“Sir/Ma’am, Trainee Reyes reports as ordered.”

I left for basic military training (“BMT”) in the wee hours of August 2, 2017.  The night before I could barely sleep as I frantically got everything together.  I wasn’t going to be home for four months, but that didn’t really hit me then.  I was too anxious and excited of what I was going to soon be experiencing.  I remember going over the packing list, rearranging the contents of my duffel bag, and adding/removing items.  I finally fell asleep, only to wake up a few hours later.

Raul, my aunt, my grandmother, and a family friend dropped me off at the airport.  I remember saying goodbye to everyone at the security check point and then dashing to get in line.  In hindsight, I wish I could have hugged Raul longer.  I remember seeing his smiling face as I proceeded through the TSA line.  In that moment I wasn’t missing him yet, but I remembered that moment a lot when I was in BMT.

The next 24 hours was a whirlwind.  One second I was boarding the plane to San Antonio, the next I was on the bus to Lackland.  Prior to that myself and several other recruits waited in the USO lounge for the military training instructor (“MTI”) to pick us up.  We spent a few hours on our phones and eating snacks provided by the USO.  We traded stories on what we had heard about BMT, and a couple of airmen passing through to their next duty station shared their experiences of BMT.  Everything was relatively calm until the MTI showed up.  Once he entered, a hush came over the room and everyone proceed to pick up their bags and get ready to leave.  He wasn’t yelling yet, but I knew it was coming.  We waited at the airport for what seemed like hours until the bus pulled up.  The bus driver was friendly and encouraged us to use our phones on the bus ride to Lackland.  “You won’t get another chance for a quite awhile!” he reminded us.

We arrived at Lackland sometime after 10:00pm and in-processed for several hours.  Mostly we just stood, staring silently ahead until we were directed to another room.  Eventually we were issued our backpack initiative complete with some basic necessities and our APEX parka.  Around midnight we ate a partially thawed roast beef sandwich that came with juice and some Oreo cookies.  I instantly regretted not having had a proper meal earlier at the airport, but I had been too anxious to eat.  Finally, around 3:00am we headed to our dorms to sleep.   2.5 hours later I was greeted by the sound of reveille, and thus began my first day of BMT.

Nothing really prepares you for BMT.  Once you get there, the yelling begins.  That’s when you know stuff is about to get real.  This isn’t the movies anymore, this is real life.

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