"Battle Buddies" is what the Army terms your fellow soldiers-in-training. Throughout the nine weeks you spend with these people, you might at times want to term some of them something else. Despite such times, you will enter into almost an "instant family" with the members of your platoon. Basically, you need them and they need you. Here you receive support and encouragement. Unfortunately, here you also enter an alternate version of MTV's "The Real World", but without the option of leaving when troubles arise. The end result? You learn almost as much about yourself as you learn about these others, and you find a shared commraderie and commitment to one another.
Beyond the other members of your platoon and company, you are assigned a "primary battle", usually your bunkmate. You and this individual are together almost all the time: if you are caught "battle-less", it is likely you will be "dropped" into the pushup position on the spot. Eventually, you will learn to stick together, not only with this person but also with the rest of the platoon. You will likely find that, in spending so much time together, you will grow to appreciate your battle buddy. He, like the others, is crucial in your development as a soldier- never as an individual, but always as a team.
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