Editors note: Senior Paul George spent the summer in basic training for the U.S. National Guard in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Batttalion 3-60th River Raiders, Charlie Company. He writes about the experience.
First you go to reception and there it is the longest part of your training because all you do is wait for hours.
Reception is where you get issued everything, given all your shots, given your dog tags and cac card — aka military id.
The first day you get there you get assigned a barrack with like 57 other guys and there where two people per bunk. When you are there for the first five days it feels like a month. When I was there at one point we were just standing there for three hours because they forgot about us. They came up to us and said ¨What platoon are you¨ and we said ¨7 1¨ they said ¨shoot we forgot about you¨.
We would eat three times a day and drink lots of water because it was hot. When we were leaving we had to pack all of our stuff and put it in the back of a big truck. Then we got on a bus and had to keep our heads down and not talk — if we did the drill Sergeant would smoke us.
We got off the bus and we had to form up fast, then they gave everyone a number and I got 3 so I was in third platoon. When we got in our platoon they started shooting live rounds and we had to get down into a position where we covered our necks and crossed our legs. Then we had to get up real quick and pick up stuff and run with it when we got to the CTA.
¨CTA is where we slept¨ they said put it down and put it back how they had it. They gave us three tries and we did not get it any of the tries. So they made us do like 50 4-count push ups and it sucked but we had stuff like that for the next two days. It is called the first 72 where the smoke you and yell at you for the first three days at basic. The 2nd week we went to the victory tower but we rucked there it was three miles with 25 pounds on our back.
We practiced on smaller wall that was about 10 feet. At victory tower we walked up a couple of flights of stairs and we went down a tower that was 40 feet high. It was very fun because it feels like you are in a game. Our drill sergeant went down it upside down. After we got done we waited for everyone else to get down then we bused back. Another major thing that happened week 2 is the gas chamber and I am going to say it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be but it was still pretty bad. You get a class on how to use a gas mask then they look at all your masks to make sure there is nothing wrong with it. Then you have to put it on in nine seconds so they make sure you can do that so they time you before you go in.
When you go in there is a tangly pinching feeling all over your body from the cs gas. Then you have to lift your mask for three seconds and close your eyes and don’t breathe. Then you put it back down and push it all out then you take off the mask and say the last four of your social and say you full name then you walk out as a group and if everyone doesn’t have their eyes open and saying what they need to you stay in there longer.
When you get out you flap your arms like you are a bird and try to open your eyes but it hurts when you open them so they are opening and closing. Then we did our first field exercise called the hammer where we sleep in the field for one night and we do a lot of tactical stuff like hand and arm movements. Being quiet in the field and pulling security and digging our holes we sleep in.
Then we get bused back the next day and take showers and rest for that day. Then the next big thing is the forge. It is another field exercise where you stay in the field for 3 days and 2 nights and do land nav and more teamwork stuff, build your holes. During the land nav we had three groups get lost because everyone is going to different areas and we all are looking for different points. My team found 5 of the 7 points. We found the three lost groups though and they came back safe — there was one group that stepped on a yellow jackets nest.
When we get back we take a test called the ACFT and that is a physical test to see how much you improved while at basic. Last big thing was the forge when you become a soldier and you get the US army patch put on your arm. But before you get that you stay in the field 3 days and 4 night. You do multiple obstacle courses and do nic witch is night infiltration course which is where you crawl under barbed wire and live rounds going above your head.
Then you ruck 10 miles to Hilton field to do the soldiers ceremony where your dill sargent gives you the us army patch. Then you get bussed back and go eat a soldiers meal where you can get ice cream and cake you also get steak and lots of decent food. Then you just clean your bays for a week straight. Then you go on to family day where you get your phone back and hangout with your family but we have to go through the ceremony first.
What they did was have us hide behind the tree lines and the drill sergeants go out there and throw smoke bombs. Then we march out and stand there till our family comes and taps us out then you go with them till 2000. Then the next day we go up to the Hilton field and do our graduation ceremony where they tell our families what we have gone through and how we accomplished what we did. Then our family comes out there and taps us out again then we go back to our bays and grab all of our equipment and leave to go home. I have been asked how was it and I am going to say the same thing I have been telling everyone else “I feel as if the physical part wasn’t as bad as the mental part because being away from everyone you love and see everyday but when they are not there makes you feel like they don’t exist and you have no one”.
I survived.