We finally received some letters in the mail - four letters in the same envelope. Here are some highlights:
1) Rough first night - only 30 minutes sleep
2) Haircut on second day - 1/16" long
3) Tim had guard duty at midnight three consecutive nights
4) His group moved from "Reception" to Basic Training quickly, which is very positive
5) Recruits were assured that the first day of Basic would be "the worst day of their lives". Tim didn't think it was so bad.
6) They are timed with a stopwatch to "prepare, shower, dry off and brush teeth" in 30 seconds
7) "Send lots of letters, please!"
8) The weekend of week 10 he is allowed off base to be with his family.
The general tone of his letters was that it was difficult, but he seems to be holding-up okay. The lack of sleep seems to be the main issue. He really hated "reception" which can last for an indefinite period. Some guys are stuck in reception for 3-4 weeks. Once you move from reception to basic training, you are on your way to getting done. Tim is thankful he was in reception less than a week.
30 seconds??? Is that possible? I guess the army doesn't care about hygiene! Not that i'm a big fan of it either, but you would think they wouldn't want to deal with cavities.
ReplyDeleteIs guard duty like guarding the gold? : )
I'll ask Tim but this is crazy.
Yeah I was gonna say, so much for brushing each section for 60 seconds... 0_o
ReplyDelete