Posted on 06/28/2010 1:24:01 AM PDT by ScubieNuc
My oldest son left last week for the Army. He is currently at Fort Benning waiting in the "receiving" barracks. His Boot Camp Company (I'm not sure if that's what the Army calls it...I'm exNavy) forms up and starts actual Basic this next Friday.
We've gotten a call from him the other night. Other than being tired and anxious for actual training to start, he sounded like he was doing fine. This is new territory for me and my wife. I don't feel old enough to have a child in the military.
We are planning on going out to his "Turning Blue" Ceremony and his graduation in October. I'm pretty excited, but I have a number of questions that I'm hoping some FReepers can help me with. I know that in a couple of weeks we are supposed to get a package in the mail detailing his graduation date and stuff, but I'm interested in other things. Things like....
Should I fly into Atlanta or Columbus?
What are the best places to stay in Columbus?
What are some good things to do or see in Columbus or the surrounding area?
Thank you for any input.
The Army is weird. I’m Navy, like you, and Boot Camp began day I arrived.
I wonder what they have those people doing over weekends.
I can't believe I'm old enough for this, LOL.
Sounds like they get shuffled to payroll to make sure that’s all set up. Then they got some of their shots. Then they got a hair cut and got some uniforms. But I hear you, I was in “recieving” for like 3 days, but he’ll be in his for 10 days. I guess they have preordained schedules they stick to or something.
One of the things I stumbled upon, while trying to study up on what all his Basic will entail, is the upgrades that the Navy has done to Great Lakes. All I can say is......WOW! I’m jealous. Google “Battlestations 21 Trayer” and you’ll see what I mean.
Great to hear your son chose the best. What AIT will he take after basic?
Had a tour (2 years) an instructor in basic.
24 years in the Army.
I was in the AF and even though we arrived at Lackland AFB at abou 3 AM we began basic that very morning.
Well, he chose to be Infantry and now they do something called One Station Unit Training (OSUT), which basically combines BCT (Basic Combat Training) with Infantry AIT (Advanced Individual Training). So his “Boot Camp” is 14 weeks long.
He also wanted to jump out of perfectly working airplanes, so he got Jump school in his contract. So right after Boot graduation, he’ll stay in Benning to do his paratrooper training. After that, he wants to be a Ranger. So if he does that, then he’ll have an 8 week Ranger Indoctrination class he’ll have to pass ( I think it’s abbreviated RASP).
If he passes that, he’ll be assigned to a Ranger Battalion.
I know what you mean. My oldest son is currently in Iraq as a 68W (Combat Medic). My youngest son is taking his induction physical tomorrow. Both Army (as I was - helicopter crew chief ‘66 - ‘67 - you know where I was sent!).
I thought my oldest son was crazy, now I know it! He is the only person I ever heard of that LIKED basic training.
Congratulations to you and your son. Stand proud!
All recruits for all services arrive at Boot Camp late at night. It’s more disorientating and they keep everyone up late so they can start the next day tired.
My son said that he was running on 4 hours of sleep for the first couple of days, but this weekend he got to catch up a bit. They have apparently been getting them up at 4:45 am every morning to start their day.
I went into Navy boot camp in Orlando in 1969 and “played” around for 3 or 4 days waiting on others to get there to form the training group. We had 4 companies....205, 206, 207 and 208. I was in 205 so we were there the longest. Some E2 who had graduated from boot camp but hadn’t gotten orders yet was put in charge of us and taught us some basic marching and the 96 counts of physical drill.
Columbus is a pretty good drive from Atlanta. And the one night I spent in Columbus a few years ago....didn’t seem like much to do there.
Thanks for your service.
I am very proud of him. I made sure he had all the information available to him so he wouldn’t be going in blind. While no 18 year old really ‘knows’ what they are getting themselves into, he really, really wanted to start out in the infantry.
I don’t really understand that, but at the same time I know that America needs people who want to do that stuff. He is apparently one of those people.
You wake up in the morning, brush the snow off and go to SSS. The water is so cold that is actually painful to put on you face.
People don't die like in movies. They fall and gasp. Two to the body and one to the head. Fort Benning is fine. But tell him to go Airborne. Screaming Eagles 101 Ft. Bragg.
It is messed up. Really way out there. But I wouldn't change a thing.
Thanks for the input.
I was in Orlando in 1984 for Nuke school. I’m sure it was very different from when you were there. I know that even then, the boot camp was VERY different from what I experienced in Great Lakes. One of my class mates was sent over to RTC while my Nuke class was classing up and he was assigned to help the MAA in the Chow hall. Well, he starts telling these boots (remember half of these boots are women) “nut to butt” and he gets pulled to the side and told you can’t do that here.
Where in Great Lakes, we had what was called “pass in review” (meals that lasted only until the last person in the company sat down), in Orlando, they were guarenteed 15 minutes for all meals. They also got a break half way through to go to Disney World. They also had a little sandy rec center where I saw recruits playing volleyball and chilling out. Very different from my Boot experience in Great Lakes in 1983!
When I entered basic they got us there a week prior. The first night was an all nighter forcing us to watch crappy movies as the rest of the recruits showed up. If you nodded off they woke you up and made you do push ups or jumping jacks. But basicly they got us there the first week for indoctrination and receiving our gear, vaccinations and other fun stuff. Basic as far as I know in the Army has really always been 8 Weeks +1 week.
I went to Navy Boot Camp at NRTC, Great Lakes.
It was February. There was snow up to the treetops, and more was falling. It was so cold, snot-sickles formed on contact with the air. There were some holes in the snow, steam grates from Hell, I guessed, where somewhere below the frozen gulag, earlier recruits were being boiled and skinned alive.
Soon as the bus stopped, some ugly mean scary dude stepped aboard, and started yelling, "You F'n Maggots ...". And so it went, just like that, for the next ten or twelve weeks.
Fly into Birmingham. Easier than Atlanta and closer/less traffic. Columbus is a “puddle jumper” airport.
There is absolutely nothing to see/do in Columbus.
Stay whereever it is the cheapest. Your son will appreciate a hearty, non-mlitary meal after graduation from Basic Training.
Thanks for the info.
Hey Scub,
Thank your son for his service for me.
When I went to AIT at Ft. Sam Houston, we had two weeks of mowing lawns etc..apparently we were waiting for a company to graduate (from Ft. Lost in the Woods, Misery..) in order to fill out out company. From what I have heard, OSUT sucks because you carry the same Drill Sgts over with you.. Tell him to hang in there, its over before you realize it.
Great to hear...soon he will be hunting and killing Muslim terrorists.
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