Basic Training

[Anonymous]

I have alot of questions about basic training. I just took my ASVAB and am getting ready to drive to Tampa for my physical. My question aren't as much about the physical aspect but more the mental. How hard are they on you? Another question that I have is about the variety of ages. I feel as if I may be the oldest one there (almost 23). If anyone can answer these questions, I would really appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

Hi! Are you talking about the physical at MEPS? REALLY don't worry about it, they're not hard on you at all. It's not scary or anything, I was scared as hell before, it's just a lot of waiting. Mentally they just go down a checklist and ask you a bunch of questions, if you want to really join the Air Force, your answers will be "NO, NO, NEVER, NO.." on everything, or else you're setting yourself up to fail. They really try to interrogate you, don't give in, they're trying to disqualify you for absolutely anything, so just say NO. It's fine that you're 23, that's not old don't worry, at my physical there were prior service ladies there who were 40 and getting re-physicaled. I was soooo nervous, but really don't be, they're nice people. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Krista, I think Brandy was asking about basic (hence the title: basic training) not the physical.

Brandy, I'm in the Army, so our basic training was a lot harder than the Airforce basic. Basically all our drills just tried to make everything seem really hard. They do put a lot of stress on you, but if you stay calm and deal with the problem at hand you won't have a problem. I saw a lot of weak and not so bright people go into the army, but they came through strong and confident. If they can do it almost anyone can. Have faith in yourself, you can do it.

If you want a little more information on basic and the mental aspect of it check out the book: The Real Insiders Guide to Military Basic Training by Peter Thompson, M.Ed. (he's former military). That book helped me a lot. I wasn't even nervous going to basic b/c I kindof knew what to expect. But it was still a little bit of a shocker. Feel free to e-mail me if you have anymore questions, or would like to know a little more. Good Luck!!!

sarai007@yahoo.com