Don’t go to basic training unprepared.  The small amount of preparation you can do before basic training will save you hundreds of sit-ups and push-ups in front of a drill sergeant.  During basic training you will be dealing with Drill Sergeants who love to yell at you and hang on your every word.  One of the best compliments I received at basic training was from a drill sergeant on my graduation day. The drill sergeant came up to me and asked me if I belonged on stage.  She wasn’t asking me if I deserved to graduate, she was asking me if I was with the right platoon.  She had never seen me before because I flew “under the radar” so well.  I made it through basic training without getting yelled at much, here’s how I did it:

In my best-selling book, I teach military 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 personal attention you get from Drill Sergeants.  

Understand Why They Yell- Drill Sergeants don’t personally hate you.  If you take the yelling and insults a Drill Sergeant gives you personally, you will add extra stress to an already stressful situation.  A Drill Sergeants goal is to motivate and train you in the quickest time possible.  Their job is to break you down as a civilian and turn you into a member of the U.S military in the shortest time possible.  That job is not easy and would be difficult with a Richard Simmons type motivation approach.  If you get personal attention by Drill Sergeants at basic training, just remember it’s for your own good.

Don’t be Friendly- Your Drill Sergeant isn’t looking for a friend, so leave your manners at home.  Don’t attempt to have a leisurely or friendly chat with a Drill Sergeant because you will find yourself doing push-ups in the mud.  90% of what you say to a Drill Sergeant should be “Drill Sergeant yes Drill Sergeant”, or “Drill Sergeant no Drill Sergeant”.  The other recruits should be your friends, the Drill Sergeants should be your motivators and trainers.

Don’t be Einstein- Drill Sergeants aren’t impressed with all the knowledge 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 a question, don’t shout it out unless you are specifically called upon.

Speak with Confidence, Even if You Know Your Wrong- Drill Sergeants love to pick on recruits who answer or talk in a quiet or timid voice. Their job is to turn you into a lean mean fighting machine. 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.

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 the same as arriving late to a Drill Sergeant.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of several basic training books, including the best selling: 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

I have to admit, from time to time I get unique questions which I have never been asked before. Someone going to army basic training asked me if the top or bottom bunk was better at fort benning and/or fort jackson. Whether you are going to marine corps basic training or air force basic training, the bunk you choose could have a small impact on your overall experience.  I specifically chose the top bunk.
Why?
I felt if I was on the bottom bunk, I would just be staring at the bottom of the top bunk mattress, which didn’t appeal to me. At least at the top bunk, I could see the ceiling and have a small sense of aloneness. That’s just my view though. Military basic training is filled with stress, and that small sense of aloneness helped me just a little bit. Sometimes, the drill sergeants will assign your bunks for you (especially in the Marines), but if you get a choice, I would recommend the top bunk. It’s easier to make the top bunk bed in the morning too (also in my opionion)

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival

Can Tuition Assistance Help With College?

When you joined the service you may remember hearing about tuition assistance. It’s a benefit available to everyone, active or reserves, in every branch of the service. It is entirely funded by the federal government, with the exception of some states’ air and army national guards that use state budgets to fund tuition assistance.

Tuition assistance is available for anyone who is an active member of the military through the completion of the course in which they are applying for. In other words, the course can’t end before your enlistment.

It is the responsibility of the service member to apply for tuition assistance through their appropriate channels—it is not a benefit that simply appears when you register for your courses. Typically, you must get the approval of your unit commander in order to apply for tuition assistance. You must be a service member in good standing and cannot have any flags in your file.

The current rate for tuition assistance is $250/credit hour. Each member of the service eligible for tuition assistance has $4500 available to them per military fiscal year (1 October-30 September). It can be used for traditional college courses or trade schools.

There are various public schools (particularly community colleges) with low tuition rates and private colleges that offer discounts that are based on the amount funded by tuition assistance. These can allow the service member the ability to pay for the majority of their education on tuition assistance alone.

However, not many colleges fall into the category of affordable these days. To confront the trend of rising tuition costs, President Bush signed an amendment to the Montgomery GI Bill called Tuition Assistance Top-up. It allowed active military students to use their GI Bill benefits to add to their tuition assistance to cover the additional costs per course for more costly programs.

Either alone or in conjunction with the Top-up program, tuition assistance can be a tremendous asset to active and reserve members of the military to enhance their careers and may be worth re-enlisting for to make sure you maximize your education benefits available to you!

David J. Renza is a military enrollment counselor, VA certifying official and adjunct professor at Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut. He is also the co-author of Military Education Benefits for College, which was published by Savas Beatie in May of 2010. He also maintains a blog on military education called The Most Powerful Weapon.

Why are you joining the military? Have you asked yourself that question yet? Too many recruits just join the military becuase they saw a neat commercial or they need the college money. That, in my opinion, is the worst reason to join.  You will have a difficult time at basic training with those excuses as motivation to graduate. With USMC training; being the most difficult of all the branches, you need more motivation than college money to surpass your drill sergeants; standards of what a soldier should be. Let’s take military fitness for example, more specifically, Army fitness. In military basic training you have to be able to run at least 4 miles without stopping. Do you think college money will help you push through that third mile? I will tell you from experience, the answer is most likely no.

In Army basic training your drill sergeants will be on you like white on rice for 10 weeks. After the second week, the college money won’t seem like much of a motivational factor.  Army training is difficult and you have to want to be there, not be doing it for some other reason. You have to want the training, you have to want the structure and you have to want the discipline.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival

You have no doubt heard the recent buzz about the Post 9/11 or Chapter 33 GI Bill, which is arguably the most comprehensive education benefit offered to date, allowing many veterans serving our country after September 11, 2001 the ability to pay for school like never before.

As a military student, it pays your school a pre-determined amount for tuition based on the amount of time you served active duty and the state your school is located in.  It also pays a number of other benefits, to include an annual stipend for books and  a percentage of Basic Allowance and Housing, or BAH, depending on how long you served active duty and the BAH rate for the university you are attending. 

You may also be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program, if you have served enough time on active duty and your school is a participant with the program.  The Yellow Ribbon Program serves to give additional funds for tuition for qualifying students whose tuition isn’t fully covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill. 

Sounds great, right?  But once you transfer from the traditional GI Bill to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, you can’t opt back into the traditional Montgomery GI Bill.  So how do you know if transferring to the Post 9/11 GI Bill is the right decision for you? 

The key is contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Determining your eligibility with the VA before making any decisions to switch to the Post 9/11 GI Bill is of paramount importance because, as mentioned previously, you won’t be able to go back to your prior GI Bill chapter once you switch.

For starters, you may stand to lose any kickers you may be eligible for with your current GI Bill.  In addition, you may only be allowed a percentage of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits based on your service period.  Also, you may be able to defer the Post 9/11 GI Bill until after you have used the maximum amount of time for your present GI Bill chapter, which may make you eligible for an additional period of benefits after you’ve used your current GI Bill benefits up.  The institution you attend may also play a role in whether or not you should choose the Post 9/11 GI Bill, as you may not be able to use all of your benefits at some institutions or you may not be covered entirely due to tuition costs. 

To determine if the GI Bill is right for you and your education, contact the VA at 1-888-GI-BILL-1. 

David J. Renza is a military enrollment counselor, VA certifying official and adjunct professor at Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut.  You can buy his book: Military Education Benefits for College, here: http://www.ultimatebasictraining.com/shopping_cart.php

The Games Drill Sergeants Play

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!

Are you allowed to bring a camera to basic training?

A recruit going to military basic training e-mailed me and asked “Are you allowed to bring a camera to basic training?”

The short answer is no. However, you will have a historian will be following you around everywhere and photographing you doing military fitness, getting yelled at by drill sergeants and all the other neat experiences you were promised when you decided joining the military was for you.

When I went through army basic training the historian assigned to us was everywhere he should have been. He knew where he was supposed to be and he knew when the exciting army training was about to take place.  The historian knew when the army fitness regimines where about to reach the breaking point for recruits and we would have that dumb and exhausted looks on our faces.  And if your going through USMC training the same applies for you.

At the end of boot camp, the historian will sell you a CD of pictures and videos for a few bucks. Even if it doesn’t sound appealing to purchase it, be sure to get a copy, you will want the memories.
SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival www.UltimateBasicTraining.com

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Basic Training

I just recieved another email regarding this question and I thought I would address this via a blog.

“Hey Sergeant Volkin, I was just wondering if A.I.T. is anything like Basic Training.”

Thank you Nick for your question.  AIT, which stands for Advanced Individual Training in the Army is similar but not the same as basic training. To reduce confusion, Air Force boot camp does not use the acronym AIT (I have recieved this same question from Air Force recruits).

Once you have a fantastic time surviving boot camp, you then have to make it through AIT. The Army basic training schedule gets a bit easier in AIT, but not much. Your standards are higher for your Army basic training workouts as your drill sergeants expect more from you. Your military fitness demands are higher, but then again, you are in better shape, so it seems easier. The Army fitness standards are tougher, you now have to surpass the 60% mark for all fitness test, but yet again, you are in better shape, so it seems easier.
I wouldnt worry too much about the Army physical fitness program in AIT, the standard are tougher but you should be in much better shape by the time you finish basic training, so your fitness should’nt be an issue.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival http://www.UltimateBasicTraining.com

Surviving boot camp is all about the mental aspect of basic training, not the physical aspect. Don’t worry so much about Army fitness (or military fitness in general). The Army fitness standards are easy to surpass if you follow chapter 2 of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook. The Army physical fitness program simply uses multiple repetitions and endurance to test your physical fitness levels. Your body can easily adapt to these types of movements and this, requires little preparation on your part (8 weeks). Once you have trained for 8-weeks with the Army basic training workout explained in chapter 2, the Army basic training schedule should be a piece of cake (fitness wise). Even though I am referring to the Army here, the military fitness program explained in chapter 2 works with any branch of the military, even Air Force boot camp.

So, in order to survive boot camp, it is critical that you prepare properly. When I say prepare, I mean mentally and physically. Mentally, you just shouldn’t leave for boot camp without knowing what your getting into. Physically, your body has to be fit (military fit, not civilian fit).

Small advantages you can give yourself before you leave for boot camp, can give you big advantages once you there.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival http://www.UltimateBasicTraining.com