For those who haven't been there, what are your fears or concerns regarding basic training? My fear is being injured and sent to a fitness training company!

quote:

For most Soldiers, healing takes 6-8 weeks. Soldiers should expect to stay at FTC an additional 4-6 weeks after healing in order to safely progress their fitness levels to the standard required to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). Individual healing times may differ.

quote:

The average stay at FTC is approximately 3 months.

http://www.jackson.army.mil/120/FTC.htm

KP Duty

my fear is getting injured or being in a training accident.

That tall (40'?) tower on the confidence course is making me a little nervous. This isn't the rapelling one, but the one you must climb up. I'm pretty short and a little freaked by heights, so climbing up will be bad enough. I don't know if I could pull myself up over that top rung and swing my body to the other side without freezing up. Any suggestions? If I can't successfully complete all the obstacles, will it be held against me?

Trust me-you will have a different mindset when you get there! You get to the point where you may feel a little fear but you still go forward. You'll get a lot of encouragement from the drill sgts and fellow soldiers, so you'll be surprised at what you accomplish. As for climbing the ladder, I'm assuming you're talking about Victory Tower, you don't have to really swing yourself up. There is some distance between the last step and platform, but there's a bar on the platform that you can grab onto, so you're not really pulling up.

I know that completing Victory Tower is a graduation requirement, so if you don't get your butt up there, it will be held against you in that regard. But I'm telling you, there is a world of difference between what you think you can't do now and what you actually can do!

Thanks. I was more concerned about falling and really hurting myself. Safety was my real concern, because I didn't see anything to break a fall in photos of the tower. Someone said that there were some kind of pads at the bottom...is this true?

Yeah, I have that same fear of getting hurt and ending up in PRPT-that's some kind of physical therapy & rehab thing. One girl in my platoon was there for 10 stinkin weeks. Forget that!

But yeah, there is a big thick mattress like pad under the ladder. They are very safety oriented.

Good to know... I appreciate the info. I'll try just about anything, but I was just worried about what could happen if I got a little dizzy up that high (I almost fell off a ladder 5 stories up, and I guess it spooked me a little). Thanks again...

i believe the one she is talking about is a vertical ladder that the log rungs start start getting further apart as you get to the top and then you crawl over the top rung and climb back down on the opposite side.

Yes, that's the one. I wasn't worried about the one you have to rappel off.

I got to try that one out at Ft.Lewis this past summer. It was pretty fun, but I couldn't make it past the 5th log on account of my um....veritcal challegenedness...I'm hardly over 5'1 and my legs aren't what you'd call "long". LOL

All in all, it's safe and fun. I had a bunch of sgts and spotter under me. so no worries.

That tower scared the crap out of me. I won't even go on balconies over 3 stories up I'm so scared of heights. But there's always people there cheering you on and if you don't look down it's not nearly as scary. Just keep looking up and concentrating on the fact that you have to do it to get through basic and you will be fine. For me, it also helped to look only at the next rung up. Just stare at that and clear your mind.

And I'm fairly short, too, and I still made it. You will be fine.

I used to be 5'2", but they claim I'm now 5'1" at the MEPS.

I'll give it my best shot! Thanks...

Short girls kick butt. LOL

I love being this short.

The funny thing is I never even think I'm short until someone else brings it up...