Reflections: Boot camp horror and humor stories 19 Articles

by Paul Vreeland

Details were a joke. In the army a detail is a group of soldiers chosen for a special assignment. The group is usually small and the nature of the assignment is not something you would want to volunteer for. One morning I ...read more

by Jerry Curtis

I remember thinking during my first days in Navy boot camp in San Diego that I had made a horrible, ghastly mistake. How could have I spent so many of the previous months looking forward to this misery?("Yipee! I'm going t...read more

by Richard Evans

It was Sammy's first time away from Mom and Dad. We were his buddies, his fellow trainees. We had no clue the rollarcoaster Sammy was going to ride was even possible. The rest of us watched, and could only drink and comm...read more

by Heather Borden

I pissed myself the first week of Navy boot camp. Literally. Urine running down my legs. Ironically, the first week is known as P-Days. It's like they know .... We were all so fresh and new; in constant fear of being si...read more

by Curtis Carper

Just barely 18 I was headed off to Boot Camp, my first solo trip across the country by land and air. I had worked the past summer on an iron ore carrier on the Great Lakes, but was at the mercy of the ship as far as gettin...read more

by Randal Purdy

I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18.I was an only child,and looking back,I guess I was somewhat spoiled.I boarded the Air FORCE bus on the way to basic training or boot camp.I arrived at what was referred to ...read more

by Mr. Jay L.

It seemed rather cliche, a scene from any one of a dozen Army movies. Though it had been clear on the day I enlisted - my birthday, in fact - it was pouring rain at 0530 the next morning as the other new recruits and I we...read more

by Raymond Chase

I remember it well; The first day of Army basic training. It started out normal. A bunch of young guys sitting in a reception area at Ft Knox, KY. There were about 100 of us, all coming from different cities and states. I ...read more

by Ted Sherman

When I was going to college, I was also what was called then a weekend warrior. I had stayed in the Naval Reserve after service in World War II because I was patriotic, loved the Navy and saluted the flag each day. Actuall...read more

by Morgan Johnson

The first lesson I got in boot camp came on the first day; "Never draw attention to yourself!" Navy boot camp isn't as hard as the ground services, nothing like the Army or Marines. For the most part, you need to learn ...read more

by Mark Butler

Boot Camp The F in 413F, our boot camp company designation, officially stood for Flag. Unofficially it must have stood for something else. We had our share of problems in 413F and while others throughout my career ha...read more

by Travis Casey

Basic Naval Training Orlando, Florida represented the gates of hell. I was an 18 year old male looking to escape the boredom of Midwest America. I wasn't looking to become the next Admiral Rickover. Nor was I looking to...read more

by Ian Loft

I joined the military as a fresh faced sixteen-year-old out for adventure away from home. Succeeding in securing an apprenticeship was the first step in what turned out to be a 21-year career with many ups and downs yet t...read more

by Shawn Vilmaire

I was the Recruit Chief Petty Officer(RPOC) for Recruit training Division 061 for all of about a week. I was selected because I was a bit older than the other recruits and picked up the marching faster than the rest. T...read more

by Albert Aunchman

Two days after graduating from college, I was on a plane headed for basic training in San Antonio ,Texas. It was 1966, and if you were breathing, you could expect a draft notice, which would invariably land you in a grun...read more

by Erik M. Dell

At around 11:30pm I arrived at Orlando, Florida on August 16th, 1994. Dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that said I heart cops I definitely walked off the bus into boot-camp. Then the yelling started, and didn't end f...read more

by David Reed

The cast of characters in my basic training platoon could have come from a Hollywood movie. Imagine the most outlandish stereotype of any sort, and we had one. It's difficult to pick one guy for an essay when there are eno...read more

by Sullivan Vullo

Boot Camp. Most of our perceptions of boot camp are preconceived from movies that we've seen or books that we've read. Most new recruits have mixed emotions about what they can expect upon entering basic military training....read more

by Michael Marshall

Since I was a young child I always dreamed of being in the military. When I was in high school I was even more determined that I wanted to go into the military. I worked hard my last year in high school and was able to g...read more