Posted on May 4, 2014
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Responses: 34
MAJ Bryan Zeski
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The perceived difficulty of your basic training is exponentially and positively proportionate to how long its been since you went to basic training. The further back you went to basic training, the easier today's basic training seems to you in comparison. For example, if you went to basic training in the 1980s, today's basic training seems like a Disneyland Vacation. If you went in the 1990s, today's basic seems more like a Boy Scout Jamboree. If you went in the 2000s, today's (Army) basic seems like Air Force Basic.

Except for Marines - they just like to suffer all the time.
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MAJ Bryan Zeski
MAJ Bryan Zeski
>1 y
Kerry-anne Barnard - It was a long time ago, but I believe the bus driver - of an old blue school bus - was in uniform and was a SSG or SFC.
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SSgt Data Systems Chief
SSgt (Join to see)
>1 y
In the Marine Corps, we learn to embrace the suck; become one with the suck. Be. The. Suck.
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MAJ Brents Pepper
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SSG Steven Pike
SSG Steven Pike
>1 y
Try in the 60's! Fort Dix. WW2 barracks.
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CW3 Construction Engineer Technician
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I think so. I joined in 2008 and went to an all male basic at FT Sill. It was challenging. Now I hear IET Soldiers get 8hrs of sleep daily and have their cell phones. I also see them on pass a lot.
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PFC Bradley Campbell
PFC Bradley Campbell
>1 y
8 hours of sleep? we had 4 iif lucky.the whole way through
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SFC Christopher Taggart
SFC Christopher Taggart
>1 y
Basic Trainees get more sleep today, than I do NOW...and I've been out of the military for seven years. I have no sleep apnea, or insomnia, just extremely busy as a civilian. I get between 4 to 6 a night. :-/
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Private First Class
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6 y
Not true lol. I got 3 phone calls home during basic at Sill lol. One was 17 secs, the other was 10 mins, and the other about 15 mins. Other than that we never had our phones. And yea we averaged about 7hrs of sleep per night. However, a lot of those nights were interrupted by drill sgts lol. During the forge (final ftx) which is 4 days, 3 nights. We averaged about 2-3 hrs of sleep per night. However, on the last night we rucked about 18 miles from 2000 til about 0500. No sleep that night lol. Basic is still tough unlike what ppl would like to believe
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SSG Lyle O'Rorke
SSG Lyle O'Rorke
>1 y
(Join to see) 7 hours sleep. We had to do detail cleaning and pull duty during our “Sleep” time. Plus for all but the first two days and the last week of basic we sleep on the floor with our bunks broke down in the middle of the bay.
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Cpl Christopher Allen-Shinn
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Marine Corps Recruit Training lasts 13 weeks, so we can claim to suffer the longest relative to the other services. I went through it in 1997, when they were still introducing the Crucible as the cumulative exercise that all Marines had to pass in order to earn the title of U.S. Marine and the right to wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. The Crucible was controversial when first implemented, as was the shift from boxing to pugil sticks and the implementation of Marine Corps Martial Arts, but I think that all of these shifts have worked out reasonably well.

The main controversy (friendly rivalry among boots) among male Marines is whether one suffered at Paris Island, SC (all men east of the Mississippi R. & all women) or at MCRD San Diego (all men west of the Mississippi R.). Clearly, if that's the only issue, then we're producing a sound product, right? Our performance in OEF/OIF would seem to argue that the answer is "yes!"
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Sgt Wayne Wienke
Sgt Wayne Wienke
>1 y
When my daughter when through basic at Fort Leonardwood, the biggest shock to me was it was co-ed.
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SGT Undergraduate Student
SGT (Join to see)
>1 y
Sgt Wayne Wienke - Ft. Jackson is as well (Just went through 2017)
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SSG(P) Dan Keene
SSG(P) Dan Keene
>1 y
Mine was 16 weeks, and many are longer in Army.
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SPC Leo Picollo
SPC Leo Picollo
>1 y
I went to leonardwood in 83 16 weeks training , no passes no calls , total control ruck sacks and weapons we had everywhere we went , 15 mile road marchs all the time we walked to the ranges every time full gear , run to chow hall go though the bars 80 and 80 then no talking eat and get out run back to barracks damn no breaks what the heck , we started out with close to 200 men at the end we had 130 or so they where kicking people out left and right on general discharge just talk to a master sergeant ative 37 years he told me now is a cake walk not half of what is use to be , BIG FING MISTAKE Army needs to be tough times are the same when it comes to being a grunt or engineer nothing changed except the equipment no balls , leads to defeat.
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