Army

[Wolfhound]

Hey Desert Fox, I was an Infantry soldier for four years in the tropics at the 25 th ID. Some advice, DRINK WATER. They are probably making you force hydrate anyway so make sure you keep your electrolyte levels high so you don't get washed out. Are they letting you eat cake yet? lol I did my Basic and my AIT in Fort Benning. They didn't let us have s**t.
The real battle will be waiting for you when you get to your unit. If they're a cohesive unit, then they're gonna smoke your bags when you show up. More advice, keep your mouth shut, and always look like you're ready to throw down. I didn't say a damn thing for a year when I got in so they respected that. They knew I was dependable and that I meant business.
One more thing, when you get to the unit, seek out the Combat Vets. If they like you then they will tell you just how ate up the unit is or isn't. I had a Bat Boy (Airborne Ranger) with a Combat jump telling me everything I needed to kick ass in the Army. Their experience is invaluable.

[Desert Fox]

roger that. i got orders to Germany after i graduate ait in sept. i'll take your advice

[bigpetefox]

Originally posted by Wolfhound
Hey Desert Fox, I was an Infantry soldier for four years in the tropics at the 25 th ID. Some advice, DRINK WATER. They are probably making you force hydrate anyway so make sure you keep your electrolyte levels high so you don't get washed out. Are they letting you eat cake yet? lol I did my Basic and my AIT in Fort Benning. They didn't let us have s**t.
The real battle will be waiting for you when you get to your unit. If they're a cohesive unit, then they're gonna smoke your bags when you show up. More advice, keep your mouth shut, and always look like you're ready to throw down. I didn't say a damn thing for a year when I got in so they respected that. They knew I was dependable and that I meant business.
One more thing, when you get to the unit, seek out the Combat Vets. If they like you then they will tell you just how ate up the unit is or isn't. I had a Bat Boy (Airborne Ranger) with a Combat jump telling me everything I needed to kick ass in the Army. Their experience is invaluable.

Damn good advice there.. I was in Ft. Knox, same for me, but I was 17 and scared to say anything.. ;)

[Otter]

Schools. One of the most important assets the Army will want you to have. Both military and civilian. Never turn down the opportunity to go to school. PLDC, BNCOC and ANCOC are the big three for military schools, and are required at certian times during your career for promotion. But there are a ton others available. Take as many as you can. They are all worth promotion points. Same as college courses. Take them.

By the way I'm a retired Army Field Artilleryman if you are wondering. Stationed at Ft Sill, Oklahoma, Ft Stewart, Georgia (twice), Drill Sergeant at Ft Dix, NJ (awesome duty), overseas tours were to Germany (2 extended tours), Netherlands (by far my favorite tour) and the Tropic Lightning Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

My theory for surviving the Army was this. If I do as I'm asked I'll never have to be told. And the Amry will teach me exactly what I'm suppose to know. No more no less.

Good Luck to you. You've pick a very demanding but rewarding profession. And I salute you my friend.

[Desert Fox]

where i Germany were you stationed?

[jmac2222]

I've heard enough.

I was an elisted Marine and now am an officer in the Air Force.

The Marines are physically tougher than the AF. But the mission is different, so you would expect that.

The USMC is great and they are doing a great job in Iraq, but the AF brings something to the table that no other service can match. Let's say that instead of fighting in Najaf for the next few months, you just wanted to wip it off the map. We can do that in the morning and be back before lunch. In the afternoon we could make South Korea an island. How would you know it's island? By getting SAT imagery provided by, guess who, the AF.

No one can win without control of the air. We do that.

A battalion with good info is better than two divisions without it (see first gulf war). We do that.

No fielded army can survive without command and control. Our ability to strike at the central nervous center and vitls areas of infrastructure and communication has lead to our counrty's near invincibility vs fielded armies. We do that.

Great, the marine can do 200 push-ups. Some people in the AF cant do one. But they figure out how advanced avionics on a F-15 work.

They cant do a push up, but they can left a finger. That finger falls on a button. That button releases hell from above that reigns down on the enemy. We break stuff and kill people with that finger. We do that.

PS If you arent in shape when you show up to boot camp dont worry. They'll have you there in no time. Just take the pain and never give up. That's the important thing about surviving even the toughest military course.

Good Luck

[jmac2222]

Originally posted by ECKARDT
I am a Marine and have been in the Corps for thirteen years. Recruit training in the Army and the Corps are different on many levels. It comes down to what each branch is responsible for. The Army is much larger than the Corps so we have to put more time and effort into our recruits. It is like building a Dodge Neon or a Ferrari. Neons are cheap, easy to build and quite serviceable. Ferraris are faster, look better, and perform at a higher level. Consequentley it takes more time and effort to make a Marine. To prepare for recruit training use endurance exercises. In addition to lots of oush ups, practice holding yourself in a variety of push up positions for a minute at a time. Tons of ab exercises and get to where you can run 3 miles in at least 21 minutes. Pull-ups and try running with a pack (40lbs) if you can. If you were going to Parris Island you would want to get in the pool as well but I do not believe you need to worry about that in the Army. Good luck.

OK..this has really got me going. Marines are Ferraris and everyone else is a NEON. Three months getting the crap kicked out of you by a gorilla in a suit does not make you a Ferrari. Three years of flight school costing the government over $1M does. Other services have some pretty impressive units. 10th mountain, RANGERS, BRAVO team, SEALS, PJs, Flying Tigers, USMC Recon (just to name a few), these are Ferraris.

I noticed this while I was in the USMC. They dont have enough artillery. They dont have enough transport. They dont have enough CAS. They basically cannot function without the other services. I never understood why Marines had to discount the service of others. It seemed like an inferiority complex to me. Which is a shame. The USMC is great at what they do. It's OK that other services are really good at what they do. It doesnt mean that anyone thinks any less of the USMC. You can take your Ferraris vs Neon thing and shove it up your hall of Montezuma!

[Otter]

Originally posted by Desert Fox
where i Germany were you stationed?

Both times I was stationed in Idar-Oberstein. There's a small Kaserne there called Strassburg. It's part of the Baumholder community. It was the 8th Infantry Division. I believe it is now the 3rd Armor Division.

[Desert Fox]

i'm going to darmstadt, Germany but i don't know much about it. I keep forgetting to look at my orders and see where i'm going to get stationed.

And I know that the Chair Force, hehe just kidding, Air Force has it's own purpose. Hell in my job it joint service, everyone's there. And we do the Satalite thing too.

By the way, where are you stationed?

[Sootybaby]

best conditioning/cardio workout I have come across-worked for me!

1-get barbell

10x dead lift
10x bench press
10x squat to chest
10x military press
10x curls
10x burpee then straight to squat to cehst after each burpee
10x upright row

do each series of sets without taking your hands of the bar

do six repetions of this series

aim to complete the routine within 25 minutes

the olympic rowing tean (brits) would aim to do this inside of22 mins

weight on the bar is dependent on your strength but 12 t0 15 kg/side should suffice.

remember that this is a cardio exercsise so go for burn -but because of the weight it wil also conditon all muscle groups!

This exercsise should burn you up by the third to fouth set initially stick with it and you will piss your basic

regards

David

[Desert Fox]

but i already passed basic. i'm almost out of AIT and headed into Big Army. But thanks for the tip because in Big Army the PT sucks, from what i heard.

[mastakillah]

do yourself a favor bro and dont go active duty!
if your recruiter lied to you like mine did, you'll every single minute of it.
besides after finishing basic you sure as hell won't wanna go to your permanent duty station............you'll wanna go home!

[Desert Fox]

in 10 days that's where i'm going. then to Germany, and then, probably, to Afganistan. then back

[Cannons]

Originally posted by Desert Fox
but i already passed basic. i'm almost out of AIT and headed into Big Army. But thanks for the tip because in Big Army the PT sucks, from what i heard.

If your really into bodybuilding, you'll find Army PT to be annoying and a waste of time. It always screwed up my workouts, whether it be, I'd have to do PT when I normally would be in the gym, or had to do hundreds of pushups the day after chest day (no recovery time!!)

[Desert Fox]

i love the Army, for the most part. There are some dumb people in the Army though.