As you stand in the hot, crowded troop-transport truck with your face buried securely in your duffel, the comforts of reception seem years away. You are jolted and shaken as the "cattle car" lumbers up hills and around corners, and your world is slowly crumbling as a drill sergeant continues to scream expletives at the loudest range possible.
Your first stop will be the Central Issue Facility, where you will be issued items such as rucksacks, ammo belts and pouches, LCE (Load Carrying Equipment) straps, canteens, a kevlar helment... and the list goes on. The drill sergeants- YOUR new drill sergeants- continue to bully the privates as you cast your eyes downward, dreading recognition. It seems as if the world has truly fallen apart, and you wonder if you will survive the next 8 minutes let alone the next 8 weeks. You do manage, however, to secure your items and get back out to the transports. As they groan and rattle toward the final destination, you instinctively bury your head once again into the starchy olive drab canvas of your duffle. Perhaps you would like to stay in such a position indefinitely, but this will certainly not be possible. You see, next stop is shakedown.
Back to Phase One