Getting Ready
Wow. Boot camp’s getting close. These
last few days have been full of making sure my bills are paid, ensuring
my stuff will be safe, and hanging out with family and friends. As time
goes on, life almost seems surreal as I look around and see people,
places, and more that I won’t be around for a long time. The feeling is
not unlike what I felt when I left on my 2-year LDS mission to Brazil back in 1998.
The next few months are going to be pretty full. On Tuesday, April
11th, at about 5:00 a.m., I’ll be picked up by the local recruiter and
taken to the Phoenix Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). When
I get there, they’ll do a brief medical checkup. After the checkup,
I’ll be taken into an official-looking room to take the Oath of Enlistment, which begins my time as an active-duty member of the US Navy.
After taking the Oath, I’ll be given a plane ticket and sent on my way boot camp, held in Great Lakes, IL, at the Navy’s Recruit Training Center (RTC). My first week there is called p-week, or processing week, where I will run around getting shots, filling out paperwork, and generally conforming to the mantra of “hurry up and wait.” Altogether, about 1000 recruits arrive at the RTC each week, so I won’t be alone in my waiting. The next Monday I’ll be placed in a division with a group of around 80 men and women and my 8 weeks of training will begin.
After boot camp, I’ll be sent through various stages of training
lasting up to a year before I’m actually sent to my first duty station.
Where will that be, you may ask yourself? I have no idea, but I sure am
excited to find out!
I’ll try to keep you updated on my experiences, whether though my
own posts or via my brother Carl, who will post excerpts from my
letters home when I can’t get to the website myself.