United States Air Force - Basic Training, the First Day

This is part two of a multi-post about my career in the Air Force. Start from the beginning if you like.

The plane arrived in San Antonio in early June and the group I was with walked off the plane where we were herded to a bus destined for Lackland AFB (Air Force Base). I had heard horror stories of military basic training and expected to be pulled off the bus and pushed and kicked around. I was a little worried as we drove up to our drop off point. There were men and women in uniform looking real serious. I watched the others get off the bus to see what was going to happen to me as I walked down the isle of the bus. They were just being put in a line. No kicking, no screaming, just barked orders to get in line.

I got in line and and the drill sergeant told us we were nothing but worms but that he would make us better. Now, I had been barked at during my time painting so I was a little accustomed to it. Of course, this was a lot worse but I found myself enduring fine. We were marched to our dorm where we would spend the next five weeks learning how to be soldiers and men of honor.

We were put in a square room where we sat on the floor while drill sergeants passed out our handbooks and we learned how to address them before we could speak. When they were through, they lined us up and went down the line asking us our name and where we were from. Now, they were not interested in the least about this information. They wanted to see if we remembered how to address them before answering the question. Some got it right and some stumbled over the long phrase. When it came my turn, I fumbled it. The correct phrase was "Sir/Ma'am, Airman Poland reports as ordered" and then you answer the question. I think I changed a few words around or replaced reports with reporting. Oh yea, not good. At the time it was not funny but now it is really funny to me.

We were given our chores for the time we would be there. The chores were not to be changed for the duration. I got lucky somehow and did not have to clean the latrine. My chore was washing clothes for the men in my squadron. I thought to myself, I should have watched Mom more closely when she washed clothes for our family. It was actually nice to wash the clothes because you got away from all the drill sergeants for a while and got to relax and reflect on the day's events.

We went to sleep the first night and it seemed like it lasted about a minute. We were rudely awakened to blaring trumpets in the early hours and were rushed to get dressed and make our beds. We wore the same clothes we came with. I had jeans, a shirt, and some high-tops that were untied but tight enough to stay on my feet. My attempt at making my bed was not near good enough for the military and the drill sergeant tore off the covers and had me try again. I still don't think it was good enough the second time but he let it go and I stood sleepily waiting for the next orders. I didn't wait long as we were ushered outside of the dorm under a tin roof supported by steel beams The ground was concrete and we stood in line with many other squadrons. Though it was summer, the morning was a little brisk for my liking. The Air Force song came on and we were to sing it. I love that song til this day but I hated it then. Who sings that early in the morning? After that we were taught the commands attention, parade rest, and at ease. As a marcher in the band this was nothing new to me. Of course it was much stricter but I found it easier than most of the guys.

When they were satisfied that we knew what to do, we were put in parade rest and one member of our group was picked to go in front of a drill sergeant in the chow hall to get permission for our squadron's turn to eat. I did not get to see how the poor guy did but it took a while before we were allowed to eat. When we were allowed in we went through the line stepping side to side down the line. When we got our food and sat down at our squadron's table, we were told we had very little time to eat. We were to drink a full glass of water before eating as well. I hate drinking water; never have liked it. I gulped it down slowly because I am not a fast drinker. When I finally got around to eating, I took a couple of bites and was forced to stop eating and take my tray of dishes to the kitchen. This first day was turning out to be a very bad day.

We were marched to the military store where we would purchase our uniforms and get our hair cut off. I knew the haircut was coming and actually looked forward to it. One less thing to slow me down. We were instructed to buy a backpack, two sets of camouflage and two sets of "blues" uniforms. Both sets consisted of pants, shirts, belts and shoes. The camouflage shirt was long sleeved and the blues shirt was short sleeved. The camouflage shoes were actually boots while the blues were special dress shoes. We were ordered to buy polish for the boots/shoes so we would later be harassed about not having shiny enough foot wear. We packed everything we bought into the backpack and strapped it to our backs. The backpack was tall. It started at the top of my head and ended at my butt. It was heavy with the newly purchased items. We marched back to the dorm and it was the hardest march I have ever done. I think my back bows inward permanently now because of that march as I tried my best to keep my back straight while marching.

When we got back to the dorm and put our equipment in our lockers we were off to school. I just got out of school and wasn't looking forward to more of it. We would be taught the laws that were important to our careers and each rank of each of the armed forces. It was a lot to learn and I probably didn't do all that well at it but they passed me along. Mostly the laws part was what I didn't get. The rest of it was interesting and I was able to retain the information.

After school we worked out by doing push-ups, running around the base, and marching. This was actually some of my favorite parts of basic training. I was not in the best of shape but I was young and had no problem with the exercise except the push-ups. Luckily the push-ups were not a big part of the work out. Close to the end of basic training we went through an obstacle course consisting of crawling on our stomachs, running over tires, jumping over barriers, swinging on ropes, climbing walls, etc. This was my favorite part of basic training. This is how a park should be built. Lots of fun.

Lunch time finally arrived and I was looking forward to it. This time I took my tray of food to the squadron's table, I drank the water as fast as I could and was able to get all my food down before being interrupted. It was the best food I had ever had, I was so hungry. They had chili-mac and mashed potatoes. The only thing missing was ketchup but I probably didn't have time to put that on my food anyway.

We went back to the dorm for some down time and mail was passed out. Of course the first day you don't expect to get mail but this is when we would get our mail and write to our family. I wrote my family when I could and they wrote back with encouraging words and love. I missed them all. We got to make a phone call ever once in a while and I always called home. It was good to hear their voices and though the call was short it made my day.

Not all the guys in my squadron had it easy. One actually jumped the fence and went AWOL. I do not know what happened to him except they caught him. He never came back to our squadron to finish his training. Another guy was made the planter. The planter is someone who is approached by the drill sergeant to plant strings on clothing hanging in someone else's locker or something to get someone in trouble. When he got caught he had a hard time for the rest of his training. I'm pretty sure soap wrapped in a towel might have been involved one night. If a drill sergeant approaches you and threatens you to do this, do not do it. I was never approached so I don't know how the conversation went. If you are unable to decline the offer, then just plant the strings on your own stuff. The hell after getting caught is not worth it.

During the evening hours we would have our last meal of the day, do our chores, shine our shoes, study, and get ready to do it all over again the next day...

The story continues here.