12 Days Til Boot Camp!

[atc007]

AWESOME advice Devilman. And Thank you for serving. 5 days Chazz,,how we looking?

[Chazz of Blades]

SKEERED.

I did my initial PT test yesterday, and failed. I did the sit ups/push ups fine, but couldn't run an 8 minute mile. I ran it in 10:08 and felt like I was gonna die. I don't know how I'm gonna get built up more in time, but I have to.

[atc007]

Morning noon and night. Hearts an AMAZING muscle! just jog,,don't push it real hard,,it will come all by itself as you get more wind.

[Chazz of Blades]

I have to be able to shave off 2 minutes by.........tomorrow......actually...... I think I may be in trouble here.

[fabiodriven]

You better make that run Chazz... Push it boy!

[JayBone]

Chazz,

25F is good. I'll give you some advice it may help you later if you pursue it. Communications is a huge field. Many opportunities in it.
ANYTHING SECURITY BASED..there you go. And you will have a job for life. Take cert classes & pass tests proior if you choose to leave and come back a civillian. If you stay in it will go quick. I would have had 20 yrs & retired Jan 2012. ha!

Don't get into the partying all the time. It's no good! It's no good!! It's no good!!! Stay focused and think about things you may be interested in in that field or another. You never know.

One other thing. Send money home 200.00 maybe 300.00 a month. It sounds a lot, but if you get out you have a nice bank roll. I know you can invest money now so look into it. Some may say thats not smart because of the economy, but you have time on your side.

Good luck! It's not all that bad.

[atc007]

If you've heard anything Chazz,,listen to this guy!!! ^^^^ Don't hang with the wrong croud,,politely say no to their insecurities. SAVE<SAVE<SAVE !

[Dirtcrasher]

A few years back I started jogging. Made it 2 telephone poles and walked back.....

Next time, about the same. After that I shot for the stop sign at the top of the hill; I made it and home.

This went on for about 3 weeks at which point I could run 5 miles without blinking an eye. And man oh man does it make you feel good!

I'm fat again and out of shape and hope to begin the process again soon

Good luck bud!!

[devilman]

You have to push yourself to do it man. Especially if this is what you want. Open your stride, control your breathing, and keep your head up. Not to boast, just trying to MOTIVATE but I am 32 and can run our 3 mile test in 20 minutes. YOU CAN DO YOUR 1 in 8. Not much advise i can give you this way. Dig deep and get it!

Wish you the best man.

[Chazz of Blades]

HOLY CRAP I LEAVE TOMORROW!


So far I've not been able to pass the mile, but I'm getting closer, and I think tomorrow is the day I MAKE IT MY .


Anyone who'd want to write and receive letters while I'm gone, PM me your address and I'll add it to my book.

I'm scared, honestly. I don't feel that I'm prepared for this in any way.

[Name Brand]

You'll be meeting a lot of people who feel the same in a few days. That's going to last for the first two or three weeks at BCT. Don't worry, the Drill Sergeants will take care of you. Just do what they tell you; it's that simple.

I've got six years in as a guardsmen. I work full time for the Guard as a Blackhawk Helicopter mechanic and as a Crew Chief. This has given me a great career doing something that is a blast. Time has flown by and I've already experienced many incredible things. It's a real trip; enjoy it.

Keep in mind that the PT test is still a 2-mile run. Running two miles is a breeze compared to ten mile ruck marches at speed. I shattered my left fibula into six pieces and broke my right collarbone when I flipped my 250SX onto myself five months before going into basic . I was still the fastest guy in the company and was under twelve minutes for the two mile at the end of cycle PT test. Don't give up and keep pushing yourself.

[atc007]

Go get em Chazz!! Good luck my friend!

[Popeye]

Man, I just saw this thread and I guess he is gone already. Hope he made the right choice. I joined the Navy in 2002 and it was the worst mistake of my life. They screwed me every chance they got. I like what the military has to offer and I think they are good for some people, but the contract you sign is completely one-sided. They have no obligation to fulfill any aspect of it. My ASVAB score qualified me for any job in the military, but they need undesignated airman (the worst job in the military) so they fed me a whole bunch of crap about how great that classification was. I served in a combat zone for 10 months and got zero combat pay. I worked on the flight deck for those same 10 months and got zero flight deck pay. They use all those slots on the higher ups that never set foot up there. I was only allowed to eat one meal a day- breakfast. I worked 18-36 hours at a time and they said I was too dirty to eat. We got 10 minute breaks for chow and I basically would had to have taken a shower to be allowed in the mess hall. Lived off snickers bars, honey buns, and water. I typically weigh 160 lbs soaking wet and I got down into the 120's. When I got back from war, my mom didn't even hardly recognize me.

Now for the good- I got round trip tickets all over the world. I partied in countries I didn't know existed. And the women- well I won't go there. But the women were almost worth all the crap. That's it, that is the only good thing I can say. And to revisit that contract thing- they let you out when they want you out. If your enlistment is up and they still "need" you then you ain't going nowhere. But, if you get hurt defending your country and they can't use you anymore, they send you packing. They will give you medical coverage, but not a paycheck.

Overall, if you are a screw up kid then go for it. It will help you in more ways than you can count. But if you have your stuff together, go to college and get a good job working for people that you can trust. I just hope the OP don't have any kids. It's a shame what the military does to families.

Either way, good luck my friend. Keep your head up, mouth shut, and find you a buddy to do the time with. You look out for him and he looks out for you.

[fabiodriven]

^^^Good god man...^^^

The military is what you make of it. You obviously didn't make anything of it.

Don't try to tell me about hardship and suffering. I was "boots on the ground" one week after the initial invasion. I watched the "shock and awe" on TV in Fort Drum NY, the coldest fort the United States Army has to offer. That's where they train their Mountain Rangers, the guys who specialize in cold weather operations. It was -40 degrees Fahrenheit when we boarded the plane. We had been issued cold weather uniforms because that's all they had left. When we got off the plane in Kuwait it was 120 degrees.

We were there so early in the operation that there was no armor for our unit. We were issued Vietnam-era flak jackets that won't stop a bullet. Our trucks were Vietnam-era also. The oldest fleet in theater, and trust me, I know. We delivered fuel all over Iraq and Kuwait. No armor on the trucks either.

We made our own camps in the desert. We showed up to war with brand-new, in the package "modular" tents. The first thing battalion did when they saw those was take them from us and give us Vietnam-era GP tents AND made us set up the modulars for them! I personally saw temperatures approaching 150 degrees and the sandstorms were so bad they'd blow our tents over every day. If you spent a day in my camp Popeye, you would be begging to go back to your ship regardless of getting combat pay or not. BTW, how many times did your ship get attacked anyways? There were no showers for weeks and our uniforms were destroyed. We were vagabonds, roaming the deserts on our missions, day in and day out. We looked like bloody hell. Our boots had holes in them and so did our pants. When we would occasionally go back to Kuwait other soldiers would stop and stare at us walking around with mohawks and tattered uniforms, but nobody dared confront us about it.

We ate MRE's for about 4 months, nothing else. I would go to bed every night (on the top of my tanker trailer) with a SPLITTING migraine headache from the 8-12 hours we had just driven in a truck that's so loud you can't hear the person next to you talking. You could literally fry an egg on the floor of our trucks.

I saw a truck 2 trucks in front of me get hit with an IED on a road I traveled multiple times weekly. One time my passenger took a huge rock to her eye and I still don't know to this day if it blinded her. She left the war and I never saw her again.

People would "fall out" on a daily basis from dehydration. It happened to me once, and it's not fun at all.

I had two panic attacks while there and couldn't do anything about it. The closest field hospital was miles away and we were required to move in groups of at least 2 vehicles with 2 soldiers per vehicle. It was getting late and if I wanted to go to the hospital I would have been putting 4 other lives at risk in a combat zone over my problem. I went off in the desert by myself and I dealt with it. I still deal with it now, but we're all alive.

You wanna complain any more Popeye? Because I can go on allll day. The military doesn't need semen like you anyways. It's a good thing you got out and I'm fairly certain you got treated the way you did for a reason. My guess is the "basic training" in the navy isn't hard enough and they didn't break you down enough to build you up the way you should have been.

I wanted to go to war and it was hell on earth. I saw indescribable things and experienced times that aren't worth trying to tell stories about because they don't do it justice. 2003 was by far the worst year of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I would have given anything to leave that war and go home, but I was there to do a job and take orders. That's what you sign on the line for. It's not a frigging vacation, it's war! Go heavy or go home!

HOOOAHHHH CHAZZ!!!!

Watch what Chazz does and take notes, he's a real man.

[atc007]

Good God Jon.. I've thanked you for your service before,,but I guess a cpl words don't cover it. Thank you again for your service. I think Popeye had a completely different experience which doesn't make him a bad guy.