Cell Phone + Basic Training

I think they got to use cell phones because their Basic Training cycle was over Christmas so the Basic Training period was broken by a two week break. Since most of them flew home, the calls were to coordinate travel.

 

Ohhh Christmas Exodus. My OSUT was from March-July.

 

In 1968 there was no Christmas exodus. I was standing on the yellow footprints at MCRDSD on December 28, 1968.

For a few weeks LBJ was my CnC.

No phone calls or public telephone booths back in the day during boot camp. Your only connections to the outside world was snail mail.

On Sundays the DI's produced two Sunday San Diego Tribune newspapers and two Sunday L.A. Times to pass around the platoon of 80 maggots while we cleaned our M-14's. Our only source of what was happening in the world.

 

Yea. We weren't allowed any books except a bible. Never saw a news paper. Never saw any women either except the TA50 gear woman who issued everything out. Except:

Week 7 or 8, I can't remember but it was close to the end of Basic Training prior to infantry school. We got on 10 mile ruck, full gear, and it was so hot we had multiple heat casualties that we had to pull through the whole ruck. They didn't drink enough water.

I was so tired by the end of it I thought I was going to pass out. We get to the DFAC (or as you probably call it, Chow Hall), I volunteered for weapons' watch so I could catch my breath and eat last so the DS's wouldn't be in there by the time I got in.

I'm doing weapons watch and all of the sudden dozens of incredibly attractive women are walking by, escorted by an O7. I saluted, and he saluted, and moved on.

Found out 3 weeks later they were Miss America, or Miss USA runner-ups from multiple states getting a tour of the training facilities.

I remember laughing to myself and telling a DS later that day that I hallucinated and should probably go to sick call.

 

Love basic stories.

In 1980 (FT Jackson) we did PT in our boots, no tennis shoes but did take our final APFT in sneakers if I remember correctly. No one wanted to be recycled. Did AIT at FT Sam and became a medic with 1st duty at FT Ord with 7ID.

Retired from the Army and must say I do miss certain disciplines that our counterpart civilians do not posses.....mostly the teamwork you get when serving abroad. Joint goals. Real world missions and training.

Thank you all for your service.

 

Wow, Jackson has changed.

 

Yea it's crazy how it has

 

My first worm pit was at Jackson....... or Ft Ord, been so long.

 

I never trained at jackson. Been there twice though

 

My basic training was OSUT as well. 19K. Training was broken into 4 phases. Red, black, green and yellow.

Red- one 5 minute call per week
Black -One 10 minute, or two 5 minute calls per week (same day)
Green-20 min week
Yellow 30 min week
Cell phones weren’t invented yet.

 

I remember Marine recruits in December of 68 asking new recruits arriving at MCRDSD "Who won the Presidential election ? "
They were never told because there was no reason to know until Nixon took the oath and became CnC.

I remember in January of 69 we had to relearn the chain of command each time Nixon appointed who would be the Sec of Def and Sec of the Navy.

 

We had a similar structure. But after week one, our company commander decided we weren't progressing fast enough so there'd be only one call after day one, and that would be on mother's day.

Our phases were:
Red
White
Blue
Black
Gold

 

I vaguely recall that our fire-watches were 2 hours each.

Back in those days I did not appreciate the importance of a fire-watch.

However this is internal security at the highest level -- for the armed forces of the Nation.

Many security jobs in the business world are simply fire-watches.

Don't let the computer system catch fire.

Don't let the HVAC system catch fire.

Don't let the electrical system catch fire.

I was lucky back then (in boot camp) because I was the candidate-scribe and therefore I had to do statistical reporting for the recruit company commander (a captain) every morning from 0800AM to 1000AM so I was exempt from all other duties.

I was already an office pogue before I ever got my gold bars.

 

In the USMC we did not use colors.

We did not have coloring books and crayons.

We did not have cookies and Koolaid either.

 

More coloring books and crayons.

 

Marines now a days just eat crayons

 

After my college-wh0re girlfriend sent me my dear John letter during OCS, I had no reason to call anybody anymore.

 

We did not have MRE's. They were not invented yet.

We got C-rats.

I swear these tasted like dog and cat food and were probably made out of horse-meat.

 

The good ol days

 

This place has been closed and turned over to the University Of California.

 

Yes, those were the good ole' daze.

I cherish the memories now.

If I had to do it all over again I would have talked less if at all and simply exercised more.

I did the minimum for physical fitness and still ended up in the top 10%.

 

At least it was a letter and not a video like in Jarhead.

 

@ArmySoldier have you changed your gold bars to silver yet?

If not then when?

 

I have not. Still butter bar. Still got another 9 months if I had to guess. There are a lot of changes going on in the battalion too. The next few months will be very interesting for me.

 

Ford was POTUS when I was first in.

The Carter won it away from him right after I finished (advanced) infantry basic school and after that training and funding for the military went down the toilet fast.