#57 - First two days at Fort Jackson: Reception

It is 11:40pm and I have finally gotten a chance to write (I am on fire guard duty here at the Reception Battalion). The past few days have been very tiring and busy. We existed on about 2 hours of sleep the first night, though tonight looks to be slightly more generous, albeit interrupted by the aforementioned fire guard shift. Most of the females in my barracks think fire guard is an opportunity to let heavy steel doors slam and engage in loud conversations. Perhaps I will build up a tolerance to sleeping through the noise.

Thus far we have been inprocessing at Reception. We received PT uniforms, a canteen, two "smart books" of soldier's tasks, and were strong-armed into purchasing $250-300 worth of supplies at the nearby Shoppette. Some of us had already brought duplicates of many of the items from home and were still forced to buy the exact same items by the Drill Sergeants. Here is the list that was provided to us. There were some variations in items by gender, and certain quantities were specified for some items.

PX Shopping List

REQUIRED ITEMS

White, mid-calf cotton athletic sock (no colored bands or logos)
Running shoes
Thong shower shoes
Shoe shine kit (I purchased the desert boots version)
Laundry detergent
Sports bras (white or neutral)
Bra, regular
Eyeglasses band (if glasses are worn)
Padlock/combination or key
Bar soap with case
Toothbrush with case
Toothpaste
Dental floss
Deodorant
Hair brush of 6" comb (black)
Shampoo
Nail clippers
Underwear, cotton
Sanitary supplies
Washcloths (brown)
Towels (brown)

OPTIONAL ITEMS

Soldier's notebook
Paper, writing
Envelopes
Stamps
Pens (black or blue/black ink)
Pencils
Sewing kit
Telephone calling card
Wrist watch
Ziploc plastic bags
Permanent laundry marker
Toiletry bag
Extra set of PT shirt/shorts
Baby wipes
Anti-fog (glasses)
Hair styling accessories (gel)
Boot sole cushions
Spandex (black or gray only)
Flashlight with batteries

ISSUED ITEMS

Towels, brown
Lip balm/chapstick (actually I was not issued this)
Ear swabs/Q-tips (ditto)
Foot powder
Sunscreen

I ended up spending $240.31 at the Shoppette on my initial purchases. We were issued a debit card with a monetary allowance for these items (the money was an advance that would be deducted from a later paycheck). I was not very happy about being forced into purchasing some items that I already had. Some folks that came out of the PX without everything on the mandatory list were forced to do pushups and then made to return back to buy the missing items.

We received a TB test today and the females had blood drawn for another pregnancy test. A DNA sample was also taken by a clinician who stabbed the needle into my arm so hard that I nearly fell out of the chair.

Mostly it's been a lot of the "hurry up and wait" that you would come to expect from the military. Yesterday we spent two hours in the chapel waiting for some other soldiers to arrive. Of course during this time you were not allowed to talk, nor fall asleep. Nothing is allowed except for reading your "smart book".

Tomorrow I am planning to go to sick call to get a doctor to re-prescribe my birth control medication. My battle buddy is probably going as well. She almost knocked herself out on the bunk bed. She hit herself so hard that she has been seeing blurry for two days.

There has been a lot of drama here lately. My platoon already has a designated "ho". One of the girls was apparently seen exiting a supply closet red-faced and out of breath, with a male who was also in the same condition. She was later bragging about having performed certain sexual acts. This amazes me, since we have had very limited interaction with the males, not even enough time for a conversation... How has she found the time to hook up with someone?

Some of the girls in the bay have also been arguing. I thought a fight was going to break out today. There is still a major schism in the platoon between the mature women and the loud, obnoxious girls. Tempers are running very high, and there is a lot of posturing (i.e. "You wanna start me with?!"). *sigh* If it were just the mature folks, this would probably be a breeze, but the growing pains of the other ones learning discipline are going to cause a lot of pain for everyone along the way.

Three of the girls got caught talking in the chow line, and were smoked by a Drill Sergeant. He administered a very mild smoking with ten slow count pushups: "Down..... Up....... Down...... Up....." Immediately the talking resumed. Everyone will probably have biceps of steel by the time we get out of here.

Right now the males are segregated from the females by platoon, and there has been very little interaction between the sexes. Today the male platoon stood next to us in formation and the girls got a whiff of someone's aftershave lotion. The females were smiling and acting giddy. You would swear that they haven't seen a guy in a year.

I was nearly picked to be the platoon guide because I was a Specialist, but was trumped by a girl with two years of ROTC experience. That was a relief. I really had no desire to be a PG in Reception.

As far as a I can tell, there are very few E-4s (Specialists) here, although I did run into one woman who is older than me (39!). She has two kids, one college age. She isn't my assigned battle buddy, but I end up talking to her a lot (that is, as much talking as you can get away with here). We discuss topics like politics, world events, and whatnot... usually stuff over the heads of some of the kids here. Sometimes I feel like it's refreshing to have another older "adult" to chat with.

I have to admit that I've been feeling very down since I've arrived at Reception, and have been missing my husband terribly. A few times I've questioned myself, "What the hell have I done?!" I even half-entertained the notion of trying to get out. I'm not really serious about that idea. I'm sure it's just the frustration and loneliness talking. I feel that I must follow this particular journey to its natural end, whatever that may be. I will give my best effort. Quitting because it's difficult or because I miss my husband will not be an option. This has been a challenge for me emotionally... moreso that I would have predicted.