Hi guys as most of you know, I'm in the army in September (if all goes to plan). My problem is that the reality hasn't kicked in :woo:. I mean the only time I've been away from home, I've been with friends. This will have to be done on my own. It is going to be a massssssssssssssive life style change (cleaning, ironing, early nights, realy early mornings, having to do every little thing for myself etc etc etc). Thy physical side of it is no problem at all. It's the mental side. How should I prepare myself not getting an unbarable shell shock. I realy want to to this. I don't want to be back home after a week. Could anyone tell me what it's like and how to prepare myself mentaly and physicaly (I've been doing best effort 2 mile runs even in this hot weather). Thanx in advance for any advise or help, cheers.
Nothing can prepare you for boot. You just get there and adapt as best you can. well, I guess you could run alot, thats the toughest part for the majority. Just make sure you can run 2 miles in 16 minn and you will be good to go. Everything else is like going to school and learning new stuff.
thanx 4 the advise. I think I'll have to spend a day just ironing. I almost know I will be in a fist fight with some fool who wants to show off. I will try and stay on the back foot, wear him out with jabs. How comes everyone gets into fights? My m8 has been in there for 16+ weeks and has been in 3 fights!
hey matt first off congratulations on this step it is the best decision of your life and you are going to have a great time, first things first i am a ex army ranger stationed with the 1/75 ranger regt in savannah ga and it was the best time of my life, the friends you will make and the fun you will have is undiscribable, basic isnt that bad they do all the thinking for you all you have to do is react, if you are in good shape atleast 50 push ups in 2 min,and 75 sittups in 2min and can run aleast 2 miles in under 13min you have notnhing to worry about they will teach you everthing you need to know, just remember your ot the first and you wount be the last, what is you mos? either way goodluck and have fun before you go
Be prepared to follow orders without questioning. Be prepared to have someone yelling in your face.( to see how you handle under stress.) Be prepared to get, if you are lucky, 5 hours of sleep a night. Be able to work as a TEAM and not as a single individual. Just do what you are told without any backtalk. Works for all branches of military.
mos? thanx oneil357, did you know Rangers were originaly trained by the brits? My friend told me that cause I do kickboxing, they will put me in as a pro in a matter of months *cringe hope I can go ametuer 1st
I just enlisted in the US Marines. Heres some tips my recruiters told me and some i have heard from other people. Do everything as fast as you can. Listen carefully. Dont volunteer for anything. Dont be first and dont be last.I havent got to basic yet either but those are thing i have been told.
There's nothing that is going to prepare you... Just be ready for ALOT of yelling and alot of dropping your bags then picking them up again.
Good for You! I wish you all the best,whether good times or bad,you will only grow for the better from the experience. Mentally :your'll get by Physically: I recommend putting on your boots and a heavy Pack and going for as many long walks as possible. Enjoy Stay Safe
I've got zero army experience, but I've got a fair bit of experience in situations where you move and have to adapt pretty quickly. Best piece of advice I'd give you is don't have any expectations at all of what you are going into. The reason people get shellshocked, as you call it, is because their expectations of a situation do not meet the reality. What they've been expecting and preparing themselves for isn't whats happening to them and they can't cope with it. You'll be fine Matt, just keep the 'conversations' we've had in the Chat room in mind
8 yrs Army here, nothing you can do is going to prepare you for Basic training. Its SUPPOSED to be a shock to your system, ride with it, it wont last forever. Advise? Teamwork is the point of the whole exercise, take care of your buddy. If I were you, Id try really hard to avoid the fight you talked about, drill sgts dont like anything that disrupts the platoon, the training or costs them any time or energy. In my day the drills had ways to deal with problems like that, and they wont ask who started it. Best case scenario - youd be recycled (restart basic from day one) worst case could be a little time in jail and an early ride home (dishonorable discharge). More likely the drills will start to pay you and your opponent a LOT of extra attention. Without going into detail - you wont think that the fight was worth it. When you think things cant get any worse - they will. Just dont forget that if the guy next to you can do it, so can you. Thiings start to ease off a little during marksmanship training (drills dont want to mess with you as much when your packing ). After awhile, youll realize that your having fun, by the time you go off to AIT youll probably be liking it.
"Be prepared to get, if you are lucky, 5 hours of sleep a night." From what I hear the minimum you are supposed to get is 6, the norm is supposed to be 7.5 in the army and 8 in the marines but can only be reduced to 6. Is this true? I guess lotsa doctors had to do with that...
you are trained to fight and when ever you have the oppertunity to full your water can even if you have lots left fill it right to the brim! when its time to have a few rations eat as much as you can and put some in your pockets too, it could be your last meal for a long time. when you get your ration pack take them out of the box and throw away the bits you hate, u already have enough weight on your back