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Boot camp was fun. I like being outdoors, I like running, I like push-ups, I like digging in the dirt, I like camping, I like carrying a heavy ruck sack 5 miles. I have no problem mindlessly doing as I'm told. I have no problem learning new things and applying them. Boot camp was fun.
When I read through this thread at how people thought boot camp was "terror" and psychologically manipulative....
Perhaps it's all a matter of perspective, and how strong one is physically & mentally before boot camp.
I grew up with my parents screaming at me. Screaming doesn't faze me.
Then I inadvertently trained myself pretty hard before boot camp, as I didn't have a car so I literally ran everywhere...it was 5 miles into town, and 5 miles back. I ran to work, ran to the gym, and did aerobics classes & weightlifting & swimming, then walked home probably. Not a big deal for an 18-year-old girl with apparently incredible genes, thanks mom & dad.
After that, boot camp felt physically much easier than what I'd already put myself through, but gave me structure to put my body & mind into. Running with other people taught me teamwork. Running felt so good in the morning fresh air with other people. I could barely do one push up before basic, and by the time my 4 years were up, I could do 60.
My boot camp was in 1995 and we were among the first companies ever to integrate males & females in one company at boot camp. So the gender integration probably made things more colorful, probably took the edge off a bit. I imagine the dynamic would be MUCH different in an all-male or all-female company.
I seriously enjoyed boot camp. Good memories. And a feeling of accomplishment. Whatever may go awry in my life, I'll always have my Army service as a solid check on my "dunnit" list.
My uncle was a 'lifer' and offered me some perspective on boot camp before I went away in '75. He said to keep in mind it wasn't the "real" Navy; rather something to get through in order to reach the real Navy.
This pretty much sums it up. Growing up an Army Brat, I learned that Basic Training was just that -- basic training that only lasts a couple of months. It amazes me that some people think the military is one big Boot Camp with people permanently living in Quonset Huts with Gomer Pyle and marching everywhere while Sergeant Carter yells at them.
The only thing I really disliked about Navy Boot Camp was having other recruits -- who had only been there a few weeks themselves -- getting in my face and yelling at me in the Mess Hall, etc. I fully expected to be ordered around and berated by Company Commanders, but not some 19 year old Recruit Petty Officers who acted like they were "real" Petty Officers. But I played the game and moved on, like nearly everyone else.
The only thing I really disliked about Navy Boot Camp was having other recruits -- who had only been there a few weeks themselves -- getting in my face and yelling at me in the Mess Hall, etc. I fully expected to be ordered around and berated by Company Commanders, but not some 19 year old Recruit Petty Officers who acted like they were "real" Petty Officers. But I played the game and moved on, like nearly everyone else.
Another big thing about boot camp is being able to follow orders instantly, in other words fast.
This is so you won't be in a fox hole and someone tells you to do something and you go "But why?" In the instant it took to say "but why", a bullet can whiz right through your head.
I went to Navy boot camp in the 80's at NTC Orlando.
We must have been the exception rather than the norm as a company back then, in terms of being 'punished' through physical exercise.
In the roughly 8 weeks I was in boot camp, we were only punished only once as I can remember. I don't remember what spurred it, but our two division commanders, an E-6 and a CPO, were pissed and cycled us for about an hour or so (physical exercises such as endless pushups, duck walks, etc.). So it was relatively chill for us outside of the normal training and exercise.
Our brother company though looked like they went through pure hell. Everytime we passed by them, we'd see a group of them being physically punished outside with wind sprints.
Then I inadvertently trained myself pretty hard before boot camp, as I didn't have a car so I literally ran everywhere...it was 5 miles into town, and 5 miles back. I ran to work, ran to the gym, and did aerobics classes & weightlifting & swimming, then walked home probably. Not a big deal for an 18-year-old girl with apparently incredible genes, thanks mom & dad.
Wow. Where have YOU been all my life?
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