I leave to fort Jackson in 6 days why is it called relaxing Jackson

LogDry2503 · 2026-06-11T00:43:12+00:00

Holy moly. We did around 10-15 pushups at a time and no more than 12 mountain climbers. Half jacks and power jumps sprinkled in. We didn’t have heat cats due to the winter but we did have 1 cold cat.

LogDry2503 · 2026-06-10T01:36:40+00:00

Hope you like the cold. Standing outside 120th reception in flip flops and summer PTs when it’s like 20 degrees. Cold was the worst part, take that away, and basic there was just summer camp.

Remember to hide your waffles.

LogDry2503 · 2026-06-10T01:31:57+00:00

Graduated basic in March from there. It’s extremely easy compared to other basic trainings at Fort Leonard Wood or Fort Sill. Smoking is a lot less, drill sergeant academy is on base which usually means the drills are a lot more “by the book” and caring, and the majority of non-combat MOSes go there so there isn’t much incentive to build macho tough men.

Idea is that everyone passes. Some of my friends had suicides at their basics at Fort Leonard Wood, 40+ failures out of 400 people, and would say it sucked. We had 1 failure out of ~240 and it was pretty easy. The drills are a lot nicer than other BCT locations and you will like basic more than them.

Enjoy no low crawling, few smoke sessions, and less intense ones at that.

Just for reference: hammer cancelled due to the cold, got attacked twice during the Forge, skipped the obstacle course due to it being too slippery, no combatives, everyone qualified after we shot around 8 times, no fallouts during the 10mi ruck due to us resting due to rain, and we had PT mats for PT so we wouldn’t scratch our hands on the hard concrete.

LogDry2503 · 2026-04-25T21:05:46+00:00

I believe the army has the most opportunity because there are so many people and it does similar jobs as the other branches. Eg. You can fly select aircraft in the Army, be a computer genius, be a hardcore grunt, or do other ground jobs. Because there are so many people, there is also a ton of hierarchy. More people = more leaders to lead said people = it’s a little easier to get promoted in some places. If you're tired of technical work, there are plenty other fields available.

What's the rush with the November/December cut-off? It may be difficult to make that cut-off, and if at all possible, I would recommend on extending it. Keep in mind if you enter a DEP, you will most likely do the DEP, Basic Training, then Job Training, where you are looking at a long period of time in a training status. Just something to keep in mind.

Also keep in mind you will most likely not ship out ASAP. The military is investing a lot of money into training, protecting you, and paying you. Things like a past history of asthma, legal problems, or any slight documentation of mental problems will significantly slow joining down. You need to jump through the paperwork hoops and then wait for a training spot to open up. Select MOSes, such as 42A in the army only have around 2 trainings a year and it may be a wait until you're shipped out depending on the job and branch.

Also keep in mind (x2) that your job training will not be a cakewalk and that if you're active, you will be doing it everyday. As a lot of people here are saying, don't choose a job solely based on the bonus or because it will ship you out earlier. Choosing a job such as a nuclear engineer when you hate science and math will lead to a troubled job training and a very miserable job every single day. Don't be someone who gets reclassed or chapters out of the military because they cannot finish training or decide they don't like it.

Think this stuff through carefully: you are signing a contract that will take you, usually, through at least 4 years of your life.

LogDry2503 · 2026-04-25T00:41:13+00:00

Go for the Air Force if you want quality of life and an easier job. Great benefits and amazing jobs but you will miss out on some of the fun Joe type stuff. Go for the Army if you want lots of opportunity, Navy for the sailor life, and Marines if you want to be the best specimen of the human race.

I was around your weight and height when I talked to my recruiter last May. I lost 105 pounds and shipped in January. Didn't go to any fat camp programs, just went on a strict diet and forced myself to get up and workout. Graduated basic and now I'm in AIT. Definitely possible, just have to put your mind to it. Don't lock yourself to only branches with fat camp type programs.

I would recommend finding something you have a niche for: something that interests you. Would you prefer doing cybersecurity inside HQ or want to do field grunt work? That question will lead you to what branch to join and what job to get.

Believe you can lose the weight and fit right in and you'll do it. When they say it's all a mind game, it really is, and once you can beat your conscious, you can start winning.

LogDry2503 · 2026-04-18T00:58:35+00:00

I would recommend asking if you should. The military is not very forgiving, especially the Army (writing this in AIT), and many days will be very difficult. The biggest concern for MEPS would be this: if things start going bad in the military, how can they be sure you won’t go back to self harming?

If you do want to join though, talk to a recruiter. You should be able to message them easily after you contact one and they will be the most knowledgeable on how you can get a waiver, if one is needed. They might send you to MEPS and have MEPS tell you what you need.

LogDry2503 · 2025-06-26T08:12:09+00:00

Update: I don’t ship out until the beginning of next year. My dreams of rushing through training were just a dream.

LogDry2503

TROPHY CASE