MEPS

[tigger222]

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers I'm going down to do processing for joining the military on Monday and am hoping that I do well with it. This is something that I have been wanting for a while now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying like crazy that everything goes smoothly.

[Caffienated_Caramel]

Ooh, good luck. Those doctors will ask millions of questions.

What branch are you aiming for?

[PepperElf]

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers I'm going down to do processing for joining the military on Monday and am hoping that I do well with it. This is something that I have been wanting for a while now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying like crazy that everything goes smoothly.

wohoo! I thought that phrase looked familiar.

If it was like mine then it was just a couple of days of processing before wooosh off to boot camp. the only "bad" thing was the my obgyn exam was not comfortable. and then medical still gave me one at boot camp anyway.


and words of advice for boot camp:

1) they don't hate you. they get paid to yell and shock you a little into military mode.

2) tears to NOT stop you from having to do pushups. it's a great way to get assigned *more* though. (yeah all of us girls cried a little, didn't work... especially in front of the female RDC)

3) best way to shine your boots: good thick coat of polish, then use the giant brush (long brisk strokes) to bring it to a shine (we tried all sorts of gimmicks - tshirts, tampons, even got the guys buying tampons for their boots! ... after a few years i found out that the basic kit brush works best, go figure. )

4) *salute*

[Caffienated_Caramel]

Aaahh boot camp days. I know with Navy boot camp, they provide EVERYTHING that you don't need to pack any clothes or stuff, unless you want to have your favorite brush or a sentimental item like photos

Have a ton of phonecards (or have family mail them). If your group is well behaved, you can call home through a payphone.

This one overwhelmed me in the first two days but you WILL be showering with the other girls (or boys if you're a dude). There will be nudity abound.

Before going to bootcamp, GET A SHORT CUTE HAIRCUT. Trust me. They will chop your hair to where it can look bad. I remember seeing one girl with very long hair (and it was gorgeous hair too) crying as they chopped hers.

Eeh gotta go run to my appointment, I will edit this or make another post when I get back.

[tigger222]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going into the Army. I won't be leaving until around April though. If anyone has anymore I'm willing to take it the more informed I am the better off I'll be. Oh and by the way I'm female.

[dalesys]

You need to learn the Army Morning Meditation Song, popular since the days of the doughboys: Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning

[PepperElf]

Army huh? Things to remember then:

Go Navy! Beat Army!

Ask the guys in red berets if they got them from second hand stores.

And it's "puking chickens" NOT "screaming eagles"


(then run like hell!)

[sms001]

Good luck tigger, and thanks in advance for your service. Very much appreciated.

[Bright_Star]

You'll sign a TON of paperwork! I went through that in 1984 when I joined the Air Force.

[Pixilated]

Good luck and best wishes! (Someone told me years ago they used to "spit-shine" their boots with clear nail polish ... anybody heard of that? And wouldn't it take an awful lot of nail polish??)

Be warned: there's not much the officers haven't seen, especially in terms of trying to get out of work. For example, don't try to iron only one side of your clothing and hang it all with the nicely ironed side facing outward and the slightly wrinkly side facing the back of the closet ...

[Caffienated_Caramel]

*embarrassed* Ok I feel like an ass. I should have realized you were female. I'm sorry

I don't know much about Army basic training but I remember hearing this tidbit long ago at Navy basic training. I was told they will make you run in your boots or jog in step in boots, it was one of the two. If that's the case and if you're up to it (financially speaking, you'll see why), ask your recruiter what type of boots they will assign you at basic training.

Then go buy two pairs of the same boots. One pair to practice running in and one pair to practice shining with. As PepperElf has said, you will be shining boots A LOT. This would be a good time to practice until they ship you out.

To run in boots, I remember it hurting quite a bit as they don't have the cushioning like running shoes do. (Though in Navy bootcamp, we only ran in boots a couple times I think to prepare us for the final test) So if you practice now, again, if you're up to wanting to buy two pairs, your feet wont be in as much pain when they push you beyond your limits (And on your own terms without a Drill Sergeant screaming in your ear).

This is the last piece of advice I will give.

On the day you ship out, if it's anything like the day when I was sent to bootcamp, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you sleep as much as possible up until you get to your destination. Sleeping while you wait for your flight and on the plane (assuming you'll be flying)

I was stupid, didn't sleep and didn't get any sleep for 48 hours. So sleep when you can.

Actually in general, sleep will be one of your greatest luxuries while at bootcamp.

Good luck soldier.

[cleorose]

Well my first thought is please be sure this is what you want. They promise you the world and the reality is VASTLY different. I am former Army and Hubby is current army. I did 3 and he will finish up 12 this year. Its not for the faint of heart. You thought there were sucky people in retail just wait.

My advice:
Get in GOOD Shape. Whatever shape you think you are in, you aren't its all a lie.
In Basic you will walk, run and play in adverse weather. The only time you aren't on a open field for PT is when there is lightening. Does not matter how cold or hot it is. You should be able to do 20 pushups. Not baby or knee pushups either. Back straight and angled with your feet and your hands out lined up with your shoulders. When you go down your elbows will have to be level with your shoulder blade. It will not count otherwise. You should be able to do sixty situps. The conventional ones. You can't touch the side of the ground, your legs or anything. They stay crossed against your chest or behind your head. You move you lose. Oh and you have two minutes to do each of those.
You will have to run 2 miles in about 17 minutes. And no they give ZERO leeway if you are off by even a second. You either pass or you don't. I was sent to fat camp over 9 seconds. Which took me an additional 6 weeks to shave off. And even then I only got it by 10 seconds.

Learn to power walk carrying on your back in your arms. Your gun which you will walk everywhere with is 12lbs. On your back most will carry around 20-30lbs. As a female they will let you carry less. The guys carry 75lbs. I was 90lbs when I joined. 75lbs was NOT feasible in my case. And I was allowed to pack a duffel which was put on a truck with most of my gear. I was not the only female that was allowed to do this.

But you will carry your ruck, your LBE, and your gun. Your ruck will have a few essential items and like I said its around 20lbs -30lbs on your back and 12 lbs in your hands. POWER WALKING. You will be walking at the Drill Sgts speed and they walk fast. Yes you will run occasionally in full gear. But its seldom more than a mile in my experience.

The first three weeks are the red weeks. They try to shock and scare you. You will run, be screamed at and do lots of pushups. We got dropped for everything. And before you tell people to send care packages make sure you can receive them. Someone in my unit got a box of cookies first week in. We did pushups while the person ate his cookies and the drill sgt ate some too. Then we had to hold in the rest position (hands and feet on the ground and butt in the air) while our comrade made up his pushups after eating a box of cookies.

Learn to pee in under 2 mins, poo in under 4 and eat in under 7. Yes they time you. And being late will suck.

NEVER VOLUNTEER. If they are asking for a volunteer its cause no one else is dumb enough to do it. DONT DONT DONT.

Buy your own toliet paper. Trust me. There will never be toliet paper.

You are gonna have to get over any gross factors you might have. Don't like mud? Guess what you will probably be knee deep with it all over and in parts we won't discuss. Same with sand, grass, water.

You will have to clean up after other people who have no idea what hygiene is. Or what cleanliness is. Usually the girls are all in one racks by themselves and you would THINK they would not be nasty. They are.

Something seldom mentioned is the money aspect. So I will out it right off the bat. The Army will give you this nifty spending card when you arrive. You get it in the first week. They say its to buy essentials. This is NOT free money. Its an advance on your PAYCHECK. So don't spend it on junk. And the PX is extremely over priced. WAY WAY Overpriced. We are talking $5 for toothbrush, $15 for socks etc. You will need WHITE socks. Basic Hygiene stuff like toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner etc. Go buy them at the dollar store or walmart and take those. Take no more than 3 outfits of civilian clothes.

Someone mentioned phonecards, thats a great idea. Buy them in advanced they will be cheaper. Your electronic devices you will not see for at least 7 or 8 weeks. You usually get them back after the last field trip which is 3 days and a 12 mile hike.

I would also recommend stationary. You can write home or wherever you like and its nice to get letters from home. I would recommend bringing a couple of books too. We would get one hour before bed which was letter writing time, laundry time, boot shining time, home calling time etc. Its not much but it was enough for us.

The gas chamber was not as bad as they made it out to be. That was around week 4. I have a weak stomach and I was one of the few who did NOT get sick.

Get a basic first aid kid. Band aids, neosporin etc. You should also get something for calluses and blisters like moleskins. Trust me you will use them.

The repelling tower was not so bad either. Although I had an idiot who tried to pretend to drop people. and would push those of us afraid of heights over the edge faster than we would have liked.

The guys will get horny. They will say anything to get laid. Don't get caught up in it if you can. We had two couples get caught on our first overnight out and well they got the boot. I mean really its only 10 or 11 weeks. When you get to AIT you can do all the naughty stuff you want on the weekends.

If you are not old enough to drink don't. They LOVE suprise inspections, suprise drug tests etc and they are THOROUGH. And if you go out on pass and drink DONT COME BACK til the following day. WE had a 19year old in AIT who got smashed at a party, came back and decided her room was too hot. Opened the window and fell out of a 3rd story window. Luckily she fell into some bushes. But she got stuck and we had to call the mps and ambulance to get her out. She didn't last long.

I could go on but thats just the stuff that stands out in my memories.

[BlaqueKatt]

As PepperElf has said, you will be shining boots A LOT. This would be a good time to practice until they ship you out.

unless it's changed since 1999 when I went through army boot camp, the DI knows you have no clue how to shine your boots and it's considered a HUGE waste of time, just keep them clean, shining comes during AIT, once you've been taught how properly.

I never once shined my boots until AIT, and neither did the other soldiers in my company. We didn't even have polish(it was considered contraband)

Also buy a lice comb(the ones in the shampoo kits don't work), you will get lice(remember lice love clean hair, and you have to shower daily-it's why males get a buzz cut), also the list of stuff your recruiter will give you to buy-don't bother, you'll have to throw most of it out, as the list is inaccurate. I bought towels, shoes, bras, underwear, none of it met specs and I had to re-buy everything on base during in processing.

[kpzra]

Shine what boots, they are all suede now and dress shoes are perma-shiny. Unless you are in a unit that is on jump status you won't be shining boots. My husbands jump boots just need a dusting and they are good, he left the Army in 2006 and a jump unit (RLTW) in 2004.

[wolfie]

But you will carry your ruck, your LBE, and your gun.

Never been in the military, but from what I've heard, don't EVER make the mistake of calling your weapon a "gun". It's always a "rifle".

I never once shined my boots until AIT, and neither did the other soldiers in my company. We didn't even have polish(it was considered contraband)

Why would polish be considered contraband? Were recruits huffing it to get high?