When will Army BCT go back to normal?

C Eaves — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:04:21 -0400

So apparently at Army BCT masks must be worn even while doing PT for at least the first couple weeks, there won’t be combatives, chow hall will only be at 50% for the beginning weeks, Yellow Phase, etc. Will this all go away when the masks ban is lifted? When the election passes? Do anyone have any idea? I’m hoping to join, but no way am I going to join while such measures are happening.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 10 at 2020 6:50 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:50:48 -0400

C Eaves Do you think anyone can provide you with a timeframe when masks will not be required? This is how things will be in the civilian world and military until we have a vaccine. In the military and life you will face challenges. Are you up to challenges?

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 10 at 2020 6:59 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:59:52 -0400

Soooooo...........you want to join but you don't want to join if you are going to be bothered by a little mask? Bothered by no combatives? You are literally talking about wanting to join a work force that kills or assists in the killing of the enemy but you don't want to join if you have to wear a mask?

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Aug 10 at 2020 7:12 PM

SPC Erich Guenther — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 19:12:46 -0400

DoD says by year end they will have a working and tested vaccine and you will have to wait probably until next Spring until it is widely available. Though the Trump administration is trying to fast track mass production by sending out contracts to companies like Eastman Kodak now so they can mass produce the vaccine in the fall. Currently the money to Kodak has been frozen pending suspicious stock trading by Kodak executives with inside knowledge (insider trading). BTW, the Army wears rubber protective masks on a fairly regular basis while training for Chemical Warfare, it is very unpleseant and hot so if that kind of thing bothers you......you should find another occupation.

Response by Capt Gregory Prickett made Aug 10 at 2020 7:50 PM

Capt Gregory Prickett — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 19:50:50 -0400

So, you can't join because of the paper or cloth mask BS? What are you going to do when you are told to be in MOPP4 for hours on end? BTW, the guys in the pic (Air Force), are in MOPP4 during their down time, and are sleeping in the gear.

We don't need you, but thank you for your interest, and we'll call you if we change our mind.

Response by SSG Brian G. made Aug 10 at 2020 9:54 PM

SSG Brian G. — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 21:54:12 -0400

I'm going to be straight. If you are, in effect, whining about the protective and preventative measures that are in place and ongoing now, then don't bother joining the military in any branch. These small things that are going on now are nothing, and are minor nuisances.

Try marching with full MOP-4 on. The gas mask alone makes that mere surgical mask look like a refreshing spring rain. Let along with the gloves, overboots trousers and shirt are worn together.

The Army continually trains. The combatives you would learn in basic are nothing. Just enough to mess with your head and give you a slight perception that you are something in a fight until you get knocked on your butt in a real fight. The REAL training happens away from BCT and AIT. Those two are primers to get you ready to really learn your job. And I can guarantee you that if you "dislike" the precautions that are taken in BCT and AIT. You will NOT like them any more at your first duty station.

So what if the chow hall is at 50% capacity. You are not there to socialize. You are there to shovel food in your mouth, chew and swallow. As a DI told us once many, many moons ago... if you are tasting it, you are taking too long. If you are talking, you are taking WAY too long.

As to when it will all to away? Who knows, noone here on RP does, heck no one in the civilian world knows. No Doctor or Politician knows. The precautions will be in place for as long as they are needed, as much as they are needed. Trust me, as much as you dislike them? Everyone else dislikes them more because they are a nuisance but a nuisance we know is there to save lives. Yours included.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 10 at 2020 10:15 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:15:53 -0400

It's just not the same thing without Drill SGT's inches from your face yelling and spitting on you.

So I can understand his desire for a more traditional experience.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Aug 10 at 2020 10:59 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:59:10 -0400

Dude, if we had any idea they’d be an end date in the directive. If you think this is tied to an election, there are some other you need to be read in on.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 10 at 2020 11:57 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 23:57:47 -0400

I’m curious if you don’t want to join because you don’t want to be bothered by the inconvenience, because you think it’s a hoax, or because you just want to have that story about how you “almost joined, but COVID”.

If you think it’s a hoax, welcome to the Army where no one consults your opinion before making policy decisions.

If you think it’s too much of an inconvenience, the Army is not for you.

Response by C Eaves made Aug 11 at 2020 12:07 AM

C Eaves — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:07:51 -0400

Fellas, what is so wrong with wanting the actual experience of BCT? What is so wrong with wanting to not have a slashed and gutted program? It’s counterintuitive. “Let’s prepare you by wrapping you up in bubble wrap.” I’ll be hearing stories of how others did this or that and Ill have missed that because the Army was afraid that lil Jimmy’s parents wouldn’t let him join unless the big bad sergeant wore a mask.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2020 1:01 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 01:01:23 -0400

The Army isn’t for you and guess what? It’s okay, not everyone can put the safety and needs of others before themselves without feeling inconvenienced. The things you have listed are VERY minor compared to the MANY sacrifices you’ll have to make for the greater good of ALL people.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 11 at 2020 2:02 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 02:02:49 -0400

Well as previous Service Members have said. Oh well, thanks for the interest. Joining the military requires a certain level of resilience and mental fortitude. If a cloth mask is going to be a game-changer for you, then you were never cut out for the military in the first place. So your love of country, people, and freedom should outclass the minor inconvenience that wearing a mask is.

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Aug 11 at 2020 8:42 AM

LCDR Joshua Gillespie — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:42:38 -0400

I hear a lot of people thought wearing body armor all day was pretty ridiculous too.

Listen-I don't know if this is all panic-infused "hype", a concerted effort to push us into an Orwellian nightmare, a low-intensity "attack" by any number of possible enemies... or a no-joke full-on plague. What I do know is that life in the Military is FULL of "inconvenient" things that often seem to have little or no value... until they suddenly do. They don't let the run-of-the-mill solider wear their gear "any way they like" because what precious little training they get is standardized, and being an "individual" screws that up. They don't let you dress any which way you like because in an organization as hierarchical and high-tempo as the Armed Forces... you need to be able to immediately identify who someone is and where they "fit" in the big picture. They make you drill... not because we expect to have a re-match at Gettysburg; but because it teaches new soldiers how to function as a cog in a much larger machine. They're making people wear masks all the time because (a) we can't afford to have a large percentage of our Military suddenly "quarantining from home" (let alone deathly ill)... and (b) because while the rest of the nation is approaching utter chaos and confusion with conflicting guidance and regulations... the Military HAS to try and hold onto consistency, good order, and discipline.

You're not going to get "shorted" by no combatives- your initial enlistment won't likely be that interesting. If you think so anyway, you can always look for additional training in your off time once you're allowed any (unless the Army forbids it... which they very well might). I recommend BJJ and/or Krav Maga, and not from a "McDojo" . If you're worried about chow, trust me... the Army won't let you starve (at least not at THIS juncture in your career).

As to when this may all "go away"? No one who would tell you the truth has any idea... if anyone does at all. Some folks think it will all be "ok" once we get a vaccine; it won't-Not everyone's going to take it. Some people believe it will all "end" with the election- In the first place, regardless of who "wins", it may take some time for the dust to settle. In the second, can you imagine the general loss of credibility at all levels of authority if "they" suddenly announced, "Oh, our bad... it was all a big misunderstanding".

Listen-you're contemplating joining the Military during a virtually unprecedented time of dynamic change. There is/are civil unrest, foreign conflict, revolutions overseas, and natural disasters... all on TOP of a global pandemic on a scale not seen in over a century. I'm not sure if that's the best or the worst time to consider such a momentous decision; I joined in '96 when the world was "peaceful", the Russians were our new "friends", and we all thought the next war would be a conventional one, and somewhere other than the Middle East. So much changed between 2000 and 2006 we didn't even always have a manual to go by for how to get things done.

If you can accept the challenge of adapting... it could lead to a life of honored service worth the sacrifices. If you cannot... please don't waste your time, or theirs.