Extremely Nervous; NEED ANSWERS!

Shipping out in nearly one and a half a week and it finally hit me that I am about to go to ---- in a few moments notice! I was so pumped the whole time since I enlisted last year, but for these last days leading to my ship date, I have felt a little sleep deprived thinking about boot camp all night.

I know being nervous is normal, but I don't think I have ever been deathly afraid in my whole life except for these last few weeks at home! I even have serious nightmare about it. Sorry y'all, but to calm my nerves down a bit, I needed to write this post and keep myself by posting questions no matter how trivial they are!

1. Which rack should I get when I get to the barracks? Should I be in the middle or closer to stanky head so I can be the first one in?

2. What kind of chow should I eat when I'm nervous. I'm generally anorexic when I'm nervous, so what foods are quick, but beneficial for me to surivive an intense day?

3. How do you sound off louder? I swear, I use all the air in my lungs when I scream, but the NCO at my recuiting district's headquarter always pick on me about being too quiet. Even my recruiter boss needs me to repeat when I try to sound off. I am a pretty small guy with a good chance of having small lungs, however I do I think I am missing the technique here. ------ me off...

4. Should I volunteer for duties in boot camp? Many sources tell me I shouldn't....

5. Can you requalify swim quals if you do not get the quals you want in boot camp? My MOS requires me to be a 2nd class swimmer, so if I fail to qualify at this level in boot camp, would I be requalify in a place say....MCT?

6. If I have never been in a fight before, can I still excel in the pugil sticks fight? I have never fought anybody, nor has anybody have ever tried to fight me. I am a scrawny 120 lb. hoping to kill!

7. Is it true that a lot of the people who shoot experts during rifle quals are mostly the one who have never shot firearms before because they do not bring bad habbits?

8. What makes a good leader if you're more of a reserved type of guy? I initially planned to just flow through boot camp under the DIs' radar, but I now think that this is a ------ poor attitude. I want to be an excellent example.

9. Should sick-call always be a "DO-NOT-ENTER-zone"? A Marine who recently came back from graduation told us that if you get sick-call, it will definitely delay graduation and may increase your chance of being dropped out due to injury.

Another recent graduate also said he went through part of boot camp with a messed-up hip. If I get seriously injured, should I just suck it up?

10. Why do most Marines serve only one enlistment? I heard only 25% of first-time enlistees actually reenlist and the rest are discharged. Is it really that competitive?

Again, sorry if posting this is retarded, but I can only do this other than sleep....

1. Relax, you are like all of us. 2. Don't **** off your DI's.3. Two sets, one set in receiving, one set in boot camp.4. Eat everything.5. Stay under the radar, "Swift, Silent, and Deadly".6. They talk about your mom's you say "Sir, Thank You, Sir".7. Piece of cake.Lt. Johnson

1. You'll be assigned a rack. Plus the head isn't "stanky" as it will probably be the cleanest space in the squadbay.

2. Eat everything they serve. More if you can get it. You will always be hungry at chow time.

3. Sound off as loud as you can. Don't sweat this as no one will sound off loud enough to make the Drill Instructors happy anyway.

4. Don't volunteer, but don't lie if the DI asks you if you have a certain skill set (they probably already know the true answer).

5. From what I understand, if you fail to make 2d class in boot camp, that's it. No retakes elsewhere. But they give you more than one chance at boot camp.

6. Whether you can "excel" depends on you. But don't worry about this.

7. Not necessarily. But, it can be easier if you don't have old habits to break.

8. Do everything with motivation, enthusiasm, and 100% effort.

9. If you're genuinely sick or hurt, turn in to sick call. Delayed treatment can take a minor issue and turn it worse. If you recycle because of injury or illness, well, stuff happens. I almost had to recycle due to illness, so I understand. But I turned in sick immediately and my SDI stuck up for me at the meeting to drop me (see #8).

10. Most only want to serve one enlistment. Yes, first re-enlistment is quite competitive, especially now with downsizing going on.

11. Stop worrying and get some sleep. Lots of people have gone through this just fine.

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1. Which rack should I get when I get to the barracks? Should I be in the middle or closer to stanky head so I can be the first one in?

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one of the biggest issues in boot camp was the head,, they rush you in the morning and you get grief if you ask to use the head during the day,,sooooo, i had told the Fire watch to pass the word to wake me at 01:30 so i could use the head (in peace) and not have to worry about it during the day,,and believe me that makes a big difference for one thing not being on your mind during the day so you can stay focused,

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Originally Posted by LastXdeth

Shipping out in nearly one and a half a week and it finally hit me that I am about to go to ---- in a few moments notice! I was so pumped the whole time since I enlisted last year, but for these last days leading to my ship date, I have felt a little sleep deprived thinking about boot camp all night.

I know being nervous is normal, but I don't think I have ever been deathly afraid in my whole life except for these last few weeks at home! I even have serious nightmare about it. Sorry y'all, but to calm my nerves down a bit, I needed to write this post and keep myself by posting questions no matter how trivial they are!

1. Which rack should I get when I get to the barracks? Should I be in the middle or closer to stanky head so I can be the first one in?

You won't get a choice here. They'll put you where they want you. It usually starts out alphabetically, then people get shifted around to put squadleaders, house mice, ninjas where they need to be.

2. What kind of chow should I eat when I'm nervous. I'm generally anorexic when I'm nervous, so what foods are quick, but beneficial for me to surivive an intense day?

Eat as much as you can as quickly as you can. Don't worry, you'll be hungry. To feel full as quickly as possible, try to take in the heaviest items available. Make sure to eat your heavy carbohydrates and as much protein as you can. Also, it was my experience that pasta isn't usually the best way to go. You're allowed to get one meat and one carb in the chow line. If you grab the pasta, that's it. You get both. So you get one less item than if you grabbed chicken and potatos.

3. How do you sound off louder? I swear, I use all the air in my lungs when I scream, but the NCO at my recuiting district's headquarter always pick on me about being too quiet. Even my recruiter boss needs me to repeat when I try to sound off. I am a pretty small guy with a good chance of having small lungs, however I do I think I am missing the technique here. ------ me off...

Flex your diaphragm. If you're doing it right, you should have veins popping out of your neck, spit flying out of your mouth, and you should have a metallic taste in the back of your mouth at the end of the day.

4. Should I volunteer for duties in boot camp? Many sources tell me I shouldn't....

You're going to be voluntold to do lots of stuff anyway. This is up to you, but 90% of the things to volunteer for suck, and it's not like your DI's are going to "appreciate" you for volunteering.

5. Can you requalify swim quals if you do not get the quals you want in boot camp? My MOS requires me to be a 2nd class swimmer, so if I fail to qualify at this level in boot camp, would I be requalify in a place say....MCT?

I don't know the answer to this personally, but I don't think you qual beyond Swim Qual 4 in boot camp. The only water you'll be playing in at MCT is the rain. You may get to work toward Swim Qual 2 at your school.

6. If I have never been in a fight before, can I still excel in the pugil sticks fight? I have never fought anybody, nor has anybody have ever tried to fight me. I am a scrawny 120 lb. hoping to kill!

You'll be fighting someone within a couple pounds of your own weight. You'll also get several opportunities to try. Pugil sticks is more about heart than size anyway. Those fights leave you completely gassed within 2 minutes, and the guy with the bigger heart usually prevails.

7. Is it true that a lot of the people who shoot experts during rifle quals are mostly the one who have never shot firearms before because they do not bring bad habbits?

Not really. The guys who shot alot prior to boot camp qualified very high at boot camp. Really though, the people who are disciplined, pay attention, and don't run off to the head every chance they get during grass week qualify well. Also, it helps not getting pink eye, as this part of boot camp is in the middle of the pink eye phase.

8. What makes a good leader if you're more of a reserved type of guy? I initially planned to just flow through boot camp under the DIs' radar, but I now think that this is a ------ poor attitude. I want to be an excellent example.

Just do everything you can the best that you can. You'll have opportunities throughout the rest of your career and life to develop into a leader. If you never get a leadership role in boot camp, it won't matter at all 6 months after boot camp.

9. Should sick-call always be a "DO-NOT-ENTER-zone"? A Marine who recently came back from graduation told us that if you get sick-call, it will definitely delay graduation and may increase your chance of being dropped out due to injury.

Another recent graduate also said he went through part of boot camp with a messed-up hip. If I get seriously injured, should I just suck it up?

If you're "hurting" suck it up. If you're "hurt" go to medical. Which sounds worse? Going to medical may get you recycled and make training take longer. Not going and letting the problem get worse may make you get seperated from the Marine Corps.

10. Why do most Marines serve only one enlistment? I heard only 25% of first-time enlistees actually reenlist and the rest are discharged. Is it really that competitive?

You're really putting the cart in front of the horse. You don't know what will happen in the next four years. You may get married, have kids, be pursuing a degree, have medical issues, or any of a number of other situations that influence your life and/or decision to reenlist.

Again, sorry if posting this is retarded, but I can only do this other than sleep....

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You'll be fine. Just relax and come back with the " Title ".
You are not alone in feeling this way and I'm glad you shared these feelings.
Most would have not... You have just helped countless numbers of other Poolees by posting this and you didn't even know it.

Good luck to you.

Thank you Marines for your Great answers.

Semper Fi,
Rocky

Breathe!!!!!

Now, stop over thinking it, son.

You are fixating on every nuance and you don't need to.

Did you know that you are not the first person to ever go to Marine Corps boot camp? Yeah, that's right, millions before you. They, not you, have everything under control. They will tell you everything you need to know. They will even tell you when you can S, S, and S. (sh**, shower, and shave) All you need to do is listen and do.

And you are not the first young man to be nervous before, but redirect your nerves. You are obsessing the details. Use your nerves to your advantage now and later.

How? If you are nervous, that is energy. Go PT. Stay busy. Don't let your mind wander into fantasy land. In boot camp, once you get past the yellow footprints and get beyond that first shockwave, keep telling yourself many have done this before, I can do it, too.

Don't freak about it. Everything that happens is by plan. It is designed that way. When I was in receiving, a kid said, "I can't take it anymore," and went forward to get out. He was discharged. "Can't take it"? We hadn't even started yet. He just let his mind beat him up.

Lastly, pray, read your Bible, visit family, enjoy these next few days and make the best of it.

Thanks y'all! The info really satisfied my intense hunger for answers. I think I will spend my last few days as a civilian to the best and not think or watch about anything military until I ship out.

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Originally Posted by irpat54

one of the biggest issues in boot camp was the head,, they rush you in the morning and you get grief if you ask to use the head during the day,,sooooo, i had told the Fire watch to pass the word to wake me at 01:30 so i could use the head (in peace) and not have to worry about it during the day,,and believe me that makes a big difference for one thing not being on your mind during the day so you can stay focused,

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If we were caught out of our racks after lights out....we were sure we were dead men.

I don't think it was an issue since it felt like there was only a single second between the DI yelling lights out.... and him slamming open the door to the quonset hut screaming about us getting our lazy butts out of the racks.

If I may ask, I would like to post another questions, gentlemen.

If I ship out Monday, August 20th at 1300, what recruit training battalion would I be placed in?

Using the Parris Island website and checking out the scheduled graduation dates, I have narrowed it to Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion and India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion.

Some poolee at my ship validation said we would have 2nd battallion, but the date for India Company, 3rd Battalion looks more reasonable because their graduation date occurs on November 21st, almost exactly 12 weeks.

Former Marine Corps Sergeant here... I graduated from MCRD San Diego on August 23rd, 1973. My son graduates on Aug. 24, 2012, and I am going to MCRD San Diego for graduation...

1. You are over thinking this. Study your knowledge ie chain of command, General Orders etc. Don't worry about which rack you get.
2. Eat what they serve, all of it, and unless you're a fat body, eat everyone elses too.
3. Dig down to your lowest register, even if its still not loud enough, it will sound louder... DI's use the sound off to pick fights... expect it to happen, you can't do a thing about it.
4. This is where we cross wires with some of the other comments: there is no such thing as a kiss ass or brown noser if you volunteer for anything. Flying under the radar is the pussy way out. AS long as you are not hurting someone else or throwing someone else under a bus; show some damn initiative, because that turns into leadership. If you don't take the initiative you will ever be a leader... leaders run the place, not followers. If you go through scared of raising your hand you are missing the entire point of joining. And if you think you can skate through UN-noticed you are soon to be sadly mistaken.
5. Swim: go practice... either qualify or pick another job.
6. Pugils: they will give you some rules, break them. Go for the nuts or throat... while you still have the energy. Don't be a pussy, there is only one winner.
7. Rifle: no that is not true... just go to grass week with an open mind, they will teach you to shoot... stop worrying about this one.
8. Leadership: either you have it in you or you don't... you already know what you can do. However, you have the opportunity of a life time, if you are a follower at home, leave him there... and when you get to MCRD... go for it with all you have... even poor or ineffective leadership is better than not trying. Again, you have to experiment and practice or you'll never get it.
9. I went through boot camp with shin splints, pink eye, and the worst cold of my life... you are going to feel like **** if you get dropped to MRP and lose your platoon. You will ever get that feeling again. Only you can tell if the pain is too great to handle.
10. Stupid question... you have not even stood in the yellow foot prints... worrying about a 2nd enlistment is like wondering the weather is going to be like in 10 yrs... pointless, stop over thinking this stuff. You are not the 1st scared civilian waiting to go to boot camp... me I was not scared until 2 DI's kicked this guys ass for acting up on the airplane... and that was even before we left the air port. ... but then this was in 1973... they wouldn't do that now... but that's when I got scared.

I was that 120 pound scrawny kid in bootcamp. After recieving I was 110. Don't know how that trash happened but it did. Luckily I could do a lot of pull-ups so I wasn't the weak small guy. If you're not strong as hell- IE 20 pullups 18 run 100 crunches, and not even close, don't count on making squadleader or guide. From what I can tell the DI's normally picked the biggest guy from each platoon anyway as the guide. I'd say volunteer for Scribe, it's an easy way to pick up PFC if you don't have it already, or atleast have the chance to. Now if you're contract PFC(I hate you) then don't bother. THERE IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH BOOTCAMP UN-NOTICED. You're there for 3 months, you'll **** up somehow, just don't be known for it. The class sizes are real small right now. After you start to PT and get used to eating fast you'll devour those double rats don't you worry. At MCRD San Diego we used to slam as many penut butter packets down our sucks as we could but I've heard from a couple guys in PI there was never any left so who knows. DON'T STEAL THE PENUT BUTTER. As for medical, yeah, stay away unless you have to. If you are seriously broken, it's up to you, you could mess yourself up even more and get dropped for longer, or you could push through. Everyone will be in pain. Hiking is gonna suck for you, sorry. It's just a fact that the little guys get torn up on them, but in bootcamp they are pretty slow (even though it won't seem like it). Don't worry about your rack, but if you can try and get a good rack mate. It's possible. Life will be a whole lot easier because you depend on them for making the racks ect, plus them being a chitbird will land you in the eye of the DI. Just sound off loud as hell again and again. I could get a lot louder then other recruits at the time and I was one of the smallest so size doesn't matter. To put it bluntly swimming is gonna suck, they will take care of getting you the swim qual you need. Try and get the right size gear at least. I didn't fight much before boot either and I whooped arse in every pugil stick match I got into, most of the time of a guy with 10+ pounds on me, it's a mindset. Get in that ring to kill. It's a good way to blow off steam too! They say that is true but I've been shooting my whole life, and I shot a 240 on table 1. (My father was also a Marine Sniper, so maybe he just taught me the good habits) A good leader.... That's tough. You'll have to find what works for you. It took me a while to pick up all the skills but I ended up as the class leader(Plt. Sgt. billet) at Combat Engineer school, having held no billet until then, because I was like you, and was comfortable being GP(General Population). It is that competitive, and it's only getting worse. Never do anything that could limit your choices. Oh and I graduated bootcamp at 140, not so skinny. You decide how much you get out of bootcamp, put out every day and it will change you completely, but if you slack off when nobody is looking or pretend you are putting out(though I'm not sure it's even possible) you won't get extreme results. Just be loud, stay motivated, be smart, and earn it. But most of all, stop stressing it so much, you'll have plenty of time for that, just enjoy home! It's gonna be a long three months.
:marine:

you will be ok, dont stress yourself out, theres nothing you can do except go in motivated and with the determination of being a marine, many men and woman have gone before you, its scary, its tough, butyou are safe, besides, you are only there 13 weeks, drill instructors are there 3 years or so, good luck to you, work hard, concentrate, instill teamwaork in your platoon, semper fi

Honestly, most of the guys replying are out of date, I graduated in march so maybe I can give you the skinny on some of this

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Originally Posted by LastXdeth

Shipping out in nearly one and a half a week and it finally hit me that I am about to go to ---- in a few moments notice! I was so pumped the whole time since I enlisted last year, but for these last days leading to my ship date, I have felt a little sleep deprived thinking about boot camp all night.

I know being nervous is normal, but I don't think I have ever been deathly afraid in my whole life except for these last few weeks at home! I even have serious nightmare about it. Sorry y'all, but to calm my nerves down a bit, I needed to write this post and keep myself by posting questions no matter how trivial they are!

1. Which rack should I get when I get to the barracks? Should I be in the middle or closer to stanky head so I can be the first one in?

If you can get a rack near the front, maybe 5-6 down from the front. This allows you to get to the head quickly and absolves you of some responsibilities like calling attention on deck for every damn hat that walks in or out of the house

2. What kind of chow should I eat when I'm nervous. I'm generally anorexic when I'm nervous, so what foods are quick, but beneficial for me to surivive an intense day?

Trust me, you won't care what food is there, you'll eat it all.

3. How do you sound off louder? I swear, I use all the air in my lungs when I scream, but the NCO at my recuiting district's headquarter always pick on me about being too quiet. Even my recruiter boss needs me to repeat when I try to sound off. I am a pretty small guy with a good chance of having small lungs, however I do I think I am missing the technique here. ------ me off...

You're never loud enough so don't worry about it. When addressed sound like a man when you respond, simple as that.

4. Should I volunteer for duties in boot camp? Many sources tell me I shouldn't.

NO

5. Can you requalify swim quals if you do not get the quals you want in boot camp? My MOS requires me to be a 2nd class swimmer, so if I fail to qualify at this level in boot camp, would I be requalify in a place say....MCT?

You will qual at boot camp, if you do not qual you will not get your MOS. Seriously, it's easy and takes one day, two if you need a higher level. If you can't pass then god help you.

6. If I have never been in a fight before, can I still excel in the pugil sticks fight? I have never fought anybody, nor has anybody have ever tried to fight me. I am a scrawny 120 lb. hoping to kill!

You'll do pugil sticks like 3-4 times the entire time, and you'll only fight once per time. It doesn't really matter dude.

7. Is it true that a lot of the people who shoot experts during rifle quals are mostly the one who have never shot firearms before because they do not bring bad habbits?

I shot thousands of rounds of XM855 5.56x45 rounds through my personal AR15 prior to joining the Marine Corps. I was used to the round, used to the trigger pull, the recoil, the sight picture, etc. I paid attention to my PMI's and learned more advanced techniques required to hit black at 500 with iron sights, something I had never done before. I shot high expert, it's not that hard. That is a fallacy, I think it only really applies to people who grew up on shotguns.

8. What makes a good leader if you're more of a reserved type of guy? I initially planned to just flow through boot camp under the DIs' radar, but I now think that this is a ------ poor attitude. I want to be an excellent example.

If you're a quiet guy, you're going to be quiet. Being noticed is not a good thing, and don't take crap for being small from other recuits.

9. Should sick-call always be a "DO-NOT-ENTER-zone"? A Marine who recently came back from graduation told us that if you get sick-call, it will definitely delay graduation and may increase your chance of being dropped out due to injury.

Another recent graduate also said he went through part of boot camp with a messed-up hip. If I get seriously injured, should I just suck it up?

Only if you're stupid, I went for pink eye, and for ITBS I developed. They gave me some new insoles, pain pills, and 2 days light duty. Problem solved and I didn't have a problem from then on. However I did get pneumonia and didn't tell anyone, that could get you dropped. If you get seriously injured, I recommend reporting it AFTER the crucible if you can. This way you can likely graduate, do your leave, and actually return and be on med hold. You do not want to head to SOI injured, trust me.

10. Why do most Marines serve only one enlistment? I heard only 25% of first-time enlistees actually reenlist and the rest are discharged. Is it really that competitive?

Yes, it is.

Again, sorry if posting this is retarded, but I can only do this other than sleep....

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PNW2011 PI or SD? I graduated Mar 9th Alpha Co. from SD.
You?