10 Tips to Survive Army Basic Training by Jake Johnson

For some people Basic Training can be easy, and for others it is very difficult. I actually enjoyed it most of the time. However, the training isn't the part that gets to people, its the environment, and the people. Here are a few tips and tricks that I learned along the way, and wish I would have learned sooner.

1. Tell your family and friends not to give you any bad news. Training can be difficult enough, and when people were homesick, it was often bad news from home that pushed them over the edge and caused them to quit. So unless you have a funeral you need to attend, your family can respect what you are going through and wait until after to break the news to you.
2. Never make plans, or expect to have free time. You can count on being upset if you plan on having free time, or expect... anything really. Plans change often in Basic Training and if you need to get something done like laundry, do it ASAP because you may not be able to do it for a while. They may make you stand in formation for no reason at all at the end of the day and it will piss you off. Its better to just not make plans, don't assume or expect anything, and just go with the flow as much as possible.
3. Eat fast, and eat as much as possible. You will become an eating machine. You get 3 meals a day, sometimes MRE's which are not filling. With all the physical activity you will be doing your metabolism will be fast. So make sure you stuff your face every chance you get unless you want to hear your stomach grumble.
4. Stay on people's good side. Drama in Basic Training is way worse than anything I experienced in high school or college. This is due to the high stress and the fact that you can't get away from each other. To stay out of the drama, just don't be a dick. Keep your mouth shut unless something absolutely needs to be said.
5. Secure your gear. 2 reasons. 1. Drill Sgt's will thrash your shit all over the place if you don't. 2. Theft is rampant. Someone loses something, they see yours, they take it. You wind up in the same boat, so you take someone elses. Ive seen people that were "good friends" steal from eachother. Don't trust people with your stuff. Watch your own laundry. Lock your locker.
6. Do PT in your free time. Army PT will get you by if you are already in average shape, but it isn't what most people think. If you can't pass the PT test when you get off the bus, you need to be doing PT on your own time. In the morning or right before bed.
7. Buy stuff at the shoppette that you can trade. You will get maybe 2 chances to buy stuff you need. You will probably forget something, or not realize you would need something. I suggest buying lots of flavored cough drops, mole skin, envelopes, stamps, and travel toilet paper. These items are in high demand durning training and can often be sold or traded for just about anything. I sold a bag of honey cough drops for $20 bucks. A friend of mine traded a roll of TP in exchange for someone else to do his homework for him.
8. Buy Extra. You don't want to buy extra everything because you only have so much space, but a few key items to buy extra are socks, boxers, under shirts, clothes freshener spray, glade, nice pens (the shitty ones WILL EXPLODE and ruin your ACU's), Tylenol, Icy Hot. I can't stress enough that you buy these. You will be wearing smelly clothes if you don't buy extra. You will have aches and pains. You will lose and break pens.
9. Have good hygiene and stay healthy. Everyone gets sick in Basic. Its crazy how much sickness goes around. Make sure you constantly wash your hands and use hand sanitizer. I even used hand sanitizer to wipe the toilet seats before I used them. Shower as often as possible WITH SOAP! Clean your clothes as often as possible. Eat and drink healthy (You do surprisingly have a choice of food). Buy a bunch of those little Lysol spray cans and spray your bed and locker down every day.
10. Choose the right MRE.  An MRE isn't bad, but they can get old. They are kind of like left overs. the MRE's are numbered so memorize that. Remember, multiples of 5 have candy in them, and all the vegetarian ones are at least edible if not good. Anything with meat in it, in my opinion, is gross, except the meat ball one. Always ask if people have food they don't want, and always try to trade the stuff you don't want from yours. People often throw away the entre so try to get your hands on those if you are really hungry.