personal/introspective look at basic training....
I learned a lot about what people can do when they have a little bit of support from those around them, even whey they have to do something completely on their own. And I learned a lot about relationships and the nature of compromise. I got to talk to a lot of people who have been married for a long time, and have them tell me what it takes to make a relationship work. To get their understanding of the nature of the beast, the idea of time to yourself, seperate lives, and the fact that infatuation dies, but love still exists, and you stay together for the love, not the infatuation that brought you together in the first place.
and after about the third day, those little things about a person that annoy you so much, really don't matter in the bigger picture, and tend to disolve when given the opportunity to truly look at a situation.
There was also the realization that it's important to fully understand a situation before reacting/acting to it, and in all things, maintaining control is paramount.
Finally, in consideration of the long-term relationship, it is sometimes necessary to sacrafice efficency for diplomacy.
Thus concludes the introspective nature of my boot camp experience.
now for the "other" details....
things i learned in basic, my childhood really was worse, i can now strip and re-make a rack in accordance to the red book instructions, by myself, in under 6 minutes, this includes re-folding evil wool blankets, making sure the matress is dressed inboard, with the sheets pulled to the bead of the matress, the top sheet folded down 6", and completing 8 45 degree angle folds. I can get dressed in the uniform of the day, with a proper gig line and metal to metal, and help most of the other females with their uniform in under 30 minutes. I can also now shower, shave and dress with at least 8 other females present without thinking twice or considering it "odd".
Day 1: I was deprived of sleep and made to pay attention to details that would make or break my boot camp experience. Quite important when you consider what happens if you mess up on these sorts of things and make your RDC's look bad
Day2: sent to class to learn about customs and courtesies, while sleep deprived. Also not something you can mess up on unless you like the way the deck looks.
Day 3: more class and wepons simulation. presented with mock fire arm and instructed as to how to property handle. The division was banned from live fire for failure to follow simple instructions like "don't point your wepon at your instructor", and thus that evening we did 2 ITE sessions. which means a lot of working out and discovering how sadistic our RDC's can be.
Day 4: class, PRT. which is basically group runs and excercising to someone elses pace. division and section leaders were selected. I was designated Starbord Watch.
Day 5: I can guarantee it involved marching, yelling, and at least two classes if not three. And our first inspection, which we promplty failed, and got ITE'd for.
Day 6: it's all a haze!!!
Day 7: "holiday" routine. Personally, I lost my mind. and was completely stressed out because no one bothered to tell me I had to have a watch bill for the whole day, and everyone was going to church, except for the four of us who worked the night before and therefore could not hold watch again. ugh. THen more mock inspections since we were such abject failures.
I will not go through this competely day by day.
sufice it to say, I now know the effects of tear gas on a person and how much I love my gas mask, that the walls of the ships are not a "solid object" despite popular belief because the bulkhead can ripple, and fracture your spinal chord. I know how to fight a fire and the different classifications, how to find my way out of a pitch black room. I know what pitch black looks like. I got to fire a 9mm and a 20 guage shot gun because our chief is awsome. I know how to inflate my clothing if I ever fall overboard so I don't tire out trying to tread water. I experienced, first hand, the importance of team work, and taking charge sometimes, as well as letting others take charge. I learned that it's important not to let your feelings or personal offenses show when working with males who prefer to keep the heavy lifting away from the females. I learned that, yes, you can fit through that hole, with a stretcher body included, and no you don't have a choice. sometimes, the way out is the way someone else came even if they are also looking for the way out.
even though your feet hurt, you can't feel your toes, everything from the waiste down hurts in ways you never imagined, you want to throw up, pass out, and go to sleep or just sit down, image is everything, and you must stand and look proud and invencible, because, no you don't have a choice.
so that about wraps up the personal/introspective "details" of basic. sound exciting?
other details include:
the astonishing specatacle of threatening the officer of the deck because he physically intimidated one of my shipmates. What that boils down to is, he came in with a bad attidude and was criticizing her for everything, and demeaning her, and then he aproached her on two seperate occasions as though he was about to hit her. when he decided he wanted more sport and asked her to wake up the Starboard Watch, I jumped out of bed, treated him with the utmost disrespect while maintaining my military bearing, and informed him that I would be reporting him to my RDC for physically intimidating one of my shipmates. Aparently at some point, because I don't remember, I lost it, raised my voice and informed him that if he ever threatened one of my shipmates again I would physically loose it. He took my name down as to imply that I would be punished for my spectacle (which was expected considering), and left with his tail between his legs, and his ego quite smooshed. he was passive as a kitten the rest of the night.
and no, I didn't get in trouble, but the cheif told me that it's important to maintain military bearing at all times no matter what. because the person that maintains control of themselves maintains control of the situation.
I got to wear a pin too. I was designated recruit first class petty officer because i was starboard watch, and I got to lead one of the sections in marching. which means if i screwed up, we looked bad, and i got in trouble. i tried really hard not to get in trouble, becuase while i can do 48 pushups, i can't go much beyond that point, and i didn't want to know what would happen if i messed up.
i still think basic is something everyone should experience if they are able to. It's quite the ride.
have a good night y'all!
and after about the third day, those little things about a person that annoy you so much, really don't matter in the bigger picture, and tend to disolve when given the opportunity to truly look at a situation.
There was also the realization that it's important to fully understand a situation before reacting/acting to it, and in all things, maintaining control is paramount.
Finally, in consideration of the long-term relationship, it is sometimes necessary to sacrafice efficency for diplomacy.
Thus concludes the introspective nature of my boot camp experience.
now for the "other" details....
things i learned in basic, my childhood really was worse, i can now strip and re-make a rack in accordance to the red book instructions, by myself, in under 6 minutes, this includes re-folding evil wool blankets, making sure the matress is dressed inboard, with the sheets pulled to the bead of the matress, the top sheet folded down 6", and completing 8 45 degree angle folds. I can get dressed in the uniform of the day, with a proper gig line and metal to metal, and help most of the other females with their uniform in under 30 minutes. I can also now shower, shave and dress with at least 8 other females present without thinking twice or considering it "odd".
Day 1: I was deprived of sleep and made to pay attention to details that would make or break my boot camp experience. Quite important when you consider what happens if you mess up on these sorts of things and make your RDC's look bad
Day2: sent to class to learn about customs and courtesies, while sleep deprived. Also not something you can mess up on unless you like the way the deck looks.
Day 3: more class and wepons simulation. presented with mock fire arm and instructed as to how to property handle. The division was banned from live fire for failure to follow simple instructions like "don't point your wepon at your instructor", and thus that evening we did 2 ITE sessions. which means a lot of working out and discovering how sadistic our RDC's can be.
Day 4: class, PRT. which is basically group runs and excercising to someone elses pace. division and section leaders were selected. I was designated Starbord Watch.
Day 5: I can guarantee it involved marching, yelling, and at least two classes if not three. And our first inspection, which we promplty failed, and got ITE'd for.
Day 6: it's all a haze!!!
Day 7: "holiday" routine. Personally, I lost my mind. and was completely stressed out because no one bothered to tell me I had to have a watch bill for the whole day, and everyone was going to church, except for the four of us who worked the night before and therefore could not hold watch again. ugh. THen more mock inspections since we were such abject failures.
I will not go through this competely day by day.
sufice it to say, I now know the effects of tear gas on a person and how much I love my gas mask, that the walls of the ships are not a "solid object" despite popular belief because the bulkhead can ripple, and fracture your spinal chord. I know how to fight a fire and the different classifications, how to find my way out of a pitch black room. I know what pitch black looks like. I got to fire a 9mm and a 20 guage shot gun because our chief is awsome. I know how to inflate my clothing if I ever fall overboard so I don't tire out trying to tread water. I experienced, first hand, the importance of team work, and taking charge sometimes, as well as letting others take charge. I learned that it's important not to let your feelings or personal offenses show when working with males who prefer to keep the heavy lifting away from the females. I learned that, yes, you can fit through that hole, with a stretcher body included, and no you don't have a choice. sometimes, the way out is the way someone else came even if they are also looking for the way out.
even though your feet hurt, you can't feel your toes, everything from the waiste down hurts in ways you never imagined, you want to throw up, pass out, and go to sleep or just sit down, image is everything, and you must stand and look proud and invencible, because, no you don't have a choice.
so that about wraps up the personal/introspective "details" of basic. sound exciting?
other details include:
the astonishing specatacle of threatening the officer of the deck because he physically intimidated one of my shipmates. What that boils down to is, he came in with a bad attidude and was criticizing her for everything, and demeaning her, and then he aproached her on two seperate occasions as though he was about to hit her. when he decided he wanted more sport and asked her to wake up the Starboard Watch, I jumped out of bed, treated him with the utmost disrespect while maintaining my military bearing, and informed him that I would be reporting him to my RDC for physically intimidating one of my shipmates. Aparently at some point, because I don't remember, I lost it, raised my voice and informed him that if he ever threatened one of my shipmates again I would physically loose it. He took my name down as to imply that I would be punished for my spectacle (which was expected considering), and left with his tail between his legs, and his ego quite smooshed. he was passive as a kitten the rest of the night.
and no, I didn't get in trouble, but the cheif told me that it's important to maintain military bearing at all times no matter what. because the person that maintains control of themselves maintains control of the situation.
I got to wear a pin too. I was designated recruit first class petty officer because i was starboard watch, and I got to lead one of the sections in marching. which means if i screwed up, we looked bad, and i got in trouble. i tried really hard not to get in trouble, becuase while i can do 48 pushups, i can't go much beyond that point, and i didn't want to know what would happen if i messed up.
i still think basic is something everyone should experience if they are able to. It's quite the ride.
have a good night y'all!