To All My Shipmates From CD: Where Was Your Bootcamp, and What Uniform Was Issued to You?

[turkeytrot]

RTC San Diego 1979.
Hated the utility style uniform and got dungs as soon as I got to NATTC Millington. Double breasted dress blues and combo hat, worn once at Preble Field for graduation.
Got Cracker Jacks when I got to my squadron.

My pea coat was swiped at an air-ops somewhere. It kinda balanced out though, When I got out I found a foul weather jacket in my parachute bag.
And we had to shave our beard in 1985.

The Navy changed uniforms as often as my wife rearranges the living room.

[EarthBound?]

1979 Ft Sill, Oklahoma and we were issued the old permanent press utility OD greens with the OD green ball caps.

[kettlepot]

Ft Leonard Wood, 1982

I won't go into the details of what ended up in my Army duffel it was the same as any other early 80s Army Enlistee. What was noteworthy is that during the in-processing they palmed off two mismatched dress shoes. One was an 8 1/2 and the other was a 9. me for not checking it. However, I got it fixed at my AIT station where I actually had to wear my Class Bs.

My greatest uniform coup was not buying the camouflage cold weather jacket that became mandatory 7 months before I ETSd. I was issued two OD jackets and by the end of my enlistment they were darn near as pristine as the day I got them at the supply depot. I couldn't see the point in buying a third one that would never see a days use.

[sailordave]

Orlando, Florida February 1990. When I left bootcamp, the new recruits were beginning to wear a water bottle on their utility belt because of the heat. The water tower was called the door knob to hell. At the time, that was where future nuclear power school students and women went to bootcamp. After bootcamp, nuke school students moved to the other side of the base for the school. Or dorm rooms (what I called them) was four people per room and one bathroom per room. It was setup like a quad. Four rooms shared one common sitting area like a living room. I was one of a group that messed up during bootcamp. We were sent to a walkway outside the barracks for punishment made up of a rapid series of exercises. The company commander told us we were waiting for an audience. Two squirrels came out of the tree and sat at the edge of the walk way. He said, "now that we have an audience we can begin". Those damn squirrels stayed right there watching us the entire time. Bet they were secretly laughing at us.

[BlackShoe]

NTC San Diego. Long ago era, memory strained a bit. Several sets of dungarees, one set of dress blues, two undress blues, whites, skivies, several whitehats, belt, shoes, boondocker and dress, peacoat, raincoat. Items that may be obsolete and no longer issued; pullover sweater, handkerchiefs, watchcap, flathat, duty belt, leggings, bluejackets manual. The non uniform item most remembered; a World War 1 era Springfield rifle. The bore was plugged and the action welded shut making the piece inoperable. It was slung very properly under our racks, and was our constant companion. Back then, recruits did a great deal of marching in formation, close order drill, and performing the manual of arms with those heavy old drill rifles.

[cobolt]

1985, RTC Orlando, FL. Dungarees (big a$$ back pockets you stenciled with your white stencil pen), chambray shirt, garrison cap, chuka boots (ugly---and I ditched them once I got to my first duty station), winter working blues, dress blues, summer working whites, dress whites (alph and bravo for all), peacoat.

Boot camp was still segregated back then--male and female companies. We had a brother company who we attended class with. They sat on one side of the room, we sat on the other, and no one was to look at, lollygag, skylark, or talk to eachother. Good times! Not.

[Redraven]

NTC San Diego, 1959.
what Blackshoe said (but I was an airdale).