Why is this under politics? Clausewitz said war is an extension of politics, so there, i'm justified

I know I've seen one or two threads where people mentioned past military experience. I'm going into the US Army pretty soon, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what it's going to be like, specifically boot camp. What's the average day like, how many pushups/miles do they usually make you do in a day, how much live fire practice do you get to do, etc. I'm also pretty interested in what AIT will be like, I'm getting a chance to go Special Forces, so I'm assuming a lot of land navigation, but I could be wrong... anyone got an idea?

Also if anyone's been Airbourne in the past or gone through something like Ranger training, that would be especially helpful. Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

You have to be in for a few years before you get a chance to go into the Special Forces. You can get into a Ranger battalion as soon as you go in, but get it in writing from your recruiter.

Basic training is a bitch, but not an insurmountable bitch. I got through it by taking it one day at a time. My goal every day was to survive long enough to make it back to my bunk at night. If you smoke, you won't be allowed to in basic. If you are going into the infantry, as I did, you won't notice a difference between basic and AIT. Together, it's 12 weeks of training in the same unit, with the same drill sergeants. Say hello to the red Georgia clay of Ft. Benning for me.

You'll do pushups at various intervals all day. Don't even try to count them. You do so many pushups that after 12 weeks of it, you'll have huge triceps, and small biceps. You'll do at least 2 miles of running every morning. Then there's all the walking. That's where the major mileage happens. You walk almost everywhere.

You get a lot of time in marching drills before they even take you to a rifle range, then it will be an almost daily event for a while. You'll fire the M16, the M60, the SAW, and the M203. At some point you'll learn to drive a M113, possibly a Bradley. In anti-tank training you'll have to lay in the road while a M113 drives over you, with you between the treads. That was fun.

MOUT training really is fun. You learn how to clear buildings in an urban combat setting. Rappeling is also fun.

When you're done with basic and AIT, you'll be in the best health of your life. I was 6'1", 140 lbs. when I went in. I gained 35 lbs. of pure muscle in those 12 weeks.

They've changed this, about 3 years ago, created 18X enlistment option. That's what I'm under, it's not an MOS per say, I'm assuming because there's a 70% chance you wont make it.

Thanks for everything else. That's a lot more detailed description than anything else I've gotten, everyone elses descriptions stop at "You do a lot of running".

18 is the MOS number for Special Forces, the letter that follows it is determined by your MOS before you go into SF.

That's cool, they're willing to put you through the language training and all of it from the time you enlist?

I already took D-LAB, but like just about everything else they never told me how I did on it. I'm assuming it was decent enough to maintain the special forces career path since my contract afterwards still said 18X, so yeah, I guess that would mean they'll give me all the language training if I pass the physical stuff. I haven't gotten a lot of word about what SF training is like beyond "really really hard", things like swimming in uniform with boots and equipment, running no less than 6 miles a day, and some of the courses involving food and sleep deprivation.

If I fail out they say I go strait to 11B, but if I've managed to pass all the training up until the SF qualifying test, I don't think they'd waste resources by sending me basic infantry. Not that I would mind too awfully much, but it would be nice to have something a little bit more prestigious under my belt.

I was in the forces, thou here in the UK things are a lot difference so I can't give you any advice on your specifics or training methods, BUT, one word of advice I can give you is to concentrate on your aerobic training and stamina, also remember it's only a game (a hard game) but one that you can get throu, when things get hard remember why you are there and that you are just as good as anyone else and that you beat a shitload of people to get the place you have earned.

Never give up and never let the bastards get you down...


...with that attitude (as my Sarge used to say) it will be a piece of piss

This is good advice.

Thanks, this is all very helpful. I've been focusing mostly on cardiovascular health, I run no less than 2 miles a day. I was focusing a lot on bodyweight exersizes, but my father convinced me to join the gym with him for this last 4 weeks or so. I'm still focusing mostly on stamina and trying not to put on too much upper body muscle, as it would be that much more weight to slow me down. I also alternate my running, sometimes with running shoes, other times with boots, and about once a week boots with a 40 pound pack. I was never able one to be able to boast superior strength, ednurance, speed or intelligence, but one thing I've always had was a stubborn nature. I doubt anything they throw at me will be able to get me to drop out willingly.

can I just pop in and say that those who join the military are just simply ignorant pawns of a corrupt social order-okay, thanks out a here-keep up the bloodshed I hope your deathcamps go really well

Remember that when the next Hitler is given birth too and sends you to a death camp....

It's not a case of being stubborn, but more of letting it ride over you and remembering it's a game, a test. It's all about keeping your cool under pressure as they will test your mental strength more than your physical...

People forget that the main reason that they get you to do so much physical stuff is to drain you and pressure you so that you are also mental deminished so they can see your reaction under extreme pressure before being put in these situations. It's all about keeping a cool head when everyone else is losing their's. Hence see it as a big game and remember that no matter what you're always a winner.

could you not feel the sarcasm? I know that there is a logical need for a give a bunch of blindly patriotic, testosteroned punks guns and say "you see that towel head?...kill him!" I know theres a need for these guys and I respect the job they do, but I don't have to agree with how they do it. Give a redneck a gun and eventually he's going to stop protecting american ideals and start committing war atrocities. This has happened in every major conflict america has ever had and happens in secret all the time. do I support someone who honestly goes out in defense of his country and it's ideals. But the troops out there who abuse thier power and get thier rocks starting private tourture camps need to be dealt with too. know I'm not going to spit on any soldier and yell 'baby killer!' but I don't think of it as the most honorable profession that our grandfathers did.

I'm not american...




...thank god.

could you not feel the sarcasm? I know that there is a logical need for a give a bunch of blindly patriotic, testosteroned punks guns and say "you see that towel head?...kill him!" I know theres a need for these guys and I respect the job they do, but I don't have to agree with how they do it. Give a redneck a gun and eventually he's going to stop protecting american ideals and start committing war atrocities. This has happened in every major conflict america has ever had and happens in secret all the time. do I support someone who honestly goes out in defense of his country and it's ideals. But the troops out there who abuse thier power and get thier rocks starting private tourture camps need to be dealt with too. know I'm not going to spit on any soldier and yell 'baby killer!' but I don't think of it as the most honorable profession that our grandfathers did.

War crimes have happened in every war since the begining of time, before they were known as crimes. It's unfortunate but it's a part of war and has nothing to do with what countries are involved in it, and very little to do with how patriotic the soldiers are. Most soldiers in the field, I've heard, aren't fighting for "Mom back home and American apple pie", because there's almost no one that can mentally take continual fighting for something they can't physically see. Instead, these men in the field fight to keep themselves alive, and very often for one another. When war crimes are committed in mass, it's because large groups of people who feel a bond with one another just go along with whatever's being done. My ex was one of these types, the "military elitist", someone who frequently spouts shit like "You don't know what it's like in the field" as if they're part of some higher understanding because they've fired off a round or two at an enemy. This is a good number of our troops, unfortunately, but it's not like it's America specific. As I said before, this has been the condition of war since before the concept of a "war crime".

Honorable profession of our grandfathers? Our grandfathers committed just as many crimes against our enemies in the past, if not more. But back then no one talked about it, and few people would have cared.

"When this war is over, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell."

Admiral Bill Halsey said this in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Do you think anyone could get away with this type of language against enemies these days? Of course not, because people actually care now adays. But back then in the days of the "honored profession", it inspired a good majority of Americans.

War is bad, war is ugly, always has been and always will be. No one's a more or less of a mindless pawn in it than anyone else, and that includes you. You speak your mind against the actions, but do you bother to do anything about it? I for one would not tolerate war crimes happening around me, I'd rather take a bullet or be court marshaled than let that happen in my presence. But I'm not going to the fear of having those things happen to be because I wont tolerate war crimes keep me from entering into service for my country. I have more spine than that.

Glad to hear it. I'm not denying that war crimes have always happened in war. Giving the human being a position of power backed up by the mythos of patriotisim is going to put one in a position to abuse that power. Thats a fact. However do to the idea of the 'global village' and mass communication these things can not be as hidden as it once was.
I do believe there was a different view during the time of 'the greatest generation' and that the proffession of soldiering was seen as nearly all americans duty. the attitude bien that if you werent fighting the axis powers you better have a damn fine excuse. I also think that idea was prevelant up through the vietnam conflict when american war attrocities began to be known on a public level. That was also the first recent war in which americas involvement was really one of more foreced ideals on a culture rather than fighting a 'nobel' cause regardell of that soviet sphere of influence bullshit. American armed forces then turned into an invadeing force under the guise of liberation. Using excuses of totalitarianisim to further american goals. I don't agree with that. exspecially when it's not done under an international cause but under a nationalistic one

diogenes, one of these days you might see an AP article with the headline,

Headless corpse of man found slumped over his keyboard.

A man's head apparently exploded off his shoulders while reading Darkforum.com. It looks like an extreme annurism caused by high stress.

you or me, Synikul?

I thought it was obvious I was talking about myself. How could you read a news story about it if it was your head that exploded?

It was no bullshit, it was very real.

Take a second look at that war; the Commies left the Americans in the dust when it came to commiting atrocities.