anyone been through Boot Camp??

[dmacdbest]

I was wondering if any of you have been through boot camp?? I am joining the military and I am mentally and physically prepared to go to boot camp, but I just wondered if there was anything that I need to know as a woman before going to boot? All the preparations I have been given are from men and while the advice has been nothing but the best, I still do wonder if there is anything more I need to be prepped for... Any advice is appreciated.
(By the way, I am going to be in the Army National Guard to add more excitement to my career field.. I am currently a 28 year old, bored cop )

[sabreman]

Army, sorry. I don't really have that much advice for you except do more listening than talking, that's for sure.

[jle]

I'm training along side of you. Strangely, I am not going into the service, but I am training to MAX at Army Physical Fitness Test. My hubby is Airborne MP and finishing out his time in Active Duty AK Nat'l Guard. Have you tried the hooahforhealth website (try google). I got details how to train for the AFPT as well as how to score it. Also lots of other Army Fitness training techniques and exercies. My best suggestion (coming from my ATC (athletic trainer certified) background is start now and build up slowly, you will need endurance (running), strength (think push-ups, push-ups and probably more push-ups, sit-up, crunches, pull-ups, squats and lunges) and agility (jumps, obstacle course etc, and don't neglect your "mental" muscle, mindset and determination can get you through anything. Good Luck and HOO-AH!

Support the Troops!

[jle]

I just re-read your post, I don't think my reply helped a bit. PBBBBB! Sorry - You said you were already, ready.

Go get 'em!

[MsFit]

Originally posted by jle
I'm training along side of you. Strangely, I am not going into the service, but I am training to MAX at Army Physical Fitness Test. My hubby is Airborne MP and finishing out his time in Active Duty AK Nat'l Guard. Have you tried the hooahforhealth website (try google). I got details how to train for the AFPT as well as how to score it. Also lots of other Army Fitness training techniques and exercies. My best suggestion (coming from my ATC (athletic trainer certified) background is start now and build up slowly, you will need endurance (running), strength (think push-ups, push-ups and probably more push-ups, sit-up, crunches, pull-ups, squats and lunges) and agility (jumps, obstacle course etc, and don't neglect your "mental" muscle, mindset and determination can get you through anything. Good Luck and HOO-AH!

Support the Troops!

Are y'all stationed there in Alaska? I lived there with my ex-husband when he was stationed at Ft. Rich. If I remember correctly, it was right next to either a Navel or Air Force Base. It was cccooooolllddd up there. LOL

[dmacdbest]

Any and all advice is appreciated... Thanks for taking the time to tell me about that hoorah website..very cool. Airbourne by far would be the coolest MOS out there, I bet your husband loves it. My guy is currently in Iraq, (he's an Army Ranger ).. and he has sparked my interest in the military so much that I want to be part of it too. So, I am taking it on as part of my life...

[gunnergirlUSA]

just e-mail me sometime.I can tell you all about.I've been in for almost 3 year.I'm currently deployed.

[jle]

GunnergirlUSA -

I'm behind you all the way. Stay strong over there! Thank you for your hard work, sacrifice and dedication to our great country!

[dmacdbest]

I am outta here as of June 16th.. heading to Ft. Jackson for basic... thanks for the advice.. i am ready now!! can't wait!!

[spytechs_wife]

prayers to you all!

God bless, clare

[spytechs_wife]

oops, duplicate

[colione98]

Join the Marine Corps and you will definately not be bored.

[TDK216]

Originally posted by colione98
Join the Marine Corps and you will definately not be bored.

Bump - My best friend is a Marine. It's the best thing he ever did with his life. Also, my mom's boyfriend is a former marine, vietnam vet.

[MSP]

1) Don't try to stand out.

2) Don't volounteer for anything.

3) Take care of your rifle no matter what. Keep it clean and know how to take it apart and put it together quickly.

4) If you are the only person right, then your are wrong. They don't care whether you are right, they just want everyone to be the same. There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Marine Corps way.

5) Never drop out of formation no matter what. You will stand out immediately.

6) If you've been to college, keep it a secret.

7) It's all a mind game. Just try to survive.

[rwng]

What MSP said esp. #'s 2 & 7.

[buffmama33]

Flex your mind muscle. Never give up!

[colione98]

1) Don't try to stand out.

2) Don't volounteer for anything.

3) Take care of your rifle no matter what. Keep it clean and know how to take it apart and put it together quickly.

4) If you are the only person right, then your are wrong. They don't care whether you are right, they just want everyone to be the same. There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Marine Corps way.

5) Never drop out of formation no matter what. You will stand out immediately.

6) If you've been to college, keep it a secret.

7) It's all a mind game. Just try to survive. [/QUOTE]


I AM SORRY TO INTERVENE BUT LET ME INTERJECT MY ADVICE!


1- Yes, stand out! That is what sets us apart from all the others.

2- Yes, volunteer! If not, you volunteered to go through one of the most intense trainings of your life for what?

3- If you have been to collage- let them know. They will find out anyway and it is to your advantage cause it goes towards promotion!

4- After boot camp, it is a whole different world. Just like any other initial training, you just have to suck it up. After that, it is all up to how you make it. Everything is on you.

5- Embrace your options cause there is a whole lot of it.

For example, I spent 4 years in the fleet and now still in the Marine Corps but I am working overseas along with top dignitaries and diplomats. I live in a house with a full time cook, house boy, and maid. Hey, it was not easy but you have to ask and see what is out there for you!

[colione98]

Oh, and by the way, we have a full size gym and bar provided by the government and have access to it 24/7.

[colione98]

This is a before shot taken in our gym in this past December

[colione98]

Let me elaborate on when I say to stand out.

I don't mean stand out and belittle your fellow servicemen. I mean stand out in a sense because in every position you are in, there is always need for a leader. And unfortunatley, not everyone has that capability. Therefore, set the example, lead by the example, and you will stand out and be respected and hopefully be the honor graduate or one of the squad leaders- which in turn leads to faster promotion. After all, like any other career, promotion is a process of how you compare to your peers!

A big part of boot camp is showing you how to become a proper leader and not shying away from any opportunity that comes along. It is the weak that the drill instructors prey on.

If you show them that you know your ****, they will not **** with you (as bad) and better yet, use you to aid the lagging parts.

Always take care of your own and stick together. That is what sets us apart from the world!

Your body will learn to adapt and overcome. You will go through some bull-ish and wish you never entered. But after a year and you look back at what you have accomplished in so little time. Your peers- you will see that they are continuing to do the same as they were when you left them.

I will be the first to tell you that the Military is not for everyone.
But it is an experience and only you can make it. Have a goal and stick with it. If it is to go in for 4 years and use that experience to get a better job, then so be it. If it is to retire with the life long benefits with a paycheck for life, then so be it. Only you can decide.

P.S. Go overseas- its a lot cheaper and you can save money.

[colione98]

Last thing-- Don't expect to get rich off the Military. That will not happen unless you have invested in stocks prior. But I will tell what, you will always have a place to live, eat, and a steady paycheck. That is more than I can say for some not knowing when there company will lay them off.

[MSP]

Notice the motivation AFTER bootcamp. Everyone who survives the brainwashing looks back fondly at the experience and willingly gives advice on what SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE. Giving advice after USMC bootcamp is like remembering what it was like having a baby. It was a real pain during the event, the first thing you wanted was a pain killer, and time goes by it didn't seem so bad. Unlike having another baby though, no one would want to go back to bootcamp. It would be stupid.

Unless you consider yourself something really special, and are mature enough to figure it out, I stand by my rules. No one can imagine what it's like to go through bootcamp even with all of the free advice you get. There is nothing wrong with being a follower for awhile.

[Glamour]

I'm in the National Guards too. I'm 17 and ship out for basic training on June 7th. I'm very excited too! Trying to get in the best shape possible.

The advice that MSP gave is standard stuff. Almost everyone I talked to in my unit said the same thing. An example, on volunteering.

Drill Sergant: Who here has a driver's lisence?
Private: I do!
Drill Sergant: Good! My truck has a full tank of gas, you get to run along side of it until it gets tired.

That's the basic outline of the story. That's why you don't want to volunteer for most things. Or so I've been told by fellow soldiers.

I'm kind of nervous, cause I'm pretty weak on my push-ups, so I've been working on that.

Good luck! And it's nice to know there are fellow soldiers on this board who are going, or have already gone through this same stuff.

[MSP]

Pretty standard stuff. I agree. I wish I had been given that standard advice because I was pretty naive. I showed up at Paris Island at midnight (so you can't tell how easy it is to leave) and all hell broke loose when we got off the bus. I wasn't ready for a lot of things, but I guess some people are lucky to have friends who had been there. That standard advice will get most people through safely without ending up in the dreaded "motivation platoon" or worse correctional custody platoon. Also nobody told me about the fat body platoon. (only place I didn't go) And finally, no one told me that it would stick to me for the rest of my life and despite it all, give me fond memories and all the sex you could want in the PI.

[SSBSCP]

GOOD FOR YOU FOR NOT BEING AFRAID TO TAKE ON SUCH AN AWESOME RESPONSIBILTY AND FULFILLING CHALLENGE! I AM A FORMER FEMALE MP AND WENT THRU BASIC TRAINING BACK IN 1993. IT ALSO HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST CO-ED CLASS AT FT MCCLELLAN, AL SO I DEFINITELY HAD SOME CHALLENGES!! MY ADVICE TO YOU WOULD BE THIS:

1. BE AWARE THAT THE HEAD GAMES ARE JUST THAT. BE STRONG AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE JOB OF THE DRILL SERGEANTS IS TO MAKE YOU TOUGH AND TO INSTILL MIND OVER MATTER AS WELL AS LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK.

2. LIKE SOMEONE ELSE SAID, PUSH UPS, PUSH UPS, PUSH UPS!!! THEY NEVER END. AND RUN LIKE THE WIND. I WAS HORRIBLE AT IT WHEN I FIRST STARTED AND BECAUSE OF IT, TODAY I PURPOSELY PUT MYSELF TO THE TEST IN MY PHYSICAL FITNESS ROUTINE BY CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR 5K'S AND VARIOUS RACES TO KEEP THAT ABILITY I LEARNED GOING STRONG!

3.BEING A WOMAN, YOU ARE GOING TO STAND OUT REGARDLESS IF YOU TRY TO OR NOT. BUT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING. IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU PERCEIVE THE ATTENTION AND WHAT YOU DO WITH IT.

4. REMEBER WHY YOU DECIDED TO MAKE THIS DECISION IN THE FIRST PLACE AND CARRY IT WITH YOU ALWAYS. IT WILL GET YOU THRU THE ROUGH TIMES AND REASSURE YOU THAT YOU MADE A COURAGEOUS COMMITMENT.

ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE AND BE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!!