All Military Vets- What do you remember from Boot Camp?

I could drone on for hours about basic training.

Middle of summer in Fort Bliss, Texas.

Number of recruits who yelled out in their sleep or would sleep to a degree was amazing. Some said that they might talk in their sleep but never got up and did things prior to Basic. I had not done it prior nor since.
You would be doing guard duty at night and hear guys yelling...make a whole, make it wide...yes drill sgt...no drill sgt. I had the top bunk. We had to keep our boots and shoes on top of the wall locker so no scorpions or brown recluse could get in them on the floor. We had to keep our wall lockers locked. I, like many, would sleep in our PT shirt and shorts. One night I woke up in full BDUs with my boots on and laced up while standing at attention on the line. and wall locker closed and locked. Fire guard guy said I stood there about 15 minutes before I woke up lol.

Having to do hygiene checks. Just did not think people had to be told to clean your self and change your underwear and so on. We had to put numbers on our underwear so the Drill would know we were changing them. Most put the number on the band or in an upper area. One guy put it right on the crotch. Drill sgt was screaming at him asking him if he did that just to try and get the drill to look at his bulge or lack of bulge. Cracked up the platoon.

Cha Chings. When you did something silly one Drill would not say drop and do push ups. He would hold one hand up with fingers stretched out and say Cha Ching. He would say it multiple times. That would mean you did five push ups for everytime he said cha ching. We would be in the chow line in the chow hall studying our smart books while going through line. The chow how would have music playing for the cooks (in fort bliss it was more civilian cooks than I had any other duty station). Without fail someone would start tapping their foot, moving side to side or doing some small dance move without really thinking. Drill would walk up to you and start Cha Chinging.

We left FT Bliss and went into McGregor Missle Range in New Mexico to do our bivouac and weapons qualifications. Fort Bliss did basic training at the time but if I recall they were the 151 ADA (air defense) so they also did some basic there. Well that was fun. Cold at night and the morning and get really hot as the day went on. The first morning we were there everyone had a field jacket on. Drill said if we wear them we have to keep them on. We learned never to wear those jackets again.

Funny thinking back to those days. They would give you some tasks that would normally take and hour but try to make you do them in 20 minutes, knowing you could not do it and sitting back and grinning while you would run around like chickens with the heads cut off. Also some super simple tasks would always trip up some recruits because everyone was so discombobulated. You could not have any loose strings on your uniform. But without fail multiple people would get called out for it during inspections.

It was getting close to the end of basic and we had a big inspection coming up. Everyone was cleaning different areas up and some were in the latrine and in the stalls cleaning toilets. While doing so we were all to only use one stall so the others remained pristine in the morning for inspection. One guy was cleaning and he heard someone go into one of the stalls they were not to go into and saw a pair of boots in there. He starts cussing at the guy in the stall calling every name in the book. Then stands outside to wait for the guy. When the guy walks out it was a Colonel and Battalion commander. The young guy about died on the spot but the Colonel was pretty cool and did not rip him a new one. Later we all asked how he did not know who it was initially because he was the only person at that time that wore tanker boots.

Graduation is over now, we basically have about a week of down time while the recruits get their travel orders to go to AIT.

We were sitting around and he was asking us questions. He got around to me and asked...what did you write about me to your parents. I told him...I told them you looked like the damn devil. lol I think it hurt his feelings.

Another time we were just outside talking and I told one of my buddies to go to the Drill Sgt to come over and ask me how my grandmother irons clothes. The story was to tell him that since he knew I was from WV that we were really backwoods and my grandmother used to iron clothes by heating up flat rocks she got from the creek. So he comes over and says...How does your grandmother iron clothes. I looked at him with a pained expression on my face and acted kind of nervous. Then I said...I know I can get in trouble talking to you like this but I don't find that blanking funny cause my grandmother does not have any blanking arms. He looked so embarrassed and you could tell he felt bad. He start stuttering that Jones told him to ask and had no idea. But then I started laughing and told him it was a joke. That's when the Cha Ching hand came up and I hit the floor to do push ups.
 
Out of 100+ only 19ish of us made it through.

Not sure if they still have the program, but it was called Divefarer Program. If you passed all the tests and fulfilled the requirements you were sent straight to BUDs after A-School.

It was in Orlando and instead of regular CC's we were classed up by SEAL enlisted. We did way more PT and swim evolutions that regular bootcamp people. We were pretty much beat everyday. It was awesome. We had to pass the test weekly. You had two chances. If you didn't, you were gone to a regular class.

It was a blast. I was with 100+ other alpha *******es that wanted nothing more than to become a SEAL.

Favorite memory: I ended up being the Iron Man. Was the best in my class and ended up winning the Field Day Decathlon and had lunch with the Admiral as a reward.
 
I remember going through ** basic training and I got less in shape than I was before. I watched all the movies of boot camp so I could do everything. I ran 5 miles a day. I could easily do 50 pushups and 100 situps in my sleep before I went to basic training. I was a bit older than normal recruits (20+ years old) and I was flabbergasted on how out of shape some of the young 18 - 19 year olds were. This was in 1982 so this isn't knock on millennials or any other current generation. I weighted the same when I went it as I went out - 6' 163lbs. I do wish I was that weight again. Going through the obstacle course was my favorite part of basic training.

There is a reason the Air Force is called the "Chair Force", but it didn't bother me.
 
Jammer said:
I remember going through ** basic training and I got less in shape than I was before. I watched all the movies of boot camp so I could do everything. I ran 5 miles a day. I could easily do 50 pushups and 100 situps in my sleep before I went to basic training. I was a bit older than normal recruits (20+ years old) and I was flabbergasted on how out of shape some of the young 18 - 19 year olds were. This was in 1982 so this isn't knock on millennials or any other current generation. I weighted the same when I went it as I went out - 6' 163lbs. I do wish I was that weight again. Going through the obstacle course was my favorite part of basic training.

There is a reason the Air Force is called the "Chair Force", but it didn't bother me.
Click to expand...


When we first got to fort bliss and we were basically just getting the paperwork done, getting our equipment and all that jive (sammy hagar) before we actually started our training. There was a point where we had to do 10-20 pushups and situps. And I really want to say it was just 10 of each...I was shocked at the number of young guys who could not even do that. I was not in the best shape by any stretch but to not be able to do 10 simple pushups just shocked me. Those guys went onto to join what they called a pork chop platoon where they had to basically do exercises and so on for so many weeks before they started their actual basic training cycle.
 
I always felt bad for you PI guys and the sand fleas, but standing on the PT field that shared the fence line with San Diego airport was a special kind of mental hell.

We had 1 recruit go unk on the rifle range. The entire squad bay got to stand at our footlockers and hydrate until everyone puked. Then came the low crawls… Needless to say I found out a year or so later, my Senior DI quickly became a PFC over that incident.

This was in 94 and I remember going in and everyone telling me “oh, they can’t touch you anymore like in the old days”. I quickly called bull ish as I watched a DI run across the squad bay and double foot drop kick a recruit in the chest.

All said though, I’d do it all again in a freaking heartbeat. Best time of my life
 
timb2 said:
My 3 mile time in Boot Camp was 18 minutes and 10 seconds
Click to expand...
That is a good time& that run time was the only impediment keeping me from being a 300 p f t perfect score( I think my last pft run score was right around yer' initial boot camp score,bravo& well done)

*Don't laugh ( or at least be able to get it under control in rapid fashion) some of that sh,,,er,,stuff being screamed into other dudes faces was beyond hilarious,,,

** Being awarded an underhand savate strike to the solar plexus** as I can vividly recall being unable to breathe:thumbup:
 
In receiving we had this idiot actually pushed the Receiving DI and said " I've had about enough of this"!!. The other receiving DI had to put that kid in a headlock because the other DI would have killed him. I remember the MPs handcuffed him in front of everyone and he started crying like a baby when they took him to the brig . This was like the 3rd day and didn't have our platoon together yet. Not our real DIs....We didn't have uniforms or anything yet. Just the clothes we came in. Stupid me I wore a New York Yankees shirt. They thought I was from New York so they gave me extra crap thinking I'm probably a smarta**. I also remember this one dude in receiving brought a blow dryer. There were all over him. It was funny. Another kid shaved his head before he got there. The DIs were so mad at him. .. The receiving DI who got pushed he got me once yelling at me but it was funny,even I knew he was laughing inside. We all lined up for the drug screen and I had to go really bad and I hear " 5 your done,6 your done,7 your done,8 your ,7 your done right in my ear,7 your done knock it off" I'm saying " Yes Sir" " Oh yes Sir".," Yes Sir".I'm about to tuck it in and he said " Nope just go you belligerent pee'er.".So I had to March back into the squad bay with my MR.HAPPY hanging out.
 
Last edited:
I recall while getting hosed w/ a dose of c.s. in the gas chamber ( the kinder,gentler & less persistent brand as compared to the type c.n. tear gas) a big blsck dude ( Tennyson) flipped his wig& was fixin' to bolt , fck'r stomped on my foot, so naturally I helped the d.i. pin him to the wsll( I got called on the carpet ,to explain my actions to the senior D.I. ( ha, I seen him on t.v. a few years later on that joker's wild game show,all 5'5" of him, wearing his summer alpha's& still E-6 staff-sargent, I thought that was pretty cool) I was informed to maintain my concerns to myself & not to interfere in any future training procedures.

Then ,later on in 3rd phase, about every other nite or so( LMAO) this black dude named Horton, would indiscriminately , slip over behind the patrolling fire watch's back trail & thump somebody in their head with his feather filled pillow ( it was of the funniest sh,,,er,,stuff( you'd of just about had to of been there, to appreciate what I'm trying to relay:lmao2:
 
kapolani said:
Out of 100+ only 19ish of us made it through.

Not sure if they still have the program, but it was called Divefarer Program. If you passed all the tests and fulfilled the requirements you were sent straight to BUDs after A-School.

It was in Orlando and instead of regular CC's we were classed up by SEAL enlisted. We did way more PT and swim evolutions that regular bootcamp people. We were pretty much beat everyday. It was awesome. We had to pass the test weekly. You had two chances. If you didn't, you were gone to a regular class.

It was a blast. I was with 100+ other alpha *******es that wanted nothing more than to become a SEAL.

Favorite memory: I ended up being the Iron Man. Was the best in my class and ended up winning the Field Day Decathlon and had lunch with the Admiral as a reward.
Click to expand...
Much respect for you Seals. Bad ***** who saved many a Marines ***. And vice versa :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

... and 46 more.
Total: 1,056 (members: 146, guests: 910)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
465,409
Messages
13,872,612
Members
23,791
Latest member
mashburn
Back
Top