Nearly two years ago I joined the U.S. Navy and left for boot camp just 45 days after getting married. I didn't know what to expect, and the nerves were high going in. I have the utmost respect and pride for the Navy, and I want to give everyone a closer look into boot camp. The stigma around military boot camp is screaming, being yelled at, and more screaming. While this is partially true, there is so much more.

The first week SUCKED. I flew out of Dallas, Texas in the morning and was finally picked up by the Navy and taken to boot camp in Great Lakes, IL near 0100 that night. It was January, so it was freezing. I had been up since 0500, and the next time I could sleep wasn't coming anytime soon. Thus began what are called P-days, or processing days. Basically, you get issued all of your clothing, get assigned to a unit, pee in a cup, you know, everyday things. The yelling pretty much begins right as you get off of the bus to enter boot camp. I have always been able to deal with yelling, but if you want to keep your spirits up, you have to understand that it isn't a personal attack. It was 42 hours before I got to sleep next.

After being issued all of our gear and finding a unit, we began going from place to place filling out forms and basically getting everything straight for joining the Navy. We had so many different pieces of gear, and we had to label everything PERFECTLY. There would be days where we would never leave the compartment and just sit on the floor labeling things. You would be really surprised how many people can't spell their name right when they are tired and stressed. Whenever this would happen, our division commanders (drill instructors) would promptly yell at them, and that became normal life. Everyone always talks about the first week being the absolute worst, and it is. Most of this is because your rhythm is getting completely changed and you're stressed and still trying to understand what you're supposed to do.

Come week two or three, and you start getting the hang of things and understanding what people want from you. Our weekly routine looked pretty much the same from week to week. We would go to a lot of classes to learn about Navy things, eat 3 meals a day, work out and sleep. While some classes were fun, like learning how to react to a sinking ship, most were just death by powerpoint. This is a picture of my unit in class.

Now, there are some surprising misconceptions about boot camp that I had going in and most people have when I talk to them about it.

Misconception #1

Being the Navy in all we probably swam a lot right? Nope. I swam once at boot camp. The only people who swam more were the ones who couldn't swim and had to take classes. Who joins the Navy and can't swim? Apparently a freaking lot of people. About 10 people from out 90 person division had to take classes.

Misconception #2

You probably were sleep deprived the whole time right? Actually, they were required to give us an 8 hour block to sleep. That doesn't mean you got 8 hours of sleep each night, but I probably averaged over 7 hours.

Misconception #3

You worked out every day early in the morning right? Yeah, we worked out probably 4-5 times a week. One of those times may have been in the morning, but most were at random intervals or immediately following meals. We would work out whenever we got in trouble as well.

Misconception #4

You constantly get screamed at. Actually, after about week 3 and everyone knows what to do, screaming becomes a little rarer. Sure, your division commanders don't become your friends, but everyone does start to develop a mutual "chain of command" type of respect.

Thos are the 4 biggest misconceptions I could think of at the moment. Everyday we would get 3 meals, which honestly, were my favorite parts of the day. I found that time went by a lot faster if you just counted down the hours until you get to eat again. The food wasn't slop either, it was pretty damn delicious.

I also was selected to be in a performing division in boot camp because I knew how to play the drums. Basically, this meant that every Saturday we would spend hours perfecting a performance that we would eventually play at our graduation ceremony. We also got to wear special uniforms. I'm the second one from the left.

All in all, boot camp wasn't that bad, for me at least. However, it sucked for the people who had discipline issues and authority problems going in. I grew mentally a lot, and lost like 30 pounds. Anyway, there's a little more to my boot camp story.

I spent a total of 7.5 weeks in boot camp, where I then graduated and left for my follow-on training (a story for another day). Graduation was an amazing day. I got to see my new wife for the first time in 2 months after getting married just before. I also got to perform in front of everyone there that day with a few people from my division. If you are interested, you can watch my performance here. It starts at about 23:24. Anyway, boot camp wasn't too bad, and ultimately the Navy's boot camp is going to drastically differ from the other branches. I'm sure I missed A LOT. Feel free to leave your question below and I'll respond. Lastly, here is a picture of my wife and I seeing each other for the first time in 2 months.