Reply #49: Your recruiter will generally lie to you... [View All]

[haele]

You will have to go through the processing along with 20 to 100 other young men and women you probably won't know, there's no privacy, people will be barking orders at you and pushing you along with no chance to answer any questions you might have.
First, you fill out at least twenty-five different forms, covering everything physical that happened to you, every school you went to, every address you lived at and phone number, every job you had, jobs your parents had while you were alive, social security numbers of all your immdeiate relatives, etc, etc...just bring a big notebook with all that info in it, makes things much easier. Also, make sure you make copies of everything they give you and give it to someone trustworthy to save.
After a not very private, rushed and vaugely unsanitary (or so it seems) complete physical you will be asked to raise your right hand (your other right) and swear in. Now "you're officially in". If you have a delayed entry, you might be able to spend a few weeks saying goodbye, but if you're not, you'll be on the bus/plane to bootcamp the next day.
Bootcamp -
I would suggest you stop smoking a couple months prior to enlisting - "smoking periods" are few and far between, cigarettes and lighters are at a premium, and nicotine withdrawls are not a good thing to have while at bootcamp. That's what caused at least a sixth of my company to fail...
Pack only your sundries, clothes you need to get there and to get back home. Nothing valuble - no jewelry, fancy shoes, nothing you can't stand losing. Don't bring the gameboy, the walkman, the Ipod. You won't be able to use anything entertaining once you get to bootcamp. If you're a bit overweight, your return clothes probably won't fit.
Bootcamp is a game. Just remember that. They give you the rules upfront, and you follow them to the letter. Unless you know you're good at leading and have a great sense of physical and mental balance, keep your head down and don't volunteer for anything.
Don't worry about failing unless you're in a leadership position. The military will drag you through whatever problems you have, even if you're kicking and screaming.

And finally - don't join the Army, join the Navy if you want to travel and actually learn something fairly useful or the Air Force if you just want to get away from home and have a decent job for four to six years. Or the Coast Guard if you really want to serve your country.

Nothing against Army guys - or Marines, for that matter, but with this PNAC gallery buncha chicken-hawks, to join a service dedicated to Groundpounding one runs a higher risk of getting screwed up mentally and physically, with nothing to show afterwards...
Of course, the Airforce is all about whom you can schmooze to get that plum civvie desk job when you leave.
And the Navy is all about Rum, Buggery, and the Lash - Arrrrrh, Matey
:evilgrin:

Haele
(CPO, USN/USNR, 1978 - 1998)