Military Basic Training Question- Trying To Understand The "Normal" Response

[Skip Reming]

I think of normal like a numbers game. For instance, my company was about 200 people. When I left them in Week 4, I was the only one getting out for being suicidal.

If you have a death wish then why are you wanting to NOT be in the military? Have you thought this through?

 

[MikeHolmes]

What were the trainers doing?

Just normal Basic Training stuff, the subtle insults at people, the condescending remarks to break people down, the laughing and feeling mighty by having the control and power that they do. It wasn't atypical or anything to that particularly company. I just don't understand it. I recall looking at the clock to determine whether to say Good Afternoon or Good Evening, Sir to the Commander. He sees me looking at the clock and says, "There's no need to be looking at the clock. You're on my time." I just brooded over how entitled and egomaniacal someone has to be to have that comment ready as a response to someone looking at a clock.

 

[sangreporsangre]

You haven't "escaped captivity" in the slightest, you're the furthest thing from a "free man". You're still obsessed with this shit almost a decade later. The military wasn't for you, this should have been a short blip in your life. Move the fuck on.

 

[MikeHolmes]

Question is,

Why did you join the military in the first place then you goof? You knew exactly what you were getting into when you sworn in before going to Basics.

Obviously I did not know what I was getting into. Besides, going through something is different from reading about it anyways. I experienced an intense dislike for the trainers over the littlest things, that I couldn't have imagined ahead of time. Being completely controlled by another is a feeling I never want to have again. Hell, even before Basic Training, I always knew I would commit suicide rather than be in prison. I obviously did not realize Basic Training is basically prison.

 

[Slippery Kantus]

Should I rephrase it as they weren't so overwhelmed by the feeling of being controlled and held against their will, that they didn't cry uncontrollably, stab themselves and attempt to hang themselves like I did?

Again, how do you know that?

Lots of people put on great masks. I'm not trying to minimize what you went through, just tryinf to open your eyes to the fact that anyone can suffer internally no matter how they portray themselves.

 

[MikeHolmes]

You haven't "escaped captivity" in the slightest, you're the furthest thing from a "free man". You're still obsessed with this shit almost a decade later. The military wasn't for you, this should have been a short blip in your life. Move the fuck o.

While you have a point to a degree, I am free as a bird in comparison to while I was there. I will never be as depressed as I was when I was at Fort Leonard Wood. Yes, it has taken up mental space, but I still can sing to myself, "Fuck the Army" and brighten up a little. I recall feeling so badly repressed with my desire to talk about how badly I hated the Army when I was there, that I wanted to scale Mount Everest and scream "I hate the Army!!!" at the top of my lungs. The fact that I can type every word about that experience and not repress my hatred is an enormous freedom that I do not take for granted.

 

[MikeHolmes]

Again, how do you know that?

Lots of people put on great masks. I'm not trying to minimize what you went through, just tryinf to open your eyes to the fact that anyone can suffer internally no matter how they portray themselves.

I can see what you're saying. But behaviors are certainly measures of normalcy as well. I could NOT control myself from bawling like a baby. Nobody else had that problem.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

I was lucky enough to have somewhat of a troubled, fun and wild group of people in Basic Training.

I just had the mentality of doing what they said is easier and would definitely make the process a lot smoother than not. Myself and lot of other guys goofed and really didn't give a shit what they said but we did it to make the process easier for ourselves.

It's about what makes it easier for myself.

It wasn't until I got to Tech school, had some situations which were in no way troubled or outlandish behavior but where I got a bit of how real military life was where I was really like "ooooh...I don't know about this shit"

"we own you"
"you do what we say"
"it's not about YOUR life, it's about what we want to do with YOUR life"

 

[koolinkunming]

What you are describing is a lot like being a Buddhist monk. Breaking your ego, having someone else have complete control over you, etc. The only thing that's different is the goal, freeing yourself from your ego vs. brainwashing. Interesting.

 

[MikeHolmes]

If you have a death wish then why are you wanting to NOT be in the military? Have you thought this through?

Sorry, but that's not a good point. My end game isn't death, it's a happy life and not being controlled by others. Granted, I'd rather be dead than live in misery, but I'm not actively looking to make my life miserable. I didn't realize how badly the quality of life is at Basic Training until I was there. Every day felt like a month of intense suffering. I wanted to end the pain, not because I wanted to die but because I wanted to no longer be controlled. The military wants control. It's as bad a match as possible.

 

[MikeHolmes]

I was lucky enough to have somewhat of a troubled, fun and wild group of people in Basic Training.

I just had the mentality of doing what they said is easier and would definitely make the process a lot smoother than not. Myself and lot of other guys goofed and really didn't give a shit what they said but we did it to make the process easier for ourselves.

It's about what makes it easier for myself.

It wasn't until I got to Tech school, had some situations which were in no way troubled or outlandish behavior but where I got a bit of how real military life was where I was really like "ooooh...I don't know about this shit"

"we own you"
"you do what we say"
"it's not about YOUR life, it's about what we want to do with YOUR life"

Thanks for the response.

Is that Kourtney Kane in your avatar? I never was really into her, but that avatar makes me want to watch a scene of hers and re-evaluate that position.

 

[LATEXXX COMMANDO]

Thanks for the response.

Is that Kourtney Kane in your avatar? I never was really into her, but that avatar makes me want to watch a scene of hers and re-evaluate that position.

Yessir

 

[DoctorTaco]

Most people who are too into the "pro military fuck yeah!" Schtick like recruiters are usually lying to themselves as much as the impressionable kids they're talking to. They act like they're so happy but get out and end up fat, lonely xenophobes with drinking problems who lie to folks on the internet about their glory days while simultaneously spreading hate speech.

IMO.

 

[NelmarksGhost]

Some advice I was given over 20 years ago:

There's nothing worse than having someone dumber than you telling you what to do.

 

[My Spot]

The ts was previously busted in the War Room for never even attending boot camp.

 

[MikeHolmes]

The ts was previously busted in the War Room for never even attending boot camp.

Why are you spreading this lie? I believed my military enlistment contract was 18 months, when it was in fact 2 years, so you jumped to a conclusion that I lied. They have since gotten rid of the 2 year enlistment. I wish it was abolished when I was enlisting, since my initial reaction to seeing MOS contracts for 4 or 5 year enlistments was "No fucking way."

 

[usmctanker242]

You sound pretty pathetic. I enjoyed my 9 years of service and it made me a better human all around. It sounds like you wouldn't do well anywhere in this country, let alone the military. Don't blame the service for your own personal mess.

 

[My Spot]

Why are you spreading this lie? I believed my military enlistment contract was 18 months, when it was in fact 2 years, so you jumped to a conclusion that I lied. They have since gotten rid of the 2 year enlistment. I wish it was abolished when I was enlisting, since my initial reaction to seeing MOS contracts for 4 or 5 year enlistments was "No fucking way."

Yes, tell us more about your special contract (that was only made for you and no one else) and how you were literally forced to enlist because your recruiter supposedly wouldn't pick you up from MEPS if you didn't...

 

[My Spot]

You sound pretty pathetic. I enjoyed my 9 years of service and it made me a better human all around. It sounds like you wouldn't do well anywhere in this country, let alone the military. Don't blame the service for your own personal mess.

Go look at some of his threads in the War Room under his old name (Mike Armyquitte). Dude is full of shit about ever joining.

 

[MikeHolmes]

Yes, tell us more about your special contract (that was only made for you and no one else) and how you were literally forced to enlist because your recruiter supposedly wouldn't pick you up from MEPS if you didn't...

You have really bad reading comprehension issues, man. It wasn't that difficult to figure out. I said no way to 4 year, 5 year enlistment offers. At the time, they had 2 year enlistments(I thought it was 18 months, but we looked it up online), so the guy came back with one of those offers. It wasn't special to me, it was just supposedly an unusually shorter term for the MOS that required 4 month OSUT.

I didn't want to enlist, but MEPS was a 2 hour drive from where I lived, so I didn't feel like bothering anyone for a ride in case the recruiter was an asshole about me not signing up, so I signed the 2 year contract. I would have stuck to my guns and said no to the 4 or 5 year deals though. Really not that hard to understand.