How to Join the Military and Survive Boot Camp

Many military recruits find themselves suckered in by a recruiter's assurance that the armed forces is exactly like a civilian job and boot camp isn't that bad. This, unfortunately, is a lie. A military career is one of the most rewarding and meaningful lives to which any person can aspire, but the training beforehand is beyond intense. Here is your no-bull guide to surviving boot camp.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Quit smoking and wean yourself off caffeine and other addictive substances. These substances are strictly forbidden during a recruit's 6 to 12 weeks of training, and there's no need to make your life any harder by having a caffeine headache for the first week of boot camp.
2. Find out the rules before you head to boot camp, and follow them to the letter. This means no "what abouts" and "what ifs." The rules are the rules, and if you choose to disobey them or try to bend them in any way, you will pay dearly. Disregard for rules and regulations is for civilians, and you are no longer a civilian.
3. Know what you have to do to pass the physical training (PT) test at the end of boot camp, and make sure you can pass before boot camp starts. Boot camp is not the place you go to get in shape; it's the place you go to get in the best shape.
4. Accept that for the first few weeks of boot camp, you will be unable to do anything right. This kind of criticism from training instructors (TIs) and drill instructors (DIs) is not personal. Their job is to break down the civilian and build a military machine in its place.
5. Wax your legs and other areas you normally shave right before you begin boot camp if you're a woman. You'll need those valuable minutes to do more important things than shave your legs. Also, have your regular stylist cut your hair short before boot camp. Military barbers are unconcerned with whether or not your head looks like a mop when they're finished.

Who Can Help:

• Earn an Associate's, Bachelor's or Master's Degree from the University of Phoenix
• University of Phoenix, degree Programs to Fit Your Life.