Thankful!

I am thankful for....

...An incredibly beautiful, incredibly incredible wife who definitely could have done better than me, but thankfully for some still unknown reason decided to marry me and make me the happiest, most blessed man for all eternity!
...A daughter who is as beautiful as her mom, but has a wonderful personality all her own. She constantly keeps me entertained and never fails to surprise and amaze me!
...A healthy son who will soon be born and for the great blessing he will be to our family, and the lifetime of exciting things to look forward to with him.
...Having the true and eternal gospel in our lives, and the opportunity to learn and grow through out our lives.
...Living in a country were we have so many freedoms many of which we take for granted every day. A country where even an idiot can be elected President but were we know the country will still be alive and well after his term. A country where men and woman are willing to fight and die if necessary to secure those freedoms, even when many of the people who enjoy those freedoms, speak out against those who daily make sure we keep them!
...And I am thankful for the opportunity that even a simple guy like me has to serve along side some of these great men and women, even if just as a reservist.

Break Down

This is in response to Amy's question as to why they belittle you so much in basic when it seems it would get the opposite result that one would want.

Before I went to BMT I wanted to figure out all I could about what I was getting into. Under the FAQs section there was a question that basically said " Will the Military Training Instructors (MTI or just TI as we called them) yell at me." The answer was "Yes" It went on to explain why, but I am not sure exactly what it said. Basically we all grow up in different environments with different levels and types of discipline. They are mean the way they are and belittle you the way they do, to break you down. Because without that they cannot build you back up to live with the discipline required in the military.

I was told everything to expect prior to going in, but knowing what will happen and experiencing what happens are 2 totally different things. And although I hated the daily "abuse" and the fear and constant worry that someone would mess up and we would pay for it, and although there were many days, probably almost everyday that at one point or another I wondered if I made the right choice in joining. I can now look back and say I did. I am truly grateful for that experience and that I made it through. Even after experiencing it, I don't think i know why it works, but that form of discipline does work, and I saw it change many people completely. So though I would never want to do it again (and I have had nightmares about that) I am glad I did it once, and would completely recommend it to anyone thinking about going into the military, even though it (BMT) may be the hardest or at least one of the hardest things you will ever do.

I hope that makes sense and answers your question. If now let me know and I will make sure I do. Let me know of any other questions you may have.

So I have been trying to figure out what I can right about my experience at Basic. Then I remembered that another Airman that was in my BMT flight and was my wingman wrote something on Facebook while we were in Tech school that I thought summed it up pretty good. His name is Samuel Howard. He is from Minn. The following is what he said:

"Aright, I have been unable to come up with a satisfactory answer to why basic is so hard and what it is like but I will try yet again

The first thing to understand about Basic Military Training (BMT or Basic) is that you never get to completely relax from the moment you step of the airplane until you walk on the bus leaving for tech school. Even when you are given time to work in your area doing stuff like folding clothes and polishing your shoes your Military Training Instructor (MTI/TI) may explode at any time. This is compounded by the fact that you are punished for everyone’s mistakes not just your own, so even when you know you are doing what you are supposed to the threat of trouble lingers. The constant state of tension is mentally draining as well as physically exhausting by the never ending stream of pushups, flutter kicks, and squat thrusts performed as punishment. Along with the work outs your body is punished through lack of sleep and little food. Combined with this is the emotional stress of not being able to see or even talk to any of the people you love and you find yourself constantly walking the edge of breaking down.

Now in this exhausted state you are expected to perform in an environment focused on “attention to detail” It is the little things everywhere that get you in trouble and keep you constantly worried. Flipping your cups in the dinning facility, rolling back the toilet paper in the latrine, put on a hat when outside, make sure you have a canteen and satchel, all your pockets must be buttoned, no strings on the uniform, put the toilet seat up, never forget a reporting statement, never say ok or alright. It is a never ending stream of little things that get you abused endlessly.

During a standard day in that environment you wake up at 4:45 to do physical training, where you either run about 3 miles or you do a couple hundred push ups sit ups and other assorted muscular workouts. After about an hour of this you go back to the dorm for breakfast where you have 45 minutes to shower, make beds, sweep down the floor, and clean the entire dorm. This seems like enough time until you realize it is with 44 men showering in 8 showers and that it takes almost 15 minutes to make a bed because it must be perfectly done with 45⁰ corners and tight enough to bounce a quarter off of. Now it is between 0800 and 0830 and you go to class which is incredibly boring and you struggle desperately to stay awake in an 90 some degree classroom on 5-6 hours of sleep. Then when you finish you go back out on the black top drill pad in 100 degree weather and practice marching for about an hour. Of course regardless of how well you personally do both you and your MTI will end up frustrated by the 2-3 people who are incapable of marching correctly so you wind up doing pushups on the burning black pad in a heavy long sleeve uniform. After repeating that 2 or 3 times you go back to the dorm for lunch. Then either another class or an appointment which could range from ID or clothing issue to haircuts or shots. Inevitably you will be yelled at for poor marching and multiple other infractions before you ever arrive where you are going. Of course when you get there you will stand for an hour doing nothing then given confusing instructions super fast and when you forget and ask a question you will be called retarded and ridiculed. Eventually you wind up back at the squad for dinner and mail call (best part of any day) Then you work in your areas for an hour or two before bed during which someone inevitably screws up and you push once or twice. Finally you head to bed for the short sleep you get which is interrupted every couple of days by a 2 hour Entry Controller shift standing there during nothing.

Now you may think that this sounds boring, routine, and dry. You are right. Nothing exciting or worthwhile ever happens in BMT. It is just repetitive grinding that gets to you. Also you can never do anything right at BMT. That is one of the primary tools, regardless of how well you perform they will find something wrong and no matter how many things you do right you will never get a “good job” that humans crave. It is this lack of validation combined with complete mental physical and emotional exhaustion that really gets to you. It is like taking your worst day at school, take away your friends, giving yourself less sleep and extending it six and a half weeks with the knowledge it will not get any better. Oh and thrown in physical workout and screaming teachers. Its hard because no matter how right you are even when everyone knows it you still get ridiculed and blamed. At BMT you don’t win, you lose less.
I don’t know if that really helps you understand but it’s the best I can do. I think honestly it is one thing you really can never get unless you experience or witness it for yourself."

I will probably write more later on, so if you have any questions about things that were mentioned here or anything you want to know specifically please let me know and I will base a post on that question.

New

I have been trying to find a really good Air Force background for this blog for a while but have been unsuccessful. I have found a couple but they were not good ones. I like this one for now though. But if anyone knows where I can find a good Air Force one or if you come across one in search of something for yourself feel free to let me know. I am still planning on writing about basic training, and now that I have a semi-appropriate background maybe I can find the time to do it.