I haven’t been keeping up with my Navy stories series on this blog because it got boring writing about the details of boot camp.  The real good stuff comes after that and over the next few years.  So to keep this series going let’s just fast forward to the end of boot camp.

If you want to know more details about boot camp then go here.  I will just finish up with the most notable personal experiences involved with boot camp.  Here we go.

RPOC Failure!

As your division in boot camp starts to establish itself the RDC (Recruit Division Commander) will want to weed out a strong candidate to lead the divsion.  They call this guy the RPOC which means Recruit Petty Officer Commander I think.  He is responsible for making sure the guys do what they are supposed to, to speak for the group, and command the group during marching.  He needs to be a natural leader with a strong voice.

I tried my hand at this position and failed.  I seemed to be doing ok until we were on the way to chow later that day when I gave a wrong command and marched the division in the wrong direction.  This may seem like not a big deal but it can be disasterous.  They always told us that no matter what the division is to follow the command of the RPOC even if he marches them into a brick wall.  I remember times when other divisions would give wrong commands and their division would end up marching right through our ranks.  They said if that happens then you simply march right over whoever was in your way.

Well, because I gave the wrong command the RDC instantly fired me from the position and made me feel just wonderful about it in from of the whole division of course.  I remember later that day crying on the stairs because I had failed.  It was stressful,  I think I was mainly upset because I failed and got humiliated.  It’s not because I am a big whimp.  No really, I’m not. lol

Female Peeping Tom’s

At the time I was in the Navy there were already female divisions.  The barracks were designed in the way where each of the shower rooms had a door in the back leading out to a spiral stairwell that goes out in to the main courtyard.  Well directly across from our back door was the female division’s back shower room door.  Interestingly enough each door had a window on it.  The window was painted with red paint on each side, obviously so nobody would look through it at all the people taking showers.

Well one day I was called by a group of fellow recruits to join them over to the spiral stairwell outside of our bathroom.  One of the guys had managed to scratch some paint off of each side of the female’s shower room door window.  Of course I had to take a look.  It reminded me of the scene from that movie Porky’s where the guys snuck in to look at the girls in the showers.  As an 18 year old male, how could I not look.

Anyway, the best part about this story is that the female’s had managed to scratch some paint off of our door as well.  I am not sure how long the peeping went on between each of the divisions but one day we were started by the sound of loud shouting coming from across the way from the females barracks.  Suddenly some of the windows were flung open and the girls bra’s and underwear were thrown out.  We come to find out that the female division had gotten caught peeping on us and their RDC was giving them hell.

This is a rare occasion where women are actually caught being the perverts instead of it always being us men.

The Naked Guy Who Got Kicked Out

One night we heard about this guy who went kind of crazy and started running around at night outside of the baracks in his underwear.  As you would imagine he got the attention of the MP’s who were patrolling the Naval station.  Well one of the MP’s was a female and as soon as she got out of the car the guy dropped his underwear.  The MP’s snatched him up and he was out in no time.  There were a few cases of people doing things to get out.  Some people just can’t handle stressful situations like that and they break down.  We heard stories of two different guys trying to kill themselves as well.

The Gas Chamber

The gas chamber was one of my favorite experiences.  Most people hate it of course but for me it was quite entertaining.  First they march you into this small room where we stand in ranks wearing gas masks.  Then one rank at a time, they pull your mask off and have you breath the gas.  The purpose of the exercise is to show you that you can trust the mask and that it works.  Not to mention you will not know what tear gas feels like so you will know when you encounter it again.

Before entering the chamber you are required to tuck your shirt into your pants and open your top few buttons.  They told us that this if we felt the need to puke then we would have to do it in our shirts so we did not get puke on their deck floor.  They also had a trash can just outside of the chamber door so that you can keep throwing up in their if you needed to.

I remember, bring in the fifth row.  They started by making the first row remove their masks.  It was interesting to see the individual reactions of each person as they instantly were exposed to the gas.  Some threw up right away, some tried to bolt for the door but were blocked by the RDC’s who made sure each person experienced the gas for the equal amount of time.  Some choked uncoltrollably and fell down.  Others just stayed there and didn’t make much reactions except for some coughing and spitting.

Once they got to my row and had us take off our masks I remember feeling instant terrible burning in my eyes.  They told us to not rub our eyes or else it would be worse.  Instead we were to hold our hands outward and flap are arms to cope with the irritation.  Teargas makes you drain incredible amounts of liquid from your nose and eyes.  I did not vomit but there was literally a solid stream of mucus coming out of my nose as I left the chamber.  I could not see very well so all I could do was grab the snot off my nose and throw it at the trash can.  A buddy of mine was right next to me and we were both laughing histerically at the situation while we gagged, spit and cryed our way to recovery.

Redeeming Myself During Battle Stations

One of the final physical tests they gave us was called Battle Stations.  They woke us at 12AM and had us run a series of obsticle courses that mimic real life shipboard emergencies.  The first course was to climb up the high dive at the swimming pool and jump in with full gear on and float for a certain amount, execute some floating techniques, and then swim back to the side and get out.  Each of us were given towels to dry off a bit before we were headed to the next station.  All of the towels were put in a seabag and one recruit had to carry it to the next station.

We were required to run to each station without stopping.  As you would imagine the seabag full of wet towels was quite heavy and the person carrying it was not able to make it and started to fall out of the run.  I offered to take the bag and help out well as I got to the next station I stopped and walked the last few remaining feet.  It was literally 10 feet but the RDC started getting in my face and telling me that I stopped running before I got to the next station and failed the course and he sent me back to my barracks.  He said I could retry the course in a few days.

I was so pissed!  When I got back to the barracks threw my helmet all around and started swearing really loud.  I was carrying a sea bag full of towels for Christ’s sake and it was 10 feet!  I felt it was totally unfair so I decided I would do something about it.  I told the other recruits I was going back.  So I ran back to the next station and got in line against the orders of the RDC.

They were doing a drill where there was a manhole on fire and we had to help each other through the small hole as quickly as possible without burning alive or staying in the other compartment to die.  As we entered the course the RDC noticed me in line and said, “Hey!  didn’t I tell you you had to go back to the barracks?!”, and I replied, “Yes sir!  But I refuse to fail sir!  I refuse to give up!”.  He looked at me for a moment and said, “Well, what in the hell choice does that give ME?”, “You know what, ” I like you Moreno.  I am going to give you another chance.  That kind of spirit makes for a good leader.  I’ll tell you what, you are going to be in charge of the next drill.”  So he let me run the next course and I went on to finish battle stations completely.

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Read the next episode for one more thing about boot camp.

A Change in Lifestyle

The end of P-week and onto the first official week. The first three weeks of Navy Boot Camp are clearly the toughest both physically and mentally. If you can get through the first three weeks then you’ll pretty much be able to go all the way to graduation.  The key is getting used to a whole new life routine.  They will always push you into quitting and they will use that as a tool to make you want to succeed.  Nobody likes being told they can’t do something.  They will tell you things like, “I guess you are not cut out for this opportunity”, etc.

Marching and Drilling In the first week of navy boot camp you will be learning the all about the basic foundations of what it means to be a sailor in the United States Navy.   You will spend hours and hours learning the complexities of marching and drilling moving as one entity.  You will march EVERYWHERE!  The first couple of weeks, you’ll notice that everyone messes up on everything.

It is actually funny to watch total noob recruits trying to march, as they all stare at their feet while they walk and bump into each other.  It is stressful.  On multiple occasions I saw two recruits break out in a fist fight because one was stepping on the others boots while they were trying to march. Marching is all about learning to move with others as one.  There are strict patterns you must follow depending on where you are in the ranks.  There are simple terms you need to understand:

• March – To start marching from whatever position you are at.
• Ranks – This term describes the rows of people in the group.  “In the ranks” means, “in the lines of people”.
• Left Face – To turn your body facing 90 degrees left from where you are now.
• Right Face – To turn your body facing 90 degrees right from where you are now.
• About Face – To turn your body facing 180 degrees from where you are facing now.
• To the Rear – To suddenly start marching in the opposite direction.
• Dress – To execute a dress order.  To line your self up with other people in the ranks.
• Dress right – To line yourself up to the person on your right.
• Dress Left – To line yourself up to the person on your left.

These are some basic terms involved with marching.  Marching terminology is much more technical and can get very complex.  There are trick drills and complex formations and more.  We will speak of the basics for now.  We have many posts to talk about marching as it is a constant throughout all of your time in boot camp.  For full details on drilling and marching terminology and procedures you should go to your local recruiting office and join the Navy. Haha!  Just Kidding.

You Have to Learn to Swim

Also in this week you will be required to take your initial swim qualifications. Before you can  graduate boot camp, you have to be able to swim on one level or another.  Even if it is doggy paddling.  They call basic swimming 3rd class swim qualifications.  I already knew how to swim so this was easy for me but not so for others. When they test you initially they separate the people who already know how to swim from the ones that need to learn.  I am not lying when I say this: but when they separated us, the group who couldn’t swim was about 75% African American.

I know this is a cliche but I am telling you from experience it was true.  It is irrelevant though because they all eventually learned to swim anyway.  It was just interesting to note. You ever heard that when someone is drowning and they panic they will drown someone else to stay alive?  Well, when they started to train the ones who couldn’t swim they would throw a group of them into a small circular area the pool.  They would yell at them to doggy paddle around this little area to stay afloat.

This may seem cruel but there were professionals around that would not let anyone drowned.  RDC’s also had these long sticks to help control each person. Well, during the training one guy panicked and started to literally drowned the guy in front of him to keep afloat.  I remember watching him doggy paddle toward the guy in front of him and literally start to try to climb on his back like he was climbing a ladder.  The RDC’s noticed and started yelling at him to stop and swim on his own.  He stopped ,then again began to climb on the person again.  This time the RDC’s made him get out of the pool and he was disqualified.  I think he may have been dropped from boot camp also, but I am not sure.

Classroom Time Does Not End with High School

We spent hours in the classroom each day learning about about rank/rate recognition, rape awareness, equal opportunities, sexual harassment and fraternization, core values and more.  It was horrible, trying to stay awake during these classes because you were always so sleepy.  Most instructors would allow you to go in the back of the class room and do push-ups and sit-ups if you were unable to sit without falling sleep.  Many times did I get caught sleeping and had to go in the back to workout to stay awake. I remember they would always tell us, you can sleep, as long as you can sleep with your eyes open.  The crazy thing was I saw someone do it before, it was creepy!

The Ship, Organization and Neatness, and Uniforms

In boot camp you don’t waste much time sleeping.  You use all but a couple hours thought the day learning and organizing, everything!  The barracks was considered your ship.  We slept in very basic and uncomfortable bunk beds which were lined up perfectly inside the ship so the RDC can see all the way down the row to the end and carefully watch each and every recruit. We spent lots of time inside the ship organizing, stenciling, ironing and listening to the RDC tell us stories and more.  Once you pass P week you will get your first official uniform, the dungarees.

This is the uniform you will be wearing most of the time you are in the Navy.  It is a utility uniform used for general tasks and working. In boot camp you get to learn the very technical skill of stenciling your uniforms with your name in very specific places, with very specific measurements.  It was amazing how much you had to pay attention to detail during this part of the training.  You would be doing push-ups and sit-ups for even the simplest mistakes on your informs.  During the first week you will spend lots of hours getting this part right so that all 80 or so folks in your division look exactly the same.

Interesting Details About the Ship

The ship always had to be perfect, you could not leave it at anything but spotless at all times.  Every detail of the cleaning was handled by the recruits on a daily basis.  There was a soda machine at the end of the hall that could not be touched, ever!  This was an interesting psychological test and it will come into play later on in this series.  There was a gun rack for M-16s that always had to be cleaned, but we had no guns!  It was a circus of things that didn’t make any sense throughout boot camp but there are reasons for it.

Stay tuned for the next episode where I will go into week 2 of Navy boot camp stories.  If you haven’t done so already, subscribe to this blog using the links below, so that you get the next post as soon as I publish it.  Thanks for reading.