What are your most vivid memories upon arriving at your first duty station (after training)?

The long bus ride from the Dragon Hill Lodge to Camp Humphreys. I was a new Soldier, in a new country, and I had no idea what to expect when I finally arrived at my destination.

Most vivid memory I have is sitting at the MAC terminal in Misawa AB Japan wondering what unit I was supposed to be in (didn't know how to read the orders at the time) and why my sponsor didn't show up to greet me. I had found a quite corner and was reading a paperback I brought with me when a pair of shiny shoes appeared at the bottom edge of my book. I looked over the top of the book to see a pair of bright silver Eagles staring at me. The Commander had personally come to greet and take me to the Squadron area. As it turns out, my sponsor had been discharged a few weeks earlier for misconduct and the unit failed to appoint a replacement. The Colonel felt responsible for the oversight. After chatting a few minutes he left me with the First Sergeant who took me where I needed to be.

Camp Pendleton. Wow them are some serious hills, maybe Motor T would have been a better choice than Infantry.

Got bit by a spider on my eyebrow (I'm allergic to spiders) and one of my eyes swelled shut for 3 days while I was in receiving.

My first impression? We fell out after first formation, and I looked at my squad who were all looking at me. I was the only soldier not wearing a patch and combat action badge.

My first day at my first unit, I kept hearing explosions and the building would shake, but no one acknoledged it. After a few hours, someone told me we were down the road from a demo range. Shortly after, they told me what EOD meant and what they did. This is before "The Hurt Locker."

Here's mine:

I arrived at Yokota AFB (I know, I know. Join the Navy, get stationed on an AFB), mid-afternoon, and was met by my sponsor. He took me to lunch in the terminal, which had floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on the flight-line. He pointed out the window and said, "Look at that, that's the biggest aircraft in the world". He was pointing to a C-5 Galaxy (which in fact is a couple inches shorter than the Soviet Antonov) that was sitting on the tarmac. Since there was nothing around it, I had no frame of reference, and it didn't look any bigger than, say, a 747. Then, a truck -- I think it was one of the big Ford f-450's or something -- pulled up and parked next to one of it's wheels. The wheel DWARFED the truck, and my young eyes widened pretty significantly as I realized the sheer mammoth size of the thing.

How about you?

Long time ago, Don't remember much. If anything probably would be my Cultural Shift from Boot Camp "Strict" School "Less Strict" to Admirals Staff "Relaxed". Remember the Single Personnel Inspection, I stood quite, tall and rigid, CINCPACFLT Adm Tommy T Hayward passed in front of me. Nodded an walked on then the Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral stopped right in front of me, I started sweating bullets, He grabbed me by my belt and the thoughts running thru my mind (Is my Buckle not shiny enough, Is Something Wrong, This is not going to end well). He started to shake me by my belt "Relax Son, You'll Pass Out" then he just laughed at me. Yep that was CINCPACFLT, It was a whole nother world and probably corrupted me for the rest of my Career. Lots of Drinking and Luaus at the Admirals Boat House, Flying Coors beer in on the Admirals Plane. RADM Dixon Chief of Staff for Intel seeing if he could sneak up on you at your terminal without you noticing. Oh Yeah!

SN Greg Wright LOL. First duty station--Dia Loc Pass --Quang Nam Province ,VN.
No idea of what to expect.

SN Greg Wright After Field Radio Operator school, I went to my first duty station, which was at Camp Pendleton with the 4th Marine Division Nucleus. This was a Reserve Division with a core of 150 active duty personnel. I was only there a short time before going to Vietnam, but I remember it as the easiest duty that I had during my four years. Civilian like working hours, some weekends off with good liberty choices. It was like "Living the life of Riley."