In the Army Now

[KSXNSX]

In the Army Now

 

[naaman]

Anything I should watch out for in BCT?

Basic Training is fun. Don't worry about it. You'll get yelled at a lot and talked down to, but who cares? You get to climb on obsatcle courses and shoot guns and clean the barracks 10 times a day.

Seriously, though: if I had the chance to do it over again, I'd go in a heart beat.

E-4 notwithstanding, you'll still be called "private" by all your drill sergeants (it's just easier that way). We had 3 specialists when I went through. The only time they were ever called "specialist" was once by our commander who noted "I didn't like being called 'private' once I made specialist."

 

[DucTerry]

Anything I should watch out for in BCT?

Get yourself a top bunk (no shit we had a kid on the top bunk piss himself in the middle of the night, the guy on the bottom bunk wasn't very happy) Make sure you get either first or last watch on firewatch. Riding floor buffers down the hallway is fucking hilarious, but mildly frowned upon. Church is your best friend, it gets you the hell away from Drill Sgts for an hour. No matter how bored you are due to being locked in barracks for some inclement weather watch, DO NOT put IcyHot on your testicles. This sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised the kind of shit you'll do. Keep a running account of your DS's overall attitude and disposition, knowing which one to go to with a specific problem can come in handy. The quiet guy is usually the guy that has his handbook memorized, can read a map/use a compass and knows his core values and Soldier's Creed before he even sets foot on Post. Make friends with him and he'll get you through the compass course in under an hour when the standard is 3. ALWAYS secure your locker if you aren't in eye sight of it. Not securing your shit is a good way to find it strewn about hallways or outside in the company assembly area. Don't sleep during classroom instruction, aww hell try it once or twice if you really want to........

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

Thanks for the advice. Well I went through the Future Soldier website and did all the courses so I got it pretty much memorize. Reading the map, I just need a little more experience. Besides that I got everything down to the commands and salutes, to reading map distance, and memorizing the Alpha Phonetics.