I originally had continued my blog entries to follow my time in the civilian world, and as an Army Reservist. However, I realized that most people were just interested in the sections on basic training and AIT. So, I've decided to just leave up the BCT and AIT blogs, and some occasional updates with any questions that are sent my way.
Thanks for reading, and for all your comments!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
#156 - Basic training Q & A
I know, I've been bad about updating this blog on a timely basis. Life's keeping me a little busy these days. However, I will take some time out to post some questions that someone recently e-mailed me about basic training. If anyone has different answers or additional input (especially those who might have recently finished BCT), please be sure to comment. I'll probably do this again in the future as folks e-mail me, as these may be questions that others might have about basic training.
>- What would you absolutely tell me not to bring?
I guess this depends on whether or not you will have someone come to visit you at basic training graduation. You will be allowed to have items at AIT that you cannot have at basic and some folks like to bring along various items like electronics knowing that they want to use them up until they are taken away from them at BCT and that they can have them the minute that they are allowed again. However, if there was something valuable, I suppose there is a risk to bring it to BCT if you can't use it there, as it will be immediately locked away in a closet or room and thrown into a heap with the bags of everyone else in your platoon. There is the chance that something in that room could be damaged (for example, Fort Jackson humdity can be really bad, and electronics might not fare very well left in an unairconditioned barracks closet for 2+ months), or even stolen. I don't know if I mentioned it on my blog, but when I was in basic, people broke into those "secure" rooms on more than one occasion, or there were times when the DSs would have to let someone in there to retrieve a personal item, so theft is always a concern.
Other than that, I would say to not bring whatever they tell you is contraband. If you smoke, you can smoke up until the airport or wherever they pick you up. They have an amnesty room at Reception in basic training where you can anonymously ditch your cigarettes, porn, knives, or whatever is on the list (the list is actually kind of funny, but after I met a lot of folks at basic, I knew some of them were probably bringing every single item on that list). If there is something you still had until you got there, it's wise to get rid of it at that point, because you will undergo a full "shakedown" of all of your belongings at Reception, and again at basic training. You do not want to get caught with contraband items during shakedown.
>>- I heard that some people had the opportunity to use their cell>phones?
I don't know if this is something that has changed since I was in basic, but when I was there, this was not true. However, there were always rampant rumors about it happening, and the Drill Sergeants said, "No way in hell!". I suspect that it is something that they still may not allow because of what basic training is all about: the militarization process. Early on in BCT they want to cut your ties with home so that you will harden up and more easily turn into a soldier. They probably worry about people calling their loved ones on the cell phone every night and crying, and maybe about someone sympathetic saying, "It's ok, come on home" or something. I suspect that if you are told by people at the MEPS that they are not allowed, then this is true. Your best bet, however, is to ask your recruiter for the names/numbers of some people who have just come back from BCT as split-ops, or have finished BCT more recently at Fort Jackson... At this point now it has been over a year since I graduated from BCT, so it's possible that things have changed. I will tell you this - people did use their cell phones on the day before family day when we got all our personal stuff back, though I don't know if they were supposed to.
>>-What would you say was the hardest part?
That aforementioned part about militarization and separation from loved ones, by far. Being cut off from the opportunity to talk to and see the folks you love was the most difficult. You will go through a lot of difficulty in those first few weeks, and it's tough to do so without the support that you would usually have from the people closest to you. If anything, it may make you into a good letter writer, if you aren't one already. I got through it by spending all my free time writing to my husband, and telling him all the details of the things I was going through... It was as close as I could get to talking to him, and I think getting mail from me every day made it easier for him too. It was very difficult for me emotionally until I started getting mail back from him early on in BCT, but when his letters finally began to arrive, it made all the difference in the world to my morale. Once that connection of constant (albeit delayed) communication was established, I was a lot happier.
>>- Can you use razors?
We were allowed to have some of the non-electric kind, but honestly there wasn't a lot of time for shaving and long showers until later on in basic. However, maybe you'll luck out and have a Drill Sergeant like mine who would let us take showers as long as we wanted to after lights out so we actually had proper time for personal hygiene.
>>- I know you said you got the Pill when you were down there, but are>you allowed to take some with you?
You can bring them with you, but you need to bring a copy of your doctor's prescription with you, and they will call to verify. Also, see if you can bring a few months' supply with you. Make sure that the fact that you are on the Pill is noted by the MEPS health personnel somewhere in your records before you ship to basic, and that will undoubtedly make things easier for you. The last thing you want to do is to suddenly go off the Pill in basic and have your cycle all screwed up in that environment... for me, it was rather unpleasant!
>>- What did you do when you were out in the field and had your>period?
I brought a lot of pads in plastic baggies, which I separated into smaller bunches and had to stuff in my pockets... luckily there are about a million pockets in those ACU uniforms on your shoulders, chest, legs, butt... The only embarrassing thing (sort of) was when you had to come off the range and go through "shake down", and of course you would have to empty your pockets. I always left the pads in the plastic baggies and the Drill Sergeants didn't paw through them. The other females were also good about helping each other out when I was there, and offering feminine hygiene products if you ran out.
The bad part is you can't really take anything for cramps, bloating, etc. but if you get ibuprofen for some other ailment, hold onto a few for your period... or keep your ears open and you will undoubtedly find someone else who has them, and may sell (yes, there is a BCT black market for such things...lol) or give you a few. You might get in trouble, though, if you are caught with "drugs" that weren't prescribed to you. I know it sounds silly, as this is something you could buy over the counter at home, but everything has to be done by the rules there. BTW I suppose you could use tampons, but they are strongly discouraged, because there really aren't any facilities for washing your hands when you're out in the field, and you do get really dirty. We ended up buying a lot of those little hand sanitizer bottles at the PX and would always keep a bottle of two in our pockets, especially for visits to those nasty porta potties. Everyone was always getting sick, so it's important in BCT to do everything you can to avoid it.
>>- Do you have to wear Bcg's all the time, or can you take them off if you>dont need to use them? And do you have to wear them in AIT?
We were made to wear BCGs all the time through basic, but you could wear civilian glasses in AIT (however, there were a few times I chose to wear my BCTs in AIT when I knew my civilian glasses would be too roughed up in the field). If the Drill Sergeants knew that somebody was issued BCGs, they made them wear them... though a few girls that had halfway decent eyesight but still had BCGs issued to them just hid them right from the beginning, and no one was the wiser. I suppose you are taking the risk, though, of not having them if you need them, and of getting in trouble if they found out somehow. Some people said that they really just needed them for seeing long distances like qualifying on the range, but they were made to wear them all the way through BCT.
>- What would you absolutely tell me not to bring?
I guess this depends on whether or not you will have someone come to visit you at basic training graduation. You will be allowed to have items at AIT that you cannot have at basic and some folks like to bring along various items like electronics knowing that they want to use them up until they are taken away from them at BCT and that they can have them the minute that they are allowed again. However, if there was something valuable, I suppose there is a risk to bring it to BCT if you can't use it there, as it will be immediately locked away in a closet or room and thrown into a heap with the bags of everyone else in your platoon. There is the chance that something in that room could be damaged (for example, Fort Jackson humdity can be really bad, and electronics might not fare very well left in an unairconditioned barracks closet for 2+ months), or even stolen. I don't know if I mentioned it on my blog, but when I was in basic, people broke into those "secure" rooms on more than one occasion, or there were times when the DSs would have to let someone in there to retrieve a personal item, so theft is always a concern.
Other than that, I would say to not bring whatever they tell you is contraband. If you smoke, you can smoke up until the airport or wherever they pick you up. They have an amnesty room at Reception in basic training where you can anonymously ditch your cigarettes, porn, knives, or whatever is on the list (the list is actually kind of funny, but after I met a lot of folks at basic, I knew some of them were probably bringing every single item on that list). If there is something you still had until you got there, it's wise to get rid of it at that point, because you will undergo a full "shakedown" of all of your belongings at Reception, and again at basic training. You do not want to get caught with contraband items during shakedown.
>>- I heard that some people had the opportunity to use their cell>phones?
I don't know if this is something that has changed since I was in basic, but when I was there, this was not true. However, there were always rampant rumors about it happening, and the Drill Sergeants said, "No way in hell!". I suspect that it is something that they still may not allow because of what basic training is all about: the militarization process. Early on in BCT they want to cut your ties with home so that you will harden up and more easily turn into a soldier. They probably worry about people calling their loved ones on the cell phone every night and crying, and maybe about someone sympathetic saying, "It's ok, come on home" or something. I suspect that if you are told by people at the MEPS that they are not allowed, then this is true. Your best bet, however, is to ask your recruiter for the names/numbers of some people who have just come back from BCT as split-ops, or have finished BCT more recently at Fort Jackson... At this point now it has been over a year since I graduated from BCT, so it's possible that things have changed. I will tell you this - people did use their cell phones on the day before family day when we got all our personal stuff back, though I don't know if they were supposed to.
>>-What would you say was the hardest part?
That aforementioned part about militarization and separation from loved ones, by far. Being cut off from the opportunity to talk to and see the folks you love was the most difficult. You will go through a lot of difficulty in those first few weeks, and it's tough to do so without the support that you would usually have from the people closest to you. If anything, it may make you into a good letter writer, if you aren't one already. I got through it by spending all my free time writing to my husband, and telling him all the details of the things I was going through... It was as close as I could get to talking to him, and I think getting mail from me every day made it easier for him too. It was very difficult for me emotionally until I started getting mail back from him early on in BCT, but when his letters finally began to arrive, it made all the difference in the world to my morale. Once that connection of constant (albeit delayed) communication was established, I was a lot happier.
>>- Can you use razors?
We were allowed to have some of the non-electric kind, but honestly there wasn't a lot of time for shaving and long showers until later on in basic. However, maybe you'll luck out and have a Drill Sergeant like mine who would let us take showers as long as we wanted to after lights out so we actually had proper time for personal hygiene.
>>- I know you said you got the Pill when you were down there, but are>you allowed to take some with you?
You can bring them with you, but you need to bring a copy of your doctor's prescription with you, and they will call to verify. Also, see if you can bring a few months' supply with you. Make sure that the fact that you are on the Pill is noted by the MEPS health personnel somewhere in your records before you ship to basic, and that will undoubtedly make things easier for you. The last thing you want to do is to suddenly go off the Pill in basic and have your cycle all screwed up in that environment... for me, it was rather unpleasant!
>>- What did you do when you were out in the field and had your>period?
I brought a lot of pads in plastic baggies, which I separated into smaller bunches and had to stuff in my pockets... luckily there are about a million pockets in those ACU uniforms on your shoulders, chest, legs, butt... The only embarrassing thing (sort of) was when you had to come off the range and go through "shake down", and of course you would have to empty your pockets. I always left the pads in the plastic baggies and the Drill Sergeants didn't paw through them. The other females were also good about helping each other out when I was there, and offering feminine hygiene products if you ran out.
The bad part is you can't really take anything for cramps, bloating, etc. but if you get ibuprofen for some other ailment, hold onto a few for your period... or keep your ears open and you will undoubtedly find someone else who has them, and may sell (yes, there is a BCT black market for such things...lol) or give you a few. You might get in trouble, though, if you are caught with "drugs" that weren't prescribed to you. I know it sounds silly, as this is something you could buy over the counter at home, but everything has to be done by the rules there. BTW I suppose you could use tampons, but they are strongly discouraged, because there really aren't any facilities for washing your hands when you're out in the field, and you do get really dirty. We ended up buying a lot of those little hand sanitizer bottles at the PX and would always keep a bottle of two in our pockets, especially for visits to those nasty porta potties. Everyone was always getting sick, so it's important in BCT to do everything you can to avoid it.
>>- Do you have to wear Bcg's all the time, or can you take them off if you>dont need to use them? And do you have to wear them in AIT?
We were made to wear BCGs all the time through basic, but you could wear civilian glasses in AIT (however, there were a few times I chose to wear my BCTs in AIT when I knew my civilian glasses would be too roughed up in the field). If the Drill Sergeants knew that somebody was issued BCGs, they made them wear them... though a few girls that had halfway decent eyesight but still had BCGs issued to them just hid them right from the beginning, and no one was the wiser. I suppose you are taking the risk, though, of not having them if you need them, and of getting in trouble if they found out somehow. Some people said that they really just needed them for seeing long distances like qualifying on the range, but they were made to wear them all the way through BCT.
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