who here has been in the army ?

[golden arhat]

describe your experiences if you would

[MasterKiller]

When I was in basic, my Drill Seargant, Sgt. Hulka, was wounded by a misfired RPG, so we basically had to finish our basic training alone. We were almost late to the graduation ceremony, but barely made it on time, and actually had to improvise our graduation routine because we had been out drinking the night before (This guy Ox almost got us all arrested at a mud wrestling event for taking off the chicks's bras, but that's another story).

The base commander was so impressed with our effort at graduation, though, that he assigned my whole group to guard a top-secret vehicle on the Czech border. Of course, we got hammered one night and took it for a joyride, and accidentally ended up in Soviet terrority. Man, getting out of there was tough, but luckily the vehicle, which was disguised as an average RV, has a lot of bells and whistles.

[sanjuro_ronin]

When I was in basic, my Drill Seargant, Sgt. Hulka, was wounded by a misfired RPG, so we basically had to finish our basic training alone. We were almost late to the graduation ceremony, but barely made it on time, and actually had to improvise our graduation routine because we had been out drinking the night before (This guy Ox almost got us all arrested at a mud wrestling event for taking off the chicks's bras, but that's another story).

The base commander was so impressed with our effort at graduation, though, that he assigned my whole group to guard a top-secret vehicle on the Czech border. Of course, we got hammered one night and took it for a joyride, and accidentally ended up in Soviet terrority. Man, getting out of there was tough, but luckily the vehicle, which was disguised as an average RV, has a lot of bells and whistles.

That was you ?!?!
Well Done !!!!:D

[brothernumber9]

Thats the fact Jack

[sha0lin1]

I was. I loved Basic Training and AIT, but then when I got to my asigned unit I found out that the army was just like working anywhere else, politics, favoritism, brown nosing, and B.S.

[golden arhat]

well i'm joining the parachute regiment quite possibly


so i'm really looking to prepare myself in any way i can

please share all your stories from training

[sanjuro_ronin]

well i'm joining the parachute regiment quite possibly


so i'm really looking to prepare myself in any way i can

please share all your stories from training

I may have you mistaken for someone else, but don't you have a "problem" with authority?

[golden arhat]

I may have you mistaken for someone else, but don't you have a "problem" with authority?

oh believe me

i do


thats kind of why i wanna do it, cos it'l be the hardest thing i ever do.

[sanjuro_ronin]

oh believe me

i do


thats kind of why i wanna do it, cos it'l be the hardest thing i ever do.

Well, that is "A" reason I guess.

[brothernumber9]

My nephew was a paratrooper until his knee was destroyed when his chute failed. He said that prior to his injury, he was in the best shape of his life. Initially though he said it was hell on earth. He severely dehydrated twice and had to be hospitalized. During training in Texas he said he was required to run virtually everywhere everyday in regs; to class, to mess, to trainings, to shower, to everywhere. When he graduated highschool he was around 6'2 maybe 240-250lbs. I don't know what weight he got down to from training, but he was completely svelt, nearly slim.
He said running became like walking. He ran everywhere just as a matter of habit and unless running marathon type distances, he was never gassed, even then, unless he pushed himself, he said he could hit an automatic kinda cruise control stride, and other than a natural cool down, would remain relatively fresh.
If your training ends up being like his, look forward to being in the best cardio, and perhaps the best shape of your life.

[Sihing73]

My nephew was a paratrooper until his knee was destroyed when his chute failed. He said that prior to his injury, he was in the best shape of his life. Initially though he said it was hell on earth. He severely dehydrated twice and had to be hospitalized. During training in Texas he said he was required to run virtually everywhere everyday in regs; to class, to mess, to trainings, to shower, to everywhere. When he graduated highschool he was around 6'2 maybe 240-250lbs. I don't know what weight he got down to from training, but he was completely svelt, nearly slim.
He said running became like walking. He ran everywhere just as a matter of habit and unless running marathon type distances, he was never gassed, even then, unless he pushed himself, he said he could hit an automatic kinda cruise control stride, and other than a natural cool down, would remain relatively fresh.
If your training ends up being like his, look forward to being in the best cardio, and perhaps the best shape of your life.

Hello,

If this is in the US why would he be going through paratrooper training in Texas?? Airborne training is done at Fort Benning, Ga. Also, I am unaware of any active airborne units in Texas, unless it is a National Guard Unit(??) :confused:

[golden arhat]

well the parachute regiment is supposedly the hardest regiment to get in and the hardest to be in

over half of the soldiers in SAS come from the parachute regiment


so yeah kind of mixed feelings
really excited
yet worried

[sanjuro_ronin]

well the parachute regiment is supposedly the hardest regiment to get in and the hardest to be in

over half of the soldiers in SAS come from the parachute regiment


so yeah kind of mixed feelings
really excited
yet worried

Wouldn't that make the SAS the hardest regiment to get in?
:D

[brothernumber9]

Then you have my apologies. I must be wrong and it must have been in Georgia or where ever else the actual training is done if there are multiple places. I assumed Texas because he lived there for a time after his discharge and you always hear about how hot it is in Texas. I was not in the armed forces. My intent was to convey the physical shape he had acheived from his training.

[Sihing73]

Then you have my apologies. I must be wrong and it must have been in Georgia or where ever else the actual training is done if there are multiple places. I assumed Texas because he lived there for a time after his discharge and you always hear about how hot it is in Texas. I was not in the armed forces. My intent was to convey the physical shape he had acheived from his training.

No worries, I was not dumping on you and appoligize if I came across that way.

I guess I am still a bit sore about them letting everyone wear a beret now in the Army as I had to earn mine. :mad:

The physical shape one attained while going through Jump School is very good. It continues depending on the unit you are assigned to after training, though some get their wings then go on to "leg" units.

IMHO the mental conditioning is far more intensive than the physical. Trains one to push on no matter what.

[PlumDragon]

Golden Arhat,

I spent 6 years in the Air Force--while the Air Force gets a bad rep for "easier" training, I did spend my time on Army bases and had a great deal of relevant contact with EOD, Paratrooper, and SEAL recruits on site despite not being on those MOS/AFSCs.

The primary reason why Im posting is that while most people who were in the military are pumped about it and will beckon you to join, I always feel differently. If you want to serve your country, etc then all the power to you. However, my experience is that if youre doing it for yourself there are a great deal more fulfilling things that you can spend your time doing. To me, being in the military isnt a fitness lifestyle or a challenge lifestyle, etc....Its a military lifestyle and despite how much you enjoy the "difficulty" of your career field, you will still ultimately be anchored to the dogmatic structure of the military.

One thing is for sure and that is that mlitary is a unique experience. But you never REALLY know whether its an experience that you personally will enjoy or hate, until youve taken that flight out to basic and your banging out pushups in the mud at 2am to the tone of a superior who, for lack of a better phrase, "owns you", but more importantly determines all the things you will do for the next 4 years. For those who end up enjoying the military lifestyle, all the power to em. But think long and hard about what kind of person you are, who you wnt to be in charge of your life, and what paths you want to take, before you dive in to renting your self and all your important decisions for 4+ years...

[golden arhat]

Wouldn't that make the SAS the hardest regiment to get in?
:D

well i mean

sas are a regiment, i suppose but its not in the sense that the parachute regiment are a regiment

its made up entirely of people from other regiments, and its alot smaller

thing about the sas aswell is that its relatively easy to get in if your already part of 1 para (first batallion) fitness wise

its the staying in thats the hardest part lol, i wouldnt want to be in the sas anyway hahaha

[golden arhat]

okay

so any bad experiences?

[taai gihk yahn]

When I was in basic, my Drill Seargant, Sgt. Hulka, was wounded by a misfired RPG, so we basically had to finish our basic training alone. We were almost late to the graduation ceremony, but barely made it on time, and actually had to improvise our graduation routine because we had been out drinking the night before (This guy Ox almost got us all arrested at a mud wrestling event for taking off the chicks's bras, but that's another story).

The base commander was so impressed with our effort at graduation, though, that he assigned my whole group to guard a top-secret vehicle on the Czech border. Of course, we got hammered one night and took it for a joyride, and accidentally ended up in Soviet terrority. Man, getting out of there was tough, but luckily the vehicle, which was disguised as an average RV, has a lot of bells and whistles.

was that training "AAARRRMY TRAINING"?

[TenTigers]

I wasn't in the ARMY, but I was in the Boy Scouts.
But I got thrown out, for eating a Brownie.

[David Jamieson]

I wasn't in the ARMY, but I was in the Boy Scouts.
But I got thrown out, for eating a Brownie.

That's completely irresponsible. You should give your DI 75 just for bringing it back up.

:p

[Drake]

Active duty for more than ten years. Made it to SSG on the enlisted side, now an intelligence officer. Commissioning was via OCS.

[Oso]

pay attention to what Plum Dragon said.

[mawali]

semper fi, brothers.

I was in the Marine Corps for 6 years and it was fun, at least not bootcamp.
Boot camp was 3 months (San Diego).
After graduation from main school (MOS) went to Okinawa and S. Korea.

No bad experiences! All good!

[huolung]

i was. I loved basic training and ait, but then when i got to my asigned unit i found out that the army was just like working anywhere else, politics, favoritism, brown nosing, and b.s.

amen to that!!! Lol

[ghostexorcist]

I served in the 82nd Airborne for a little over three years not counting basic training. I went overseas in support of O.I.F. back in early '03 and I got out in late December of that year. I was actually supposed to get out in July, but I was stop-lossed.

I'm not sure what the British parachute training is like, although I almost got a chance to jump with them once (would have gotten some cool British jump wings for my uniform), but the U.S. training is pretty rigorous compared to basic training. It is a three week course divided into three sections: 1) Ground week 2) Tower week and 3) Jump week.

Ground week is lots and lots and lots of running. We went from running two miles in basic training to five miles in airborne school. This was everyday, uphill, and very fast. I am by no means a "runner," but I managed to adjust. This is also when you learn how to (supposedly) land properly and how to control the direction of your descent. For landing, you have to jump off of a three foot platform into some gravel and roll accordingly. You jump off front, back, and side to side. I did fine on this until we had to learn how to roll on the move. You basically hold on to a bar that zips down a wire and you are supposed to let go and roll. However, my previous martial arts training became a burden since I had a major problem of trying to roll off of my shoulder instead of my side. This usually resulted in me "eating sh!t" (slamming into the gravel). Fortunately, I was not the only person plagued by this problem. For controlling your direction, they put you into the parachute harness and pull you just far enough off the ground that you can't touch even if you point your toes down. This was one of the single most painful experiences in my life. They keep you there so long that pain shoots up and down your legs and your balls eventually go numb. Anyway, you pull on the risers opposite to the direction you want to go. It's kind of like pulling a horses reigns right to go left.

Tower week consists of them hoisting you to the top of a 250 foot tower and dropping you. An already opened parachute, of course, slows your descent and you have to land properly. I cannot comment on this further since my class couldn't use the towers due to the fact that they were being painted for a movie. (They were shooting that Mel Gibson movie “We were Soldiers” at Fort Benning when I was there.) We just continued doing everything we did during Ground week for an extra week.

Jump week consists of you doing five jumps, one every day if I remember correctly. I surprisingly didn't have any fear whatsoever the first time I jumped. I think I was running on pure adrenaline at the time. However, instead of the luscious green field with moist, cushion-like soil that I was hoping for, the area I landed in was hard compacted sand. I hit with so much force that I thought I broke my legs. But, after collecting my stray testicles, I gathered up the chute and ran in to report. I was a tad bit scared to jump after that point. My following jumps were not much better. I looked up on one jump to see a huge section of my chute missing. I had to deploy by reserve chute. On another one, someone landed in my chute and luckily walked off of it before it collapsed.

About a year after I got to my normal duty unit at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, I hurt my foot on a jump and had to get some pins and screws put in to hold it together.