When you enlist in the military, there are some basics to keep in mind. When you join the Armed Forces, you have to come to expect certain things to be true. Some things are true no matter what you may have been told, and knowing what to expect ahead of time can help save a lot of confusion and save you from becoming disappointed or finding military life not what you expected. You should learn what military life is like, what to expect, and keep your expectations somewhat in line with reality. Most people learn enough about the military to have reasonable expectations, ones that are not out of line, so they wind up not being disappointed.
Its important to keep your ears open, and learn all you can BEFORE you decide to enlist. In an effort to clear up some of the misconceptions, here are some truisms about enlistment in the Armed Forces of the U.S.A. This is true with much of life, but also especially true of the Military.
If you Don’t like it, you Can just quit- Nope. It just is not that easy. When you sign an enlistment contract, then you are signing a legal document agreeing to your enlistment contract. Up to the time you leave for basic training, you are able to change your mind. But once you leave for Basic, you are committed. So just make sure you know what you want before you sign. They Don’t yell at you Anymore In Boot Camp- Wrong again. Its not summer camp, you wont roast wieners on the campfire and tell Ghost stories before making smores. Its training for the military. You will be sleep deprived, yelled at, cussed at, even screamed at, and yes you will be surprised when it happens. But as long as you keep your cool and work hard, then you will do just fine.
You will have weekend passes every weekend- I wish. Not only will you not have weekend passes, you likely wont leave the training facility from the time you get there until the day you graduate. There are sometimes exceptions for the end of training, some boot camps allow a day or two of liberty, but that is the exception rather than the rule.
You will train hard. They will run you, yell at you, and push you hard, but in the end you will be stronger, tougher, and a graduate, ready to assume your role as the newest member of the enlisted Armed Forces.
