Ok in basic, when a Drill Sergeant asks for volunteers, should you volunteer? My dad said when he was in, it was kind of a joke between drill sergeants "Who here knows about heavy equipment?!" "I do Drill Sergeant!" "Here carry this box of dummy hand grenades."

But people are saying nowadays that Drill Sergeants like that leadership.

I know that you shouldnt be a showoff, but when the Drill Sergeant asks a question or needs volunteers, should you volunteer? Or should you be a ghost?

Be a ghost. Be a ghost. Be a ghost.

The DS doesn't care who is a squad leader and such... he/she cares about training you. Basic is not the place to learn leadership. You learn basic Soldier skills there.

Ok, thanks. Thats what I thought. People are telling me AIT is the place to begin to shine.

Depends on how long your AIT is. I was kind of a ghost till my first duty station and I was thought of as a model soldier there. But in Basic and AIT, you shouldnt volunteer all the time but you shouldnt not volunteer. Learn to stay in the middle. If your Platoon leader sees that your not volunteering for anything, they might suggest you when the DS asks them for soldiers.

I can't tell you much about basic, I went a while ago. I can however weigh in on AIT. I am currently reclassing to 97E at FT Huachuca. There are a lot of NCOs doing the same here right now. I can tell you that both us reclass NCOs and the Drill Sergeants look for those Soldiers that show some leadership potential. I reccomend that you show some leadership, and strive to be the best Soldier you can be. It will make a big difference in the way you are looked at and treated. And in the case here, I know some of the Soldiers that I am in class with will end up working with me after we get out of here. So you can bet I am paying attention to who the squared away Soldiers and who the dirtbag Soldiers are.

Alright, thanks. I just didnt know if it would make me look like a brownnosing prick to the DS. My dad was like "DONT DO ANYTHING TO STAND OUT!The army is for working together and being a unit, not trying to be a bigshot"

I want to show leadership, but i didnt know if bootcamp was the place for that or not. Our recruiting station does PT every thursday, and the Recruiters act like theyre really impressed with me, because when they yell and curse the recruits, a lot of the girls cry and say they can't and a lot of guys plain quit. He will be like "ARE YOU TI-EERRRD?!" And theyll be like "YES DRILL SERGEANT! I CANT GO ANYMORE!" And ill be like "No DRILL SERGEANT!"


Another thing- Ive learned weight has nothing to do with physical shape. Im the fattest guy at our recruiting station, but i outrun everyone but 1 recruiter and 1 future soldier.

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Another thing- Ive learned weight has nothing to do with physical shape. Im the fattest guy at our recruiting station, but i outrun everyone but 1 recruiter and 1 future soldier.

Heya. PV2 here, recently finished basic at Ft. Leonard Wood and am currently at beautiful (yet scorching hot) Ft. Huachuca with six weeks! to go. As far as physical shape ; whatever your condition n(or age, even- I enlisted at 38), as long as you aren't BSing through basic, youll get to where you need to be. My first APFT, I scored something like a 150- now I'm up to 234 and still improving. Listen to your drills; don't take the PT they through at you as punishment or 'getting smoked'; realize what they are there for, and what you're there for, and you'll do fine.

You'll get sick of hearing about Motivation in Basic and AIT, but when it comes down to it, motivation, getting things done and being squared away is what gets you noticed. Although, you'll probably never hear a Drill tell you they are actually impressed with anything you do, unless you manage to find Bin Laden in a gopher hole while you're in AIT.

lol Ft.Wegotchya...Gosh I LOVE it here...lol (current duty station).

For sure you need to make yourself known, but not so much as to draw the wrong attention. I figured out it's better to be the very best soldier you can be. In any situation, time or day, you are a SOLDIER. I get bad mouthed by the other SPC's and PFC's, but the NCO's know they can count on me to get the job done and 110%.

As far as the DS's not saying anything...Well that depends on the DS's. When I was in AIT at Ft.Gordon, I got told I was doing the right thing and would go far in my Army carrer. Do the right thing and people see it. The people that matter see it and that is what is important.

Oh gimmie a break, there's nothing wrong with standing out. Volunteering for potentially crappy detais is what might land you a post commander's coin, or a COA even. I got both in Basic for volunteering. Just don't be a brownnoser. Don't go LOOKING to impress, just do it when you're asked to.

Hey new guy,
Smittaayy is right. You can play the background all you want, but you will continually be passed over for the good things in the army, such as TDY's( you'll learn about these jewels later) and things like waivers for promotions.

Part of leadership is courage. First how can you lead someone on a detail if you yourself havent cut the grass?, and secondly, why should you be allowed to lead if you were AFRAID to raise your hand when volunteers were requested?

My recruiter told me just the opposite of what you are hearing. He said whenever someone ask for people, be the first one with your hand up, as SELFLESS SERVICE, is one of our values. I can tell you that I have been rewarded more times from volunteering that I have had to do some BS detail.

People may doubt what you say, but they will definetly believe what you do.

So like he told me, Im telling you,: be the first everytime!

HULA! Awesome! Yeah im not afraid to stand out, but thats what always got me in trouble all through school lol. I was always the person with his hand up, and knew everything, and people thought i was a know it all, or a brownnose, and I didnt know if it was thought differently of in the army. Yeah my recruiters screw with us when we volunteer. And if i forget to end everything will "drill sergeant" or if i dont stand at Parade rest. "You shouldnt volunteer for it if you don't know what it is! Now drop and give me 25!"

"Yes drill sergeant". *Does 25 pushups*

Yeah, well I heard recruiting sucks, so they're probably just bored.

There's also nothing wrong with being the guy that knows it all, or even the guy who's willing to take a shot at answering every question. Like me . You just have to regulate it; learn when to turn it on and off. If you turn it off too long, people will think you're a shammer, or you don't understand, or you just don't care. If you leave it on for too long, people will start getting super annoyed with you, and Drill Sergeants will start picking on you for every little thing, which can go bad very quickly.

You'll know exactly what your instructors want. Adjust fire accordingly.

I trained for six months after my season and ran right into bct.....I tried to be the best. That was my goal. I remember the first time I saw the white water tower at FT Jackson, I knew we would be friends. I used that tower as a focal point and gauge everytime I ran.

I was awarded The Army's Superior Physical Fitness Test Award in recognition of attaining a score of 296 for Alpha Company 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment.

I won The Outstanding Marksmanship Award for shooting 32/40 achieving (sharpshooter). I should've won eagle eye...I had proper sight alignment and my site picture was clear.I must had an off day! that pissed me off..a little bit. But I learned.

I'm locked-in on my training and I plan to do everything the Army has to offer me. Anyways, my point is this.....Even when your on top of your game you can still come up short sometimes....That's why we're always training. Go for it at highspeed.

I think that being a leader and volunteering for things are different. If the Drills asks for someone to scrub the floor I don't think that's being a leader however, if he asks for new recruit to take charge and be held responsible and accountable for other soldiers then he's asking for a leader. Being a leader is more than telling soldiers what to do. Plenty of people like the sound of being in charge but when it's time to be held accountable for someone else's failure then the idea isn't so appealing anymore. As far as showboating... if you do a great job on something and you are rewarded it's not showboating. It's showboating when you hog the glory and do not share your knowledge and skills with your buddies. Leaders set everyone around them up for success...not just themselves. Good luck

If you want to be successful in your soon to be Army career then it would be wise to standout beyond your peers. When it comes to sending you or your buddy to the promotion board and all your buddy has done was hide while you busted your ass to be noticed you will get the promotion before he will. Also in basic this is how the Drill Sergeant's identify who is leadership material i.e squad leader, platoon guide, etc. Stand out, get noticed, show that you have some motivation and it will pay off in the long run.