11 Things You Should Know BEFORE Going to Boot Camp!

Comments · 800

• TO

  @tomjordan9767 · 1 year ago

  If you get to end of boot camp, and the drill instructor doesn't know your name, you have done it right.

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• AF

  @af_nym · 1 year ago

  Being forced to complete someone else’s punishment because they had a seizure and couldn’t finish is absolute insanity😭

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• JC

  @Jcline0128 · 1 year ago

  Always that one guy who no matter how hard he's pushed can't wipe the smile off his face because he loves being there so much if they keep it up week after week they gain respect

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• MU

  @muzien87 · 1 year ago

  as a fomer 0311 from 07 to 11 this is what i tell all young men going into the military no matter the branch. treat boot camp like a game, they are testing you, nothing is personal they just are making sure you have what it takes to handle the chaos. if you cant handle getting screamed at while trying to get dressed in the morning you arent going to be inclined to perform well when being screamed at in combat to do something. treat it seriously but also remember its kind of a game, have fun and enjoy basic training because as chaotic as it may seem its actually the potentially the least stressful time in service. enjoy the memories and life long friends you make

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• GM

  @gmansard641 · 1 year ago

  One thing to remember is that they want you to succeed.  A standard to meet certainly, but they want you to rise to the challenge.

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• SH

  @shanewilliams9866 · 1 year ago (edited)

  I was under the radar in boot camp at Parris Island because I was born with a speech impediment (stutter). The drill instructors would put me on fire watch at night so I could report my post and gear watch while the other recruits were at the chow hall. I was physically fit and could do 27 dead hang pull-ups, and so the drill instructor respected me for that. I was good at PT. I unqualified during the rifle range. That was horrible and I suck at swimming. I was an iron duck. I was good at knowledge because I did Navy JROTC at high school but because I stuttered, I didn't volunteer to answer any questions that I knew unless I was called on. Most importantly, I made it and earned my eagle, globe, and anchor and got an honorable discharge. Semper Fidelis David! I love your videos 😊

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• RO

  @robertgoss4842 · 1 year ago

  This chap is on the money.  I've been out of the Marine Corps for 54 years, but I do recall vividly gaining the realization in my first five days or so that boot camp was 90% mental and 10% physical.

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• GE

  @GenX_US_Marine · 1 year ago

  I went to boot camp 30 years ago and it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. We got hazed all day long. The DI's were knocking around recruits. I seen so many recruits shoved into the maintenance closet for hours. There were no rules back then. Today's military, they get to watch YouTube videos to see what they are getting themselves into. My era we had to go by the the recruiter said and they lied all the god damn time. The only thing they told us was boot camp is 12 weeks long that's it. When I was riding on that bus at 1130 at night with my head between my legs, my whole life flashed before my eyes. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Once the DI's came on the bus and started screaming, I knew this was gonna be 12 weeks that I'll never forget.

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• HU

  @humaneventures9821 · 10 months ago

  I was raised by a Scottish mother and a violent alcoholic father.  Boot camp was a breeze and I smiled the whole time!

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• DA

  @danmiller7079 · 11 months ago

  When I enlisted in 74, my father, a WWII Marine in the pacific theater, told me that boot camp would be THE hardest thing I would ever do. Then told me that boot camp is one big head game and he was right. I didn’t have any problems in boot camp except #1: pull ups! I was like private Pyle in “Full Metal Jacket”. Couldn’t do one pull up but, with the help of the Drill Instructors and another recruit, I was able to do 3 for final pft. Also couldn’t march in a straight line if my life depended on it. Had to sit out final drill comp. in the bleachers with a “Twisted ankle”. I was an excellent swimmer and licensed scuba diver in high school so I was on fire watch during water survival training. Graduated with my platoon (Plt. 3105 MCRDSD 1974) an 0311. The Marine Corps made a huge impact in my life which helped me through a law enforcement career spanning 30+ years over two agencies. Dad passed away in 2017 at 92 years. Rarely spoke of his time in combat but we were both on Okinawa. He in 1945 (Purple Heart for mortar fragments from a Japanese mortar) and I in 1975. To my Dad, I hope peace and rest has come to you. I miss you dearly. To my Father, Mr. Pere, and all my brothers and sisters in arms in the Marines, SEMPER FIDELIS! And, in a couple of weeks, Happy 250th birthday, Marines. Uuhhhrrrraaaaahhhhhhhhh!

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• RA

  @randallmcgrath9345 · 1 year ago

  "Embrace the suck" is great advice for many things even outside the military. Great video.

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• MR

  @mr.pavone9719 · 1 year ago

  Hoo boy do I have a list for you if you&apos;re planning on joining up...<br>-Don&apos;t watch any movies about boot camp before you join. They are all artistic (mis)representations of what boot camp is like. They hype the drama and often ignore the boring realities. Yes, act one of Full Metal Jacket is awesome but that was the USMC during Vietnam and even then it was a little off. The one movie I have seen that got the closest to being accurate about Army basic was Renaissance Man starring Danny DeVito.<br>-Don&apos;t ask anyone who was in your chosen branch of service over 5 years ago about basic training. Military culture changes wildly before, during and after conflicts and has even weirder swings during peacetime. Your grampa ranting about &quot;ThE CoRpS dUrInG NaM&quot; has no idea how much things have changed.<br>-Don&apos;t shave your head before you go. You&apos;ll just draw attention to yourself and they&apos;ll still make you pay for a haircut even if you&apos;re bald. <br>-Women, find out what your chosen branch accepts as the shortest hair style for women and get that haircut. DON&apos;T SHAVE YOUR HEAD. You won&apos;t have time to fuss with your hair in the morning and hair grows back.<br>-They are going to teach you how to shoot their way. JUST DO IT THEIR WAY. I don&apos;t care that grampa taught you how to shoot clay pigeons from the hip and hit both with one shot. I don&apos;t care that every deer you killed was a heart shot from 400 yards with an old scope. I don&apos;t care if you took part in several drive-by shootings. Combat shooting is different and it ain&apos;t all that hard. Just do it their way.<br>-The food really isn&apos;t that bad.<br>-Don&apos;t show off your sick MMA skills. If you hurt someone or they hurt you back the amount of trouble you will bring on yourself isn&apos;t worth it.<br>-You are not going to impress your DS/DI. They have seen your kind in every rotation they have trained. If you do impress them they&apos;ll never admit it to your face.<br>-This seems like a dumb one but the military is not a video game. There is no easy ranking up. You will not walk in as a trainee and leave as a lieutenant. There are no one-man-armies. &nbsp;<br>-Don&apos;t take inter-service rivalry seriously. <br>-Don&apos;t be &quot;that guy.&quot; The one always causing trouble. They one who just can&apos;t shut up. The one who gets the platoon smoked. The ass kicking you are setting yourself up for is gonna suck.<br>-Break up with your boy/girl friend. They&apos;re gonna cheat on you.<br>-Find out what the PT uniform is and wear something close to that as you get in shape. I had so many people telling me I&apos;d have to run in boots and they were so goddamned wrong.<br>-Maintain a sense of humor. It&apos;ll help a lot.<br>-They call it &quot;basic training&quot; because the point is to get everyone to the same, base level of competence. Your branch&apos;s job training is going to add on to what they taught you in basic. It&apos;s at your duty station where they start teaching you the cool stuff.<br><br>This comes from my active duty experience and training recruits at Ft Lewis, Ft Leonardwood, Ft Drum and cadets at West Point and UVM.<br>Don&apos;t thank me, thank my recruiter.

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