Boot Camp And Why!

Joe Joson

May 25, 2020

Boot Camp!

Just what the heck is Boot Camp! So we look at Wikipedia for some insights as to what boot camp truly means. Here are some descriptions that we find: a) shock incarceration grounded on military techniques, b) an abrupt wake up call , c) a disciplinary facility or program in which young offenders are forced to participate in a rigidly structured routine , d) a place or undertaking that resembles a military boot camp especially by requiring one to endure intensive training or initiation.

Boot Camp to me is a place where civilians are totally transformed into military men. It involves a lot of psychological transformation. One of the very first steps in Navy Boot Camp is removing all your hair and stripping you of your civilian identity. The photo above is one of about 8 companies of 86 recruits per company that I trained and led during my three years at Great Lakes, Illinois, Recruit Training Command in a very focused, rigid, short 13-week training designed to prepare the future sailors about life at sea, leadership, teamwork and all the whys of the need for military presence around the world.

Recruit Training And Attention To Detail

The 13 weeks of intensive training for Navy recruits were divided into four sections. Academics, military drill, barracks and personnel inspections, physical fitness. Best of all the recruits were taught attention to detail. Whether it was in academics, military drill formation and manual of arms, how their uniforms, shirts and socks were folded and stowed in their lockers, every single detail was drummed into them for perfection and excellence.

They were taught that one day they will be in submarines, aircraft carriers and Navy aircraft where every single detail matters, could bring them advantage and also save each other's life. I never stopped getting amazed at how efficiently an aircraft carrier ran operations. With roughly 6,000 men on board, 120 odd fighter jets and helicopters, thousands of pieces of machineries, two huge galleys to run plus galleys for Chiefs, Officers...these massive war machines can also go on a 30knot plus clip, carry out take offs and landings at night. One of my duty nights were spent watching my generator switchboard making sure that our unit did not drop out of line while the jets on the flight deck were doing their exercises.

By the way, I was on the older non-nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Constellation CV-64. The ship has been decommissioned.

The Red Book!

If we have the Scriptures to give us the guidelines on how to live life on Earth, millions of technical manuals for every equipment sold and used around the world, we the trainers at US Navy Boot Camps were given the Red Book! When we had questions that had no answers, even our Division Officer or fellow instructors had no ready answers, we had the Red Book to consult!

The US military has a ton of instruction manuals, we have the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) for legal guidance. Any great operation should have some kind of a Red Book for its staff and personnel. Organizations that provide and enforce their own versions of 'Red Books' do much better.

Boot Camp Competitions And Professionalism

The cover photo is that of Company 359 where we competed with around 17 other companies in the graduating group. The more competitions we won, the more flags we were awarded and flew around the training ground as we marched from place to place. This company won tons of awards, earned the flags and graduated at the top of the grad group. That was one hell of a time for this boy from the barrio in one obscure island off the East Coast of the Philippines.

As hard as everyone competed, professionalism was also instilled in the hearts and minds of the new recruits. It was always group first before individual priorities. A recruit getting cited for any infraction by random inspections on the street could cause the overall score of a company to go down. Teamwork meant doing your best so you do not become a burden or problem to the group.

We As A Group Worked Together In Finding Solutions To Every Group Challenge

For teamwork to be effective and efficient, the group came up with solutions facing the group. A team is NOT a team if each individual was tasked to dig for solutions alone. When challenges facing many individuals are not looked at and dealt with by the team, the coherence and efficiency of the group decreases in time. It could cause a catastrophic failure for the group sometime down the line.

Communications, Information Dissemination And Team Cohesion

Show me a group or team that failed to consistently communicate down the chain of command and I will show you a weak, inefficient and scattered group. Every single day during 'quarters' in the morning every single person gets to hear the 'plan of the day'. And one more time in the afternoon before knock off, status reports are communicated to see what has been accomplished for the last 8 hours or so.

Then one more time, during the 8 o'clock reports, for those who are standing overnight duty in every military command, communications of relevant events are hashed over getting ready for the next day. So three times a day, everyone is updated on the status of everything that is relevant.

Military Boot Camp And Wealthy Affiliate Boot Camp Compared

My honest opinion, there is no fair comparison. But having spent twenty years in the military I cannot help but make comparisons and wish that things could be just as efficient, clear cut and solutions readily available to challenges we all face here.

And this is just me and my own personal observations. Everyone seems to be happy here as observed from reading most comments and posts by members. Everything seems to be rosy and wonderful. There is a scarcity of commentaries tackling real problems. Again that is coming from my own observation point. I could be totally wrong.

And That Is All For This Post Folks!

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment!

Joe Joson

USN Retired