So, you have been waiting for this day for weeks, perhaps even months and now is the time to stare a drill sergeant eye to eye. You have completed the fitness program in The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook you memorized the terms and acronyms and you feel there is nothing that your drill sergeant can do to make your life miserable. Consider the following real life example. I know this is a true story because I personally was involved (names have been changed (except for mine) to protect the guilty):

Private Smith and Private Jones just finished polishing their boots to a perfect shine. The boots were so shiny they almost blinded you when you looked directly at them. The two privates walked downstairs and report to the drill sergeant for fireguard duty. While walking downstairs their boots kicked up dust from the dirty floor. Their newly shined boots still looked great, but were spotted lightly with dust. Upon reporting to the drill sergeant to begin their fireguard shift, the drill sergeant noticed their boots. The two privates, not realizing the stairs kicked up so much dust on their boots, smiled and were ready to receive a compliment from the drill sergeant. Instead of the compliment the drill sergeant yelled, “group, attention”. The two privates snapped to attention. The drill sergeant yelled “mark time, march”, and the two confused privates immediately began marching in place. The drill sergeant walked away. The two privates still confused continued to march in place because their drill sergeant did not give them the command to stop. One hour went by and the drill sergeant reappears. “Group, halt” he yelled. The two exhausted privates stopped marching in place after one hour. The drill sergeant lectured them about dusty boots and told them to go upstairs and get the recruits who were suppose to relieve them for fireguard duty. The privates complied and ran upstairs to get their relief, private James and specialist Volkin. After hearing what happened to the previous fireguard shift. The two recruits reported for duty walking down the stairs gently, as to not kick up any dust on their shiny boots. “Fireguard, reporting for duty drill sergeant”, specialist Volkin yelled. The drill sergeant walks out and yells “group, attention”. The two recruits snap to attention. The drill sergeant yelled “mark time, march”, and the two confused recruits immediately began marching in place. The drill sergeant leaves and one hour later returns to the soldiers. “Group, halt” he yelled. “How dare you have your fellow recruits come to fireguard duty with dusty boots” the drill sergeant yelled.

This true story was intended to prepare you mentally for basic training. You can be Mr. or Mrs. Perfect when you go through basic training, but there is nothing you can do to avoid learning the lesson and motto: An Army of One. When you are subjected to a task similar to this, and believe me, I have heard many stories like this, do not get mad at your fellow soldier, suck it up, learn from it and move forward, just like a good soldier should do.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, available in both paperback and e-book format at www.ultimatebasictrainingguidebook.com. Download The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook in under a minute at ultimatebasictraining.com

In my book, The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook (www.UltimateBasicTraining.com), I discuss many tactics drill sergeants use to exhaust a recruit mentally and physically. This is the final installment of a three part article that describes some of these common tactics and how to overcome such obstacles. The story below is true.

Finally, graduation day was tomorrow. The last task for us recruits was to thoroughly clean our gear. This task shouldn’t be a problem since I am a clean person by nature and have been maintaining my gear throughout the entire basic training cycle. The drill sergeants have good knowledge of who the “squared away” soldiers are and who needs the most help with their gear. One night our drill sergeant called a meeting and had us bring all our gear. “Privates” he said sternly “Tomorrow you will turn in your gear, which has to be spotless. If your gear is not spotless, you will not graduate”. The drill sergeant then began to pair the recruits. After the recruits were paired, the drill sergeant shouted “Ok Privates, switch gears with your partner”. Oh no I thought, my partner is the messiest disorganized person I have ever seen. Looking around the room, I noticed the drill sergeant intentionally paired up the squared away recruits with the recruits who were, let’s just say, less than perfect. The drill sergeant continued “You must clean your partners gear to a spotless shine by tomorrow or you will not graduate”. All this time I have been worried about my gear, for nothing. I had about 30 emotions running through my body ranging from utter disgust to fear of not being with everyone else at graduation day. As I looked down at my now muddy sweat filled gear I realized that instead of spending the last couple months worried about myself, I should have been double checking my battle buddies gear too.

So, what is the lesson learned? When you go through basic training, keep an eye out for yourself and your battle buddies. Needless to say the recruit in this story did graduate with everyone else, but with much more work than anticipated.

Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook. His book is available at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com and is available in paperback, e-book and audio-book format. Get ready for the all new Ultimate Interactive Basic Training Workbook!

In my book, The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook (www.UltimateBasicTraining.com), I discuss many tactics drill sergeants use to exhaust a recruit mentally and physically. This is the second of a three part article that describes some of these common tactics and how to overcome such obstacles. Although the story below is true, the actual names have been changed.

It was the first day of basic training and recruit Jones, along with the other recruits, was being introduced to his drill sergeants. After a few hours of rolling in the mud doing push-ups and other exercises, the drill sergeants gave the recruits a break. The drill sergeants set out a table with cookies and juice. Surrounding this table was a series of cones with ropes intended to show the recruits to go around the cones to get to the juice and cookies. One of the drill sergeants shouted to the recruits “Time for juice and cookies everyone! Simply follow the cones to get to the snacks. Be sure to form a single file line”. Private Jones, being the first one in line noticed a much easier path to get to the juice and cookies rather than following the complicated series of cones. He simply went around the back-side of the table and grabbed the snacks. The drill sergeants watched as five others followed in Private Jones footsteps. All of a sudden, 5 drill sergeants were informing Private Jones that the world was going to change for the next 4 hours for what he just did (meaning he just received a ticket to push-up heaven for not listening to the drill sergeant). All the other recruits were also punished for Private Jones actions as they fell in line behind him and repeated his actions. The juice and cookies were then taken away so no one could have them.

The lesson learned here is to listen to your drill sergeants. They will not always give you the easiest or most logical way to do a task. The point here is that you listen and do what you’re told. This true story was intended to prepare you mentally for basic training. You can be Mr. or Mrs. Perfect when you go through basic training, but there is nothing you can do to avoid negative attention from a drill sergeant. This was a mental lesson, not a physical one. Remember, basic training is more a mental challenge than a physical one.

Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook. His book is available at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com and is available in paperback, e-book and audio-book format. Get ready for the all new Ultimate Interactive Basic Training Workbook!

Certainly if you have been to basic training you will always remember your first day. As you laid in your bunk on that first night, thoughts were rushing through your head and your mind was scrambling trying to remember everything your Drill Sergeants taught you. Your muscles and mind were fatigued. On that first night, you felt helpless, alone and at the bottom of a very big hill to triumph.

For all you recruits who entered the military I will tell you this, your first day will be the worst. You will be homesick, in a new environmental and you will not see an end in sight. This will be a time where you need to be mentally tough. You have to remember to take your days one at a time because looking at the entire 9-weeks ahead of you will be very difficult.

In my book, the Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook (www.ultimatebasictraining.com), I interviewed many soldiers and wrote about their first day of basic training. After I wrote this chapter I discovered something very important. Wherever these recruits went to basic training, their experiences differed very little. All of their experiences encompassed basically the same aspects. In the following paragraphs I will explain to you what others have gone though on their first day of basic training, and most likely what you will be going through. I will also add pieces of advice to help you make your first day much more enjoyable.

The Pick-Up

This takes place after the Reception Process (when all your paperwork and medical tests are completed). A bus or cattle truck will pick you up. You will be packed in a crowded vehicle and you may or may not have Drill Sergeants on board. If there are Drill Sergeants they will either introduce themselves, tell you to be quiet or ask you to sing the star spangled banner as loud as you can. Drill Sergeants look intimidating, but do understand, they cannot physically hit you.
Tip: Try your best not to show off or stand out at this point. There is always one person on that ride who tries to show he/she is different.

The Drop-Off

When the vehicle stops, all the recruits will be asked to get out as fast as they can. At this point, you may be asked to do a number of various exercises. I will use my first day as an example. When I got out of the vehicle they asked 150 other recruits besides myself to line up and place our luggage in a perfectly straight line, in alphabetical order, in under 3 minutes (which is 45-seconds in Drill Sergeant time). Seeing how it is impossible for 150 strangers to know each other’s names, we were forced to do exercises because of our failure to complete the mission. You will fail the first mission you are asked to accomplish; it is designed that way. The purpose of basic training is to turn you from a civilian to a soldier in 9 short weeks. In order to do that you need to realize how difficult it is to become a member of the strongest military power in the world.
Tip: At this point, you need to show your Drill Sergeants you are capable of handling physical activity. Mentally prepare for physical activity when you wake up in the morning on the day you will meet your Drill Sergeants. Also, don’t be letdown when you fail your first mission, which is what the mission is designed for, failure.

The Meet and Greet

After the exercises you will bring your luggage up to your bunk and meet the members of your platoon. You are all strangers now, but rest assured, you will know a little more than you care to know about each and every member of that platoon when basic training is over.
Tip: I cannot stress how important it is to get the rest of the members of your platoon to like you. Don’t order people around and don’t be too passive; come off as a team player. You can accomplish this by asking each person in your platoon a personal question such as “where are you from” “what sports do you like to play” anything at all. Personal questions show others that your interested in what they are like, and they begin to respect you because of that.

Lights Out

Despite your physical fatigue, you will have trouble sleeping. Your mind will be shuffling through many thoughts. Before you go to bed make sure each member in your sleeping area is prepared for the next day. Often, recruits will need help preparing their uniform or finding certain items. Offer your assistance, your kindness will be appreciated and the favor will be returned in the future. Tip: Keep the big picture in mind and remind yourself why you joined the Army, and how proud everyone will be of you when you return. Mental toughness is 99% of surviving basic training.

SGT Michael Volkin (www.mikevolkin.com) is the author of the all new Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, available at www.ultimatebasictraining.com, he personally signs each book you order!

Every week I get emails from people asking me how to deal with being older than the average recruits at basic training. The age limit to enter the active duty Army has risen twice this year already (currently at 42). Due to the new age limit and increased recruiting efforts nationwide, the Army has been exceeding its 2006 goals.

Obviously, as a result of this new age limit increase, a different crowd of people are joining the military; and they all have the same concerns. Here are a few of the questions I have received recently about basic training. Even if you aren’t over 30, read the answers carefully. I always like to say every 5 minutes of reading you do on basic training before you leave will reduce your amount of push ups by 5%. If you have any questions you would like me to address, please go to www.ultimatebasictraining.com and email me.

Question from Cheryl:
SGT Volkin, I am joining the military at 34 years old. I used to run a lot but after having a couple kids and taking a few years off of exercising, I am not sure I can keep up with the 18-23 age group anymore. What can I do?

Answer: Actually, basic training isn’t about competing with other recruits; it’s about meeting military standards and exceeding your expectations. In my book there is an 8-week fitness guide that walks you through, day-by-day, specific basic training workouts. Follow that guide and you will far exceed any military standard.

Update: This letter writer emailed me back after she completed the workout described in my book. She claims she is doing one-arm push ups now for the first time ever! She also reported she just ran her fastest 2-mile run in her life after only 8-weeks of training.

Question from Paul:
I am 40 years old and want to serve my country, with the new military age limit, I now have my chance. Will the younger recruits be looking to me for guidance simply because of my age?

Answer: The answer to your question is two-fold, yes and no. At first some recruits will look to you for guidance simply because of your age. However, after they get accustomed to basic training and drill sergeants, they will learn quickly not to listen to what other recruits say and only what their drill sergeants say (or yell).

Question from Rick:
I am over 40 and joining the military, will drill sergeants view me differently?

Answer: Actually, drill sergeants view everyone differently but treat everyone the same. The drill sergeant’s job is to break you down mentally as a civilian and build you up into a soldier into a very short time. To do this a drill sergeant must be tough so you may get a couple cracks at your age, but don’t worry too much about it. They are just testing your mental fitness.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp, available at www.ultimatebasictraining.com.

A Day in the life of Basic Training-RED PHASE:

It is 0230 in the morning, and I got the second to last fireguard shift. It is hard to wake-up at this hour because lights out time is the only personal time a recruit truly gets. During lights out, no one is yelling or listening to orders. Since I know so little about the military, this fireguard shift seems pointless, which makes this task even harder to wake up for. As my fireguard shift continues, I sit there in the dark hallway of the barracks wondering what my friends and family are planning to do today. As my shift ends, I report the head count number to the relieving shift and go back to bed. My nap lasts one hour until its time to wake up.

After breakfast our Drill Sergeants yell at us, calling us filthy animals because our barracks are so messy. Honestly, I have never seen them so clean, but arguing with them would be suicide, so my fellow platoon members and I clean absolutely everything.

Once we pass the cleaning inspection, we learn about our M16A2 rifle (never call it a gun). It was weird holding a rifle for the first time. I have shot a rifle before, but now I am being trained to aim at people rather than animals or soda cans, which feels different. The first lesson we are taught is to properly identify the parts of the rifle. Then, we learn to assemble and disassemble the rifle in just a few seconds. Once our lectures are complete we head outside to learn “Drill and Ceremony" which is a series of strict maneuvers in which a recruit must position the rifle with clear and crisp movements. There is much to learn about Drill and Ceremony, so we break for lunch after just a brief introduction.

After lunch, we learned to adjust the site of our rifles to make sure we are able to shoot straight. Everyone looks through a rifle differently, so adjusting the site is almost like customizing the rifle to your body.

Just before dinner our platoon had a chance to assemble in an informal group in the barracks and study what we learned about the rifle. After our timed 3-minute dinner, we were forced to stand at attention for 20 minutes for not marching correctly back from the chow hall. It was snowing outside and a snowflake landed on my nose. I couldn’t restrain myself and wiped it off as quickly as I could. The Drill Sergeants surrounded me like a fallen gazelle in a lion pack. My entire platoon was doing push-ups in the snow for what seemed like an hour because of me. I felt awful but surprisingly my platoon members understood because that could have been anyone of us. It seemed like the Drill Sergeants were waiting for something like that to happen anyway before they released us from the position of attention.

Eventually the Drill Sergeants got tired of yelling and allowed us to go upstairs for a quick shower. I couldn’t wait to get that hot water on my face and freezing hands. As I peeled off my soaked clothes I heard a recruit yell “no hot water”. As my platoon groaned, I took my washcloth and rinsed my body with cold water as quickly as possible.

I shine my dirty boots to end my day. For me, shining my boots is a nice break; I use that time to reflect on my life. I only wonder how much more of basic training I can take. I am mentally and physically aching and I have many more weeks to go. The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook told me to expect these mental challenges so I am not surprised by these events. I can take comfort in the fact that I have prepared properly for basic training.

I don’t have fireguard duty tonight and a continuous 5 or 6-hour sleep will feel very nice. To end the day, the Drill Sergeants lined up our platoon and checked if our toenails and fingernails were cut properly and were not infected. As I headed to bed ready for my long awaited sleep I heard a whistle blow. A Drill Sergeant yelled from a distance “Everyone outside maggots! No one and I mean no one steals crackers from the Chow Hall”. The other recruits in our room moaned and got dressed as quick as possible to avoid being the last one outside. There goes my comforting sleep.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, available in both paperback and e-book format at www.ultimatebasictrainingguidebook.com.

Many of my readers contact me after they graduated basic training and tell me the food tips in my book (The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook) was the most helpful. As you may or may not know, there is no snacking at basic training, recruits get three square meals a day. In addition, recruits only get a short time to eat (3 minutes if your lucky), so maximizing the time it takes to eat your meals is crucial. Below are some great tips to prepare for basic training and get the most out of your meals once you’re there:

Stop your snacking. Snacking is a habit, like smoking. In the civilian world you can snack all day and not think twice about it, but once you stop it seems to be all you think about. Take time to stop your snacking habit before you leave for basic training, its best you do so on your terms rather than the drill sergeants terms
Think strategy not pleasure. At basic training you only get a few minutes to eat your food, so give your body what it wants. Do not fill your stomach with carbonated beverages and other empty calories (i.e. ketchup). Your goal is eat as many nutrients as possible. Always grab a meat, brown rice and bread to give you a full feeling. Going to bed hungry is not fun, especially when your body is craving food from a hard day of work.
No chit-chat. As mentioned above, time is crucial. When it’s time to eat, keep your face close to your food and begin shoveling. If you talk or look around you are wasting time and going to get in trouble.
Make a sandwich out of every piece of food you can. Since time is a precious commodity for every meal, you want to put everything you can in between two pieces of bread. Every time you raise your fork or spoon to your mouth you are wasting precious seconds. Making a sandwich is a faster way to eat.

Top 5 Tips on How to Avoid Getting Yelled at by Drill Sergeants by Michael Volkin author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp Let’s face it, basic training is tough. For the first time you will have to wait for permission to eat or even go to the bathroom. Wouldn’t it make life easier if you knew some tips on avoiding special attention from those mean Drill Sergeants? In my best-selling book, The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook I teach recruits how to make basic training as stress free as possible. It’s important to understand that nothing will make you “yell-proof”, however, there are preparations you can make to reduce the amount of times you might get singled out by a drill sergeant. Use the 5 tips below to help you avoid getting yelled at by drill sergeants. 5) Don’t Volunteer- Many recruits think that if they volunteer for tasks then they will become the drill sergeant’s favorite. This might be the case in school, but not the case at basic training. Volunteering for tasks at basic training is like jumping in shark infested waters with chopped fish tied to your ankles. Your goal at basic training is to graduate, not become someone’s favorite recruit. 4) Label Everything- A common reason why recruits get yelled at is because they lose an item of clothing or gear, or they get theirs mixed up with another recruit. Drill sergeants will often do an inspection of your sleeping quarters. During these inspections, items are tossed all over the place often mixing up gear and clothing. Take a black marker with you to basic training and write your initials on everything you own. 3) Don’t be a Know It All- Drill sergeants aren’t impressed with what you know, or think you know. Many recruits come to basic training hearing stories and learning lessons of when their friends and family attended. Don’t listen to those recruits as stories are often exaggerated or interpreted incorrectly. Even if you know the answer to something, don’t shout it out unless you are specifically called upon. 2) Speak with Confidence- Drill sergeants love to pick on recruits who answer or talk in a quiet or timid voice. Their job is to make you a lean mean fighting machine; they don’t want you sounding like Richard Simmons. When asked a question, only respond with a confident voice, even if you don’t know the correct answer. A wrong answer spoken confidently sounds better than a right answer spoken timidly. 1) Don’t be Late- When a drill sergeant asks you to be somewhere in 45 seconds, you better be there in 15. Arriving on time is not going to cut it in basic training. SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp, available at www.ultimatebasictraining.com. Use the coupon code “bctdiscount” for $2 off any product at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com

The Games Drill Sergeants Play (Part 1 of 3) In my book, The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook (www.UltimateBasicTraining.com), I discuss many tactics drill sergeants use to exhaust a recruit mentally and physically. This is the first of a three part article that describes some of these common tactics and how to overcome such obstacles. Although the story below is true, the actual names have been changed. Private Smith and Private Jones just finished polishing their boots to a perfect shine. The boots were so shiny they almost blinded you when you looked directly at them. The two privates walked downstairs and reported to the drill sergeant for fireguard duty. While walking downstairs their boots kicked up dust from the dirty floor. Their newly shined boots still looked great, but were spotted lightly with dust. Upon reporting to the drill sergeant to begin their fireguard shift, the drill sergeant noticed their boots. The two privates, not realizing the stairs kicked up so much dust on their boots, smiled and were ready to receive a compliment from the drill sergeant. Instead of the compliment the drill sergeant yelled, “group, attention”. The two privates snapped to attention. The drill sergeant yelled “mark time, march”, and the two confused privates immediately began marching in place. The drill sergeant walked away. The two privates still confused continued to march in place because their drill sergeant did not give them the command to stop. One hour went by and the drill sergeant reappears. “Group, halt” he yelled. The two exhausted privates stopped marching in place after one hour. The drill sergeant lectured them about dusty boots and told them to go upstairs and get the recruits who were suppose to relieve them for fireguard duty. The privates complied and ran upstairs to get their relief, private James and private Baxter. After hearing what happened to the previous fireguard shift. The two recruits reported for duty walking down the stairs gently, as to not kick up any dust on their shiny boots. “Fireguard, reporting for duty drill sergeant”, private Baxter yelled. The drill sergeant walks out and yells “group, attention”. The two recruits snap to attention. The drill sergeant yelled “mark time, march”, and the two confused recruits immediately began marching in place. The drill sergeant leaves and one hour later returns to the soldiers. “Group, halt” he yelled. “How dare you have your fellow recruits come to fireguard duty with dusty boots” the drill sergeant yelled. This true story was intended to prepare you mentally for basic training. You can be Mr. or Mrs. Perfect when you go through basic training, but there is nothing you can do to avoid negative attention from a drill sergeant. This was a mental lesson, not a physical one. The drill sergeant wanted to teach the recruit that no matter how perfect you are, there is always something wrong with you or the way you handled a situation. When you are subjected to a task similar to this, and believe me, I have heard many stories like this, do not get mad at your fellow soldier, suck it up, learn from it and move forward, just like a good soldier should do. Remember, basic training is more a mental challenge than a physical one. Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook. His book is available at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com and is available in paperback, e-book and audio book format