October 1968. The month and year that I realized that I’d really stepped in it when I arrived at Great Lakes boot camp. Learned real quick to do as I was told. Mostly worked but still got yelled at from time to time. Navy instructors could yell as loud as any Army or Marine instructor. Boot camp and basic training is designed to convert a civilian mindset to a military mindset in a very short order. That mostly worked for my four years in the Navy. I eagerly walked away after my enlistment was up.
The secret of Navy boot camp, do exactly as you are told, nothing more. nothing less. A lesson that a lot of kids in my boot camp company at San Diego seemed to have a hard time understanding at first.
One thing I learned is that you can come to inspection perfect, and you still get thrown in the mud.
They do that on purpose too. You plan an op, you have your equipment, you hit your spots, and sometimes it still goes wrong. How you respond to that is important too.
Life isn’t fair. As such, what next?