Day 7

The following information is a portion of “Marck’s Boot Camp Diary”. The information contains a straight-forward look at Basic Training Life on a daily basis. The information contained within this page is used with the express written permission of the author. For more information about the author view the “Author’s Information” at the bottom of the page. Some choice phrases have been censored.

July 23rd, 2002

Another ******** day. Formation, breakfast, formation where they told us to clean our barracks and make our bunks, formation where they told us to clean even though we were already doing it, lunch, and here I am now on my poorly made bunk. I expect more bullshit formation before dinner. Oh well. At least the day is halfway done.

These sergeants are a bunch of morons. All they do is have us sit on our barracks all day, eat, and go to formation. Then they wonder why people sneak away to get a soda or use the phone. It’s because we’re ******* bored and restless. They could set us up with a TV room, let us play chess, let us read a damn newspaper, etc. It’s not like those activities conflict with the training schedule because we’re not in training yet.

Word on the street is we’re shipping to basic in two days, whether it be here or in Ft. Jackson. I’m hoping for Jackson so it’s easier for my people to come to my graduation. Plus I’m quickly realizing that the drill sergeants here have their heads up each others asses. We’re told to do one thing by one D.S. and then we’re told it was a mix up and to do something else. Ft. Jackson HAS to be more organized than this hell hole.

We went to a different chow hall than we usually go to. The chow hall from hell. I got my rice and chilli, my bread, my jello, and my apple pie. I was 3/4 done with my rice and chilli and I heard a drill sergeant yelling “Get up! You’re done!” I had to throw out a perfect piece of apple pie. All of us are trading stories of how little we ate. One guy ate six bites. I can eat fast, but I didn’t get a warning. We’ve been eating leisurely meals the past 7 days.

Oh ****! We were just told to gather all our things and go to formation. Yeah! That must mean we’re getting the **** out. They’ve done that before, so if they’re ******* with us, I’ll be madder than a hippo with a hernia… It was hot as a monkey’s left nut while waiting for our destiny(don’t ask me how I know that). Lordy Lordy it gets hot in Kentucky…The verdict is in, but we don’t know it yet. The guys that did find out where they were going are going to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma on August 17th. They have to stay in this reception hell for 3 more weeks doing kitchen duty. Poor guys. As far as my group, 50 of us were separated from the rest of the group and told to move to a different room. Now 48 of us are sleeping in the same room. They bunched us together because we’re probably shipping out soon. I’m in those 50. The rest of my group moved to another room. They will be held longer than us. I’m happy I’m in the 50.