Having Second Thoughts About Joining the Military?
It’s normal for all recruits to think at one time or another that they have made a mistake by joining the military. Usually this thought occurs during the first week of basic training. Some trainees will find it hard to avoid thinking about their cushy civilian life.
If you think you may be one of those recruits that lay awake at night dreaming of your family and friends, keep these tips in mind:
Tip #1
Understand the first week of training is the hardest.
Yes, everything is new and no one seems to likes you. Don’t worry, you aren’t doing anything wrong. Everyone is feeling the same worries and fears. At this point, just understand what is to be expected of you and try your best to accomplish those tasks.
Tip #2
Hurting yourself or others will not get you home sooner.
As crazy as it may sound to you now, there are recruits desperate enough to leave basic training that they will hurt themselves to get discharged. Unfortunately this tactic doesn’t work. As a result, the recruits who self inflict an injury spend more time away from home stuck in military medical facilities while the other recruits have graduated.
Tip #3
You’re not alone.
Even though you are living night and day with fifty plus other people, at first you may feel like you are going through hell and you’re all by yourself. That’s because you have not yet connected with the other recruits. After the first week of training, you’ll find that you have built a friendship with the other recruits.
A parent of a military recruit who is currently going through basic training asked me “What will the military do if my son doesn’t want to finish basic training?” My answer to that is – the fastest way out
of basic training is to graduate from basic training.
For more basic training tips and tricks from Sergeant Volkin, go to UltimateBasicTraining.com and buy the best basic training book available: The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook.