Boot Camp memories.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Northeast PA. 3 miles from the Pocono race track
It was 1968, and I was in the US Navy boot camp. Ahh, yes- boot camp. That's when the Navy took disgusting, (oh, God) civilians, and molding them into SAILORS. At least that was the Navy's version. I remember the charming way us recruits were encouraged to line up closer, they shouted, "Nuts to butts". Yup, the Navy had a way about it. What are the "cherished memories" of your boot camp experience?

As for me. I remember being in Great Lakes in the summer. If the temperature got above 90, we couldn't practice marching on the 'grinder". That didn't stop our Chief from marching us. He got us up at a cool 3 AM to go marching. And there was "watch" -guard duty. They were building a new auditorium, and there was a 35 ton, 80 foot by 6 foot high steel beam that I had to guard, in case someone slipped it into their hip pocket, and snuck off with it. Washing your clothes in a sink was so much fun.
 

Third week of being at Lejeune, we are doing extended Recon and weapons training. There was a kid from Georgia, Billy something. I forget his last name. We had been doing some heavy workouts and obstacle course. Part of the course was being fired at using live ammo. This was in August and it was really hot in North Carolina. All day long, we worked out at being conditioned. Billy kept telling us that he wanted to “get over there” and get in the action. The very next day, he falls off of the up and over bar and broke his wrist. They took him to the hospital and that’s the last we saw of him.
 

While I never went to boot camp my husband did. He was 17.

One of the training tests was to jump off a 10 foot diving board with full combat uniform and he didn’t know how to swim. Someone threw in a life ring that landed about 25 feet away. When they realized he was literally drowning they jumped in and saved him. The moment he got out he had to do 50 push-ups.

At his graduation his platoon gave him a present which he had to open up in front of everyone.

It was a set water wings . 😂😅
 
My last name (married name) isn't pronounced as it looks. My late husband's oldest brother was in the Marines for six years. His branch of the family has always pronounced the name as it is spelled. The reason: he ended up going through Marine basic twice (I don't know why, but I'm sure it's a good story...…) and after two rounds of correcting the Drill Instructors ("Sir, no, sir, that's pronounced ________________" and being told "IF I SAY YOUR NAME IS _________________, MAGGOT, YOUR NAME IS _______________! DROP AND GIVE ME 20!), he just decided it was easier to change the pronunciation of his name than to change the entire Marine Corps.
 
Navy boot camp San Diego July 1960.
I marched in the middle of the company, slept in the middle of the barracks and never drew any attention to myself.

One day somewhere in the 7th week, as I was exiting the barracks, I ran into the Chief Machinist Mate who was our CC. He asked me if I was a member of his company. At that point I knew that I had been very successful in avoiding a lot of crap.

Boot camp was not difficult for me and there were instances where it was entertaining.

My PITA step father had spent some of his time as a LT in a Navy Boot camp during WWII.
I had already been exposed to all that harassment and knew how to keep it out of my head.
 
I never got to experience a real boot camp. I joined a submarine reserve unit right out of college. I spent two weeks at Hunter's Point in San Francisco in a combination boot camp/sub school/screening session. It was mostly class work in basic naval knowledge and submarine construction. There was a final exam that you had to pass if you wanted sub duty. They put us in a decompression chamber to make sure our ears could handle it and that we didn't have claustrophobia, and took us to Treasure Island to make sure we knew how to swim.

I served 3 years in the reserves before doing active duty, and by then I was an ETR3.

Don
 
My daughter (in Army) had to go through the gas chamber on crutches - the earlier basic training gave her crippling shin splints... This was like a 'final exam' so I was there ... wonder where the video went? Very hard for a mom to watch the hobbling and tearing and coughing, but she toughed it out.
 
I visited a WWII German submarine in I think it was the Science and Industry Museum in Chicago as a child and even then my claustrophobia kicked in. I'll never figure how anyone served in one of the dirty, tiny smelly subs.
 
Empty said:
My daughter (in Army) had to go through the gas chamber on crutches - the earlier basic training gave her crippling shin splints... This was like a 'final exam' so I was there ... wonder where the video went? Very hard for a mom to watch the hobbling and tearing and coughing, but she toughed it out.
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She served over 6 years - they could damage her, but not break her! (And, it actually did her a lot of good in many ways)
 
Pappy said:
September, 1956, Fort Dix. NJ. Bivouac for a week in the woods playing war. God, it was cold that week. Worst part was the gas chamber.
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I heard about guys being in the gas chamber from my dad and my uncle. My dad was career Army and my uncle was just an enlisted man. My dad never said much about it, but my uncle said he was scared to death. I think he spent time in Korea after the war.
 
Working in the edible garbage room was the worst, ugh the smell was enough to kill you. Boot camp for WAC was in AL. They kept the garbage and sold it to the pig farmers. AL. had rats the size of small dogs.

Got in trouble once, got to clean the latrine with a toothbrush. Yup, my toothbrush. Never smart mouthed the sgt again 🤣.
 
Boot camp, for me, was almost a cake walk. I had to go to Lackland AFB, for what was supposed to be 7 weeks, but about 4 weeks in, the DI told me to pack my stuff, as I was leaving the next day. I thought I was being kicked out, until he finally told me that my school was starting in a couple of days, so my basic training was over. I learned to march, and salute...but that's about all the military BS I was exposed to. The USAF placed more value on skilled technology than on traditional military baloney....set me up for a nice civilian career.
 
I joined the US Navy after the Tet Offensives. They wanted warm bodies in Vietnam. I'm not sure if boot camp was 12 weeks, and they shortened to 9, or it was 9, shortened to 7. Anyway the company size was 80 guys. To get more through, they increased the company size to 83. . For some strange reason, I was always at the end of the company when we marched. We marched to the gas house, where they had 80 gas masks. So 3 guys didn't get to wear gas masks in the gas house. Yup, that was me. There was 80 seats in a classroom. Wherever we went, the Navy provided 80 of them-which I never got.
 
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I totally enjoyed my time in the Corps and sometimes I wished that I would have made a career out of it. But, I wouldn't wish doing Marine Boot on anyone. Well, there is this one guy.......
 
1959 winter at the old side Great Lakes camp.

Marching in unison. One farm recruit marched like he was stepping over plow furroughs. Him bobbing up & down was hilarious.

Navy has a way of pointing out what isn't appreciated.

Learning how to cut a glass coke bottle in half to use as an ash tray while laying on your bunk.

Taking salt from the galley to use as sidewalk cleaner when it snowed. Our company slept while others were awake shoveling snow off their walks.

Extending liberty to 4 a/m by using paper cut out in circles to be able to blend in with the trainees going from the new side to the old for galley duty.

Sleeping in class due to the above.

Losing the company flag & substituting a bra that one recruit brought back from liberty.

Following the CC's marching directions when we knew better. After passing in review we did the column left, column left again, the last column the chief called column right so while it was hard to do we did manage to get about 4 rows up into the bleacher seats.
 
squatting dog said:
Not a whole lot of fond memories there. We drilled and drilled so we would be prepared to kill. Taking a life is a serious deal and I don't wish it on others. :(
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This is weapon, this is my gun...this is for killing, this is for fun. What's it for? To kill, to kill without mercy drill Sargent!

That is my memory of Army boot camp 1970.

Tony
 
Arrived at Lackland in the middle of the night. TI took us to our barracks and told us to grab a bunk. Got no sleep. Afterwards it was get issued our uniforms, drill, attend classes etc. When we got a physical, a roomful of guys were told to strip naked. Pew! Clothes hide a lot including B.O. I failed rope climbing because my right wrist had been broken and in a cast a few weeks before. I didn't do well at the rifle range but passed. Learned how to field strip a cigarette. One guy decided he didn't like it so he faked being gay or so he said. Another decided to melt his shoe polish by setting it on fire but risked setting our tinder dry WW2 barracks up in flames. Next day he was gone. Most memorable was being assigned to retreat if I remember the term correctly. The barracks was told to put on dress blues and march to base ops for the lowering of the flag at dusk. If I was ever overcome by patriotism that was it. We marched back on a warm night as the sun set with only the sound of heels hitting the pavement. I swear I got somewhat tearful.
 
Something that I often wondered about, did everyone in the Navy end up on a boat, ship, Sub or any type of vehicle on the water? My nephew retired from the Navy as an LCAC Commander. After being home a few months, he became bored, so he got a job with USF. (University of Southern Florida) His job is to pilot a boat out into the Gulf with USF students onboard that are studying to become a Marine Biologist. Pretty cool, I thought.
 


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