Posts tagged Camp

The initial workout of 3 weeks in a Navy Boot Camp will be strenuous – physically & mentally. After 3 weeks, you can get into graduation mode. A total transformation to a new life is the result of the training.

In the first week of the training, you will get an idea about the basic functions of a sailor in the US Navy. Hours & hours of training in maritime activity will be provided to make you perfect in a platoon march. There will be irregularity in marching in the first two weeks. Recruits will be bumping into each other while marching. Marching propels the thinking in the minds of the recruits that they are one as a whole & there should be uniformity in thought & action. Depending on your position in the ranks, your marching pattern will be decided.

* March – To start marching from the point of standing.
* Ranks – long rows of recruits standing in order.
* Left Face – Turning body facing 90 degrees on the left side.
* Right Face – Turning body facing 90 degrees on the right side.
* About Face – Turning body facing 180 degrees in the opposite direction in sudden flash.
* To the Rear – Sudden marching in the opposite direction.
* Dress – following a dressing order – lining up with others in the ranks & falling in the same line.
* Dress Right – Lining with the person in the right side.
* Dress Left – with the person in the left side.

Marching involves you to some basic terms. There will be trick drills& complex functions to know about. We will learn basics at present. In boot camp, marching is a constant exercise & it is a daily routine.

Swimming with the current & against the current – there are two levels of swimming. You will be taught swimming in the first week itself. Before graduation in the boot camp, you should achieve a standard of swimming. Basic swimming is taught initially. In the beginning, two groups will be formed – one group experts in swimming & the other, totally unfamiliar to swimming. The initial course in swimming will be a little bit cruel. They will throw a small group of recruits into the pool. They will shout at the recruits to doggy-paddle in order to stay afloat. But, no need of panic. Professionals & trainers will be watching to protect the trainees in case of emergency. Long sticks will also be pressed into service to rescue the trainees. There was an occasion when one trainee was trying to drown the guy in the front to keep afloat. It gave a chance to disqualify him.

Classroom session is a continuation of school life. Tedious hours will be spent in the classroom. Sending inputs into the brain about rank/rate recognition, rope awareness, equal opportunities, sexual harassment & fraternization, core values & many more topics related to boot camp will take place. It will be laborious to sit through the entire session with artificially-opened eyes as sleep will be trying to overcome your senses. Recruits have to do small exercises to avoid sleeping.

In boot camp, you have to learn throughout the day barring a couple of hours. The barracks was meant to be the ship. The recruits have to sleep in uncomfortable beds. RDCs will be monitoring the activities of the recruits. The training period involves you in organizing, stenciling, ironing & listening to the instructions. On passing P week, the recruit will receive his first official uniform, the dungarees. This is the sailor’s uniform throughout his career in the Navy. Learning about stenciling uniforms, with names in the right places is also his duty. Inconsistencies will result in punishments. During the first week, uniform perfection will be given priority in training.

The ship has to be maintained spick & span throughout the career of the sailor. This is a work to be attended on daily basis. Psychological tests will also be conducted. In the ultimate analysis, Boot Camp in the Navy is quite an exhilarating experience & highly imperative for creating the best sailors.