Viewpoints across the Armed Forces for many soldiers starts with the most memorable aspect of their training being boot camp. Boot camp is the transitional period wherein troops learn to identify with their branch of the armed forces. A rude awakening to say the least as the day was over and I lay in my rack wide-awake wishing I were in my own bed at home. As I recalled the events of the day, I began to fully comprehend the magnitude of my decision to join the Navy and here are my first three weeks. On the day of November 23, 2003, I was picked up by a recruiter to go to the DFW airport and catch a plane to Illinois. At O’Hare airport, I was taken to Great Lake’s Boot Camp Facility where they made us strip naked and put all of our stuff in …show more content…
Week three is probably the second-most eventful week in boot camp. The second training day of this week is spent at a firing range. Don 't expect to shoot real bullets yet, though. This day is an introduction to the 9-millimeter pistol, shotgun, and their components. You will then fire electronic weapons and will probably do very bad at it because I don 't believe any kind of laser to screen targeting is too accurate. This introduction course is known as Small Arms Marksmanship Training (SAMT). The next training day after SAMT is the real stuff. Time to prove what you are made of with a little pistol. It 's live fire with distances ranging from 3-15 yards and hand positions to keep it switched up and you have at maximum four rounds to earn your second ribbon. Your first ribbon is the Nation Defense Service Ribbon. You may only earn a medal in pistol shooting if you achieve an expert rating. You will also hear something at the beginning of the week called "Breaking Blue." This instance is when you are doing something with the gun that you aren 't supposed to be doing, i.e. pointing the gun other than at the target. I was afraid the whole week that I was going to get sent back a week in training for this infraction, but in reality, the instructors seemed