[Mac-b]

Whew, I do. I joined the US Navy in April 1956 in Raleigh, NC and the Navy flew me to San Diego, CA. The plane ride scared the crap out of me, since I had never been on an airplane. The Navy had a new program, whereby they would send a limited number of recruits to Calif. and the rest to Chicago, Il. I was one of the three from NC.

My first day at boot camp was something else. This mean talking Chief Petty Officer gave us the once over and laid the law down to us. We then were issued out Navy clothing and told to pack up our civies and send them home. Then we were marched to our barracks and the company would be housed on the second level. This Chief PO had us throw all of our clothing out of the upper level windows and then we were ordered down stairs. Then we marched over our clothing for an hour of so, then we had to pick out our clothing and wash every dang thing we threw out the window. We had a box of Tide, a brush and some tie ties. We scrubbed everything and hung then on a mast line, just like a ship, using our tie ties. Time flew by and it was close to 3 AM by this time and then we had to get up at 5 AM for a march to the chow hall.

I did not make it to the chow hall before this mean a$$ Chief PO pulled me from the rank and in front of everybody told me that I marched like a Tenn. plowboy. I corrected him and told him I was from North Carolina, oh sh-t, and he informed me that he knew where I was from and I stayed on his list untill the end of boot camp.

Screwed up again, which happened almost everyday and was assigned to guard the dumpster in our barracks area. I marched around that thing for four hours from 8 to 12 PM. The next morning before chow, the Chief called me out of line again, in front of the company and wanted to know if I had looked inside the dumpster to see if anything was missing while I was guarding it, I told him no sir and you know what hit the fan again. That night, I spent two hours in the dumpster (empty) and two hour outside the dumpster.

I was doing very good with everything except marching and calling a weapon a gun rather than a piece. I spent many a night sleeping with my piece laying on my fart sack (where they got the names for these different things, I don't know). I had very little beard back then and I would try to go three or four days without shaving, bull hockey on that outlook, ending up cleaning the head. Didn't get it clean enough for the Chief, so the next day and many more, I had to clean it with a toothbrush.

Toward the end of boot camp, we were practing on the tarmac for some big upcoming event and the Chief gets on me again about my marching and for whatever reason, I spoke back at him. Well, he takes my piece and hits me in the shins with it and oh sh=t, it hurt some kind of bad. He wasn't thru with me, he made me do a duck walk, with my piece behind me knees around the tarmac. From that day forward, I didn't speak to anyone with stripes, unless they ask me a question and the answer was Yes Sir and No Sir.

In the beginning, I told you that three of us from NC went to Calif., well, only one of us made it thru. One turned out to be a bed wetter (I believe he wanted to get out of Dodge) and the other one liked his mates too much.

After boot camp, it was smooth sailing. Would I do it again, heck no, but I would not take anything for the experience. GO NAVY

PS: the company collected money on the final day to give the Chief a present, everyone one contributed except one. Guess who

 

[poisonpits]

i remember boot camp real well.1st thing they did was line us up in formation and this sarg.walked back and forth talking.he said his name was sarg.fowler and we would look up on him as jesus christ and then he introduced capt.cushman and said he was god.we were copany q and ever one of us was training for jump school to be paratroopers so while ever one else road trucks to get where they had to be we had to leave early enough to run everwhere we went.must have been good for me because i went from 128 lbs.to 164 lbs.in 8 weeks.

 

[brother hilljack]

Well its called basic training for me, but I remember it well enough. Its hard to believe that it has been 15 years since I "saw the light"..................That's the light at the end of the tunnel! I started searching for it on day 1 as I was dragging my duffle bags around the parking lot waiting for the Drill Sergeants to get done with there coffee I guess. All I know was it was a hot summer JULY day in Georgia and I walked circles in that parking lot for about 3 hours..........and thats when I started searching for that light at the end of the tunnel.

Best decision I ever made!

 

[ryang]

Ahhhh the memories, I remember getting in line with 100s of other dudes in my tighty whities getting shot after shot after shot LOL it didnt seem to stop. And on top of that once we got look at by Medical to clear us it was pusss up position (had a Phillapena CC). I thought my Dad yelled but no where near these guys. I pretty much stayed to myself didnt get in any fights or that much trouble. I went from a 36 inch waist and 195 lbs (I was 5'10' at the time) and it didnt last I grew that 6 inches back in no time after getting out of boot but I grew another 6 inches so go figure. I would sleep on the floor in boot so I didnt have to make my rack after getting it perfect, then the CC would tear them all up and we would have to do it again but it wasnt that hard.

We had one guy (and no it wasnt me) that could stop peeing in his rack at night, he would turn it around so no one would know then cover it with his blanket after he did it again and he was a big guy I would half way expect some tiny dude to be scared to death but not this guy. He finally got caught and his rack and all his belongings were out the door on the pavement. He didnt do it again LOL.

I was in San Deigo and planes would fly overhead and oooops I looked up and got caught so I had to point my weapon (that weighed about 20lbs cause the barrel was filled with lead) at the plane and yell "bang bang got another one Chief". Ill post more memories later that was some good times.

 

[AwShucks]

I vaguely remember all of mine. All of them. I was a Drill Sergeant for slightly over 7 years. Most guys go through basic once, maybe twice. It gets very, very boring to go through it over and over and over. Best break we got was when we started OSUT 16 weeks of basic and advanced infantry training. I mean, in about the 13th week we actually got to go home after that days training.

 

[baitchunker]

i remember the yellow foot prints like it was yesterday. i could tell boot camp stories all day, but i have to do some work so i dont get fired. funny thing, i dont remember my senior drill instructors last name. but, sometimes Amy wakes me up in the middle of the night and i am saying my rifle serial number over and over in my sleep. crazy huh?

 

[Mike81]

Yeh, that's something you can never forget. I am a pretty quiet person and tried to fly under the radar most of the time. They yelled at me a few times but not bad compared to some people that couldn't stay out of trouble. I remember going to bed at night and you were tired but trying to stay awake for a while just so you could have some peace and the morning wouldn't come to fast. I remember the food was pretty good. One time we were getting ready for an inspection and I was ironing , ya know, making underclothes into those neat little squares. Well anyway I left the iron on my underwear a tad too long and burned the darn waistband to a crisp.:crazy: I was worried the fire alarm was gonna go off but it didn't luckily. From that day on I was known to my flight members as "Iron Mike" :big_smile:

 

[BIG GEORGE]

Like it was yesterday. LOL! They must have done a good job. LOL! Went in when DI's were still allowed to put thier hands on ya. In the Air Force they had what was called "Dorm Chiefs" and yes I was selected. Had an altercation with a "GOOBER" from Kentucky. LOL! He just didn't wanna conform and was causin alot of grief for everyone. I had to do somethin and it caused me to be set back several weeks in trainin as punishment. OH WELL! It was worth it. LOL! Even remember the names of my DI's. Tsgt Day and Tsgt. Miliken. Yikes! Thats scary! I even forget my wifes name now and then but not them two. LOL!

 

[jason berry]

I dont think anybody could forget Parris Island.

 

[BIG GEORGE]

I'm waitin for Dayton to chime in on this one. Bet he has stories about chariot trainin and usein catapults. LOL! :wink:


That should draw him out. LOL!

 

[ryang]

Big George I heard that when you get to Air Force Boot you each go to your air conditioned office and get to play on the computer for a while before its nappy time :smile2::tounge_out::wink::big_smile:

 

[BIG GEORGE]

Big George I heard that when you get to Air Force Boot you each go to your air conditioned office and get to play on the computer for a while before its nappy time :smile2::tounge_out::wink::big_smile:

First thing issued in Navy boot is soap on a rope.:wink:

 

[Flatheadhunter33]

Oooooh Yeah...I remember Parris Island very clearly! Hot...muggy...sand fleas knawing on your ears and face. Senior Drill Instructor SSgt Ralph, Drill Instructor Sgt's Shaner and Gravely...those were my D.I.s

Yelling at the top of your voice until it was gone was the only way to prove that you were sounding off when spoken tooooh:...Drinking water until you felt like you would puke...and then drink some more...Getting "dug" in the pits (push ups, leg lifts, jumping jacks, run in place and all sorts of chaos in a huge sand box:smile2... P.T...eat chow...drill...classes...more drill...eat chow...drill...chow...shine those boots...I was never so glad to get to bed each night and I could not wait for church on Sunday (it was the one pace where you were safe from the D.I.s for a while. I was convinced that it was because evil could not enter a holy place:smile2::smile2. I would never do it again thats for sure but it got the job done. It turned me into a lean mean fighting machine:smile2::smile2::smile2:. OooooRRahhh!

 

[SSgt Fishslayer]

i remember it like it was yesterday. i got there, i got yelled at. i looked the wrong way, i got yelled at. i did good, i got yelled at. i wouldnt tradde it for anything in the world. i never knew that there were so many uses for skin so soft and aqua velva. that stuff with take paint off of the walls. we did it. i remember foot locker manual of arms, moving the house, going to the pit, spending quality time on the quarter deck cause my rack mate couldnt keep his mouth shut, and having the most intellectual conversations ever with the guy sitting across from you on the head.

 

[ryang]

First thing issued in Navy boot is soap on a rope.:wink:

How did you know BG, and it was a long rope too I hated that :smile2:

 

[SSgt Fishslayer]

i work with a Gunny right now that is old enough to have been a drill instructor to Moses.

 

[QBQ]

I dont think anybody could forget Parris Island.

I know that I never will.

 

[plainsman]

yeah, it was an experience. Them drill instructors weren't as nice as recruiters. From AFEEs to the yellow foot prints. I was prepared for most of the BS, I had talked to a few guys who had been in the Corps and had my reasons for goin in, but when I got there I wondered who's side they were on. It wasn't a big deal at first, then we met the drill instructors, I thought the devil himself was there. It was somethin to get thru, I knew it was only 13 weeks. lots of stuff that didn't make sense, but in the end I could see why it was that way. Lots of boredom, but lots of interesting stuff too. Last series to be issued the U.S. Rifle, cal 7.62mm M14. I liked that rifle, except when the drill instructors weren't happy. It wasn't fun to learn how to shoot, but doing it paid off. The highlight was being told where we would be goin after graduation. The drill instructor said you wanna know where you goin? I said yes sir, and he said, infantry training school, you gonna be a grunt. I lost my composure and said, "O Boy!" and he said that'll be 100, begin. It did prepare me to put up with a lot of disagreeable stuff in life. Lots of memories, but not gonna bring em up now, I gotta get some sleep to go fishin in the mornin, don't wanna be awake with bad dreams.

 

[Flatheadhunter33]

I remember we had a guy in my platoon that was a chronic "wetter"...this guy would pee his pants anywhere! It wasnt like he was trying to find a way out of boot camp either. I remember one day at drill practice, this guy let a small pond go right in formation:0a22:....

When the drill instructor saw this little stream trickle out in front of the formation, he dug the crap out of the whole platoon!

 

[SSgt Fishslayer]

we also had a guy like that. he had a bladder problem. they actually sent him out for surgery right after boot camp. poor guy would pee on himself while we were up on line every day