what's life really like in Army bootcamp?

Question

I'm planning 2 join the Army Reserve when i graduate from high school. i have a tiny body 4 being a soon 2 b 18-year-old girl. would i have 2 gain weight? is it extremely hard? any advice would be good from anyone who has experienced or heard about it. BTW, i'm in junior ROTC and going 2 b a senior this year. would that help out a lot? Thanx! ^_^

Answer 1

I was in the same situation, except I joined on the Split-Op program between my junior and senior year. Also in JROTC, I was able to join the Army Reserve with an PFC (E3) rank, which helped with money and such.

Begin working on push-ups. If you are small, this is probably going to be your problem area for PT tests.

Basic training (don't call it bootcamp, just call it Basic) is not particularly difficult. There are times when you will be stressed, but you will excel in it if you can let it fall off your back and get on with whatever needs to be done. The best advice I give anyone going to Basic is this: just take it one day at a time. By that I mean for you to focus on today. Don't worry about tomorrow, or your family, or anything. Just be numb to everything except for the next task required to get you a step closer to completion. You will have other trainees saying things like, "57 days and a wake-up" (wake-up meaning graduation). Don't think like this. This will only serve to extend how long Basic feels. Like I said, focus on today, and nothing else.

BTW, the hardest part for me was leaving my family. However, if you can get into the mindset of "only today", then you should keep your mind off of it. Everyone around you will be feeling the same way, and your Drill Sergeants will be judging you on how well you can transform yourself from a parent-dependent child into a soldier doesn't care about anything except getting the job done.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me from my profile page.

Answer 2

Life in Army boot camp is like life in any military boot camp. It's rigorous, intense, and you will be expected to "pull your end of the rope." If you can't you will be processed out. It will be one of the most rewarding undertakings you will ever accomplish if you tough it out, but it won't be a picnic. Further, it is a contract of military service to your country and contrary to popular belief, it is is a call to duty to this country and not just a career opportunity. If you are called to war, then you really are expected to fight in support of this country with all you got. If the thought of that scares you, don't waste any ones time getting knocked up once war breaks out. Save everyone the time and time and trouble and choose a different line of work/education now. Your fellow soldiers will be depending on you to hold up your end. Incidentally, if this answer offends you, then you probably are not going to be thick-skinned enough to make it anyway. If not, Good Luck to you!

Answer 3

My husband gratuated basic in July. For him the hardest part was being homesick. I normaly got to hear from him for about 10 min on sundays and for the first two weeks he cried the whole time he was talking to me. I was totally shocked bc this is so not like him but everyone Ive talked to thats been there told me that they cried too and thought what in the world have I gotten myself into. By the third week he was more used to it and he said the Physical training of it wasnt really all that bad. He said the letters I sent really helped even though he didnt have time to read all of them (I normaly sent 5 or 6 a week). He said his DS was really down to earth and liked to cut up but he said other companies werent so lucky. He had said he couldnt wait until he graduated so he could watch tv, listen to music, and eat junk food. I was really surprised when I saw him at family day bc he had went from 186 lbs to 167. He could do sit ups and push ups like it was nothing. He is really cut now. The first place we went was to a mexican resturant~ well, after the hotel~ . I couldnt believe how much he ate. He also enjoyed going to walmart.(theres not much to do at fort leonard wood, mo) You could look at fort woods web site. its www. wood.army. mil. Click on directoates/units and then click on 3rd basic comabat. It has all kinds of pics of people going thru training right now. It was awesome bc I got to see what my husband was going thru and kinda knew what he was talking about when he would tell me about his week. I was told that the military would change him although I didnt really want him to change but it did for the better. He tells me all the time now how much he loves and appriciates me. I am so PROUD of him! Now Im just waiting on him to get done with AIT and then we'll be stationed at Fort Hood, Tx.

Answer 4

I was going to answer this question based on my son's experience at BCT last year, but then I read benbobbin's answer. What a terrific answer. He explains the BCT experience wonderfully. My son often echoed some of the same things he wrote.

Answer 5

you will not have time for your nails if that is what you mean. it is very physical, it all is.the first day to the last. but people make it thorough. You should be OK.

Answer 6

8 weeks of hell but if you make it through than you can make it through anything. Be sure you want it, only you can sign the dotted line.

Answer 7

HELL.