for the past 20 years, many memories will always be there in my mind, as if it has just happened. not many people can share the same memories that last them a lifetime. yet asking any young soldier, one of those memories that they might recall most is from their boot camp, or what the Army called Basic Training. it's a transition from being a civilian with all the comfort you have and the standard you set for yourself, to become a soldier with nothing at your comfort and every standard set by someone else.
till today, my friends and i still talk our first week, from arriving at the Reception till we got picked up by our Drill Sergeant. it's a memory of a lifetime. something you can still feel the emotion, the adrenaline rush through you as if you was still there.
it was april 30th when i left home, stepping on the bus and off to the army like other 50 young, eager civilian there with me. after paperwork, paperwork, and some more paperwork, we arrive at the airport awaiting for our plane to St. Louis, MO. till then, i was still calm, yet nervous, because i don't know what will happen next, what will be there for me ...
i arrived at ST. Louis, Mo around 7pm local time. tired, exhausted, and i thought: "finally, i'm here". sitting on the plane while it was circling the sky of St. Louis, i tried to look for a place, a place i might called home for the next 4 months. it was not there. they let us know that it will be another 3 hours drive till we arrive at our new home. i'm disappointed, yet somehow happy that i still have another 3 hours before expecting the unexpected.
there's almost a 100 of us. all from different background, different places from east to west, all sitting in the same bus taking us to a new destiny where nothing will count. we will be the same, a private, the lowest rank in the United States Military, nothing more, nothing less. yet it's not gonna be given to us, we will have to earn it in the next 4 months.
the bus was quite for most of the drive, all tried to get some last sleep. as the time goes by, so does the distance. most of us never step foot on an army base, yet we all have the feeling that we are near. it was passing midnight. like all of a sudden, we feel the rush running through our body, here come the main gate "Welcome to Fort Leonard Wood". we all wake up, survey our surrounding, trying to see what is there to calm down our nervous selves. passing the gates ia another 15 minutes drive, however, to me, it was a 30 minutes of roller coaster drive in the safari where you see everything for the first time with the "ohhh" and "awww" ... , my mind at its nerous max, every time the bus turned, i asked myself "is it here"?
all of us at sometimes in our life has watch an army movies. we have a rough idea of what boot camp is like. we also might have a clear picture of the first arrival which a big, mean looking drill sergeant step on the bus to greet the young, nervous civilians with his clear, powerful, and thoroughly sentence: "get the fucc off the bus..." ... everyone knows what's next ... all hell brokes lose.
wells, to my most unexpecting surprise, it does not happen like that picture, not quietly. when the bus turn into a hidden building throgh its curve way, we know it is here. everyone tried to tell each other a few last words of encouragement, advise or a wish of good luck for "here it goes...". when we saw the drill sergeants inside the buildings putting their famous brown hat or to the marines as the smokin bears hat, we know there's no time left. the bus went silent, till now, no one really knows what to do, what to expect next... just the bus is what left of us between being civilians and becoming the property of United States Army.
the drill sergeant stepped on the bus. no, he wasn't big. no, he is not mean looking. no, he did not use language like what we saw in the movie. "what is going on?". yet, there's his eyes, there's his soft, but commanding voice that keep everyone at their feet. he explained what is going to happen for the rest of the night, etc ... i was lost in my thought when "... any question? no? now get off the bus .... QUICKLY ...." .... and i thought to myself, well this might not be bad after all .... (just for a note later ... it was deadly wrong assumption) ....
first time arriving
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6 comments:
This is a great experience to write about. You seem to capture the air of not only yourself but your peers as well. I can attest to the experience, having gone through it myself. Great content.
I really liked how your story was all about the anticipation of arriving at the army base. There were a few spelling errors and sentences that could use looking over but I like that it's all in lower case letters, I think it gives it a different feel.
I liked your story, you did well creating a setting that I could imagine easily. Some of the tenses change from present to past throughout though, which should be changed.
Good story. I noticed you skipped on capitalizing all your sentences, so make sure to go back and fix that... not to nitpick or anything....
Trying to think of something helpful to say... I guess mostly there are just a few grammar errors and capitalization unless you did it intentionally, in which case carry on.
I liked that you compared it to a movie because that's where all my knowledge of military life comes from. It's a good idea of how these stories make you expect certain things but in reality it is quite different.
Hey, I know I'm not in your group, but I had to comment. I'm an engineer too, so I'm familiar with Ft. Lost in the Woods. I was C 35th back in 2002. You did a great job capturing the anticipation and fear of the unknown that grips the new recruit when he's rolling into BCT. Brought back some fun memories for me.
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