My name is Becky and I am an 18 year old female. I had just finished High School. I was bored with my small town and decided that instead of paying thousands of dollars to a Training College, that I would join the Army and get both my training and experience while getting paid.
I had wanted to become a massage therapist for quite some time and this option truly seemed the best for many reasons. Besides getting my education, certification, experience and training, I would be able to travel to places that otherwise I may never get to see. I also would get to meet other girls and guys from all around the U.S. and make new friends. My mother thought that it was a great idea as well.
So off to the local recruiters office I went. I took an entire battery of tests that I scored high on. I also had a High School Diploma, and so I qualified for whatever Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) that I desired. So I signed up for my Massage Therapist Training which I wanted. This school also would give me training and certification in Physical Therapy. I took my oath of enlistment, was sworn in, and enlisted on the delayed entry program allowing me to leave in a month for Basic Training. This allowed me the time to say goodbye to my few friends that I socialized with as well as my family.
It was great seeing some of my family that I hadn't seen for a while. They were all quite excited for me and liked my choices. I also spent some time with a few of my friends, and quite a bit of time back and forth between my mom and my lifelong best friend Pam. We had been childhood best friends since elementary school and shared so many things in our lives with each other. We had no secrets between us and honestly we knew pretty much everything about each other's lives. Although it would be different not seeing or talking to her everyday, we swore that we would keep in touch with phone calls and emails on a regular basis. She had decided to go to a local college studying to be a teacher. On my final day at home, both my mom and Pam were sad to see me leave. And I was too, to a degree. Although I was also very excited about my future.
So after my 30 days at home, I headed out for Basic Training at Fort McClellan in Alabama. I was not the only one that was heading out to Basic, but the only one going to Ft. McClellan. It was a 10 hour bus ride for me to McClellan. Ft. McClellan is the primary Army Base for Female Enlisted members to attend for Basic Training.
Upon my arrival at Ft McClellan, I was met by a Female Drill Instructor and taken to the Reception Station along with a few other new recruits. There we were all taken into a large briefing room and given some basic information as to what was going to take place over the next couple of days, as well as the next 10 weeks of training. We were only going to be at the Reception Station for a couple of days before we would all be sent over to our Basic Training Battalion and Company. On that first night at the Reception Station we were all given a temporary room assignment. The room had 8 bunk beds in it. Everyone was a bit nervous, but we were able to get to briefly have some conversation between us before lights out. It was exciting to meet other females from all over the United States. Lights out were at 10 PM. There really wasn't much conversation after the lights were out as most of us were dead tired from the trip getting there. There were a few quiet voices that I could hear before I fell asleep, but I fell asleep within 10 minutes after climbing under the covers. That night I slept in my panties and bra, as did most of the other girls.