Ready Mentally for boot camp

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StephenL

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Hello I am trying to figure out if I should go to the U.S Army Reserves. However here is my only hold back. I am worried about my mind. I asked my parents if I would be able to hack it psychologically. They say yes. Last year I went through torment about the unpardonable sun. I discovered it to be anxiety. However I still have anxiety. I have been to counselors and they say I am fine. My spiritual had said I just need to realize that I will have bad thoughts and let it go like a garbage barge under a beatiful bridge. Everyone I have talked to said I can do it. So am I just being paranoid or over worrying? I plan on seeing a counselor regularly before boot camp. I function find within the world now, I have always had anxiety.
Do you have any advice?
 
I would never, ever, ever advise anyone to sign up for the army or any other combat role.

The whole point of boot camp is to get you physically ready and frankly, to brainwash you so that you always obey your superiors. They cannot have people bailing out in a combat zone, so a million psychological tactics at you to make you almost worship the army and your unit. I do not really think that anyone truly remains themselves once they sign up and go through something like that. If you get sent into combat, it will only get worse.

Please don’t do this. Whatever you want to accomplish, you can do it while preserving your mind and your body. If you need money, you can find a way to work in a different place. If you want self-growth or fulfillment, please explore other channels. God bless you and help you.
 
Forgive me for saying so Monika, but that is a highly prejudicial, inaccurate and frankly, ignorant view of the military enlistment process in the United States. I do not know from where you are drawing your information, but one thing that makes the United States military more effective per person, is that we encourage initiative and (name removed by moderator)ut from everyone, regardless of rank. Just because someone is a private or a Lt does not mean that they can not have a good idea, and a good commander or NCO will do what they can to draw ideas out of their people. The US Army does not want robots as you seem to suggest, they want disciplined troops that can think on their feet, which is a different matter.

Now as to the OP, I don’t have any advice for you on whether it is a good idea for you personally to enlist. That is a choice you need to make with the advice of people who know you. Have you spoken with a military recruiter already? If you have, did you make them aware of your anxiety situation? There is a chance that with some anxiety conditions, that you might not even be eligible for military service, but that is not a determination that a non-expert would be able to make.
 
MonikaBarbara said:
I would never, ever, ever advise anyone to sign up for the army or any other combat role.

The whole point of boot camp is to get you physically ready and frankly, to brainwash you so that you always obey your superiors. They cannot have people bailing out in a combat zone, so a million psychological tactics at you to make you almost worship the army and your unit. I do not really think that anyone truly remains themselves once they sign up and go through something like that. If you get sent into combat, it will only get worse.

Please don’t do this. Whatever you want to accomplish, you can do it while preserving your mind and your body. If you need money, you can find a way to work in a different place. If you want self-growth or fulfillment, please explore other channels. God bless you and help you.
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This is ridiculous nonsense. My husband surely wasn’t brain washed or anything if the like. It’s been a huge blessing for our family and has had many more benefits than hardships. And he only worships God not the Army. Tons of good and faithful Catholics in the military and some if the best priests on earth serving as Catholic chaplains.

That being said, it’s not a life for everyone. Pray, talk to people in real life, and have confidence in your decision whatever it may be
 
Going through basic training may help you with your anxiety by building your self confidence. I was in the Army years ago and it helped me . I don’t regret it at all. I was never a big military kind of guy but I think I would have regretted not going. I would have always wondered what was it like and would I have made it through. I didn’t like the military life style so I got out when my enlistment was over but I learned a lot in the Army about self discipline and working with all kinds of people from different backgrounds some of whom I did not like at all at first. I also learned about dealing with stress. Once you overcome all the **** the army throws at you whatever you choose to do when you get out I think is a little easier. Its true that some guys didn’t make it through but if you just remember basic is only for a short time you can do it.

Be prepared for not just physical endurance type stuff like, push ups, sit ups, sleep deprivation, running but just plain stupid little tortures. I had a buddy in basic who was a great runner and helped me a lot with my own lack of running ability but one day they took us out and made us rake up all the leaves in the woods for no reason. There were gigantic piles of leaves everywhere. That was it for that guy he washed out because of that. Don’t let them get to you like that make up your mind your going to make it and then do it. I don’t want to reflect poorly on my wife because I love her but marriage is kind of like that I think. it’s a choice to make it.

Some good advice my father gave me about the military that’s worth remembering if you join is never volunteer for anything!
 
StephenL said:
Hello I am trying to figure out if I should go to the U.S Army Reserves. However here is my only hold back. I am worried about my mind. I asked my parents if I would be able to hack it psychologically. They say yes. Last year I went through torment about the unpardonable sun. I discovered it to be anxiety. However I still have anxiety. I have been to counselors and they say I am fine. My spiritual had said I just need to realize that I will have bad thoughts and let it go like a garbage barge under a beatiful bridge. Everyone I have talked to said I can do it. So am I just being paranoid or over worrying? I plan on seeing a counselor regularly before boot camp. I function find within the world now, I have always had anxiety.
Do you have any advice?
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Do it. The key to getting successfully through boot camp is to keep your mouth shut and do what you are told. The training is designed to be difficult and challenging, but not impossible; you will come out will less anxiety and more confidence in yourself than you ever had. Choose to train for a job that will be useful in civilian life, and it will be the best life decision you can make.
 
My husband was Army Reserve before he moved over to the Air Guard.
I’m in the Air Guard.

He went through Army Basic and I went through Air Force Basic.

The best advice I can give is to seriously prepare yourself for the physical tests. Be able to run, be able to do push ups and get yourself in the best shape you can before Basic. Don’t show up thinking that they will get you into shape.

I joined the Air Guard after I had met my husband and after he had been in the military for quite some time. He got me running and got me to practice pushups before I left. It was the best advice and the best parting gift he could have given me. It was one very important thing I never had to worry about. Running in the morning was easy, I got better, and the MTIs (air force drill sgts) never bothered me.

The psychological aspect isn’t that bad. The Drill Sgts want you to do well. They want you to graduate. They are there to help you get there. They are there to teach you to be a solider. To shoot, to march, to learn attention to detail.
It’s much harder dealing with the other guys in your platoon then the sgts themselves.

The 40 girls I lived with, during my 8 weeks at Lackland, were far more stress inducing and difficult to deal with then any of the Sgts were. You lived together, showered together and had literally no privacy while you were there. I told myself that, unless I have daughters, I would never live with another female again.

Yes, the Sgts get in your face and will put you on your face. Upon exchanging Basic stories with my husband, it was clear that I was put on my face and yelled at far more frequently then my husband.
I wasn’t a bad airmen. He wasn’t a superior soldier. We were both quite average and did everything we could to get through basic and not draw attention to ourselves.
I think the reason I was targeted more was there are way more people going through Army Basic then Air Force Basic and the female flights tended to be very small (40 in a female flight compared to 60-70 in a male flight) so the sgts got to know us faster.
After the first week or so, it’s not that bad.
Another difference is that Army Basic actually in processes you and you don’t get the full “Basic” experience until you get in processed. That takes a week.
Air Force Basic starts the second you arrive at Lackland from the air port and step off the bus.

I tell everyone I meet who wants to join the military and ask how Basic is. “Does it get easier?”
Basic doesn’t get easier. You just get better.

If you’re young, you might need to wait a year or two before joining, if you need to work on your confidence and sense of independence. Go to college for a year or two and then join. It might help give you a confidence boost.

The military can be a wonderful thing. There are so many good people in the military. But it can be tough. It depends on where you are stationed and what unit you are assigned to and how your supervisors are.
 
I’ll admit that when I joined the Army it was due to stress at home. But as hard as it was, I actually surprised myself by getting through that. Now, a Chaplain’s assistant might have it “easier” than I did as a truck driver. You’ll be expected to learn how to set up for any type religious service. That would be Jewish, Protestant and Catholic. Plus typing. I’ve heard (years ago) that your AIT would be only two weeks. But that may have changed since I was in. Yes, it can be stressful. They want to know that you can handle different situations. You may be worrying too much. But, here’s the kicker, with the way the world is today, our military may be called up to go to a war zone. Are you willing to do that? If not, then don’t go in. Even the reserves may be called up for duty.
 
Christy_Beth said:
I’ll admit that when I joined the Army it was due to stress at home. But as hard as it was, I actually surprised myself by getting through that. Now, a Chaplain’s assistant might have it “easier” than I did as a truck driver. You’ll be expected to learn how to set up for any type religious service. That would be Jewish, Protestant and Catholic. Plus typing. I’ve heard (years ago) that your AIT would be only two weeks. But that may have changed since I was in. Yes, it can be stressful. They want to know that you can handle different situations. You may be worrying too much. But, here’s the kicker, with the way the world is today, our military may be called up to go to a war zone. Are you willing to do that? If not, then don’t go in. Even the reserves may be called up for duty.
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Yes, my husband was initially in the reserves. He deployed twice with his reserve unit before going active duty. The reserves definitely do deploy. Chaplains assistants do deploy. They are constantly busy and work different hours than most soldiers do. It’s not a bad job though. My neighbor’s wife is a chaplains assistant actually and she loves her job.

My husband was 88M before changing his MOS. Truckers do have it rough! Especially overseas. That being said, many soldiers that deploy never leave the wire and never face true danger. That’s not saying it isn’t possible to get in bad situations, but it isn’t always as bad as most people think either. My husbands last deployment, he was all over Iraq but never once fired his weapon. We talked twice a week and emailed daily. I wish they were always so smooth…
 
MonikaBarbara said:
I would never, ever, ever advise anyone to sign up for the army or any other combat role.

The whole point of boot camp is to get you physically ready and frankly, to brainwash you so that you always obey your superiors. They cannot have people bailing out in a combat zone, so a million psychological tactics at you to make you almost worship the army and your unit. I do not really think that anyone truly remains themselves once they sign up and go through something like that. If you get sent into combat, it will only get worse.

Please don’t do this. Whatever you want to accomplish, you can do it while preserving your mind and your body. If you need money, you can find a way to work in a different place. If you want self-growth or fulfillment, please explore other channels. God bless you and help you.
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Wow!! Really?
 
I’d advise going into the Marines (regular not reserves) as infantry. Other than that, Army infantry would be the next best option. Don’t worry about boot camp or basic, that’s the easy part.
 
Hi Stephen:

I did not see in your post why you are interested in joining the reserves.

I never served in the military; however, I grew up in a military family.

I almost entered ROTC; however, I did not get the scholarship that I was applying for.

In retrospect, I was very grateful that I did not get the scholarship since I don’t think that I was cut out for military service.

I hope you are not going into the military to help you get over your anxiety.

That would be a mistake, and I would definitely talk to a counselor before doing something like that.

There are other ways to build self confidence such as sports or martial arts as well as other sorts of instruction such as Dale Carnegie / Toastmasters etc.

Getting shot at is not a good therapy for anxiety.
 
Hey there.

I am a psychologist on active duty, and I was prior enlisted. I joined late (I was 29 in basic training) and had already finished my first masters at that time. I mention this because I think it gave me the ability to observe things with a little perspective when I was going through. Here is what I noticed:
  1. The entire 9 weeks is carefully scheduled, almost to the minute.
On one occasion I was able to go into the drill sergeants day room and see the 9 week training calendar. I was in there for some other reason (I was the platoon guide) so I had to be careful and not let on to them that I was actually reading the calendar. On that calendar was ever single “smoking” and every rock painting, every part of the day was accounted for. In other words, I saw the hour of being smoked we had received just before chow the day before was scheduled. Think about that–that literally means that whatever it was we did “wrong” to get smoked was irrelevant. They just found a reason to smoke us as a pretext.
  1. You cannot win at impossible tasks.
We would be standing there in formation after PT in our sweaty PT clothes and the drill sergeants would say, “you need to get up to your bays, change into your BDUs and be back down here in formation in 4 minutes! If you don’t make it, you’re going to be pushing all morning. GO!”

Think about this. There are about 200-250 of us standing there and there are 4 bays, for 4 platoons. The top bay on either side of the building is 4 flight of stairs up. A huge bottle neck of all those guys occurs trying to run up the stairs. It takes 4 minutes for everyone to simply get to their locker. Let alone open it, change out of your seaty PTs, and pull your dry BDUs over your sweaty body and run back down stairs. You will be pushing regardless. (See point #1.)
  1. Unless you kill someone, you will be pushed through and graduate.
The entire time I was in basic, we were told “this task is the one that will get you recycled if you do not get a 3rd time go.” (A recycle for a 3rd time no go means you have to get it right by the third try or be sent back to start basic over).

This threat NEVER occurred. Not once. Everyone was on the parade field on the last day.

Anyway, there are others. But those three things alone should help you realize something–the entire thing is scripted and it is designed to freak you out. But you are not in danger, and if you are really trying, you will finish. No big deal.
 
What’s your advice for dealing with drill instructors and so do you have any advice for me a 17 year kid wanting to be doctor in psychology ?
 
StephenL said:
What’s your advice for dealing with drill instructors and so do you have any advice for me a 17 year kid wanting to be doctor in psychology ?
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Hey there-

PM me. I love helping young budding soldier/psychologists with career advice, but I don’t want to hijack this thread.

As far drill sergeants are concerned–just be respoectful, stand at parade rest when talking to them, and be ready to do a lot of push ups because you will always be wrong. Just remember its not personal.
 
It just occurred to me that you were the one who started the thread to begin with, so I guess I can’t really hi jack it!

I guess, if you are 17, considering joining the Army and wanting to be psychologist there are a couple of assumptions to be made.

I assume that you are Ok with going to college a little late. You will (probably) not be able to complete a BA while on active duty in the usual 4-5 year time frame. If you are REALLY motivated, you can probably get the pre-reqs/general ed stuff done.

Keep in mind that “psychologist” in the US means you have a PhD (or PsyD) but it seems by your use of the term “doctor” you already know that.

That means 4-5 years for a BA and 5-6 years more for the PhD.

Be aware that as of right now, there are signifianctly more 4th years applying for the internship match than there are internships. This problem has been compounding every year for about a decade. That means that each year, the number of 5th year PhD student who did not match in the previous year are going to either–re-apply, making the competition even more fierce or quit trying (and ultimately be a person who after 9 + years of college and graduate school is qualified to work the french fry machine at McDonalds. This is because mental health is an all-or-nothing proposition. You either finish the entire program through internship, dissertation and license or go home.

THAT is the bad news.

My advice to you is, if you really want to be a psychologist and you are sure of it consider the “hard” specialties–Neuro, Health, Forensic, Military. You will have less of an issue staying employed. If you want to be a garden variety therapist seeing depressed/anxious patients in your private practice for eight hours a day, don’t rack up the risk and debt of a PhD and become a masters level provider–like an LMFT or LCSW.
 
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