiving countless shots, and filling out form upon form upon form. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll have to start getting used to bathing in a communal shower, learn how to function with very little sleep, and train yourself to hold your bladder for long periods of time.
You will also meet your first Drill Sergeant here, and it will not be pleasant.
There is no shaking of hands or warm greetings. There is only yelling and running. No matter what you have been told otherwise, you cannot fool a Drill Sergeant. There is no way around them or their instructions. They've seen a thousand kids just like you, and they know how you work. They know how you think. That’s why they’re so effective. Their job is to break you. Your words, your thinking, and your actions are now the business of your Drill Sergeants. Welcome to the United States Army.
Red Phase, Weeks 1-3: Contraband
On your very first day of Basic Training, you will empty your bag of all your gear and personal belongings. This is where you will learn about contraband.
Things like cell phones, iPods, personal clothes, books, alcohol (including mouthwash), sexually explicit photos, tobacco, and perfumes are prohibited. Any lotions, soaps, or deodorants that are scented are also unauthorized. Any soldier found in possession of contraband will get themselves and their platoon smoked.
Haven’t been smoked yet? Well, let me tell you, it’s not good.
If you do anything wrong, no matter how small, you will be punished. Push-ups (also known as the front leaning rest), sit-ups, running in place, mountain climbers, planks, over and over, until total muscle failure, and then some. Drill Sergeants get a real kick out of smoking their soldiers. They find this to be very effective.
Death by PowerPoint
Ah, the PowerPoint. The time in each soldier’s training that they both remember and forget. You will spend every waking hour of the first week of training inside a windowless room, listening to Drill Sergeants giving presentations. That’s what you’ll remember. What you won’t remember are the presentations themselves.
Because you are expected to stay awake for every class, soldiers have taken desperate measures to keep their eyes open. How? Hand sanitizer. Yup, you read that right. Hand sanitizer rubbed around the eyes, or nose.
White Phase, Weeks 4-6: Down in the Dirt
Every ruck march leads to an FTX (field training exercise), a two- to six-day long exercise in which soldiers spend their days and nights outdoors doing various activities. It’s like camping, but worse. Fire ants are a common insect to watch out for. And because you will not be provided a bed or cot, you must sleep in the dirt. Can you see where this is going?
During these Field Training Exercises, not only will you be required to sleep on the ground, but you will also have to dig foxholes, which is basically just a hole in the ground.
The downside is that when it rains, they collect pools of water. You may soon find yourself lying or sleeping in a deep puddle. I know this from experience. No matter how soaked you become though, you must not leave your foxhole, because while it may resemble a shallow grave, it provides adequate cover from “the enemy”. And if the enemy still sees you, well, at least you’ve already started digging…
The Sandman
It is about this time in your training that you will be firing your weapon for the first time, and throwing live grenades. But because of the lack of sleep you have inevitably been experiencing, and the amount of physical activity you have been doing, you will be more tired then you've ever been.
Soldiers have been seen falling asleep while geared in full battle-rattle, in the prone position, and even standing up.
What makes this so interesting is not the fact that soldiers are falling asleep, but that they’re doing it while live fire is being exercised near them, such as mortar rounds, small arms and assault rifle rounds, tanks, and grenades. Despite the heat, and the deafening blasts and booms, you will still be overcome by drowsiness.
Dear John
One of the only forms of communication will be through written letters. They can give you great happiness or great disappointment.
It is very common for soldiers to receive “Dear John” letters in which their significant others have written to tell them they are no longer interested in continuing a relationship. I was kept awake for many nights due to the crying of soldiers who received such letters.
Blue Phase, Weeks 7-10: Let it Grow
Drill Sergeants try to ensure every soldier looks as unappealing to each other as possible. Not just becasue they think you're funny to look at, but also becasue soldiers have been known to sneak off together. One way to prevent that is by prohibiting females to shave their legs or pluck their faces. Males are also prohibited from plucking their eyebrows. The result is soldiers with uni-brows, and females with mustaches. My leg hair grew so long that I could feel the wind waft through it.
Hurry Up and Wait
The unsaid rule in the Army is “hurry up and wait”. Despite being told to arrive at an event 15 minutes prior to it starting, Drill Sergeants make no attempt to follow their own instructions. For example, when you are told to be somewhere at 0800, you had better get there by 0745, lest you get smoked. However, just because you were told to be there at 0800, doesn’t mean the event will actually start at that time. Most likely, you will be waiting…and waiting…and waiting... But don’t worry, if you get bored, you can practice more waiting.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, there is nothing you can do to distract yourself during the hours of waiting. You can't walk around, you can't talk, you can’t even shift your eyes around. The only thing you can do is stand straight as a board and look directly in front of you. And if you can help it, try not to breathe. Yup, they’ll smoke you for breathing. It’s their way of keeping you diligent and on your toes. Never thought holding your breath was a real skill, did you?
That about sums up your journey from citizen to soldier.
I hope my guide has shed some light on what you are about to do. And I hope you share this information with others. Maybe you’ll even tell your children or grandchildren about it. And who knows, maybe they’ll want to experience it for themselves one day, and if they do, your Drill Sergeants will be right here, waiting for them.
