What are your fond positive and negative moments/memories in Basic training?

CW5 Sam R. Baker — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 09:52:13 -0400

I think it would be cool to include a photo for one, my basic was 1987 and I still have both positive and negative vivid events from Fort McClellan, Alabama.

Negative: Has to be hospitalization for the Small Pox vaccine during basic marksmanship week and the being told by the drill sergeant I would be reset to another class if I did not get out of the hospital in time to qualify on the M-16, yes the long gun as it is commonly referred to today! My left arm had basically turned blue and purple from the site of the injection to my fingertips and I broke out in hives and ran a temperature. My drill when I approached him lost all facial expression and said sick call ASAP. Not a good event and now being 50, that is the only hospitalization in my 50 years other than birth!

Positive: There were many to be certain, throwing live hand grenades, shooting weapons, diverse groups of people, camping, and driving vehicles, but it had to be the call I received my buddy from high school after not hearing from me for a couple of weeks and getting my drill sergeant on the phone and telling him that he was my brother and there was an emergency. Drill asked me about my brother and when I said I didn't have one, he said he was on the phone downstairs, so after the call I did pushups for about 30 minutes and I lost count after 250 and they were not sequential as not anyone I know can do that many. My buddy stills laughs to this day as he is a civilian and knows not the repercussions it had on me that evening. I learned a lot about the military in a very short time!

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jun 25 at 2014 10:46 AM

SGT Ben Keen — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 10:46:03 -0400

Basic Training was....well Basic Training. Part of it sucked, part of it was great. I think best memory I have was the day before graduation when we all sat around the unit area and the DSs sat and talked to us; allowed us to ask questions and generally just have a good meeting. All in all, I would say Basic Training met my expectations.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Sep 25 at 2014 6:40 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 06:40:58 -0400

Graduating!

Response by SSG Pete Fleming made Sep 25 at 2014 11:05 AM

SSG Pete Fleming — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:05:47 -0400

Looking back it fun, at the time in 1989 I was 17, first time away from home...

I have forgotten the names and location of some of the people/places but I still remember my Drill Sergeants like it was yesterday. It was in fact my first true lesson in diversity and the best thing to happen to me.

There are those moments... we were running the course, hurry to a position 'fire at the target' run (range walk but really really really fast) to the next position, in round robin concept. There was only a matter of seconds between you and the person in front or behind.

The kid in front to of me was running tripped and fell. As he did of course his weapon painted just about everyone. Before his body touched the ground the DI was on him. He grabbed him by his y-harness slapped his head so hard his helmet spun around, body slammed him to the ground about 3 times and smacked him again, this time spinning his helmet back around. He was then pulled to his feet and sent on his way. The DI looked at me but before he could speak I ran to the position fired my shots and raced away...

Response by SSG John Bacon made Sep 25 at 2014 11:24 AM

SSG John Bacon — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:24:09 -0400

Basic needs to be hard. The problem now is that they don't beat the civilian out of you anymore. They try and make basic like a "college experience" instead of the beat down and build you back up into a "fighting man" that it needs to be.

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Sep 25 at 2014 11:33 AM

SSG Maurice P. — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:33:15 -0400

You got to be kidding right???

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 25 at 2014 11:46 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:46:18 -0400

I enlisted in the Army after graduating from law school at the beginning of the Vietnam buildup (1966). The hard part was getting back in shape like the teenagers who surrounded me and adjusting to the fact that I was the "old man" in the group.

The surprising part was, well, just about everything. One uncle had served in WWI and another in WWII. I also had two cousins who died in WWII, one on Normandy beach on DDay. (Yes, there was a vast age difference in the family). Inasmuch as I had never met any of them and my father never served, I didn't know anything about the Army beyond what I had read in Beetle Bailey comic strips. The training platoon sergeants were dedicated to giving us the skills to survive combat and whip us into shape. I appreciated their every effort even when I suffered for it.

The fascinating part was watching people wash out. The emotional pressure built with every phase and some simply couldn't take it. Hell, I even saw a couple wash out at reception center.

I have written about my experiences at Infantry School - Basic, AIT, and OCS - in a memoir that is available for free on Smashwords. The companion memoir of my tour in Vietnam is also available there for free. I wanted to make them available to anyone with a computer, internet access, and a desire to learn what it was really like.

Response by SPC David S. made Sep 26 at 2014 12:01 AM

SPC David S. — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:01:22 -0400

Both for me are one and the same. One of our Drill Sargent's got liquored up one night and for some reason came back to our barracks. The crazy SOB pulled the fire alarm around 0300 and was shouting that he was going to kick someone's ass. I came up with a plan were I would be the decoy and distract him as some other guys would sneak up behind him. It worked and we had shoved him into one the utility closets on a wing that was not being used. The CO showed up along with fire and the MP's. I kept making crazy eyes with the other Sargent on duty. He caught on and asked me what the hell was going on. As we walked to the closet I explained what was up. Sarge got him home and nothing ever happened to the guy. That night I thought I was going to get my block knocked off. However the word got out and I think even to the CO as he took my ruck a few times. As I was new to the Army this was a very crazy experience however the way I handled it was obviously appreciated. Ft. Dix I'll never forget it.

Response by PO3 Shaun Taylor made Sep 26 at 2014 3:29 AM

PO3 Shaun Taylor — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:29:17 -0400

During service week at RTC in San Diego I was the Education Petty Officer and the ERPO which allowed me to cross over to NTC. I let the other officers in my unit convince me to go to McDonald's. After I paid for my order and turned around to leave my company commander Chief Peters was right there in front of me. I was so nervous I almost sh*t bricks. He gave me an order to stand fast while he ordered his food. After he ordered his food he then said "come on knucklehead." I walked slowly behind him to his car and got inside as he instructed. That was the longest 10 minute ride. Once we got back to the barracks he called the other officers to the squad bay. He then said all y'all get in position. So everybody got down on the floor in the push up position. He then said naw not you mr delivery boy u get over here (pointing to the table) and eat your food. For each bite I took they had to go up or down. I was scared but I did as instructed but tried to take the biggest bites I could so that I could minimize the amount of push ups they had to do. The good thing about it is even though it was cold by the time I finished eating, he did let them eat the food they bought too.

Response by SFC Jo Ann Klawitter made Feb 10 at 2025 11:27 AM

SFC Jo Ann Klawitter — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 11:27:46 -0500

I went through basic in 1969 and was so homesick
I was a person from a small town, and my eyes were open

Response by AN Ron Wright made Feb 10 at 2025 12:46 PM

AN Ron Wright — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 12:46:05 -0500

negative : almost blowing out my knee made the run time with seconds to spare on swollen knee
CC went to captains mast! RCPO and myself ran the company for a week without a company comander

positive: graduated dec 31 1981 had nov 30th weekend off "in BASIC" parents came down to San Diego and buddy and myself we all went to spaghetti factory and wild animal park. graduated as the honor company over 4.2 I was RPO1 and did NOT have to do HELL WEEK

Response by LCpl Kenneth Moore made Jul 20 at 2025 5:42 PM

LCpl Kenneth Moore — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 17:42:51 -0400

Marine Corps boot camp, early '74, SanDiego. About a month into boot camp.
After coming back to the barracks from noon chow my DI called for me. "Sir, platoon 1049, Pvt. Moore, Aye ,Aye sir!!!" was yelled out by the whole platoon which was routine when someone was called. The DI then told me to bring my weapon upfront. But when I went to the rifle rack to retrieve it, it wasn't there. So as I approached the DI, running, to tell him it wasn't there ,he brought it from behind his back and flung it at me. I barely caught it. (apparently I had not quite clicked the lock closed and the fire watch turned it in which was considered rotten. Most of us would just click it locked)... Since we were headed to Edson Range the next day for rifle marksmanship training and to Pendleton after that for grunt training, I was told that when we got back to MCRD I would "pay dearly". A month later we finally got back to MCRD and were deemed "third phase" now. 30 days left to graduation. I had forgotten about the M-16 thing but not the DI. Me, along with another guy from Chicago were told to get ready, we are going to "Dirt". He said take our belts off as well as our shoe laces out of our boots. A few minutes later a jeep came by our barracks to pick us up. We were taken to some out lying area of the depot. There we met up with several others from different platoons across the base. We were all there for the same reason. Because of some "infraction" we were sentenced to run through a 2 hour session of hell called "dirt" which was actually a part of the Motivation Platoon activities, those who had actually done something like maybe swing on a DI or just was an out right refuser to orders. There's not a man under the sun who could "tough guy" his way out of Mote. But all I had done was left my weapon unlocked, just once. They first had us watch a demonstration from a "mote" regular. He stood on a platform screaming as he did all kinds of exercises on command. Then it was our turn. After briefing us on how to enter the mud trench, they had us (about 25 guys) start by running in a circle. The men that ran us through this were not regular DI's. They all were built like Hulk Hogan, wearing a Marine Corps sweat shirt(it was 85-90 degrees out), a Smokey, bloused trousers, and boots. About 8 or 9 of them. Here's the part thats unbelievable. Just imagine running or moving full speed at whatever you are doing for 2 hours. So as we ran in the circle the handlers were randomly grabbing guys in quick chokes and tossing them to the ground or randomly swatting you with short rubber looking hoses. After continually running the circle they had us enter the mud trench. It was probably a 40 foot X 30 foot rectangle but I cant be sure at this point. We began low crawling through this mixture of mud and rocks. One mans foot to one mans head, maybe 2 abreast. The handlers would jump down in the trench if anyone stopped and start kicking them. I remember not being able to make the turn briefly because a guy just froze, bawling and clogging the path. We must have went around 3 times before the gates were opened and we immediately was running the circle. Then stopped. Immediately, with mud soaked clothing, started 8-count pushups, bends and thrusts, mountain climbers, then immediately back to running the circle then suddenly the mud trench gate opened and back to the long low crawl, several times around, then immediately back to the exercises. This cycle went on ,non stop for an eternity, almost 2 hours. Then FINALLY we were told to stop running the circle. We were then given 2.5 gallon pails, told to fill them quickly with MUD and get back in place, this time shoulder to shoulder. We then were instructed to hold the pail up and out in front of us until we heard the whistle. While holding mine up my legs were just involuntarily shaking. I couldn't stop them. The whistle blew. I let the pail down, the whistle blew immediately to pick it back up. While we were doing this the handlers were pacing back and forth in front of us and in back of us with the rubber hoses waiting for a chance to swat someone. I was too delirious to tell if anyone got hit at this point. All the while, we were given a speech on how we were supposed to be obedient to orders. Then, to my disgust, I noticed about 6 or 7 ranking officers sitting in what was like a small bleacher used at baseball games, watching us for what, entertainment? When my fellow boot and I finally got back to our barracks the DI ,as tough as he was couldn't even look me in the eye. He knew that was overkill. I had to peel my utilities off slowly because of the embedded rocks in my skin. Then take a stinging shower. I've always wondered if during our wars if we even treated the captured prisoners like that. And just for leaving your weapon unlocked, a Marine who maxed the run, shot a high sharpshooter, and never gave any signs of rebellion. I don't know what my fellow boot marine had done. I am all for the tough discipline the Corps demands. But this? This experience, and God in heaven knows there's not one bit of exaggeration here, made it very difficult for me to truly love the Marine Corps. I just did my 4 years honorably and got out.