What were your first days in the military like? What is a memory from that time that really stands out for you?

SN Vivien Roman-Hampton — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:07:08 -0400

Response by SGT Jim Arnold made Sep 14 at 2017 9:12 PM

SGT Jim Arnold — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:12:25 -0400

do you mean after basic or during basic? Busy and on the go

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 14 at 2017 9:19 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:19:40 -0400

That's easy. Reception Center. It was a well-oiled, well-run mad house.
http://jackdurish.com/jacks-blog/welcome-to-the-army

Welcome to the Army

RECEPTION CENTER WAS a rude awakening to the reality that we were actually in the Army. This wasn't a dream.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Sep 14 at 2017 9:26 PM

CSM Charles Hayden — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:26:37 -0400

Ft Ord's reception center was easy, stand in line, get your shots and take the tests.

All incoming Soldiers were uneasy and respectful of authority.

After I hand-washed my Herringbone Twill, (HBT), fatigues in a mop sink, they dried on my rack and were wrinkled. From then on, I could 'buck' any line.After all, I had been in the Army long enough to wash my uniform!

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Sep 14 at 2017 9:34 PM

SGT Philip Roncari — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:34:42 -0400

Reception Center Ft.Dix NJ absolute chaos,Basic training came close to the opening scenes in the movie "Full Metal Jacket " or so I remember it,scraping the old wax off the platoon bay in the middle of the night with your dog tags stands out to this day, all in all quite an eye opening experience to this then nineteen year old in 1965.

Response by SFC Christopher Taggart made Sep 14 at 2017 9:40 PM

SFC Christopher Taggart — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:40:18 -0400

An absolute BLUR! We were busy running and rushing around, from point A to point B, that I don't remember anyone or anything.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Sep 14 at 2017 9:57 PM

SGT Matthew S. — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:57:41 -0400

Organized chaos sounds about right.

Response by SSG Diane R. made Sep 14 at 2017 10:06 PM

SSG Diane R. — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 22:06:37 -0400

Being yelled at a lot and having to double time everywhere. I'd do it all over again if I could.

Response by Maj Marty Hogan made Sep 14 at 2017 10:35 PM

Maj Marty Hogan — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 22:35:09 -0400

I remember someone yelling...but dang that was 33 years and some change ago. I do recall seeing my ears for the very first time.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2017 10:43 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 22:43:53 -0400

Reception at 30th AG... 1 Week...
We marched in single file, and one of the Sergeants said something about sitting down and eating. We all sat down on the benches. The food was in a brown paper bag, and because we sat down before grabbing the bags they said we must not be hungry and took the food.
So that was my first taste of Army fuckery.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Sep 14 at 2017 11:10 PM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 23:10:50 -0400

Well the simple answer is it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. There were many different memories that stood out. I had the pleasure to be one of the special recruits since I was older than the rest, so I got plenty of extra attention.
One such instance was when we did pullups in sets multiplied by our ages. So while all the young kids were doing sets of 17s and 18s, I was in my late 20s. Even as all the young kids finished, I was still on the bar. Even as my body started to give up, they wouldn't let me quit. They had some recruits hold my legs and made sure I got over the bar until I was completely finished with my sets.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2017 11:29 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 23:29:08 -0400

lots of hazing, lots of work, had to prove myself constantly. best days of my life

Response by MAJ Don Bigger made Sep 15 at 2017 1:03 AM

MAJ Don Bigger — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 01:03:13 -0400

My absolutely very first memory is when, after the bus I was on pulled into MCRD at what seemed like 10pm (it was fully dark outside), the DI got on the bus and changed my life forever. I can still remember what seat I was in and the fear I felt :)

I knew right away I wasn't in Kansas anymore (to borrow a phrase) :)

And I remember my first mass-produced breakfast the next morning. Well, I remember the smell and that we weren't given much time to eat it.

Response by Cpl Lawrence Lavictoire made Sep 15 at 2017 3:21 AM

Cpl Lawrence Lavictoire — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 03:21:35 -0400

Second day in basic, issued our boots. Had to fill them with cold water and lace them
up and kept them on our feet for 48 hours. Best fitting boots I've ever had!

Response by SSgt Ryan Sylvester made Sep 15 at 2017 9:11 AM

SSgt Ryan Sylvester — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 09:11:51 -0400

Hah! Let's see, my first days in the military. I remember that my flights were put together late because we'd had just enough people to make two flights across the nation, so they hurried us together. I remember 4 guys already in the barracks when the rest of us got there. I remember 72 hours of almost no sleep whatsoever because we were getting rushed around to get all of our inprocessing, which was behind normal schedule, completed. I remember some very cranky, very grumpy MPF airmen because they were called into the duty section at 2100 to get our paperwork done. Oh yeah, those first couple days were loads of fun.

Response by TSgt Bruce Davis made Sep 15 at 2017 9:32 AM

TSgt Bruce Davis — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 09:32:03 -0400

rainbows and butterflies...cocktails by the pool! then, a dump truck backs up to the pool and unloads 1000 cats! and we jump in to save, and separate these cats...yeah...kind of like that.

Response by Maj Robert Dudley made Sep 15 at 2017 9:53 AM

Maj Robert Dudley — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 09:53:30 -0400

It's kinda cliche, but I joined the army infantry in the mid 70s. I showed up with long curly hair past my shoulders. Then, all of a sudden, it was gone. It felt so strange.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 15 at 2017 10:22 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 10:22:14 -0400

Other than the horrific and terrifying experience of getting picked up from Reception and getting the Shake Down...there is one memory that really stands out.

So, the very next morning after getting picked up from reception, I was sleeping on my bunk completely forgetting where I was. As I lay there slowly drifting back into the waking world (again, completely forgetting where I was), I was wondering why someone was banging metal on metal and screaming. When it did finally dawn on me where I was, as the Drill Sergeant was walking by my Bay banging the trash can lid on the can, that's when I realized and freaked out and jumped out of the bunk to rush getting into PTs.

Response by CWO3 Dennis M. made Sep 15 at 2017 11:20 AM

CWO3 Dennis M. — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 11:20:56 -0400

MY lasting memory was my first morning waking up to "Shit Can Reveille" in a WWII wooden "H" barracks at camp Moffett at the Navy Recruit Training Center 2 March 1967. I was sound asleep early that morning in a top rack. When all of a sudden I heard this most awful racket, and couldn't for the life of me figure out what I was hearing or even where I was?? Here was this Bulldog of a Chief Petty officer (CPO) standing next to a an empty shit can rubbing a coke bottle on the ribs as hard and as fast as he could screaming Reveille, Reveille all hands heave out over and over again. I never got that sound out of my head! I ended up serving for a little over 23 years! If you told me i was going to be in the Navy that long on that morning, I would have said you were full of shit!!!

Response by SP5 Peter Keane made Sep 15 at 2017 4:19 PM

SP5 Peter Keane — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 16:19:36 -0400

Hit the reception station at Ft Jackson at 0245, they took us to the mess hall. Cook asked me how I wanted my eggs, said scrambled. He cracked 2 eggs open on the grill, hit them twice with a spatula and shoved them on my tray. Needless to say this was not the Ritz Carlton breakfast.

Response by SGT David Petree made Sep 16 at 2017 12:01 AM

SGT David Petree — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 00:01:43 -0400

All 6 of us got to reception Ft. Polk at about 2:30am on a Sat. so they processed us. Feed us gave us $45.00. Put us in WW2 buildings . We were the only ones that got to sleep in till 7. Ez for 3 days. them it was go go. That was when it hit us. WHAT HAD WE GOT OUR SELVES INTO. For me it was the shots. Made me sick as a dog. If you had told me in 1971 that I would retire with 25 years! I would have said you were HIGH HIGH.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2017 9:46 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 21:46:39 -0400

I remember being a new private and getting dropped hard on my ass at the grenade range because I more shotput my grenade instead of the standard they were teaching and the words I got told afterwards taught me a lot and made me take my job a whole lot more serious.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 18 at 2017 9:36 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 09:36:07 -0400

Reception Station and Basic Training at Ft. Leonard Wood are a blur but two things stand out from that time.
First, during about week 6 or 7 of Basic we got lined up in the hallway for mail call. The DS was reading off names and flinging letters at people. He got to one letter and stumbled around a bit trying to read the name. I could tell it for me so I stepped forward and called out "Guilliams, Drill Sergeant." He looked at me, looked at the letter, and said, "God(blank), I don't know half you people." I was extremely proud at that moment to have stayed under the radar for so long, which was quite a feat since I was older (mid twenties) than almost everyone else, and I'm 6'5". Hard to stay unnoticed at my size.

Second, on the morning of graduation we came down the stairwell to head out to formation and saw our only female DS setting things up for the family reception that would follow graduation. As usual we called out "Good Morning Drill Sergeant!" But that day instead of the typical, gruff "Good Morning Private," we heard "Morning, baby!" (This was an African-American woman from the deep south, so it was just her typical greeting for those younger than her.) That was when we knew that we were no longer recruits, we were now soldiers in her eyes.