,CIET. CIETNAM. BASIC CAMP. CADET BASIC.
Hell has many names. This summer, I went to hell. It was from June 23 to July 23. A whole month of waking up before sunrise, eating MRE's (sometimes twice a day), wearing full ACU's in heat category 5, and not having any shower privacy (that is, when we had time to shower). It wasn't all bad, and there were times I actually enjoyed it. But still, everyday we would count our meals down from 3 (okay, we just had breakfast, now just to make it to lunch...) to try and speed along the process.
Part 01.
Day 0 Myself and about 400 other cadets had landed in Louisville, Kentucky, and went on an hour bus ride to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Upon arriving to Knox, we were dropped off near this pavilion that was filled with Drill Sergeants who were ready to swarm on you faster than cracking a nest of bees would have been. Station one consisted of grabbing gear from the box trucks and sorting it out by cadet. Station two was getting registered and finding out what company, platoon, and squad you were in (I was Alpha Co. 4th platoon, 4th squad). For station three, you were put into your platoon for a shakedown. What's a shakedown, you may ask? It's just as literal as it sounds. It's a Drill Sergent physically dumping your bag onto the ground to see what you brought and if you have any contraband.
This is where the fun begins. The strings of my ruck were tied by the man in the airport so that my stuff didn't fall out and, of course, they were tied tightly. I couldn't get the knot undone, so already the "smoking" from the DS's had started. "Why can't you open that damn bag, cadet?" "God DAMN... HURRY UP." "You packed it. Hey Battles, she cant even open the bag that SHE packed..." Well, after almost cutting the string with my pocket knife, one of the nice Drill Sergeants had stood over me and told me to calm down and not to panic. After he had said that I ended up getting it out... just so this nice DS can dump it onto the ground. That escalated quickly. My second stroke of "luck" was when I realized that my ruck had broken on the plane. Oh joy. The buttpad wasn't attached anymore and was hanging by one strap, my sleep system had fallen out of place, and the plastic back piece had snapped in two places. (DAY 0 WAS THE BEST CAN I GET AN AMEN?! NO? OKAY.)
When it was finally time to put our crap back together, they gave us 60 seconds to pack it all back up and dress right with our stuff. Well OBVI I wasn't done. My shit was everywhere. I was panicking about what the hell I was going to do with a broken ruck and how I was going to put all my stuff inside the broken mess. Well, you bet your bottom those Drill Sergeants were on me like white on rice. "WHY ISN'T YOUR STUFF PACKED CADET?" "HURRY UP. WE ARE ALL WAITING ON YOU." "GOD, WHAT THE HELL CADET?" "WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG?" *My hairspray is right near the DS's foot.* *I pick up said hairspray.* "YOU WOULD RATHER SECURE YOUR HAIRSPRAY THAN YOUR ARMY GEAR CADET?! I SEE YOU. I SEE WHERE YOUR PRIORITIES LIE. WHEN YOUR BATTLE BUDDY IS LYING IN A FIELD COVERED IN BLOOD, HE'S SCREWED BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE ONE WHO IS WORRIED ABOUT HER HAIR."
This went on for five, maybe even ten minutes. I couldn't get my stuff packed up at all with things being broken and not being able to go back in the right spots. Also, if you've ever put a sleep system in the older rucksacks (not the digital camo print, but the even older kind), it's the worst. The stuff doesn't fit. (Later at camp, I took out the black, super duty, cold weather bag and now shit fits.)
Already I want to go home, and I've been here for three hours, but the rest of Day 0 wasn't that bad. We got our rooms and started to unpack a bit. We were briefed about the next day and when to wake up, where to be, the uniform, and who was on fireguard for the night.
Day 01 (This is actually Day 2, depending on how you count. I counted this way to hurry it along.) On Day 1, we had PT (physical training) at 05 that morning but it consisted of learning the PRT's and focusing on perfecting our form, so it was really easy. We had our first breakfast at the DFAC (dining hall/cafeteria) and were smacked with the reality of standing at ease for half an hour while waiting for our food. (Later that week we were given a time frame of nine minutes and thirty seconds to eat our meals in and thirty additional seconds to drink our drinks.) That day, we also learned how to properly march and address the cadre, stand at attention... the usual drill and ceremonies. We were sent to the Central Issuing Facility to get all our gear, which took foooorrrrrever. By the way, I had brought all my own gear so I literally needed a poncho, and three sets of ACU's which I DID NOT USE. So I basically sat outside waiting for everyone else to get their things.
Day 02 We had an entire day of in processing, making sure our pay was actuate, filling out information for dog tags (which I didn't get bc I don't know my blood type. So who knew that was a thing?), medical forms and appointments if needed, and filling out papers if we're having our parents come for graduation. We had SHARP training and briefs about sexual harassment in the Army and how to prevent or stop it.
Day 03 We had a bunch of therapists come in and talk to us about what they do on base and how they help soldiers. They taught us some breathing techniques that were to help us with the following month of oncoming training. We played some games, did some sprints (in full ACU's in heat cat 5 lololol) and they taught us this really cool breathing technique that helped with how people breathe after they run. They had us count backwards by 7 from 100, and by the time you got to 944, you weren't breathing so heavily anymore. It was weird.
Later that day, we had the LTC come talk to us about staying with it. Honestly, I'm glad he did, because his advice on how he got through Ranger School (I know, nothing like Cadet Basic Camp, I know) was what I told myself everyday. He said that while he was at Ranger School, he kept saying "I'll quit tomorrow." But tomorrow would come, and he would say again, "I'll quit tomorrow." Eventually, that tomorrow turned into graduation and earning his Ranger Tab (which he later lost because it fell on the ground and some lucky cadet got to touch it when he picked it up). I started telling myself this immediately. And the same thing happened to me, too. Soon, tomorrow was "OMG, we're halfway there." Then it was, "One more day in the field. That's it." Then, it turned into, "Holy fudge crackers, I fly home today."
Day 04 This was when the fun began. We were sent to a high ropes course. (Dun dun duunnnnn.)
(Alpine tower.)
This was so much fun, but also so terrifying. The high ropes was first, and it wasn't as bad as it looked. It was a rush. You learned a lot about yourself. I learned that I'm not as afraid of heights as I had thought. Although I did panic at one point, there was a part where you had to run across a bridge that was missing pieces and if you missed you "fell." (You were clipped in so you didn't go anywhere, but the idea of falling...) That part I had to do twice because the first time I jumped and the guy made me re-do it. He was all, "Good job, you made it over. Now turn around and run." And I was like, "No, please don't make me." And all he did was point his finger back to the beginning of that portion.
The worst part for the whole thing, though, was right before the alpine tower. There was a rock climbing wall that had to be 60 feet in the air. It was almost one and a half times the ropes course, and those telephone poles are 40ft high. That's where you and your battle buddies learned to rappel each other, and once you got that down, you marched over to the alpine tower to try it out for real. No cadre, no machines, just you and the battle buddies you met like four days ago. How trusting!
So, me and my same battle from the high ropes, Saerah (Saaah Hair Ra), grabbed another kid from our platoon and meandered on over to the Big Tower of Doom. I was first to go, so kept thinking, "This should be great." I actually was feeling kind of cocky because the ropes course looked terrifying, but was easier than I thought. Why wouldn't this be that way? BECAUSE THIS TOWER WAS MADE TO DESTROY DREAMS AND CRUSH YOUR SOUL, THAT'S WHY. I made it a little below where this picture above begins. I'm probably about 20-30 feet up already, and my rope was caught around a piece of this death trap. COOL. I'm being told to climb down until they can release my rope, but I don't have any slack to let me move because it's super tangled. Then, cadre have to come over to help and by now I'm crying because I'm going to die. Someone helps me through and gets my rope straight and they're like, "Okay keep going." I'm like, "WHAT THE F*@#. You seriously just witnessed my almost death and you want me to keep going?!"
I let myself cry a little bit more (actually, had you seen me, I was hyperventilating and it didn't stop until I got to the bottom) and I made my way up the tower. I stopped about every thirty seconds to sob some more, but I wanted to make it up the top. Drive on scaredy cat, drive on. Honestly though, what helped me the most was Cadet Rasun who was climbing up the same time as me. She had noticed I was crying when she and I were at the top together, and she had encouraged me and wanted me to jump down at the same time as her. Without her I was stranded at the top, and the only way down was to just let yourself fall. You were to depend on your battles to repel you safely to the bottom. I was NOT going. F*#& no. Bye. Thanks for playing. You have to get off the island. You don't get a rose. You can't be America's Next Top Model.
But, Rasun kept pushing me to jump and even suggested we counted to three to go at the same time. I told her I would, but I didn't go. She did, which made me sob harder because I had just betrayed my battle and we weren't even there a week. I had felt so bad that I pushed myself off without screaming out that I was coming down, but my battle's knew because they had a good eye on me. Finally, I landed and cried for another five minutes. I cried so hard the girl next had to wait till I could see through my eyeballs again. Finally, when all the climbing and trusting was done, we got to go home to the barracks.
Day 05 We were issued our weapons (go call it a "gun" on an army base and see what happens, I bet you someone is going to have to do pushups). So we stood in alphabetical order for probably a solid hour if not more. We were given a strap, a BFA (blank firing adaptor (lol I lost mine in tent city wut..)) and a very real M16. How badass am I guys?! Nah, but like it was kind of scary. We actually had a girl go home at this point because she didn't want to take part in shooting anything.
This rifle was now your life. Your third arm. Your best friend. Your bitch. You were to take that thing anywhere and everywhere. You have to get up to walk five feet away? Don't forget your weapon. You're in the barracks and you have to go to CQ for a question, grab that M16. You have to throw that MRE in the trash? Don't let your battle buddy hold your weapon, you best grow another limb to carry it or sling it across your body. We only didn't have that thing with us to use the latrine, shower, and go into the DFAC when we stayed in the barracks.
Day 06 We were on the move. A 50-lb rucksack on my back and an assault pack front loaded onto my chest and we were marching on. Tent Cityyyyyyy! Tent City was my favorite. It was a place filled with big green tents that held 14 girls on cots comfortably. I had a bed next to a girl named Kirsten and Saerah was on my other side. It was fun. Despite the fact that it was 90 degrees inside the tent in the afternoon so no one got out their sleeping bag, at night it dropped so low that someone pulled out their fleece and fleece cap. It was COLD. In Kentucky. Who knew!?
The showers were, well, interesting... it was like a big box that had fold-up showers. You could tell it was meant to be "on the move" kind of equipment, if that makes sense? But, in these showers you were very... open. I've never seen another girl thaaaaat naked before. It was uncomfortable at first, but by the third night in Tent City you were like eh, it's whatever. Seen one, you've seen 'em all.
Eating was better in Tent City because we didn't have to hurry up and shove food down our throats in a matter of minutes. There weren't any tables and chairs so we sat on the ground, but by dinner you really didn't mind because at least you got to sit.
My favorite part of Tent City was when our platoon got close. We all started to bond and it was good. Rasun played music from her phone sometimes, and some of us would dance to it. I don't know what it was about it, but we all just started to mesh and it was good. I became super close with this girl named Anna, and honestly if we hadn't had Tent City I don't know if all of us really would have bonded the way we did.
All in all, that was the first week of being in the wonderful Fort Knox. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds. But, it was my first time doing anything like this, so yes -- at the time, every minute was rough and I wanted to go home.
