{"id":4912,"date":"2021-08-24T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=4912"},"modified":"2021-10-04T11:08:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T15:08:45","slug":"97-everything-i-needed-to-know-about-life-i-learned-in-boot-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/97-everything-i-needed-to-know-about-life-i-learned-in-boot-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"#97\u2014Everything I Needed to Know About Life I Learned in\u2026 Boot Camp?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Who said, \u201cI don’t like to commit myself about heaven or hell – you see, I have friends in both places.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>
  2. In what movie did we hear the following exchange?
    \u201cHow tall are you private?\u201d<\/em>
    \u201cSir, five foot nine, sir!\u201d<\/em>
    \u201cFive foot nine, I didn\u2019t know they stacked **it that high!\u201d<\/em><\/li>
  3. Who sang (and what song) the following?
    Don’t you ever feel sad<\/em>
    Lean on me when times are bad<\/em>
    When the day comes and you’re down<\/em>
    In a river of trouble and about to drown<\/em><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
    <\/div>
    Blog #97 (Audio)<\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>

    Listen to the audio of this blog, read by Andy Adkins. Click the \u201cAudio<\/strong><\/em>\u201d button below.<\/p>\n<\/div>

    Published: <\/span>October 3, 2021<\/span><\/div>
    <\/div>Audio by Andy<\/a><\/div><\/form><\/span>0<\/span> Downloads<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    The Early Bird Gets the Worm<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I grew up in the south as a kid in Gainesville, Florida in the 60s. My father was a World War II veteran and after the war, an attorney; my mother a housewife; and my sister\u2026 well, let\u2019s just say she was a year & a half older than me: smarter, more stylish, and not as \u201cwild\u201d as I remember I was. Of course, when you\u2019re a kid, what does \u201cwild\u201d mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I began elementary school, I got into a regular \u201croutine.\u201d My mom gently knocked on my bedroom door, \u201cSon, wakey-wakey. Time to get up and get ready for school. I\u2019ve got breakfast on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I guess that might have been my first<\/em> \u201cduty station,\u201d so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Back then, I walked to school\u2026 barefoot\u2026 2 miles uphill\u2026 both<\/em> ways. Or at least that\u2019s what I told my own children when they were growing up. We still joke about that from time to time. Am I the only one here that did that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But in the Navy, well\u2026 the \u201calarm clock<\/a>\u201d changed somewhat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Military<\/a>
    You know you miss this…
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    My first morning in Boot Camp (Orlando RTC<\/strong>, Company #163, July-September 1973), somewhere around 0400 (that\u2019s \u2018O dark thirty\u2019), some asshole began kicking a 50-gallon garbage can down the middle of the barracks floor, yelling at the top of his voice: \u201cDrop your **cks and grab your socks, ladies. It\u2019s 0400 and time to **it, shower, and shave. You\u2019ve got 15 minutes<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Welcome to the United States Navy. I wrote about that \u201cintroductory\u201d experience in an earlier blog, \u201cFrom Civilian to US Navy<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Making My Bed<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    My mother taught me how to make my bed and, when a teenager, how to fold fitted sheets (I still struggle with those masochistic linens). Not that I always made my bed in the morning before school, but mom encouraged<\/em> me: \u201cAndy\u2026 you need to make your bed before you come to breakfast. Otherwise\u2026\u201d and the rest of whatever she said kinda drifted off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But in Boot Camp, let me tell you, I really<\/em> learned how to make a bed without<\/em> fitted sheets\u2014just two white, standard Navy issue sheets. Our Company Commander (CC) taught us the \u201cproper\u201d way to make up our racks (they\u2019re not \u201cbeds\u201d in the Navy; they\u2019re called \u201cracks\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIf I can\u2019t bounce a quarter off your rack, the entire company will begin the day with an early morning deck party!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For those not<\/em> in the know, a deck (not<\/em> a floor) party usually comprises an excruciating method of learning which of your muscles needs the most work. Sit-ups, pushups, and my favorite\u2026 \u201cHello Dollys<\/strong>.\u201d Yeah, I wrote about that too in an earlier blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yep, that tradition of making my rack before<\/em> breakfast kept with me through ABH \u201cA\u201d School<\/strong>, NAS Agana, Guam<\/strong>, and USS Kitty Hawk<\/em><\/strong>. And after the Navy, I kept it up while working as a city firefighter with the Gainesville Fire Department<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finish What\u2019s on Your Plate<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    My mother (and<\/em> my father) used to tell my sister, Anne, and I two things while we ate. First (when we were younger), \u201cfinish everything on your plate and you\u2019ll get dessert.\u201d As we got a little older, we learned about \u201cstarving kids in other countries.\u201d Then, as a pre-teen, \u201cYou don\u2019t have to like it; you just have to eat it.\u201d Followed by, in our teens, \u201cHoward Johnson\u2019s is just up the road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Standard Navy-issue Chow Tray
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    When I joined the Navy, breakfast, lunch, and supper became \u201cchow.\u201d Another great term all<\/em> military members share, no matter if you\u2019re Navy, Army, Marine, Air Force, or Coast Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And from my memories of boot camp and my two duty stations, NAS Agana, Guam and USS Kitty Hawk<\/em>, I never<\/em> went hungry and for the most part, chow was tasty and there was always <\/em>plenty of it. I actually wrote an earlier blog titled Midrats\u2026 and other Navy Chow<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sure, there were some things I liked better than others. But I learned on the carrier that feeding 5,000+ sailors three times a day (plus midrats), took quite a dedicated mess crew. I can honestly say I cleaned my plate almost every time I sat down for chow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most of the time, I finished quickly, especially when at sea. Since I worked on the flight deck in V-1 Division\/Crash<\/strong>, we had to rotate shifts to make sure our guys got down to chow and still maintain a full crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That\u2019s one habit that\u2019s been hard for me to break. I\u2019m better now than when I first came home, 44 years ago. I easily scarf down a full meal in a matter of a few minutes. I have to remind myself to purposefully slow down when I eat; and my wife has helped me to break that habit. It took a few years and a bottle or two of Cabernet, but I learned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, I just “hang the feed bag.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Anyone else?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Folding Clothes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Growing up in the 60s, blue jeans, T-shirts, white socks, and Keds were my choice for clothes. I\u2019d tuck my shirt tail in when I had to go \u201cfancy.\u201d And yes, I\u2019d often leave my clothes scattered about the floor of my bedroom. And I certainly never<\/em> folded them. I mean, why, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    More than once, my mother \u201cinformed\u201d me that, \u201cwe have a clothes hamper; use it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The only problem was that it wasn\u2019t in my<\/em> room\u2026 my<\/em> kingdom. It was all the way on the other side of the house<\/em>. Sheesh, now I have to haul my clothes across the vast wasteland from my room to the other room? What\u2019s next? I have to fold them, too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Andy<\/a>
    Lord, I was so young (and skinny).
    Andy Adkins, Orlando RTC
    (August 1973)
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    And\u2026 you know what\u2019s coming next\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In Boot Camp, we all learned to fold clothes the Navy way. And why did we have to do that? Was it to become organized? Was it so that the CC could glance around at everyone\u2019s locker to make sure everything was in order? Or, was it that the CC insisted upon neatness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No, it was because in the Navy, everything<\/em> you owned either fit in a locker or a seabag. There wasn\u2019t much room\u2026 anywhere. Unless, of course, you lived off base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then there was that time when someone in the company failed inspection and the CC went around \u201ctossing lockers.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For those of you who never heard that term or experienced a “barracks tornado,” the company commander would go through the barracks\u2014there were 80 of us, each with a rack (bed) and a stacked \u201copen faced\u201d locker\u2014and pull out clothes from everyone\u2019s lockers and toss them onto the deck (floor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, and only then, did it remind me of growing up with my own clothes in my own bedroom scattered about. Thank God and the Navy that we’d stenciled our names on every item of our uniforms during that first week in boot camp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yeah, I learned how to fold clothes \u201cproperly\u201d in the Navy. I still do, to an extent, but do I yearn for that cramped coffin locker space on the ship? I think many of us would have the same answer to that idiotic question: not only no, but hell no!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Respect Your Elders<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only one whose parents often told me, \u201cRespect your elders\u201d\u2014sometimes stated with\u2026 you know\u2026 that \u201cstink eye\u201d look\u2014followed by additional non-solicited parental advice I can\u2019t even begin to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But in Boot Camp\u2026 well, let\u2019s just say the Company Commanders were older than us new recruits. In fact, many of them were lifers with an outstanding naval career. And from what I remember, our CC would rather have been stationed aboard an aircraft carrier (he was an ADJ1\u2014Aviation Machinist\u2019s Mate, 1st Class Petty Officer), than to babysit 80 new raw recruits, soon to be (if we graduated) FNG\u2019s. [See glossary<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I can look back on this now with humility. But back then\u2026 like most 18-year-olds, I thought I knew everything. I learned (the hard way) that one of the goals of boot camp\u2014and I assume in all <\/em>US military boot camps\u2014is to break each recruit down individually and rebuild the company back together as a team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Teamwork\u2014yep, I learned that in the Navy and it stuck with me throughout my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now\u2026 I\u2019m the elder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But does the younger generation respect my<\/em> generation? I\u2019d like to think so, but I don\u2019t make the \u201cRespect your elders\u201d comment too often. It just doesn\u2019t seem to matter these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make a Commitment\u2014Stick with It<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    My first real paying job was slinging hamburgers at a fast-food restaurant called Burger Chef in Gainesville. I was 14 years old and rode my bike to work, unless it rained. Then either my mother, my father, or my sister \u201cdrove me to work.\u201d In 1970, I made ninety cents an hour; not bad back then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    My Navy Memoir
    (Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    But I stuck with it, \u2018cause I enjoyed working and even more, liked making money, although I was still learning the \u201cvalue\u201d of money, but that\u2019s another story. Apparently, I was an outstanding employee; good enough to make night and weekend manager at age 15. I still had to wear a silly paper hat, but because I was a \u201cmanager,\u201d I got to wear a blue hat instead of the white hat. Yeah\u2026 it was<\/em> a big deal back then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I signed up for a four-year enlistment in the United States Navy, I was committed to finishing my duty. Back then, it was much hard to \u201cget out\u201d than it is now, but I honestly never thought about that. Sure, there were times when I wish I was somewhere else. But when I made that type of commitment, I thought it more important to finish than to quit. At least, that\u2019s how I felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I almost made it\u2026 let me \u2018splain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I joined on a Tuesday and got out on a Friday. Instead of a full four years in the Navy, I could only pack in \u201cThree Years, Eleven Months, and 29 Days. But Who\u2019s Counting<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I say that in jest, and it usually gets a good laugh. Better yet, I wrote a book with that title\u2014my Navy experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Navy Never Left Me<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I still make my bed almost every morning. It\u2019s one of several morning rituals, but these days, it\u2019s after <\/em>coffee\u2026 and we\u2019ll leave it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I still fold most of my clothes, though I\u2019ll admit, not as exact as in the Navy. But then, I don\u2019t have a CC or DI looking over my shoulder. I seem to have a little more room these days. And\u2026 I can honestly say, my wife has never \u201ctossed\u201d my locker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I still eat everything on my plate, whether it\u2019s at a restaurant, our kids\u2019 homes, a friend\u2019s, or our own home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And, I still respect my elders though\u2026 I realize at 66, now I\u2019m<\/em> the elder. And no, many younger folks these days don\u2019t respect their elders. And as I think about it, that probably was the same back when I was a kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I still keep my commitments, whether or not I want to. If I tell someone I\u2019m going to do something, then by God, I do it. I may not do it as well as they\u2019d like, but then, they\u2019re not my CPO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Over the years, I\u2019ve held many jobs and experienced many journeys. I can honestly say that I\u2019m a team player\u2026 sometimes more so than others. But I think the more I can help others (Paying it Forward<\/a><\/strong>), the workplace will be a better environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I did learn a thing or two in boot camp\u2014those early years set the bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Until we meet again,
    Andy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Previous Posts Mentioned in this Blog:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n