Heartbreaks, Prosecution, and Retribution

Chapter 3 : Training Time

Finally, I had arrived at the destination appointed for me, Reception. The place that I was so anxious to get to, I will soon want to leave.

To my unveiling surprise, the place that I arrived to was a holding area to segregate individuals for jobs and unit details. I would not get to my actual location until possibly a week of waiting. It was if I was in purgatory here on earth, waiting. The wait seemed so long because we couldn't do anything: no training, no personal time to ourselves. We just had to stay awake nearly all day before sunrise until sunset.

We all had to go into a barbershop to get our haircuts. The only design that was available was the army buzz cut. No actual style, but eventually we could get some forms of a faded haircut. Getting a haircut was for two things, one keeping the lice down since we all shared living quarters, and we didn't know how everyone's hygiene level was. And then secondly, this haircut kept a clean, neat appearance for the military. The next thing was our initial issue of U.S. apparel and getting issued my battle dress uniforms or known as BDU's. We all began to look and feel more like a soldier figure by standing tall and looking good.

Here at reception is where we got issued our ID's and got our picture taken with our class-A jacket on. Some additional initial items and our pre-basic outline of how things worked and understanding rank structure. Also, how to address certain individuals so if it was a Noncommissioned Officer, we would stand at Parade Rest and address them as Sergeant or Drill Sergeant, and if they are officers, to address them Sir or Ma'am and stand at the position of 'Attention'.

Finally, our D-day has come, a week of waiting has gone by and the first day of our training has come. I am so excited to finally get to do what I was hoping for. I did, however, feel like one of the characters in the movie 'Stripes' with no comic relief. After thinking that the longest week of my life was over, I was wrong.

It was quite difficult to adjust from the start because the first day of Basic was my first month wedding anniversary. I couldn't call home to say happy anniversary. I was of course saddened and not motivated, but the Drill Sergeant in charge motivated me in a way I would not forget.

I was feeling like a lost puppy picked up and trained by a new owner. That's exactly what it was like on my arrival, feeling like a dog. Getting yelled at, getting told what to do, having issued a pair of name tags, also known as 'dog tags', go figure! There were people wearing big brown round hats or otherwise known 'round browns' that were identified as being our instructors or Drill Sergeant.

They swarmed around us; they called it 'shark attack.' It would seem as if they planned to confuse us by one instructor, telling us to do something. Then, while executing the action, we get punished by another instructor. This was like a game. At first, it was a surprise, then after a while it became annoying, but you got used to it.

Food was one of those things that were practically forbidden, especially on your downtime. You had to eat what they gave you in the time slot they gave you. You could not go and purchase any food from the nearest store. This was more of a disciplining effect and dieting for some. This was to help people watch their diet and to eat healthier so they would lose weight and maintain military standards. And before eating anything, we had to drink a glass of water to help fill us up.

This was for us to relax, if we could, with time permitted. We had this time to shower and call our loved ones or write letters.

In actuality, it really wasn't that bad, only at the beginning. For those who were not used to taking orders, it was kind of difficult to adjust to. Over time, you learned to adjust to the time and conditions you are in. You learn not to cling to material things. No time for movies, computers, and conversations. The only thing that was required was spreading knowledge. This was important to learn because if not you would be behind. Just imagine if you didn't retain anything; once you graduate your basic training camp and go to your first unit, you may feel really dumb at your job performance or worse. If you were in a situation where you had to apply it, you may not know how to react because nearly everything was muscle memory.

You always had to pay attention, though it was boring at times. If you feel sleepy in the class, it would be a bad day for you. When you open your eyes, there would be around brown less than six inches away from you. The next thing you know, you would be in the Front Leaning Rest, if you were lucky.

Paying attention in class was a priority to the Drill Sergeant. It's important to know because, without the basic knowledge, you could get someone or even yourself killed. This is all because nearly most things are built from your basic knowledge. This is like graduating high school.

In basic training, you had personal time, but it was stated that it was mainly for personal hygiene. If you had time left, you could write or call home to your family and friends. Personal time was not mandatory only recommended. If you messed up or did something to deserve corrective action, then you could be on fire-guard or staff duty without personal time. You could also be on other details such as KP, post detail or cleaning latrines.

The countdown to the "End of Days," we would say in training, seemed like forever because it would be the end of the longest days. The countdown wouldn't begin until at least the halfway mark because every time you heard 90 plus days to go, it just seemed like infinity. You could have thought it was like the movie "Groundhog's Day," always repeating itself.

Wake up was very interesting for those of us that were teenagers. As for those of us who were mostly used to sleeping in, we got a rude awakening, specifically at 4:30 in the morning. You learned to sleep when you could, and you appreciated the sleep you got. We actually got enough sleep. We were only tired because of adjusting to our new sleep schedule. You were usually sleeping or at least in bed before 10:00 p.m. so you got at least six hours of rest, depending upon your duties and guard shifts.

Our physical training in the morning was shocking. Some people came into the military out of shape to conduct such extensive training. The military has standards to abide by. If you were lacking, you would work out even more, sometimes twice a day or even more. If you failed your Army Physical Fit Test, and if you couldn't meet the height and weight standards, you would have even more exercise. Sadly enough, I failed one fitness test. This, of course, wasn't because I lacked the performance, but I ran with a battle buddy who was struggling which resulted in not making the time for the run. We then had to conduct remedial PT.

Two weeks had passed, and we were given another APFT. My battle wanted me to stay with him, but I had to pass the test. I wasn't going to be conducting more PT when everyone else is conducting personal hygiene, which of course you would miss.

Through other areas of training such as shooting guns and weapons, I came to a conclusion about the military. We had to go to ranges, which included spending long hours of waiting before you get hands-on training. So, if it was hot outside, make sure you had loaded up on water, and if it was cold, you better make sure you had enough cold-weather gear.

We learned different tactics and techniques on how to use specific weapons. The M-16/M-4 were the most common weapon for all MOS's. We even had the opportunity to throw live grenades. That was slightly intense. This was because if you dropped it in your area, you would be in for a surprise. In our area set-up, if you dropped it, the Drill Sergeant would more than likely kick it in a gutter and throw the soldier out of the way to land on top of him. Thankfully, that didn't happen to any of us.

We primarily focused on the weapons for general use and for our job specifications, for me it was the M-9 Berretta. We were taught how to operate the weapons to the point of breaking them down and firing them. We didn't hit up every weapon known to the military as some may think.

We even had the luxury of going to the gas chamber. We had to learn how to put on our gas masks or what we called pro-mask within 9 seconds. Through repetition, it all paid off, since we became knowledgeable and proficient in our job skills.

As time went on, we adjusted to the way things were, and the way we needed to be. Our instructors allowed us to go the store and purchase whatever we needed, and then sooner or later, we would be allowed to go on Pass.

Passes allowed us to go to the movies to relax and unwind. This was like a treat for being good. If we didn't act up, and we all worked together to excel, then we were allowed to go to the specified locations. When we went to the store, we would see the new items that came out such as new music albums, games and movies.

To an extent, being in training was like being secluded from society. This was also a result of being away from the television or listening to the radio, too.