My best friend just started Army Basic Training at Fort Knox 6 weeks ago, and he just got home for the holidays. My question is what has helped some of you guys get through Basic Training? He came home a complete wreck, some of the stories that he told me were absolutely horrific..stories of guys getting beat till they cried themselves to sleep, men only be given food after digging their plate out of trash cans, being forced to a shooting test on no sleep out in the freezing rain (1 guy got hypothermia). They guys have no phone use, and he said that the only privilege they have is they get to eat in a dining hall once a week, the rest is field chow. He said they're fed like birds. He's dropped 15 pounds since he left (and he's a very lean guy to start with and is very weak. When he got home, he was running on 2 days no sleep, because the guys had to clean all night before they came home. He is absolutely terrified of going back. Does anyone have advice to help him get through Basic?
2007-12-21 07:50:00 · 17 answers · asked by Jen 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
I've always thought of our nation's military men and women as heroes but now after hearing what you guys go through before you even complete training, I have to say that with the determination, will-power and endurance that it that it takes just to get through Basic, I'm even more proud of the men and women serving our country. You guys are really are amazing.
2007-12-21 07:53:22 · update #1
No none of the details are made up. He's been a friend for 3 years, doesn't lie, and this is the only time i've seen him show any desparation. He's not the bragging or exaggerating type.
2007-12-21 08:58:00 · update #2
My husband went through Basic at Knox in 97; with the stories you just relayed, it sounds as if things haven't changed much. Unfortunately, the rough treatment may last the whole time he is there, even for the length of AIT. My advice would be to fly below the radar and not call too much attention to himself. When I say that, I mean to always be at formation on time, have his uniform extra squared away, do not get caught complaining, do the best he can at P.T, like try to run the fastest in his group, make sure his equipment is in excellent repair and extra clean, do not get caught sleeping on fire guard, try to score the best that he can during BRM. We did BRM on no sleep also; it sucks! It will be tough (which he has already gathered, but it's not impossible) the rewards when he graduates will make all the bad memories fade away.
And for Pixie- Of course Basic is so much easier NOW. That's why troops like you have the snotty attitude that comes across even in typed form on Yahoo Answers. Try going to Basic in Ft. McClellan, AL, which is closed now. By the Way, I attended BNCOC in L. Wood and was DISGUSTED by all the fat-bodied PUNKS that were running around there...CELL PHONES IN AIT? WTF?! We are talking Combat Arms here...it's A LOT different!
2007-12-21 07:59:43 · answer #1 · answered by Derby Girl 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I went through Basic at ft. Knox. I don't believe a word mentioned.
When I went in, the combined AIT with Basic which made it 18 weeks long. But we ate in the mess hall 3 times a day (except when in the field). Even in 1990, no body was allowed to touch you. I'm sure some guys cried themselves to sleep because they couldn't handle the stress of being yelled at.
When I went it was the Fall/Winter season. If we had to shot that day, we did regardless of the weather. I lost a lot of fat when I was in, that's normal. The under weight guys were fed more.
If he had no sleep before coming home, that's his fault, it doesn't take two days to clean unless he had done no cleaning the entire time he was there and the place was a wreck.
It's all a game. Do as you are told and just remind yourself that once Basic is over, the rest is even easier.
2007-12-21 08:20:08 · answer #2 · answered by Rawbert 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He's jerking your chain. It sounds like he joined to impress his buddies and impress the girls, but now that it's getting a little tough, he's showing he can't take it.
When we began basic, we met our Platoon Sgt.,He was airborne, combat infantryman, and when he told us " you guys will be better than anyone else on this post"
Our reaction was, " we're f^^^^^d!" We quickly realized , give him what he wants and he would leave us alone. We also found out, it was a lot more fun to be number one, than to put up with the extra BS they dished out of you weren't number 1.
When basic was over, not a single man had dropped out, and we all felt we could do anything! Perhaps more important, we thought our Psg was the best sgt at Ft Knox.
Tell him, be a man and show you he can take it, and knock off the lies.Easting in a mess hall once a feew is just so much BS I can smell it here.
2007-12-21 09:22:09 · answer #3 · answered by TedEx 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The biggest thing to remember about Basic is that it ends.
No matter how hard you find it, or how bad you think it is (and I think some of the stories you've related here have been embeished along the line somewhere), you can endure through almost anything for only the 10 weeks that BCT lasts.
If he's 6 weeks in, he'll be about to start Blue phase soon. Life slows down a bit for Blue.
Still the big thing to remember is to keep his eyes on the prize.. BCT is NOT representative of Army life, instead is a compression fo all the crummy aspects of it pushed together for one big experience. If he can get through this, there's nothing he can't handle for the rest of his life.
2007-12-21 08:04:26 · answer #4 · answered by RTO Trainer 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Wow.. I went through BCT in 2006, it was nothing like what my husband went through in 1991, this is the new Army, there was a time like maybe 7-8 yrs ago they would issue stress cards, but not when I went through.. noone ever put their hands on me or my Battles, "if it isnt raining we are not training" was a fav saying of my DS.. I was threaten alot during BCT as Bay boss ( like the house mom to make sure our bay remain clean and bathroom issue out any supplies ect ect) because sadly ALOT of females in our bay were unclean.. and so I was threaten I would get smoked if it wasnt corrected... I lost weight while in BCT as some lost weight but gain muscle.. eating yeah wasnt use to MRE's though my kids when they were small thought they were doing something important when my husband would bring them home after he left the field... you dont get that much time to eat in BCT 7 mins if im not mistaken, there is no talking other than pass this or that.. I mean your in training so why be given 30 mins or more when they have so many other Soldiers to feed.
I cried when I first got there I missed my family, my children mean everything to me but I knew I was there was a reason and got through it.. I have always said if I at 34 can do this anyone can.. BCT teaches us everything we need to know , they break you all down to build you all back up as a team..
I loved going to the range for me I h ad never seen a weapon in person in my life to even thought about firing one.. I did better than some of the males who were in our Company, sleeping, marching during fireguard in the rain no big deal.. hell I even had chow that had sand in it.... I am still alive.
I wish you the best and your friend the best of luck...
Merry Christmas,
Soldier & Armywife
2007-12-21 08:36:12 · answer #5 · answered by Justice35 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well he only has 3 weeks to go. Tell him to keep that in the back of his head and count down each day as it passes.
I know it's hard as I also went to basic at Fort Knox. Things get 10 fold better after basic, so tell him to hang in there. The Army is not a bad career and the benefits (pay, health care, etc.) are fantastic. Hopefully this rest will help him as well.
2007-12-21 07:57:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I went to basic in 2001 and it was nothing like this I went to Ft. leonarwood, MO we might have been smoked in the rain for a couple of hours. And yelled at all the time but we didnt have to dig the food out of the trash. Maybe things changed but from what I hear these days it has only gotten easier.
2007-12-21 07:57:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like hell week, it usually gets more civilized after that. Are you sure he's not making it up, or just pissing of the Drill? Telling tall tales to civilians is a long standing tradition in the service.
Some Advanced training can get pretty rough, but Basic usually isn't like that, especially in the Army. You get a shock to the system the first week to get you used to the culture; then it settles into actual, you know, training.
2007-12-21 07:55:23 · answer #8 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
i think some of his stories are a bit of an exaggeration.
but eating MREs and being in the rain is all part of the experience ...like the saying goes... if it aint rainin, it aint trainin....
no, you dont get to use phones because you need to concentrate on what youre doing, not what is going on back home. everyone loses weight, and most end up sick at one point or another.
sure, you dont get much sleep, but you dont get much sleep in combat either.
the whole point of doing most of the things in basic is so they see how you react when tired and under stress. youre not going to have good meals, phones, and much sleep in combat... and youre going to be under a lot of stress... thats just how it is.
the way of thinking is.....if you cant handle small things like that while in the US...how are you going to be able to handle it on the other side of the world while being shot at???
the best advice i can give him is to try his best to not draw attention to himself..and remember that it isnt going to last forever.
2007-12-21 08:00:31 · answer #9 · answered by Stevie 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
That's where I took my basic training back in 1962, glade to hear they haven't lightened up on the training. If your friend makes it through the basic and gets into advance infantry he will really love that. ( still not as tough training as the Marines)
Thing to keep in mind, first half of basic training breaking down your civ. attitudes & wash out the Duds and moma boys, second half, build you up as a solder.
2007-12-21 08:05:07 · answer #10 · answered by Dave M 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋