Life after joining the military: Part 1″Basic Training”

My first assignment was Hurlburt Field Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, or as the locals like to call it, “lower Alabama”.

Checking in at my first base was like going into a foreign land. There were so many things to figure out as a new Airman, a new wife, and being so far away from my home in Michigan. But before we get into all of that, let me first give you the back story on everything that happened leading up to us arriving to this much sought after, white sandy beach, assignment in sunny Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.

Basic Training

My “adventure” to Lackland AFB, TX began at the MEPS station in Lansing, Michigan. My boyfriend Brandon and I sat in the car relishing our last moments together before I would get on a bus with about 50 other girls and guys that would take us to the airport. I stood in line waiting to go outside to board this tiny airplane. Mind you, this was my first flight EVER. I had no frame of reference to be nervous about its size, or the fact that we had to go outside to board, but to be honest I don’t think that would have mattered. I was so excited. I was not nervous at all. I was ready.

I remember a couple of the conversations at the airport as we waited to catch our connecting flight. Some of the guys were discussing ways to make sure they didn’t “pop positive” when we got to Basic Military Training (BMT). Apparently, they got wind that they would be testing us for drugs as soon as we got there. I guess they were enjoying their last days of freedom a little too much.

Looking back, I can’t believe I was handling it so well. I was leaving my family, my boyfriend and everything familiar to me, to embark on this new life. What’s surprising is I didn’t cry and I wasn’t sad at all! There was a lot of drama going on in my life at home, so if I’m honest, I used this as an opportunity to escape it all and to give myself a fresh start to create the life I wanted for myself.

Welcome to Lackland AFB

When we got off the plane in San Antonio, there was a big blue military bus that came to pick us up. When we arrived on base the bus driver, I later found out, drove us around for 30 minutes before taking us to the in-processing building. I’m guessing this is to confuse you from knowing where you are on base in case you get any ideas of escaping.

Scared Straight

We pull up to the building and before we could get off the bus, I’ll never forget, there was a two-striper (Airman 1st Class) yelling at us to “move, move, move!” He threatened us and basically tried to scare us straight! I was almost in disbelief. I felt like I was in a movie and instantly thought “what did I get myself into?” Next thing I know he was threatening to use his M-16 on someone if they kept “eyeballing” him. That still makes me laugh out loud. The stuff they would come up with was pure comedy to me. Such creativity in the words they chose to intimidate us. I never took what they said too seriously. I guess I knew it was all a game. So much so, that one day I couldn’t hold my laughter. This 4’11 Military Training Instructor (MTI) came over to me with her huge hat and leaned into me as close as she could and yelled “Crockett, you have no military bearing! Drop and give me 10!” That was the first and last time I got singled out, I made sure of that. That lady was the scariest of all the training instructors, bar none!

I made it to the end

Believe it or not, BMT was not as bad as everyone warned me it would be. I do know I was one of the lucky ones though because there were several who got washed back, dropped out, or ended up at Wilford Hall Medical Center (the hospital on base) because of injuries or because they couldn’t cut it mentally. I remember being at church service and a girl was talking about committing suicide because she couldn’t “take it” anymore.

It was like a whirl wind, and before I knew it I had gotten through all 6 1/2 weeks of basic training. (It’s now 8 weeks.) That was another good reason to choose the Air Force. Basic training was a lot shorter than the 10 weeks for the Army or 13 weeks for the Marines.

Graduation Day

Brandon, my mom, my grandparents and my Uncle Eric and Aunt Carla came to see me graduate. It was one of the proudest days of my life. There was no better feeling than when I marched off the field and was able to meet and hug my family. My grandpa who is a jokester had a bet with my family and Brandon that I would hug him first. –Look, I am a “grandpa’s girl” ya’ll. I had no idea about the bet but as I approached Brandon and my family, I could see them both waiting to see who I would go to first. If Brandon were my husband, it may have ended differently (maybe), but looking at how excited my grandpa was with his open arms expecting me to come to him first, I had to make a split decision and I went with my grandpa! Low key, I wanted to go to Brandon first, but that was NOT going to happen that day! I could tell Brandon was disappointed..Laughter erupted from my family and my grandpa proceeded to tease Brandon for the remainder of the trip and still brings it up to this day!

Freedom

Later that day we were granted base liberty for several hours. I was able to hang out with my family and go off base. We ate good food, went to the mall and went to the River Walk. Some folks went to Sea World or Six Flags, other folks had a wedding planned right after basic training. Whatever we did, we had to make sure we were back around 6PM. Since my family had driven from Michigan, they were only staying for one day before heading back early the next morning to make that 24-hour drive. I don’t why I was so devastated, but as I walked up to the line to go back into the dorms, I cried and cried like I would never see them again (this was only the 2nd time I cried since being gone. The first time was when I was finally allowed to call home and heard my mom’s voice). My heart felt like it had been ripped out of my chest. This is when I truly knew I was ready to marry Brandon. I never wanted to feel this kind of separation from him ever again. And let my grandpa tell it, Brandon didn’t say hardly two words on the long trip back, which is not like Brandon at all!

What’s Next

This was the beginning of my new life in the military. As I looked around the dorm bay that housed us for those 6 1/2 weeks, I was thankful that this part of the journey was over! No more “Latrine Queen”, no more dorm guard duty, no more folding our t-shirts into tiny perfectly aligned squares.

The biggest lessons I would take from this experience was 1. attention to detail 2. move quickly and listen to whoever’s yelling at you the loudest…And 3. if you value your life, don’t ever get caught “eyeballing”!

Next up, Technical Training School!