Surviving USCG Basic Training: Learn to Get Along with People
In order to be successful in it’s missions, the Coast Guard depends heavily on teamwork. This places a huge responsibility on you. Your company in basic training and your first station will be staffed by a variety of people from around the country, and possibly around the world. It is imperative for your team’s success and your own sanity that you know how to get along with all these people, no matter how different you may be.
Surviving USCG Basic Training: Required Knowledge
While I’m sure this isn’t the first thing most people would ask about related to basic training, it is a huge part of making your 8 week stay in Cape May a bit more bearable. Required knowledge is exactly what it sounds like: the things you absolutely MUST learn during basic. The sooner you know them the better. Company Commanders can start asking you required knowledge questions in the second week of training. If you don’t know the answers, you are only going to make things tougher on yourself because you will need to write performance trackers and get your share of Incentive Training (IT), neither of which are enjoyable.
It Begins
Well, by now I’ll be in Cape May getting yelled at by Company Commanders as we start our processing week at Basic Training. I got some stuffed pack for the move afterwards, and will finish packing during my 5 days of liberty. Eric will take care of the rest. Eric and I also got our marriage license before I left on Monday, and he will take care of setting up the day and getting us an officiant for our quick civil ceremony during liberty. I picked out my wedding band before leaving, and am looking very forward to marrying him when I get back.
For anyone who wants to keep up with what’s going on with my company, there is actually a website that posts weekly summaries of each camp going through basic training. I expect to be Company W184, but won’t know that for sure until I get there. I do know my graduation date is set for May 13, 2011, so use that to find my company. Posts happen at the end of each week, but you may not get the first update until the end of the 2nd week. The first week is really just about us getting settled, getting our gear, and making sure we are up to snuff medically. The real fun begins on the first full week: Week 2. If you’d like to follow my company’s progress, you can find us at the Training Center Cape May Blog.
This will be the last post I make at least until basic is over. I’ll save the large summary of basic until after I get to my first unit. But don’t worry, I’ll check in with you all when I’m finished so you know I survived!
Almost There
Final Preparations
This may well be the last real update I can give you all before I leave. I’ll try to leave a quick note on Monday before I head up to NYC. But here I am, in my last weekend at home before 8 weeks of basic training. It will be a busy weekend. Tomorrow I’ll be dropping off my car at my parents, who will keep it healthy and get it inspected while I am away. Outside of that, I need to do a little bit of laundry to get the last of the few clothes I need to bring clean, and a lot of packing.
Arranging Finances for Basic Training
On top of packing, I have a whole layer of preparation that the average 18-year old enlistee probably doesn’t. A 26 year-old, college graduate’s finances are a bit more involved than the high school graduate’s. Since I will be completely disconnected from the outside world while at basic training, aside from writing a few letters, I needed to make arrangements for the 2 months that I will be gone. Given a few uncertainties, this was more complicated than it needed to be.
