10/15/2014- "Shark Attack- Day 1 of Basic"



Wednesday started off at 0200. A lot of standing around getting ready to ship down range. Dog tags and Military ID’s were issued. We packed all of our stuff into two bags. (3 pair of boots, tons of clothes and such…. 100+ pounds and awkward to carry). At 1300 44 guys were crammed onto a bus to the point where we could not breathe.

As you can imagine, there were a ton of Drill Sergeants waiting for us as we unloaded the bus (thus the Shark attack). We had to run uphill for a little over a quarter of a mile. As one kid fell the sharks got him. I wanted to help him, but it was every man for himself at this point. Not going to lie, it was tiring and pretty tough but it lasted only about 15 minutes. We split up into platoons, met the guys, and then went to class. Chow was a different story here.

Chow- they have 3 different food trays from Healthy to not so healthy. BUT you don’t really get a choice. Whatever is put up there when you walk up is what you get. Then you get two cups of juice. You chug one on the spot and take one with you. The whole platoon has to stand and wait for the last person before starting. We ask permission to eat then when granted you get 5 minutes to eat. The whole time the Drill Sergeants are yelling and cussing in your face to hurry up. Eating that fast hurts and getting yelled at is not motivating. Worst meal ever.

Next- Shower time

All 54 guys have to get in a square wearing army issued “Tighty Whities” that are six sizes too big, flip flops and hold a towel and soap. You get into four lines shoulder to shoulder in the hallway and sing the Army Song. Twelve guys at a time go into the shower and we have exactly TWO minutes to shower, turn the water off and file back in line soaking wet.

Then Bed-

We have our summer PT’s (Shorts and shirt tucked in). The Drill Sergeant says “Mount your beds” and we jump in and land however without moving. Sarge says to adjust and we have to get under the covers on our back in “Attention form”. Then lights go out and everyone gets back up to finish brushing their teeth and such. I was in bed for about four hours with one of those hours being fire watch. During that time we had to arrange our lockers so we ended up with about two hours sleep.