Time in basic

I have spent the last 6 weeks in basic training for the army, and now I am on Holiday Block leave; I return for basic on the 2nd of Jan. During my time in basic there have been times when I have learned a lot and I would like to share some of those times with who ever reads this.

The first think I learned, and I am still learning, is how stupid people can be. Never underestimate how stupid one or a group of people can be. The first night we were at reception we had a shake down, a shake down is when the Drill Sergeants go through everything we had with us and took everything that was not allowed. When the Drill Sergeants (DS) were going through some of the females stuff they were telling the DS what their stuff was, that was a mistake, when the DS told them that they could do their job without help, the next female did the same thing. If they would pay attention to detail they would not have to do push ups. Even 6 weeks in people do stupid stuff, we had a room of males make a basket ball court in their room, they did not get smoked (punished) but they still are doing stupid things. One of the quotes I will remember for the rest of my life is "There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people" I too have a quote I wish to share with people, it was in a book by Tom Clancy The Teeth of the Tiger "A closed mouth draws no foot" It means keep your mouth shut and the attention will not be drawn to you.

Another lession I learned was pay attention to detail. Like I stated in the statememt before, people don't do it. While in baisc we are told everything, from times to use the restroom, when to sleep, we are told everything, what to wear, what to pack, what to expect. But people still mess up, which results in punishment for the whole platoon. This goes for everyone pay attention to detail and you will go far in life.

Team work is key, To anyone who is in baisc with me or have gone through basic you will know that the DS will pound this into you. The first time I heard this in basic was my first day in actuall basic.
What I mean by actuall basic is, the first 4-5 days in baisc you are in reception getting paper work done, doing medical, and getting your uniforms. When in reception you are with DS everywhere but the punishments are not as harsh, reception is a cake walk.
But back to the story, when we were getting smoked we were in the front leaning rest (push up position) and when we arched our back we would yell attention to detail and when we saged in the middle we would yell team work is key. When working as a team everything goes smother, and it builds bonds that will last a life time. In basic, even if one person is not helping the company or platoon, they will not phase, the mission will not be accomplished, and simple tasks will not get done.

Those are lessions I have learned; I thank everyone who reads this. There will be more to come, if you have questions please let me know.

Thanks,
Coey Oliver