whats it really like to be in the army???

Question

im' taking my ASVAB monday and i was wondering what is it really like to be in the army? this question is only adressed to those who have served in the miltary . i don't want to anyone's comments that haven't experenced it themselfs

Answer 1

Always remember that the Army motto is "Hurry up and wait" Seriously, a lot, if not the majority, of time spent in the Army is waiting. I know that you don't have a clue what I mean, but you will soon enough, trust me. Here's an answer I shared with somebody recently, it tells what basic training is like at Ft. Jackson:

The first place you'll go to is the 120th reception battalion. It's where all new soldiers go. It'll last anywhere from 3 to 7 days. For me, that was the worst week. I say that because the one thing that you'll be doing the most is waiting. You know have no concept of what waiting in a line means by Army standards. Your 'company' will probably have about 600 soldiers in it. You will wait in that line, no talking, all week. Wether it's for chow, hair cut, medical, dental, eye exam, financial, whatever. You have to understand that if it was just one person doing this, it'd only take an hour or two, tops. But they have to process between 1 to 2 thousand soldiers that week. It takes forever. Don't worry, they give you reading material. It's honestly not that hard, just do what they tell you, when they tell you, and don't say anything except yes and no drill sergeant. It really is too easy. Then, usually on a friday, your boot camp drill sergeants will come and pick all of you up. Their goal for your first impression of them is for you to be nothing less than terrified of them. Be expecting this. And no, just about nobody there is going to be nice to you, get over it. I know it sounds mean or whatever, but thats just how it is. After that first week of reception comes the nine weeks of BCT. These nine weeks are divided up into three phases. Pay attention, this is useful: The three phases, in order, are red phase, white phase, and blue phase. Red phase is the first three weeks of training, these are the toughest weeks. During these weeks are when the drills are going to smoke you the most. Make no mistake, you're going to get smoked the entire nine weeks, but red phase is when they really lay it into you. During red phase, you'll go to pugil stick training, bayonette assault course, Victory Tower, confidence courses, and the gas chamber, called the NBC chamber. (Nuclear, biological, chemical, I think). White phase is a lot better than red phase, you get more priviledges and the drills lay off a little bit more. These weeks, however. are considered the most stressful. This is because you'll be qualifying on your M16 A2 rifle. It's stressful because most of the privates won't be able to shoot very well at all right off the bat, it is very frustrating. Often times most of the stress is shown when the privates fight amongst themselves. But as long as everyone keeps their cool, it'll all be OK. Then blue phase is the best phase. The drills start to treat you a little better. Understand that you all will feel a little like cattle, the dirlls always herding you around and treating you like crap. But blue phase is a lot better, and a whole lot of fun. During this phase, you get to go to the grenade range, fire a whole lot of really big weapons, and you'll go to victory forge, a week in the field. It really is a whole lot of fun. Then the last week is clean up, outprocessing, family day, and graduation day.

The thing to remember is, it is NOT as bad as it sounds. It'll take a little adjusting, but chances are that you'll have fun during the whole thing. In order to ensure this, you have to follow this philosophy: Your goal is to not have the Drill Sergeants notice you AT ALL. If it's been 5 weeks in, and the drills still don't know your name, then youre good. The less you stick out, the more enjoyable of a time you'll have. This works both ways; don't do anything to get in trouble (don't talk), and never, never volunteer for anything.

So, have a great time becoming a Soldier in the United States Army. And remember during all the hard times that'll come, remember this; It's worth it.



P.S. go on goarmy.com and look up Basic Training, they have video recordings of it, it was really helpful for me.

Answer 2

I am a US citizen and an active duty US Army Soldier. No, I would not be scared to fight the US Marine Corps due to the inability of the United States so far to properly combat the true threat behind the IED problem; People. The United States military has not yet won the hearts and minds of the people of the nations that we fight in. We are doing very well but have not yet stopped the problem. If I were in an opposing military force I would employ guerrilla tactics and continue to use IED's rather than head on combat due to the Marine's ability to win head on combat.

Answer 3

It is interesting. The recruiters sugar coat things a bit, but they arent lying about anything. It really depends on what MOS (Job) you choose, as that will determine your day to day activities. Be ready to accept total control, as when you sign that contract they quite literally own you. This is not nessecarily a bad thing, they take great care of their own.

Answer 4

Daniel - if you were truly an officer - you wouldn't speak of enlisted in that manner. You would know the enlisted are the backbone of the Army.

Answer 5

I served in the Army as an officer. My opinion of most enlisted soldiers is that they could not find gainful civilian employment and so they enlisted in the military.

If you are intelligent do not enlist. I implore you to go to college and then become an officer. If you are a laze run of the mill dumb *** with a sightly criminal mind then by all means enlist in the US Army. If you are dumb, but have a good heart, and are willing to work hard, join the Marine Corps.

Answer 6

I will give it a shot...hell.