Oh, one thing I learned. Use spray deodorant and liquid soap. I saw many people get dinged for hair on a bar of soap or on deodorant sticks. A minor thing yes, but would be a couple less things to worry about during inspections.
Your son will do just fine. Do not worry about him (too much) and try not to contact him a lot-he will have time to so, in good time.
I live near Fort Wood (retired Army Combat Engineer officer) and work on the installation (local university). I would be glad to follow up with him for you-but only after a few weeks, he will be well cared for by his Drill Sergeants.
Army BCT (basic combat training) is nine weeks long, but he will spend a week or so in a transient unit called “replacement”, that is where he will get a medical exam, shots, tests and then be issued uniforms etc. He must pass a minimum physical aptitude test before he can go to BCT.
After BCT is completed, he will seamlessly transition to 21B combat engineer advanced indivuual training (AIT), this one-station event is called OSUT (one-station unit training). He will have the same Drill Sergeants throughout, but in AIT he will spend most of his time with technical instructors (NCOs and civilians) rather than his Drills. Life gets better in the AIT phase. This phase lasts another 8-10 weeks if things have not changed recently....
Thanks for your support of him. Momma will come around when she sees her boy turn into a man....
In this contingency of GWOT, all warriors can expect to deploy sooner than later-combat engineers are not one of the soft jobs, we deploy as much as anyone else, more than others, less than some. He will thrive if he likes to learn, be challenged (and rise to the occasion).
Again, let me know via PM if you want more info or personal follow up.
Regards;
Andrew Cempa
Major, USA (ret)
Corps of Engineers
You didn’t LET him do anything. HE is going because he wants to do this.
this is HIS decision—you are just being supportive.
One of my nephews is 18 and joined the NJ National Guard. He completes Army basic training on Jan. 20th. Then off to Missouri for the Army school he chose. Then, to college courtesy of the Army.
He absolutely loves it. His older brother is a third year cadet in a great school, under a full four year Army scholarship. He will become a commissioned officer upon graduation in 2012.
Both are Eagle Scouts.
And they love doing what they do. And they both are doing this to pay for their college education.
Your son will learn so much in the service, and what he learns and the confidence he gains will serve him well through his whole life.
Some advice:
1. Get everything the recruiter says IN WRITING, especially your son’s MOS. No verbal promises. They don’t count.
2. Learn how to salute—PROPERLY. There is a proper way.
3. Never, ever leave your rifle. Anywhere. Anytime. You will pay dearly for that infraction.
4. Tell yourself each day—this WILL be worth it. Each night, you are one day closer to graduation for basic training.
5. No matter how menial or dumb you think the task is, do whatever the drill sgt. says to do with the utmost of your ability
And tell your boy thanks, for protecting my freedom. you raised him right.
(Don’t worry—moms are all overprotective of their children. You can’t change that—just help her through this)
/johnny
Tell him if he gets out of basic and the drill instructor never knew his name, he was successful.
Keep a low profile. Do not draw attention to yourself. Don’t “brag” about any past military affiliation.
Too late not to do it so don’t ever, ever, ever encourage looking back. Rip off the rear view mirror and play to win.
This is his time to become a man. The timing is his choice and it is done now. Be there when he asks for a shoulder to lean on but do not extend a hand that is not asked for.
Look him squarely in the eye, tell him you have done your best these last years to help him become what he is and that if you have not done the right things to prepare him it is probably too late. Tell him you expect him to do his best and that he will succeed at what he wants to do. Shake his hand firmly, hug him and tell him to always choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Then tell him you love him and you pray that God goes with him.
When he gets done and you see him ask him what he has learned and be prepared to be proud of him.
If he is Nat Guard and has an education deferment and he has the aptitude, get an engineering degree. Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical or even Aeronautical though the Army doesn’t think much of the latter in most cases. They like Civil Engineers because they are close to Military Engineers if he wants to stay in.
Going to Embry-Riddle I’m surprised he didn’t think it would be better to be a 22 year old officer flying an F-16 than an 18 year old shooting an M-16.
My son went though infantry OSUT at Benning. Was shipped to Iraq two months after graduation. Did three tours there and is packing his bags for Afganistan in a few weeks. He LOVES being deployed.
Glad we have men like your son!
My daughter’s boyfriend just completed basic training for the marine corps and emphasized a need for the 3 “C”s. Cardio, Calories, Canteen. Your son needs to ingest as many calories as he can get his hands on because he’ll be burning a ton during training. He needs to keep hydrated so he doesn’t cramp up. And he needs to make sure his cardio is as good as possible because there will be many opportunities when recruits will need to assist each other and he’s better off being the one who helps rather than the one needing assistance. The other guys always remember who was in which position.
Best of luck to him.
Communication, other than writing, is cut off. They’re allowed one call after they arrive at the training facility, then no calls till close to graduation.
They have a bit of time periodically to write .. but they do love to receive mail. Once you get his address, write as often as you can. Don’t look to an ‘exchange’ of letters .. look to its being 7:1, and be happy for the 1. When you get his address, send him writing paper and stamps, with preprinted mailing labels for both of you, so all he has to do is peel them off and onto the envelope.
They are allowed to receive certain limited reading materials. Gather those that might be of interest to him. News from home is always welcome .. local paper clips, church bulletins if he was active in a youth group, that sort of thing.
Before our Protestant son left for basic, a close family friend (Catholic) gave him a St. George medallion that he wore throughout. St. George is the patron saint of soldiers and scouts. Oh, and expect to hear that he’s attending Jewish services on Friday nights because it is the only opportunity for anything at all sweet to eat. My son said EVERYBODY at Basic is Jewish. It’s all very ecumenical ;)
He will do well, meeting fellow recruits from across the country, whose backgrounds and experiences are so different from his, no matter what the respective backgrounds. In short order they will become his best friends on earth!
Plan now for your family to attend the graduation if at all possible. It will mean the world to your son for you and your family to attend. And it will mean the world to you, too. You will be greeting an entirely different person than the one leaving tomorrow.
Follow orders, and it will be easy.
Work hard.
Any other course will lead to a miserable 8 weeks (if that is what Basic is these days.)
Tell him to blend in. Also, remind him that no matter what they do to him, they can’t kill him. He will survive and it isn’t the end of the world.
FWIW, my son snuck away on Father’s Day and called his dad and wasn’t caught. The sargeants are only human, really. Oh! And JT graduated platoon guide.
My thanks for your son’s service to our country. You did a good job.
They still doing basic at Ft. Lost-in-the-woods?
Oh, yes! Tell him that if there is someone in the group with whom he doesn’t get along to let y’all know. Then you can send that person a goodie basket along with a note to keep it away from those nosey and overbearing sargeants. Don’t send it to your son!
FWIW, my son has served twice in Iraq, the first time in Ramadi. He never had to fire his rifle. The second time he was bored. God will protect your son. My prayers are with your wife.
I know that one recruit in my basic company at Ft.Leonardwood, in 1969,
would advise:
Do not let his Grandma show up on Sunday and chew out the Senior Drill Sergent for “being hard on the boy”.
1. Since he's had some college, he may be more than just an E1. If that's the case, he'll probably be put in a leadership position and catch more flak.
2. Don't take what the Drills say as being personal. It's just their job.
3. Be prepared for contradictions. Saying “I thought” will get the response - “You don't get paid to think”. Doing something foolish will get you a “What were you thinking”?
4. Every unit has a “that guy”. The one referred to in future stories and laughed at. Don't be “that guy”.
That's the only thing I can add to what's already been said.
Keep you mouth shut, do as your told, pay attention to detail.
Mom here-First off I tried to get my son to go to school, it did not work and he is now active duty in the Army Infantry.
Be supportive, write LOTS of letters, don’t freak out when phone calls don’t come, no news is good news.
As for him, mouth shut, ears and eyes open!
Don’t think about deployment, cross that bridge when you get to it.
Thank your son for his service!
Embry-Riddle is an aviation school. Why does he want to be a medic?
I´m glad for my time in the Army, including a year in Vietnam, as a medic. But if I´d had the chance to attend Embry-Riddle I sure bet I´d have done something else.