How Navy Boot Camp changed me.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
Northeast PA. 3 miles from the Pocono race track
US Navy Boot Camp was only 14 weeks out of my life, but it did change me. We had three sets of work clothes. One was what you were wearing, the second was clean, and the third was getting washed. My meds make me chilly, so I wear a sweater. Yup, I have three. I have three sets of bed sheets. I have three quilts. I have three bed pads. For me, Boot Camp was over 50 years ago, but it's still with me ,today.
BTW, in boot camp, we had to wash our own clothes, and hang them on a line with a little string. For inspection, my job was to check every string to make sure the knot loops were even. 84 guys in my company, and10 knots for their clothes, I had to check, and retie 840 knots. I'm proud to say we never got "hit" for miss-tied knots
 

Last edited:
Have vivid memory of the boot camp in Navy in 1957
up at Great Lakes....esp the navy chief commander of our company, decided on his own that white tee's and white short boxers were not white enuff....I got roped into helping him collect ALL the tees/shorts for his special washing, that consisted of big trash barrels (metal) and water and many
many packs of powered bleach!!! I had to stand and stir the mess for awhile, then when he started takeing it all out of the cans, we found out that the whole mess was full of BLEACH
HOLES!!!!! He had to replace everyone's underwear!!!!
:eek:
 
My Navy boot camp experience was a mix. For whatever reason I was the RCPO & resonsibility for 77 others to adapt to Navy life wasn't easy. My time in leadership role was a little rocky at times.

Little things like marching that was new to us complicated by two farm guys the bobbed up & down like they were stepping over freshly turned soil for planting.

Mess duty for a week meant very little sleep. That and perverse chefs not happy with slow moving line setups the 1st. day turned into a learning lesson. Feed more companies faster & be released earlier to get a little more time to wash clothes & grab a little sleep.

Then there was using those string ties to cut coke bottles in half for personal ash trays. Taking salt from the mess hall to salt the walks when snow was predicted. <---- that was frowned upon big time. Losing the company flag & using a bra one of the guys brought back from liberty another error in judgement. Another no no was using one of those ties to hold the the M-1 rifle by the barrel instead of supporting it by hand while on night time guard duty. Trying to yank it down to challenge the officer doing rounds didn't impress that officer.

All in all converting civilians to what the Navy expected turned out pretty good. Completion of training did happen we all left as e-1 recruits. The change from teen to a leadership role served me well my entire life.
 
Last edited:
DGM said:
When I am King everyone (and I don't care who your daddy is) will serve two years. Kids need to learn discipline like this plus it'd give them time to figure out what they want to do in life instead of attaining a college degree in a field they'll never use.
Click to expand...
I went into the Navy when I was 17 and made E-7 at the 8 1/2 year point when I was 26. After 1 and a half years years of enlisted time, I made Warrant Officer where I spent three years before getting a regular Commission. I stayed in for over 31 years and retired as a full Commander. Along the way, my duties included: Jag Investigator, Head of Courts Martial Boards, Division Chief, Division Officer, being on Selection Boards and serving as a Commanding Officer. I served on several ships and at several shore stations including being on the staff of two different Admirals. I have had at least 80 female sailors and at least 50 marines work for me over this period not to mention hundreds of male sailors.

So trust me when I say that the idea that everyone should do two years in the military is an exceptionally bad idea. I have seen way too many instances where people should never have been in the military in the first place, too many kids whose parents should have sent them directly to college, too many instances of the military trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Too many instances of kids being forced into a military for which they were totally unprepared due to physical or other limitations.

You have no idea what it really takes to accomplish an actual mission. Who in their right mind would want a collection of poorly suited, disinterested, ticked-off people working for them. To me that would be a nightmare.
 
Last edited:
Pecos said:
I went into the Navy when I was 17 and made E-7 at the 8 1/2 year point when I was 26. After 1 and a half years years of enlisted time, I made Warrant Officer where I spent three years before getting a regular Commission. I stayed in for over 31 years and retired as a full Commander. Along the way, my duties included: Jag Investigator, Head of Courts Martial Boards, Division Chief, Division Officer, being on Selection Boards and serving as a Commanding Officer. I served on several ships and at several shore stations including being on the staff of two different Admirals. I have had at least 80 female sailors and at least 50 marines work for me over this period not to mention hundreds of male sailors.

So trust me when I say that the idea that everyone should do two years in the military is an exceptionally bad idea. I have seen way too many instances where people should never have been in the military in the first place, too many kids whose parents should have sent them directly to college, too many instances of the military trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Too many instances of kids being forced into a military for which they were totally unprepared due to physical or other limitations.

You have no idea what it really takes to accomplish an actual mission. Who in their right mind would want a collection of poorly suited, disinterested, ticked-off people working for them. To me that would be a nightmare.
Click to expand...
You are exactly right Pecos! And I think it's a damn shame that guns are put into the hands of "children" who can't even go into the store and buy cigarettes or liquor. If they are adult enough to fight for this country and possibly die (like one of my classmates among so many others did), then they should have other adult privileges as well. Since it is felt they are too young to smoke and drink, change laws to reflect that they are too young to serve! There should be no hypocritical, double standards on who is adult enough to do this and that. For the young people who truly want to enlist and are mature enough to handle it, that's a different story.

Very young soldiers who are exposed to the horrors of war wind up mentally scarred, probably for life. I was dating a young man who went into the service. He was a little odd to start with but when he came home, he was completely messed up. We had broken up before he got home but I still felt for him. I kept in touch with his brother for a time who confirmed he was basically unable to function. I used to see him sitting in different spots downtown staring blankly. Also there are too many veteran suicides. @DGM
 
Knight said:
My Navy boot camp experience was a mix. For whatever reason I was the RCPO & resonsibility for 77 others to adapt to Navy life wasn't easy. My time in leadership role was a little rocky at times.

Little things like marching that was new to us complicated by two farm guys the bobbed up & down like they were stepping over freshly turned soil for planting.

Mess duty for a week meant very little sleep. That and perverse chefs not happy with slow moving line setups the 1st. day turned into a learning lesson. Feed more companies faster & be released earlier to get a little more time to wash clothes & grab a little sleep.

Then there was using those string ties to cut coke bottles in half for personal ash trays. Taking salt from the mess hall to salt the walks when snow was predicted. <---- that was frowned upon big time. Losing the company flag & using a bra one of the guys brought back from liberty another error in judgement. Another no no was using one of those ties to hold the the M-1 rifle by the barrel instead of supporting it by hand while on night time guard duty. Trying to yank it down to challenge the officer doing rounds didn't impress that officer.

All in all converting civilians to what the Navy expected turned out pretty good. Completion of training did happen we all left as e-1 recruits. The change from teen to a leadership role served me well my entire life.
Click to expand...
Like your boot camp story. Our RCPO was asked by a judge to enter the Navy, or else. He had an excellent military training in the numerous military schools, which he was throw out of. There were also several states, which he could not visit. But he was our RCPO. One cool thing was, when he marched us he knew clever commands. One I always remembered was, "Hippity hop, company stop". And while other companies went around singing "Anchors Aweigh" We sang , "Yellow Submarine".
 
Some countries (I think Israel might be one) require a form of national service and if the person is a conscientious objector or has religious reasons for not wanting to be in the military, they're still required to serve by, for instance, spending some number of years out in the hot desert sun pulling weeds or planting stuff.
 
I was in the Navy but I did not go through boot camp. I was prior service in the Army. I knew the helicopter turbine engines from when I was in the Army. They said I could enlist in the Navy for two years to see if I liked it. When I enlisted in the Navy I told them I wanted to go to Vietnam and two weeks later I was at Vietnam on the USS Handcock CVA 19 working in the jet engine shop. I had fun in the Navy drank lots of beer in the Philipines and California. Went to school on the J52 - J57 - J79 engines and the jet engine fuel controll systems. We played cards a lot in the engine shop a lot because there was lots of slow or down time. Sat around telling tall stories about navy life at sea. We had a popcorn machine in the shop and would eat popcorn when the sea was rough and everyone was doing the figure 8. When we pulled into port we would drink more beer. I liked the Navy and sea life but I could not handle the sleeping quarters so that is why I got out and went back to the Army. I went to Captains Mass one time and he went easy on me and had me do night watch in Officers Quarters two or three times a week for a month or so. I loved to go up on the flight deck by the cats on the bow when flight ops were down and listen to my radio hearing oriental music. I like the fresh air blowing by me and seeing reflections of the sea especially the moon and the sea mist. I would go the the steam room to sweat out all the beer that I drank when I was in port. I liked going to the fantail and see the alge glowing blue, yellow, green streaks at night when we were underway. When the ship would go up and down the South Vietnam coast I could see places where I was at on the coast when I was in the Army. The wind would blow out to sea the smell of the people, of the food they were cooking and it brought back memories to me of being there with them and eating some of their food. I could also smell the beer as the air currents blew the scent out to sea and I could smell the women there with their perfume on. At times I wanted to go to them and see them and drink their beer again but I stayed on the ship. When we went to our home port at Alameda California I liked going to Oakland and San Francisco and party, drive my car and drink beer there. I was told I could reinlist but I felt that I needed more elbow room and the idea of the close quarters on those sub bunks were to much and the smell of stinky teen age Navy men. We also had to ration water out at sea and were only able to have a shower once every two or three days and that was a three minute shower. The evaporators were always on the frits and a time or two we had to hook up to a resuply ship at sea and pump over their fresh water. I liked the Navy, liked the beer, the age of Aquarious when I was in, and the chicks. I liked drinking Oly beer, want a Oly, Olympian beer.
 
My nephew had no direction in life, consistently played video games and was putting on weight. My sister-in-law encouraged him to enlist in the Navy. He is now stationed in Japan and has completely turned his life around due to the structure and discipline provided by the Navy. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to him.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
US Navy Boot Camp was only 14 weeks out of my life, but it did change me. We had three sets of work clothes. One was what you were wearing, the second was clean, and the third was getting washed. My meds make me chilly, so I wear a sweater. Yup, I have three. I have three sets of bed sheets. I have three quilts. I have three bed pads. For me, Boot Camp was over 50 years ago, but it's still with me ,today.
BTW, in boot camp, we had to wash our own clothes, and hang them on a line with a little string. For inspection, my job was to check every string to make sure the knot loops were even. 84 guys in my company, and10 knots for their clothes, I had to check, and retie 840 knots. I'm proud to say we never got "hit" for miss-tied knots
Click to expand...
Army boot camp was only 6 weeks. Then MOS. And then wait until my 19th birthday so they could legally send me to Vietnam. When I reported to Oakland Army Terminal for my flight there were many guys there waiting for their 19th. birthday so they too could go. At 19 it was illegal to drink, illegal to vote, but old enough to kill and die. Disgusting.
 
Pecos said:
I went into the Navy when I was 17 and made E-7 at the 8 1/2 year point when I was 26. After 1 and a half years years of enlisted time, I made Warrant Officer where I spent three years before getting a regular Commission. I stayed in for over 31 years and retired as a full Commander. Along the way, my duties included: Jag Investigator, Head of Courts Martial Boards, Division Chief, Division Officer, being on Selection Boards and serving as a Commanding Officer. I served on several ships and at several shore stations including being on the staff of two different Admirals. I have had at least 80 female sailors and at least 50 marines work for me over this period not to mention hundreds of male sailors.

So trust me when I say that the idea that everyone should do two years in the military is an exceptionally bad idea. I have seen way too many instances where people should never have been in the military in the first place, too many kids whose parents should have sent them directly to college, too many instances of the military trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Too many instances of kids being forced into a military for which they were totally unprepared due to physical or other limitations.

You have no idea what it really takes to accomplish an actual mission. Who in their right mind would want a collection of poorly suited, disinterested, ticked-off people working for them. To me that would be a nightmare.
Click to expand...
You have a point there. As I said in a previous post, I went straight from college to OCS. Five years later I graduated to civilian life as a Navy Lieutenant. In some ways five of the best years of my life. Would I have done it if I didn't have the draft hanging over my head? Probably not. In all fairness, as a wet behind the ears ensign I had men working for me who had 10 or 15 years under their belt. I admit that at times it felt more than a little ironic, but disinterested and ticked off? No. I was there by my own choice and did my best to live up to the responsibility bestowed on me.
 
Sassycakes said:
My husband went into the Navy during the Viet Nam war a few weeks before we were getting married. He came home from boot camp and we got married. Before he went back to the base I had to iron his uniform and he is very particular about how his clothes are ironed. So there I was a newlywed and I had to iron his navy whites.
Click to expand...
Smiling at remembering the 1st. time my new bride washed & ironed my dress whites.

Those that know understand that the crease is on the outside of the leg with the crease folding in. Trying her best my bride washed starched & ironed the sharpest, straightest crease down the middle of the front of the pantleg like regular dress pants are creased. No matter what was tried that crease wouldn't come out.
 
Knight said:
Smiling at remembering the 1st. time my new bride washed & ironed my dress whites.

Those that know understand that the crease is on the outside of the leg with the crease folding in. Trying her best my bride washed starched & ironed the sharpest, straightest crease down the middle of the front of the pantleg like regular dress pants are creased. No matter what was tried that crease wouldn't come out.
Click to expand...
My husband was always a fanatic about the way his clothes looked so he made sure He gave me the right instructions on how to do it.🤬 In later years I actually threw the iron at him.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
You are exactly right Pecos! And I think it's a damn shame that guns are put into the hands of "children" who can't even go into the store and buy cigarettes or liquor. If they are adult enough to fight for this country and possibly die (like one of my classmates among so many others did), then they should have other adult privileges as well. Since it is felt they are too young to smoke and drink, change laws to reflect that they are too young to serve! There should be no hypocritical, double standards on who is adult enough to do this and that. For the young people who truly want to enlist and are mature enough to handle it, that's a different story.

Very young soldiers who are exposed to the horrors of war wind up mentally scarred, probably for life. I was dating a young man who went into the service. He was a little odd to start with but when he came home, he was completely messed up. We had broken up before he got home but I still felt for him. I kept in touch with his brother for a time who confirmed he was basically unable to function. I used to see him sitting in different spots downtown staring blankly. Also there are too many veteran suicides. @DGM
Click to expand...

I agree with you, and this country is going in the wrong direction- now, individuals can't even buy a pack of cigarettes til they're 21.
Your post, though, brought to mind my brother who was stationed/serving in Vietnam and for the first few months didn't have the right to vote because he wasn't yet 21.
 
officerripley said:
Some countries (I think Israel might be one) require a form of national service and if the person is a conscientious objector or has religious reasons for not wanting to be in the military, they're still required to serve by, for instance, spending some number of years out in the hot desert sun pulling weeds or planting stuff.
Click to expand...
I don't know how accurate it was- sometimes people have good intentions but don't always get the facts straight- but when I was a kid what I was told about conscientious objectors in this country was they'd have to do some kind of office work or similar instead of actual combat. They couldn't simply say 'no' without consequences.

While I know nothing else about him, I did have some degree of respect for a singer's husband because he took his jail time instead of running away.
 
Pecos said:
I went into the Navy when I was 17 and made E-7 at the 8 1/2 year point when I was 26. After 1 and a half years years of enlisted time, I made Warrant Officer where I spent three years before getting a regular Commission. I stayed in for over 31 years and retired as a full Commander. Along the way, my duties included: Jag Investigator, Head of Courts Martial Boards, Division Chief, Division Officer, being on Selection Boards and serving as a Commanding Officer. I served on several ships and at several shore stations including being on the staff of two different Admirals. I have had at least 80 female sailors and at least 50 marines work for me over this period not to mention hundreds of male sailors.

So trust me when I say that the idea that everyone should do two years in the military is an exceptionally bad idea. I have seen way too many instances where people should never have been in the military in the first place, too many kids whose parents should have sent them directly to college, too many instances of the military trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Too many instances of kids being forced into a military for which they were totally unprepared due to physical or other limitations.

You have no idea what it really takes to accomplish an actual mission. Who in their right mind would want a collection of poorly suited, disinterested, ticked-off people working for them. To me that would be a nightmare.
Click to expand...
and I currently have a family member who's in charge of some of these kids- overweight, lazy, unmotivated, etc.
 
Arrived at Great Lakes NTC July of 69. Are instructor was Chief petty officer Smiley. What a misnomer that was. I did learn a lot, and by the end of my stint I think we had achieved a degree of respect for each other. Sure did a bunch of pushups, but fortunately I had been doing 100 of those at a pop for several years before I arrived. Mike
 
Fuzzy Buddy, this is why I posted a thread some time back about how my son, Grant, appreciates his time in the Navy because it changed his life for the better. He came out of it knowing what he wanted and with the balls to totally go for it. It used to bother him that he's kind of an odd guy - sees life from a unique perspective, and sees the humor in just about everything - but to a certain extent after boot, and especially after a couple of tours of duty, he doesn't care what anybody thinks about him. He knows himself better, and he likes himself a lot, and yeah life is brutal, but it's funny, too.

Grant decided to retire a little early, after 23 years, but he got as much out of the Navy as he was ever going to get. He's a great guy, has a lot of admirers, does what he wants, and he's (finally) very happily married....for 12 years now, I think.
 
Murrmurr said:
Fuzzy Buddy, this is why I posted a thread some time back about how my son, Grant, appreciates his time in the Navy because it changed his life for the better. He came out of it knowing what he wanted and with the balls to totally go for it. It used to bother him that he's kind of an odd guy - sees life from a unique perspective, and sees the humor in just about everything - but to a certain extent after boot, and especially after a couple of tours of duty, he doesn't care what anybody thinks about him. He knows himself better, and he likes himself a lot, and yeah life is brutal, but it's funny, too.

Grant decided to retire a little early, after 23 years, but he got as much out of the Navy as he was ever going to get. He's a great guy, has a lot of admirers, does what he wants, and he's (finally) very happily married....for 12 years now, I think.
Click to expand...
Murrmurr, it is great to see that things have worked out so well for your son. Seems like he has a good outlook on life.

Our nephew is also in the Navy. He is somewhere on the Autism spectrum, so he is also an awkward kid. He has been in the Navy for several years now and it has done wonders. It has given him direction and has created discipline in his life.

He is stationed in Japan and was connecting through Dallas today and asked if we could meet up with him, so we had dinner today. It is amazing how the Navy has made him more introspective and centered. đź‘Ť
 
I admit Navy boot camp was an experience. One of the things I do laud the Navy is when they trained you to do something, they relied on you to do what you were trained to do. For example, an 18 year old kid trained to be a radioman. he was placed on a ship, where others lives depended on him. Not many 18 year olds have that kind of responsibility, nor the trust to perform well.
 


Back
Top