5 Ways to Prepare for Basic Training by Jake Johnson

So you are joining the Army... Great! Its something that more people should do. It's a great experience and the training can be a lot of fun if you keep a positive attitude and prepare yourself properly. Basic Training will challenge you in many ways, but you don't want to be sucking wind just to pass the PT test, or have financial issues on your mind while trying to train. Follow these instructions and you will get through it just fine. All of the advice below is from my own experience, but I think most people would agree on the importance.

1) Get your finances straight.  Financial problems are 10 times more stressful in Basic than when at home. If you have a "nice" DS, you might get to handle whatever issues arise in a week or two. You have no access to a computer, and no access to your phone, (you may get access to your phone eventually, but don't count on it) so unless your family writes you or you forward your mail to basic, (don't do that) it might be a while before you even find out something is wrong. Take these steps to avoid such problems.

1.  Put your bills on automatic payments. Rent, Utilities, Credit Cards, Loans, etc.
2.  If you plan on sending money to family, set up an automatic transfer from your bank to their bank.
3. While it is not necessary to have a bank account before you ship, it may make things go a little smoother. Have all your financial information readily available at reception as well, that way you can cross check information while you are being processed. They are processing hundreds of people at a time and mistakes are made.
4. If you have someone that you can trust at home, have them send you any important looking mail that you receive.

2) Prepare your family. Basic Training will be difficult for you, your friends, and your family. We live in a world today where you can call someone at any moment, no matter where they are or what they are doing. All that disappears. Get the your family and friends to follow your company on FB. Get an address book and put all important addresses and phone numbers in it. You will be communicating through snail mail and getting your letters 1 or 2 times a week.  Which brings me to maybe the most important piece of advice:

     *Tell everyone that you do not want to receive bad news! Your family will miss you and often want to tell you big news. They need to remember that Basic Training is not easy for you either. You will be almost entirely cut off from the outside world aside from mail, and the occasional nice bus driver that plays music. I saw people not make it through BCT due to family issues more than any other reason. Hearing someone is sick, for example, may make you depressed, lose focus, and eventually quit. If your family cares about you completing BCT, they can wait to tell you bad news. Besides, it takes longer to chapter out for a refusal to train than it would to just graduate.

3) Prepare yourself mentally. You will be tired. You will get yelled at. You will not be hot shit, know it all, Rambo. You will have constant aches. You will sit or stand in silence for long periods of time. You will deal with people from around the world, and some will come off as total jerks. Don't expect to ever be comfortable. Seriously. You joined the Army, the Army didn't join you. They are going to ask you to do stuff you might not want to do, and it might even seem outright stupid. Just do it.

1. Practice getting up early and not sleeping more than 7 hours   
2. Grow some thick skin and don't get offended over the small stuff. Just walk away. Its the Army. You will learn to kill people. Wouldn't it seem out of place go tattle on
   someone for calling you a booboo name?
3. Practice having discipline at home. Clean, exercise, fold your clothes, don't scratch itches, etc.

4) Quit Bad Habbits. You might find that you have a lot more habits than you originally thought. No one ever points them out, or really cares to in civilian life. In basic, they will be pointed out and corrected, usually with a good smoking. If you fidget, stop. If you talk a lot, stop. If you roll your eyes, definitely stop that one. The Army wants discipline, don't get upset if you feel you are being picked on. Your DS just wants the bad habits gone. Nothing is personal.

On an additional note. Start building good habits. Like the ones mentioned above. Stay organized. Workout. Have good hygiene... please. Don't be that smelly guy. Secure your stuff! Theft is a major problem. You and everyone else will have at least one thing stolen. Especially when doing laundry. I would put money on it.

5) PT, PT, PT! You can avoid a big headache if you get active before going to BCT.

1. Stand instead of sit to prepare your feet and legsWalk or jog places. Take the stairs.
2. Walk or jog places. Take the stairs.
3. Carry around a backpack with some weight to it for a good portion of the day
4. Start exercising! The PT test consists of push-ups, sit-ups, and a 2 mile run. But doing pull-ups, mountain climbers, v-ups, lunges, and other calisthenics will help. Focus on endurance, stamina, and cardio. While strength is important, and should come naturally, its not as important as being able to maintain physical activity for long periods of time. I will have workout routines in another post.

There are plenty of things you can learn before going into BCT, but building good habits and character is much more important. You will be taught the skills you need to know by your DS.