Kiyo Gaiden, Part 1: From Home to AF Boot Camp
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I thought I'd put down a bit about how the Air Force Boot Camp (lovingly called BMT) was for me, and some of the reactions I had from the time before I left.
Quite honestly, I thought I'd keep my events recorded in my notebook, but the pages just stacked on me, and I found myself just typing things away on my laptop, since I carry it around with me all the while.
There'll be more, but feel free to read, inquire, and anything else of the like. I don't mind sharing a bit about my expriences. ^_^
And with that, I begin.
[Kiyo Gaiden, Part 1: From Home to AF Boot Camp]
As far back as I could remember, I felt that I left a lot behind. It was a big jump for me, going from High School and right into the military. I didn't even get used to my newly-acquired Night Job at that 5-star hotel. Still, change was necessary. All of my belongings were carefully arranged, I left several letters; instructions pertaining to how to pack my belongings, if need be, and I left my house key with my folks.
Some days afterward, I was treated with two going away parties:
--With my family; some really held the belief that I'd never come back for a while, and the others kind of played it off, since that half of the family was a Military Family (Bastards -_-). Still, they offered some good advice about how to act, and keeping my cool at all times.
--With my friends; Some of them detested the idea that I was leaving, others were convinced that I was going to die out there, and the rest believed that I'd be doing office work for the rest of my enlistment (something about "Chair Force"...meh). Senior Year had to have been the craziest year for me, since my friends threw together one hell of a going away party. Believe me, I never thought we'd never have the attention of many people going to the Supermarket when they saw some grown teens straddling the 25 Cent Go-Carts and Horses. XD
But when it wound down to it, some of them cried. I told them---reassured them---that I'd be coming back, and I wouldn't forget them. Regrettably, it was one of those instances when you swear on a strong bond at the time, only to find in later years that you've damn near forgotten them. I told them to write me a letter and seal it--so I would have some type of motivation to pull me through Basic Training.
I was scared about going on my own to a place I've never been...but later, there would have been something more important than that little inkling of fear.
After going through time-consuming (and rather embarrassing) inspections, I gotten on a plane going to Texas, and up on a bus, heading to the Lackland Air Force Base. It was already the dead of night when I had made it there...and not even a few seconds when I was acquainted with yelling and screaming. It pretty much went from "FIND YOUR LOCKER" to "PUT THAT SOAP ON YOUR BODIES!", ending with "YOU WILL SLEEP AT THE POSITION OF ATTENTION!"
I never would have guessed that the nights would be so quick.
And the days were excruciatingly long. The Flight that I was with barely knew one another, but we all came down to a close knit group upon the same idea: "If we work together, then 6 and a half weeks will be nothing." Naturally, there'd be times when we had to eat those words, but as the days passed slowly into weeks, the brothers in my Flight came together as we expressed ourselves a little (given that our Training Instructor/Drill Instructor was out of the building. :lol: ) Some people fell out from the Flight, and each time, we felt that we lost a part of something great. Still, it made us more determined to graduate with everything that we had.
I tried my best to be the "Link & Chain" of the Flight; if there was some type of trouble that we were having, I'd improvise a solution, like making rags from the towels and shirts we wouldn't need...things of that nature. And, although it was HIGHLY unrecommended, I had become the laundry crew personnel and utilities monitor of our Flight. It came with the bonus of not being there when a visiting T.I./D.I. would come and bring the pain, and it had the severe drawback of exclusion. So, to make it up, I would sweat it out, too...there was no reason that I was any more special than the rest of them.
I'd even broke down, when it seemed that everything was falling apart, since it had seemed nothing that our Flight did even tickled the expectations of our T.I.'s/D.I.'s. The brothers in my flight did reassure me for the best though, and it came to me finally...
There was something at home that I was fighting for.
I did get to contact my family....albeit only twice, but each phone call was worth it, then. My Ma was sure to come to my graduation (and with the items I had long missed, such as this laptop!).
When everything was said and done, and I was outfitted for the best, in my Air Force Blues, my Flight took on the final graduation preparations: the Airman's Run, the Coin Ceremony, and the Flight Parade:
--The Airman's Run
It was actually pretty invigorating! It was raining a bit, and we felt like we were heading into battle--the sound before the storm, right? Regardless, it felt good to run as a team....or at least, without anyone barking orders at you.
--The Coin Ceremony
A time of joy, in my book--when I went from Trainee Kiyo to Airman Kiyo. And, after 40 minutes of standing at Parade Rest (which would help for the next event), my mother and I were reunited. I never thought that tears would feel so good that day.
--The Flight Parade
Probably one of the coolest things I have done! All of the graduating Boot Camp Flights got together and marched over to the families, displaying their achieved ranks and honors. I was proud to have done that.
There was lots of celebration that went on, many gatherings and meetings, my finding that comic shop with the lovely WALL OF MANGA (I hugged it, and the shop keeper told me to get off of it 10 minutes later. XD), and after our families left...the Flight had to disband. It was time to say goodbye.
We all had our belongings packed, our 'orders' to head into our Technical Training--the next phase of our military transition--and our contacts were given to each other. I'll never regret the time I had here, because it was the only time in my life that I felt that working with others helped us reach a common goal. The time I spent there made me want to know what I could do to better the life at home....for that 4 year old I called a baby brother. ^_^
....After all that time, I had realized that I missed 7 weeks of Bleach. XD
..................[Kiyo Gaiden, Part 1:.....END]
Quite honestly, I thought I'd keep my events recorded in my notebook, but the pages just stacked on me, and I found myself just typing things away on my laptop, since I carry it around with me all the while.
There'll be more, but feel free to read, inquire, and anything else of the like. I don't mind sharing a bit about my expriences. ^_^
And with that, I begin.
[Kiyo Gaiden, Part 1: From Home to AF Boot Camp]
As far back as I could remember, I felt that I left a lot behind. It was a big jump for me, going from High School and right into the military. I didn't even get used to my newly-acquired Night Job at that 5-star hotel. Still, change was necessary. All of my belongings were carefully arranged, I left several letters; instructions pertaining to how to pack my belongings, if need be, and I left my house key with my folks.
Some days afterward, I was treated with two going away parties:
--With my family; some really held the belief that I'd never come back for a while, and the others kind of played it off, since that half of the family was a Military Family (Bastards -_-). Still, they offered some good advice about how to act, and keeping my cool at all times.
--With my friends; Some of them detested the idea that I was leaving, others were convinced that I was going to die out there, and the rest believed that I'd be doing office work for the rest of my enlistment (something about "Chair Force"...meh). Senior Year had to have been the craziest year for me, since my friends threw together one hell of a going away party. Believe me, I never thought we'd never have the attention of many people going to the Supermarket when they saw some grown teens straddling the 25 Cent Go-Carts and Horses. XD
But when it wound down to it, some of them cried. I told them---reassured them---that I'd be coming back, and I wouldn't forget them. Regrettably, it was one of those instances when you swear on a strong bond at the time, only to find in later years that you've damn near forgotten them. I told them to write me a letter and seal it--so I would have some type of motivation to pull me through Basic Training.
I was scared about going on my own to a place I've never been...but later, there would have been something more important than that little inkling of fear.
After going through time-consuming (and rather embarrassing) inspections, I gotten on a plane going to Texas, and up on a bus, heading to the Lackland Air Force Base. It was already the dead of night when I had made it there...and not even a few seconds when I was acquainted with yelling and screaming. It pretty much went from "FIND YOUR LOCKER" to "PUT THAT SOAP ON YOUR BODIES!", ending with "YOU WILL SLEEP AT THE POSITION OF ATTENTION!"
I never would have guessed that the nights would be so quick.
And the days were excruciatingly long. The Flight that I was with barely knew one another, but we all came down to a close knit group upon the same idea: "If we work together, then 6 and a half weeks will be nothing." Naturally, there'd be times when we had to eat those words, but as the days passed slowly into weeks, the brothers in my Flight came together as we expressed ourselves a little (given that our Training Instructor/Drill Instructor was out of the building. :lol: ) Some people fell out from the Flight, and each time, we felt that we lost a part of something great. Still, it made us more determined to graduate with everything that we had.
I tried my best to be the "Link & Chain" of the Flight; if there was some type of trouble that we were having, I'd improvise a solution, like making rags from the towels and shirts we wouldn't need...things of that nature. And, although it was HIGHLY unrecommended, I had become the laundry crew personnel and utilities monitor of our Flight. It came with the bonus of not being there when a visiting T.I./D.I. would come and bring the pain, and it had the severe drawback of exclusion. So, to make it up, I would sweat it out, too...there was no reason that I was any more special than the rest of them.
I'd even broke down, when it seemed that everything was falling apart, since it had seemed nothing that our Flight did even tickled the expectations of our T.I.'s/D.I.'s. The brothers in my flight did reassure me for the best though, and it came to me finally...
There was something at home that I was fighting for.
I did get to contact my family....albeit only twice, but each phone call was worth it, then. My Ma was sure to come to my graduation (and with the items I had long missed, such as this laptop!).
When everything was said and done, and I was outfitted for the best, in my Air Force Blues, my Flight took on the final graduation preparations: the Airman's Run, the Coin Ceremony, and the Flight Parade:
--The Airman's Run
It was actually pretty invigorating! It was raining a bit, and we felt like we were heading into battle--the sound before the storm, right? Regardless, it felt good to run as a team....or at least, without anyone barking orders at you.
--The Coin Ceremony
A time of joy, in my book--when I went from Trainee Kiyo to Airman Kiyo. And, after 40 minutes of standing at Parade Rest (which would help for the next event), my mother and I were reunited. I never thought that tears would feel so good that day.
--The Flight Parade
Probably one of the coolest things I have done! All of the graduating Boot Camp Flights got together and marched over to the families, displaying their achieved ranks and honors. I was proud to have done that.
There was lots of celebration that went on, many gatherings and meetings, my finding that comic shop with the lovely WALL OF MANGA (I hugged it, and the shop keeper told me to get off of it 10 minutes later. XD), and after our families left...the Flight had to disband. It was time to say goodbye.
We all had our belongings packed, our 'orders' to head into our Technical Training--the next phase of our military transition--and our contacts were given to each other. I'll never regret the time I had here, because it was the only time in my life that I felt that working with others helped us reach a common goal. The time I spent there made me want to know what I could do to better the life at home....for that 4 year old I called a baby brother. ^_^
....After all that time, I had realized that I missed 7 weeks of Bleach. XD
..................[Kiyo Gaiden, Part 1:.....END]
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Missing seven weeks of Bleach is a blessing. Don't start watching it again.
Anyway, that actually sounded like it was enjoyable. My family is exactly like your D.I.'s were, so I might be biased on the matter, though.
Anyway, that actually sounded like it was enjoyable. My family is exactly like your D.I.'s were, so I might be biased on the matter, though.
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Hehe, I guess so. But yeah, the D.I.'s did know how to kick you down, when you thought that everything was going so well. :?
Ah, and I meant the Manga. XD I already figured that the Anime was going to hell, and so did a couple of us during training.
On a completely different note: Nice Profile Pic. :lol:
Ah, and I meant the Manga. XD I already figured that the Anime was going to hell, and so did a couple of us during training.
On a completely different note: Nice Profile Pic. :lol: