30th AG
Plenty has been said about this place, and most of what I've read was pretty close to my experience, but there is still lots to be said.This is where you'll get your first taste of the Army.You'll nervously clench your butthole at the sight of the first round brown that steps on your bus, you'll wait around for paperwork that never seems to end, you'll deal with some of the biggest dirtbags, and you won't get much sleep.It helped me tons however.This is where you'll meet some of your closest friends and make some of the most important first impressions.(ill talk about this shortly) Almost everyone in your company will be classing up with you at sand hill.Be squared away and patient and before you know it, it'll be pick up day..
Sand Hill
A short bus ride later, we found ourselves sprinting up the hill to C 1-50 for a warm welcome with our new drill sergeants
. The days flew by and before I knew it, it was white phase.I was one of the rare birds that never shot a gun before OSUT.I thought it would come naturally and easily, but dear god was I wrong.I shot terribly at first and it frustrated the hell out of me.One of my bunkmates offered to be my mentor, and he ended up being a great teacher.After dry-firing for hours and working on my technique,(everyone had a good laugh watching me try the kneeling at first) slowly but surely I was improving event by event.Qualification day was one of the most nerve racking days for me.I had the shits all morning.After 3 tries my best score was a 34/40.I shot better than my friend who taught me, but not shooting Expert was probably my biggest disappointment of training.After that, we moved on to the exciting stuff like clearing rooms,battle drills, and important tasks of an Infantryman.Before I knew it, it was time for our final FTX.Here you'll go on multiple simulated combat missions with your battle-buddies, and get a sample of what you'll get to do in a real unit.This was probably my favorite part of OSUT (NIC at night was awesome too).Our drill sergeant had an affinity for blowing us out of our patrol base and it was cold as shit, but overall it was one of the most valuable learning experiences I got to have.We capped off FTX with our final rite of passage; the bayonet march.It sucked ass (especially with my 249) but earning my cross rifles on our honor hill was one of the proudest moments of my life.A short few weeks later, I was in my dress blues marching across the parade field with a blue cord and a smile on my face.I know i'm just scratching the surface of this, but it's the best worst time mentees.You'll have some of the best teachers of your life and learn more than any school can teach you in this short amount of time.Good Luckfinal pt score:300-72 PU 85 SU 12:32 2-mile
Airborne
This is where you'll find your first taste of freedom mentees.This doesn't mean it's an excuse to do whatever the hell you want however.There were plenty of guys who fell victim to the game link.Don't be one of them. Airborne is what you make of it.Most of ground and tower week will be spent standing around and training for jump week.None of this is difficult.We lost more than 25% of my class due to the PT test and failures to PLF correctly.I really don't know what to tell you if you don't think you can pass the PT test.You have plenty of time at sand hill to PT yourself into shape.Same goes at airborne.Though you may find yourself tired of standing around, it's your job to insure that you're constantly improving your fitness.Jump week was one of the most awesome times of my life.Here you will put everything you've learned to the test and jump out of a perfectly good airplane.The experience is surreal.That Friday we got our wings pinned and parted ways to pre-rasp.
Pre-Rasp
Here I found myself in an environment I hadn't experienced before.I'm surrounded by some of the most professional cadre and doing the most challenging PT of my pipeline so far. Discipline is strictly enforced and Integrity is essential.Yesterday my class and I did 2200 straddle hops (jumping jacks) until we had a guy pass out for contraband found.This is the first environment I feel I belong in since I joined the Army.The cadre expect your best and insure you get prepared for Rasp.I've never felt so confident to start this journey.(we class up jan 31) PT yourself more when you are released and always think of the consequences of the actions you take.
Battle Buddies
In this span of about 4 months,from the second you leave on the bus to 30th, you are surrounded by peers that can make an impact on your future and decisions.Choose wisely mentees.I was exctatic to meet all the option 40s at 30th AG (105 in my company), but it blew my mind how many of these guys were shitbags.Some took the contract for the airborne, some cause it was the only infantry available, and some thought they were going to ranger school.Though some had no clue what they signed up for,I felt I could distinguish who was mentally tough and who didn't have the right mindset just by talking to them. At first It seemed crazy, but those same bare minimum soldiers were failing PT tests, getting in trouble, and hardly meeting the standard.These weak minded individuals eventually get whats coming and won't even make it to pre-rasp.between quitting,failing PT tests, trouble, and miscellaneous, they almost all get weeded out.About 60 from my company are at pre rasp right now.I found myself associating with guys that work hard and have a strong mentality.Most of them are sons of veteran operators or come from hard working backgrounds.These are the type of guys you want to be around.I've never been one to go to the gym, but I find myself there almost daily now because my buddies push me to go and better myself.Seek competition mentees, for it makes you stronger, and raises the bar for excellence.If you strive for the best, you'll find like-minded individuals who can push you to your goals better than you ever could on your own.
If any mentees have any questions about the pipeline so far or anything I missed, i'll gladly answer any PMs
