What is Navy basic training like? What do you do there?

Question

I'm about to go and I would really like to know what is is like and what you have to do there. No one has told me much about it so I am basically walking into the unknown.

I got GSE as my job. Has anyone had this job? What all does it involve?

Answer 1

Yes. you are.

kidding.

Although I've never been to Navy boot camp, someone who has has written a thorough review of it. http://usmilitary.about.com/od/navyjoin/l/aanavybasic1.htm

Answer 2

rough, but doable.It starts off by breaking you down, usually by the usual yelling and PT.Up early, long days, lots of PT, stress etc.. Thats all you'll do at first and fill out paperwork. As you progress, they build you back up, the way they want, as a team member and in the process teach you all you need to know to be a basic seaman in the navy and function at a basic level. You'll learn military customs, rules, lots of navy stuff, weapons, marching, more marching etc. Don't worry, you won't be bored. You may even learn a thing or two. Just do the best you can. Don't stand out, pay attention and most important remember... It ain't personal. Millions have done it and so can you. It will end. Your worst day will be the first couple.When it gets rough, just think of a happy place, zone out and do what you have to do. You"ve chosen a noble, exciting career and you and your family should be proud. Take full advantage of all the training you can to help you put in civilian life. Most of all, have fun. This is something you'll remember your whole life...
Good luck.

Answer 3

Well I went to Navy basic training almost 17 years ago. We did physical training, sitting in a classroom and the company commanders picked their favorites. Most of it is mental.

Now and days it is much easier. You are required at least 6 hours of sleep, the physical part is now harder (but that is throughout the Navy), some sitting in a classroom, "battlestations" near graduation and you specifically learn teamwork. No more "favorites" in the ranks. Still alot of mental "games". Be strong and do your best, you will get through it!

Answer 4

The hardest part is getting along with other people...just do everything your told and it will be fine...8 weeks goes by real quick...the first week sucks but as time goes on it gets better trust me...You will excercise almost everyday....seriously there are alot of rumors that go through boot camp if it sounds like bullshit 99 times out of 100 it is....

Answer 5

Boot Camp. This is where the amazing Navy transformation from civilian to Sailor happens. You’ll report to Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, Illinois. Be advised: RTC is a huge campus, but you’ll never feel alone. On it are hundreds of recruits just like you finding their way to their futures. The skills and the training you’ll get there will set you up for a lifetime of success. In and out of uniform.


Boot Camp is 8 weeks of mental and physical training. Expect it to be rigorous and demanding. It’s hard work. Then again, anything worth something usually is. From Boot Camp you’ll emerge as a Navy Sailor in top physical condition astounded by what you’ve accomplished so far and ready for the biggest adventure of your life: Your first tour of duty.

Let’s take a closer look.

Week 1:

Processing Week. Once you arrive you’ll be given Navy-issued clothing, be taught the right way to fold and store your new belongings, and make your bunk (bed). You’ll receive complete dental and medical exams, if you need a haircut, that’ll happen too.

As the week progresses, you’ll knock the days down conditioning, swimming, marching, drilling, and most importantly attending Navy classes. Everything you do from week to week is designed to prep you for what lies ahead. You will push your physical limits and achieve higher performance levels than you ever thought possible. In the Navy, you’ll be judged for who you are and how you prove it.

Honor. Courage. Commitment. Three words that before Boot Camp probably held little meaning. Here, they’ll become words you’ll live by. These Navy Core Values will become the ideals you and your fellow shipmates live by. What you make of this experience makes you.

Week 2.

This is a confidence-building week. As such, you’ll be going through the confidence course — a course designed to simulate shipboard situations that you could encounter in an emergency. Be sharp because your life and the lives of your fellow shipmates depend on it. If you haven’t already caught on, teamwork in the Navy and especially in Boot Camp is a driving force.

Week 3.

Reality check: This week, you’ll board a land-bound training ship. Everything will be hands-on — something your Recruiter told you the Navy is big on. Here’s the proof. You’ll learn everything from ship nomenclature to first aid techniques to semaphore (signaling with flags). All the real-world lessons you’ll need to survive in the Navy world. Classroom studies will focus on Customs and Courtesies, laws of armed conflict, money management, shipboard communication, Navy ship and aircraft identification, and basic seamanship.

Step up for the first of two physical training tests — curl ups, sit-reaches, push-ups and a 1.5-mile run. Good luck — but if you don’t pass the first time, your Recruit Division Commander will work with you to ensure you do next time. That’s because success is everybody’s goal in the Navy — not just yours.

Week 4.

Weapons fire: heads up! If you’ve never fired a weapon before — this week you’ll get your hands on a M-16 and a 12-gauge shotgun. When you’ve proven you know how to properly use both, you’ll graduate to the live-fire range. This is where it gets really interesting.

Keeping the end in mind, graduation pictures are this week as well as your second academic test on everything you’ve learned to date. This is about the time you’ll feel as though you’re flying through Boot Camp. It’s all good — because there’s so much more adventure awaiting you after Boot Camp.

Week 5.

This week is all about you. Where you want to go, what you want to do, and how fast you intend to get there. So you find the shortest distance between where you are and where you want to be. If you’re feeling a sense of accomplishment for making it this far — good for you. That means that 180-degree-life-change your Recruiter told you would come — has come.

Week 6.

Shipboard damage control and firefighting. Two of the most vital skills you’ll need on board. You’ll learn to extinguish fires. Escape smoke-filled compartments. Open and close watertight doors. Operate Oxygen Breathing Apparatus and carry fire hoses. No pressure: but your life and the lives of other shipmates depend on you mastering these skills. One more test, and perhaps, the most challenging of all: the Confidence Chamber. Inside the Chamber, you and about 100 other recruits will line up, put on a gas mask while a tear gas tablet is lit. You’ll be ordered to remove your mask and throw it in a trash can while reciting your full name and social security number. Relax. Every Sailor before you has mastered it — and so will you. Because if you didn’t know it before, you know it now: You have what it takes. You are Navy material.

This week you’ll also have to finish the confidence course — as a team. This is when and where your newly developed self-confidence and self-assurance shines. “If they could only see me now.” You suddenly find yourself thinking that a lot.

NTE: DV286

Week 7.

Battle Stations. Boot Camp’s ultimate test. Here’s an exercise of 12 different scenarios incorporating what you have learned during the previous weeks. You and your team will be graded on your ability to execute the required tasks.

Successful completion nets you the ultimate reward — a U.S. Navy ball cap. The cap that tells the world you’re no longer a Recruit, but a full-fledged Navy Sailor.

This is pivotal. This is where you and your Commanding Officer recognize what you’ve always known: You were destined to do something extraordinary. For you. For your family. For your country.

You’ve done it. You’ve proven to yourself and to the world you’ve got what it takes. Your future is now in full motion.

Week 8.

Graduation in your dress uniform. Pass the mirror. Stop and stare. Recognize that person? You should. Stand tall. Walk proud. You are Sailor in the U.S. Navy. After today, your family and friends will envy you. Strangers on the street will thank you. Your Navy family will always have your back. Savor this moment. Not everybody makes it; not everybody should.

Answer 6

Push ups.....lots and lots of push ups!