Disclaimer:  These are educated guesses as to how things may go for you based upon my experience at Fort Jackson Reception and how they operated.

Here are some topics I didn't cover in episode 006.

Packet

You will probably receive your Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills Book, Initial Entry Training book (aka "Smart Book") and hand sanitizer.  The smart book and sanitizer may end up being an inspectable item you will need to keep on you throughout your entire stay in Basic Combat Training.  (The sanitizer is provided because you will not always have the luxury of washing your hands with soap and water).

Amnesty Brief

If I recall correctly, the amnesty brief is basically a brief on what you are allowed and not allowed to have with you during the remainder of your time at reception battalion (and even at your BCT company for the most part).

Post Exchange (PX)

You will have an opportunity to go to the post exchange to purchase some basic, but necessary items just prior to shipping to your actual BCT company.  Here are two links to two (downloadeable/printalbe) tables that Fort Jackson provides on their website in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 612-201.  

• "What to bring list" - Items Future Soldiers shoudl wear or bring to Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) on ship day.
• "What to buy list" - Items to purchased at Reception Post Exchange (PX).

Moment of Truth

The moment of truth is where the future soldiers are asked as a whole if there is anything that you lied about, "failed" to share or admit during the enlistment process or what have you.  You aren't expected to admit these things in front of others, but it' s just a final chance for you to come clean privately before attempting to move forward with training.

Phone Call

As far as I know and from what I've read, you are strongly encouraged to bring your mobile phone with you when you ship as it will be your secondary means of communication with family (apart from writing letters--the primary means of communication).  Bring it with you and use it as much as possible if allowed while you're at reception!  Drill sergeants will most likely return you mobile phone to you once each phase to make a super-short phone call to family.

That is all for now.  If I come across further informationt that needs to be added here, or if have a topic that you feel should be addressed for BCT Reception, please email me at godavidstrong@gmail.com.

It has been quite a while since I've posted a journal entry here.  So much has happened it seems, and yet a lot of it I can't remember because I've allowed so much time to pass me by.  I feel bad about all this.  Honestly, I simply burned out and couldn't keep up with Go David Strong like I should.  Excuses aside, here are my belated updates...

The Best Warrior Competition is over and done with for me as I did not win the third level among the Junior Enlisted.  Long story short, I did not qualify on the M4 at the firing range as I have never used one and it is an entirely different experience from the M16.  So I was disqualified.  Now before you say, "What!?"  More than half of us did not qualify at the firing range because we all have been qualifying with an M16 all this time.  The majority of the Army Reserve has not switched over to the M4 as of yet and they should for a reason such as this.  So I don't entirely feel bad here, but just put out.  Nevertheless, it is over and done with, and if I am still enlisted in the Fall, then I will try again.

Speaking of being enlisted.  I was finally contacted with information for the Officer Direct Commission program.  Soon I will be going before an officer board to be interviewed for my request for becoming an officer.  I am quite excited about it and equally nervous because there is a lot to take care of and quite a large responsibility to become an officer--the pressure will definitely be on.  But as always I will rise to the occasion.  I just need to get my butt in gear and get some things straigtened out personally first.  I have so much going on! ...so many loose ends.  

Lastly, I recently got my Level 1 certification in the Modern Army Combatives Program (MACP).  It was very hard and extremely physically challenging.  I'll hunt down the photos and post them some time soon.

So that is the gist of what is or has gone on.

Stay tuned!

David

 

This is a continuation of Episode 004, which covered what to pack for shipping to basic training.  This video goes through mostly suggested items or additional items you should purchase for your convenience while in basic training.  Some of these items are actually required, but you'll often hear me suggesting that you buy extra of a lot  what is gone over in the video.

So that it is clear, all of this is a recap of the last weekend from January 7th to January 9th as it happened.

This past weekend, as you know, I had to go to Tampa, Florida to do the battalion level Best Warrior Competition (Agh!  I am so bored and burnt out with even hearing that title).  Before leaving I literally ransacked my bedroom to find things in my luggage that I brought back with me from training.  For the record, my bedroom doesn't look like this on a regular basis.  I just had to dig out only the items that I thought I needed for the weekend.

I left with my sponsoring NCO later Friday afternoon.  I drove and we studied using the iPhone Army Study Guide app the majority of the way to prepare for what turned out to be not as stressful as expected.  

Fast forward and we are arrived in Tampa and I was dead tired.  I didn't get to bed until late.

To be continued...

 

P.S.  I've been extremely busy between teaching all day, physical training and working and shooting videos for my YouTube channel, I'm pretty burnt.  But preparing for the BWC is what had to take most of my time.  But I'm trucking right along.

I promise you that I am working hard for you guys to bring some much needed content with useful Army information both about Basic Combat Training, AIT and more. I for one know the immense cluelessness or mystery there is to what Initial Entry Training is like prior to getting there. So I'm working hard to bring you high quality work. Please be patient with me as I work out my technical setbacks with my cameras and will do my best not to disappoint, especially in light of a new year.

Additionally, Go David Strong is getting a slight overhaul in look and direction, so hang with me if you like what I've done so far. Hang in there, namely you future soldiers! Tracking?

Hooah!

This video below is a direct video reply by ssghooty on YouTube to my 6th vlog in my previous blog post "Drill Weekend, Job Cut, Switched to Active Duty - GDS Vlog 006"

I am very grateful for his input!  As I said in my reply to him in so many words, I feel very reassured. :)

 

"This is a reply video to godavidstrong. David vlogged about life in general while attached to the USAR. I felt as though this soldier needed some guidance. Best of luck to you David."

 

I spent the better portion of Wednesday morning through the afternoon visitin my unit, getting my pay paperwork taken care of, got my schedule for doing drills with my unit, starting April 11. Had the great fortune of learning that I may be able to reclassify to Military Police prior to basic training--which would be SO AWESOME! I'm so hyped and hope that this really works out! Finally, I went to the park and ran three quarters of a mile, and next week I plan to run one complete mile. 

Onward, ever upward. Forward, never backward! 

Go David Strong! HOOAH!!

Yesterday afternoon I shot a video for the second episode of Go David Strong and it took me an hour and a half because of my brain hiccups, loud vehicles passing by and my family interrupting.

I ended doing 106 takes total, just so that I could get at least four good takes of me saying The Soldier's Creed without any cuts. I only got three uninterrupted takes of the entire recitation before I lost good daylight from outside.

Now I am sorting out the good takes from the undesirable one's in Final Cut at the moment. Then once I have a good edit, I'll export it to After Affects to fix some things, color and what not. I'll bring it back into my Final Cut project and add final edits, such as titles, credits, music and sounds.

I'm sharing so that you have an inside peek at my editing process with episodes. I don't, however, do all this for vlogs. I just cut out as many "ums" and awkward pauses without compromising the message. I add titles and then I'm done.

All I can say is wowza! This episode will take a while.

 

This is part one of a rather long video on different aspects of going to a Military Entrance Processing Station to enlist. It is a rather long process and so I took my time to just highlight some of the more memorable and important things I experienced over the course of both my visits.

I will be uploading part two of this LONG video sometime soon, as I anticipate being very busy this weekend. So it may end up being next week that I get around to editing and uploading the second half. So watch for it.

Meanwhile, the question to you for this video is...

What was MEPS experience like, if you've gone already?

For any immediate questions please feel free to email me: godavidstrong@gmail.com

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Thanks so much in advance for watching and supporting!

References:
USMEPCOM: http://www.mepcom.army.mil/enlistment...
USMilitary.about.com: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joinin...
Hooah4health.com: http://hooah4health.com
Color Test: http://www.archimedes-lab.org/colorbl...