Just swore in Tuesday Nov 27th

[Picton]

Granted, this was all a long time ago now (1994), but I did precisely the same thing I think you're doing: I was a non-scholarship ROTC freshman who went Guard, split-option as a 13F. PLEASE don't sign an ROTC contract until you get through AIT; even if it's "only" national guard service, being a PVT/PFC/SPC will make you a far, FAR better officer later on, and believe it or not there's a certain cachet involved if you're a 2LT with a prior MOS. You'll go to an Officer Basic Course full of West Pointers and other non-prior service 2LTs, and you'll feel as if you're a million miles ahead of where they are. Because you will be. When I reported to Ft Bragg as a 2LT, even my battalion commander (2/505 PIR, 82d Abn) was impressed that I'd been a Guard private.

As a junior (they used to call them MS-III), I did sign my ROTC contract; at that point, I went through the humiliation of going from PFC to cadidiot. The other cadets in my Guard unit were barely tolerated; because I'd put in some enlisted time, however, the unit treated me like an actual officer, and basically it was a much better experience for me than it was for the other cadets.

Good for you; try hard not to let your competence in D&C show when you go to BCT this summer. In that kind of environment, it's often better to be an "informal" leader than to be put in charge of a squad.

Edit: later, when I got my dream Army job (mortar platoon leader), I got it because I'd earned an artillery MOS. Just sayin'...

 

[KenK]

You will love it!!!
We appreciate your service. A lot of military men in my family.
My father was a tail gunner in a B-17. WWII
My uncle was Special services WWII
I was in 1960-1964 US ARMY SIGNAL CORP.
Had one grandson in Regular Army spent year plus in IRAQ.
Now have a grandson on his second tour in The ARMY Reserves!!!!!!
Keep up the good work..you will figure it all out on your own!!!

 

[DudeTotallyKyle]

Thanks for the kind words, they are very much appreciated.


If anyone has gone to basic or RSP drills somewhat recently, please give me any tips/pointers/advice you may have.

Anything to save me from excess smokings in the long run haha.

 

[fencer]

Congrats and thanks to you. I wish I had advice to give but it was a long time ago that I went through boot. I do remember that Parris Island was pretty warm in the summer.

Good for you for stepping up. The path you have chosen may not be the easiest, but offers experience that you just can't get anywhere else.

Good luck

 

[OfficerObie59]

Thanks for the kind words, they are very much appreciated.


If anyone has gone to basic or RSP drills somewhat recently, please give me any tips/pointers/advice you may have.

Anything to save me from excess smokings in the long run haha.

More than likely, the best advice still rings true: Don't be a superstar and don't be a f-up. You want to be the guy at the end of training your drill sergeant goes "Hey, who are you?" That advice isn't so easy in MP school simply because it's OSUT. It may not seem like it during red phase, but by the time AIT rolls around, your DS's will be mentors and the amount of affection you'll have for them will surprise you. Be squared away, for the love of god keep your cadet expieriences to yourself, STFU, and the sooner you encourage teamwork amoungst your platoon peers, the easier everything will be.

Oh, and if you can get away with it, sleep on top of your wool blanket and made-bunk and use your pillow cover as a blanket. I got away with it for 5 months and only had to spend 2 minutes each morning tightening up my bunk. That saved me mucho time in the mornings, as did showering at night when they let you do it on your own.

Sundays: For the first few weeks, go to Sunday services. I'm the least religous person in the world, but evn I went. It's a release, a good quiet time when everyone is missing home. I used it to expand my learning of religion and what each denomination is all about. Leonard Wood has just about every denomination you can expect--Catholic, Jewish, Baptist--and they'll take tallys the night before as to whose going where. And if you don't go, you end up cleaning the common areas anyways.

When you get a little more salty and they start leaving you alone on Sundays before they give you passes, you can get away with a little nap by "fixing" one of the bunks in the back of the bay by having to go underneath it and pull the blankets taut.

There will be mornings you will wake up and say to yourself "Why the hell did I ever agree to do this?" or "Can I really get through this?" You can. BCT and the subsequent deployment taught me I was capable of much more than I ever realized, and that pain is mostly mental. When you think for the first time, you can absolutely go no further you've only just begun to feel it.

 

[Picton]

Make sure you wear a Ranger Challenge tab when you arrive. EVERYONE will respect you.

Actually, everything Obie says right above makes a lot of sense. Resign yourself to the fact that the first few weeks won't be fun, but after BRM things will improve. To be honest, the worst thing about BCT for me was the tedium of having to put on and remove boots every time we entered the bay. It became a PITA, especially if we had to come in and go out many times. Of course, they did it to break in the boots and keep the bay from getting marked up, but it was still a pain.

 

[That Guy]

I'll be out at FLW next summer myself - enjoying lovely MO from July until November for my advanced school.

Do you know which company in MA you are assigned to? 772?

 

[OfficerObie59]

I'll be out at FLW next summer myself - enjoying lovely MO from July until November for my advanced school.

AIT? What is MP School four months now? MP OSUT was 17 weeks total when I went through--9 for basic, 8 for MP school.

 

[That Guy]

That's for my BOLC (basic officers leadership course) - what was previously called officer's basic course, I think. 23 years after going to basic training I finally went over to the dark side and got commissioned this summer.

 

[DudeTotallyKyle]

I'll be out at FLW next summer myself - enjoying lovely MO from July until November for my advanced school.

Do you know which company in MA you are assigned to? 772?

Im actually in the RI Guard.

115th MP company

 

[DudeTotallyKyle]

Hate to double-post/gravedig a thread, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I graduated basic training on August 23rd! I'm in the guard & in college, so I only went to basic this summer. It was great! Lost almost 30 pounds haha! Got to shoot some cool stuff too.

 

[fencer]

Congrats. I went through Parris Island in the summer, nearly 30 years ago. As I recall, it was not exactly great.

 

[Dirtypacman]

Hate to double-post/gravedig a thread, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I graduated basic training on August 23rd! I'm in the guard & in college, so I only went to basic this summer. It was great! Lost almost 30 pounds haha! Got to shoot some cool stuff too.

Keep up the good work Kyle, glad to get the update!

 

[Hustler One]

Congrats. Now, start pushing!

 

[Picton]

Hate to double-post/gravedig a thread, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I graduated basic training on August 23rd! I'm in the guard & in college, so I only went to basic this summer. It was great! Lost almost 30 pounds haha! Got to shoot some cool stuff too.

Ahh, the split option! I had the same thing going on 1994/5. It was very weird going back for AIT; the other privates were all showing up for BCT in their jeans and t-shirts, and there I was in Class As. They thought I was a drill sergeant.

Fun while it lasted. AIT was a piece of cake compared to BCT.