This is something I wanted to post as a Facebook status for years. In reality, this type of information was not available to me as it came time for to enlistment; the only thing I had was tales of the good old days from family members and friends who served in previous eras. Potentially, if it falls into the right hands, this piece could help someone make a more informed decision. What would my life be like if I joined the United States Military?
Background.
Before we begin, you should know that I have spent my entire adult life in the military. Everything before it is entirely a blur, and the lifestyle spills over into every aspect of my life. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
I enlisted in the United States Navy upon graduating from high school; and away I went, child-like sense of wonder completely intact. Since that date, the better portion of a decade has elapsed. I have had two separate jobs in the Navy, both at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. The opportunity to travel to many places was also afforded to me, and I took advantage of that in every way possible. After four duty stations, more countries than I can count, and living overseas for four years, I feel like I have been around a little bit.
The beginning.
Friends and family often ask what it’s like to be in the military. This is a great question, and one that couldn’t possibly be explained by one persons’ experiences. Some people love the military, and others “ship-off” to bootcamp and come home two weeks later and end up addicted to pain meds. The bottom line is that, in the beginning, the military hits you like a cold bucket of water while you’re asleep. Suddenly, everything changes and you are supposed to react a certain way; with the hopes that you will mold into what is needed of you. The idea is that you have enlisted to serve something greater than yourself. The fact is that no time will be allotted for you to make this transition; you’re either in or out. Basic training, or “boot camp”, is never the way it’s supposed to be; there is no way to EXPECT what or how you will deal with it. There is an endless list of things to learn about yourself during this phase. In all seriousness, when I was in bootcamp it felt like a concentration camp. Looking back on it now, it seems like a joke. The entire thing was incredibly easy, and once you get into the rhythm of it, starts to blow by like a breeze. Don’t confuse my words to make it sound as if basic training isn’t serious; it is extremely serious, and every aspect has a meaning. But it’s easy.
The second part of “the beginning” follows a different path for each individual. Upon graduating from basic training, everyone is issued orders to proceed to whatever school is associated with their jobs. This is another interesting time in the military, and when I look back at it, sometimes I confuse it for being in high school a second time. Basically, you go learn a bunch of material that ends up being 80% useless. What happens on paper and what happens in real-time are completely different, and memorizing information is only going to help so much. You’ll understand when you get there. For most people in the military, whatever school they attended was deemed an “extension” of basic training. This means there are rules to follow; my experience was room inspections, uniform inspections, seabag inspections, unlimited numbers of various inspections and more inspections. When all that was done, it was pretty much just a drunk-fest. Outstanding times were had, friends were made and hearts were broken.
It is common for people to have a complete opposite experience during this time. As mentioned above, this is completely dependent on what your job is in the military. If you’re going to school to be a nuclear engineer, or to BUD/s, you’re probably going to have a terrible time. Good news is it’s probably still going to be a drunk-fest.
The important part is that, during this phase, you are going to learn how to do your job. Better yet, you are going to learn about your job, but that’s pretty much it. Most of the military, in my experience, follows an “on the job training” model. Which, basically, means when you’ll learn when you get there. Wherever “there” is.
What’s next?
What comes after whatever various schooling an individual goes to, again, varies by job and a slew of other factors. The major takeaway is, upon graduation, another set of orders is going to be issued to each person. These orders will be the first actual step toward whatever it is you’re going to do in the military; these orders will take you to your first command. Likely, this will be the place where you either decide to make it a career or pull the pin.
The downside to this step is that you will likely be saying goodbye to a handful of solid friends you have been with since basic training. While it is perfectly possible that you could run across a familiar face from time to time, even the “buddy-system” isn’t going to put you where you want to be surrounded by those who care about you. Truthfully, after you have a hard-copy of orders in hand, you are probably on your own…
I would really like to continue writing this piece in sections to ensure it doesn’t get too long. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know in the comments so I can address them during the next installment!
-Error
www.domesticerror.com (this is my blog)