What to expect at MCRD San Diego?

[tmerrill20]

I'm leaving Aug 22, 2011 which is in 29 more days and I want to know in detail what receiving week is like. From MEPS to the end of receiving week. Thanks in advance.

IST:
Pull-ups: 21
Crunches: 136
1.5 Mile Run: 10:26

[tuttjs]

I just graduated on July 29th, so receiving week is still somewhat fresh on my mind. It sucks. It's a whole lot of hurry up and waiting. It's all paperwork, medical, and dental. Lots of shots, including the "peanut butter shot" in the butt. If you have your wisdom teeth, be prepared to have them removed. Then comes "black Friday"

[MunkyVsRobot]

I can only imagine. 72 hours of not sleeping how did you stay up the whole time?

If I may I just noticed in your profile that it says you were shipping to recruit training 20110516 May 16th to July 29th isnt 13 weeks its like 11

[markpetersonii]

Boot camp is like 12 weeks now. :/

Anyway, my brother just went through and when he tells me stories about it, it sounds completely different from when I went through. BUT, there are still the awesome mountains on Camp Pendleton that you'll be hiking across.

[tuttjs]

I can only imagine. 72 hours of not sleeping how did you stay up the whole time?

If I may I just noticed in your profile that it says you were shipping to recruit training 20110516 May 16th to July 29th isnt 13 weeks its like 11

My ship date got moved up to May 2nd. I got a call from my recruiter on the Friday saying I leave on Sunday to ship off on Monday. Yeah, I wasn't happy about leaving 2 weeks early on that short of notice, but now looking back I am. Because of that, I got placed in Alpha company. Our company broke regimental records for rifle, PFT, and drill. We were also 0.12% away from taking PRAC too.

Staying up is easy. There's a lot of hurry up and wait, but for the most part you are constantly on the move doing something. Plus you are nervous/excited to see what comes next, so you are on a "high" so to speak

[UNCO2013]

tuttjs what platoon were you in? I was 1002 and graduated from MCRD SD July 29th as well

Anyways, receiving isn't to bad. The worst part I remember was just standing in line for what seemed forever. You have to go to multiple places around the depot to get examined/ fill out paper work. Its kind of cool because you get to see what you have ahead of you. DO NOT FALL ASLEEP while waiting in line. It can be challenging especially when you haven't slept that much but its not worth getting caught

[MOS4429]

I'm leaving Aug 22, 2011 which is in 29 more days and I want to know in detail what receiving week is like. From MEPS to the end of receiving week. Thanks in advance.

IST:
Pull-ups: 21
Crunches: 136
1.5 Mile Run: 10:26

Back to the question of what receiving week is like, well, it might have been a little different in '78, but then again, maybe not. My fam and I went on a 3 to 4 hr tour of MCRD summer of '09 and part of what we saw were recruits in receiving. It was similar. For the most part, it's boring. There is a lot of hurry up and wait. There is down time where you study your "knowledge." We were assigned one D.I. who babysat us during that time. We went to sickbay as previously mentioned. The shot he is referring to I assume is a penicillin shot. We got that later when we left for Pendleton. I was curious whether they still did that. They push that into your butt so fast that half of it leaks back out!

You will go through processing and you will be herded all over the place. Two things stick out in my mind during that week (or however many days it was) and that is two recruits. I have mentioned these in other threads under a different context. One was a guy I met at AAFES (which I think you now call MEPS) and he talked crap all the time. He was going to be the recruit of the year, guide, meritorious general by the way he talked crap. Bottom line is before T-1 when they give any recruit the chance to back out, he backed out and was given a general discharge. The other situation occurred when we were in the old wooden barracks studying our knowledge, I looked out the window, saw a laundry bag full of skivvies laying on the ground behind a bush. I jumped out the window, threw the bag back in, and because his name was stamped on it, returned it to him. He gave me this look of shock. Turns out he was playing on going UA that night, which was stupid. He successfully finished boot camp.

So during this wait period, I guess for some there is a lot of anxiety. Don't let it get to you. Keep a calm head, and T-1 will come upon you as a sudden tidal wave and receiving will be a blur.