Beast and West Point

Beast and West Point By Petey Hohng This Blog is for the future cadets that will be attending West Point! This source will help them to sort of comprehend what they will be going through at Cadet Basic Training, and West Point. This blog will provide them useful information and tools they need to be perfectly prepared for Cadet Basic training and West Point. So take your time reading this blog, and take advantage of it! So that you can be many steps ahead of everyone. Else Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 1 Table of Contents: What is Cadet Basic Training R-day Items you should really bring to CBT Be sure to get a pair of good sturdy Boots! Knowledge Meals APFT Things You must Prepare Many Little Mistakes I made Power of Letters Power of Friendship Money Personal Training in the Morning Marching Cadence Ruck Marching Mass Athletics Resignation Process Counseling 1st Detail and 2nd Detail Chaplain’s Time Learn how to Shine Shoes First Two Weeks The Gas Chamber Validation Test Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8-9 Page 10 Page 11-13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18-19 Page 20-21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24-25 Page 26-27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32-33 Page 34 Page 2 Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved What is Cadet Basic Training? Cadet basic training, also known as "Beast," is a summer training that all students that are appointed to West Point must go through. It's an intense 7 weeks summer training that teaches you the fundamental drills, military lifestyle, proper procedures to become highly alert, military tactics, and leadership skills. Each and everyone will go through numerous obstacles that correlate to the pernicious situations in Iraq. Everyone will learn how to assemble their M16A2 Rifles perfectly. Everyone will learn how to shoot, or "Zero" the target. Everyone will obtain that killer instinct like they are in the battle zone when it comes to serious situations. Everyone will sleep in a very murky, bleak, and cold place while his or her uniform is completely soaked either with sweat or rain. Everyone will eat myriads of MRE (meals ready to eat) to the point where he or she gets sick of looking at it. Everyone will learn more about him or herself even more and see what his or her limit is. Everyone will find out if they are competent enough to endure throughout the entire Beast and finish it. Everyone is obligated to wake up at 5'o clock by the piercing voice that his or her cadre (leader) proclaims. Everyone will learn how to flush out their system (or feces) in 1 minute. To sum it up, everyone will learn how to think and act under great pressure. Cadet Basic Training will make sure that you become one of the best soldiers in the world that can set meritorious examples to the peers. That is my definition of Cadet Basic Training. And you are dubbed "New Cadet" until after A-day. You are not an actual cadet until A-day is over. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 3 R-Day (Reception Day) Reception Day is basically your first glorious day of Beast. It is a day when you finally skedaddle from your parents and peers back home (if they did come along with you to West Point on Reception Day). You will say your last farewell to your folks and after that, well, that is when the party begins. Basically, the upperclassmen will forcibly, and roughly take you to the next level, and make your day very miserable. Let me emphasize something before I go any further on explaining about the Reception Day. Be sure to bring only one bag of items to Rday. You will have an agonizing time if you do bring more than one bag. Without further ado, let me begin. On Reception day, you will get a majority of the things issued. You will get a giant flight bag that is as big as you, and you have to carry that around basically that entire day. You will get to each issue point, and get necessary things issued. As you approach to each issue point, your bag will get heavier, and your shoulders will sizzle like an egg on a frying pan. While you are in line, you have to bring up your handy dandy knowledge book up to your face, and start passing off knowledge. Those of you who don't know anything about knowledge book, it basically contains simple concepts and knowledge of military and West Point. You have to memorize and understand the concept of each knowledge. Once you have done that, you recite it to your cadre or leader, and he or she will sign off the knowledge you passed off. On the first day, it will be quite hard to focus on memorizing knowledge especially when there are numerous cadres that will be yelling at you at the top of their lungs. But, you will get used to it later on. Then, you will change into a beautiful white over gray and participate in the parade for your fantastic folks who came with you to West Point. When you do walk in formation during parade and see civilians along the sidewalk cheering for you, you will feel very powerful and glorious. I really enjoyed the parade. And, of course, right after the parade is over, another battle with your cadres will thus begin. There you go. Not too bad. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 4 Items you should really bring to CBT (For Guys) 1. Under Armour (Crucial! They have to be black though. Be sure to bring at least 4 or more) 2. Shaving cream/razor/ extra blades 3. lighter 4. photos with frame (Trust me. When you feel upset, those pictures will come in handy. I promise you) 5. List of phone numbers of your friends/family/anyone you want to call 6. Chap sticks (buy a lot) 7. 100 mile green duct tape 8. long white socks (From Costco or anywhere) 9. 100 dollars cash in your wallet, and extra money stored in your debit card (every week or so you will get to stop by Cadet Store to purchase anything you need) 10. Gel sole (Crucial! Especially for your black shoes!) 11. Neosporin/ icy hot 12. Hand sanitizer (considered as gold in beast. That's how important it is) 13. nail clippers 14. Sports watch (Vital!! You need to get one. Just buy like a 5 dollars watch at Wal-mart. You will regret it if you don't buy one) 15. Q-tips 16. Good Shampoo (they issue shampoo, but honestly, it's like one of the worst shampoos in the world) 17. Boxers 18. toothbrush 19. Band-Aids 20. Cleansing pads Do Not Bring*: 1. Civilian clothes 2. electronic equipments (except your cell phone) 3. books (you won't have time to read) *I'm telling you not to bring these items, because on R-day (which is the first day of Beast) you will have to carry around everything you brought. Trust me, it's really pain in the ass. Do not bring more than one bag worth of things. Just one bag is good enough. On R-day, you will be basically carrying half of your weight for many hours. Besides, you can have your parents or anyone to send these items later or you can go back home during break and take those back to your dorm. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 5 Be sure to get a pair of Good, Sturdy Boots You will be endlessly walking, marching, climbing, sprinting.. basically you will be using your tired feet everyday throughout the entire Beast. So, why not get a pair of expensive, sturdy, and durable boots? Trust me, they will pay off. I was so glad that my parents bought me a pair of comfortable and sturdy boots for me. Although they were expensive, they really paid off when it came down to ruck marching. You will need them even during academic years. I suggest all the future cadets that will be attending glorious Beast to purchase a pair of good boots. Here are some good sites: http://www.militaryclothing.com/ http://www.patriotsurplus.com/ You can pretty much google it and find myriads of sites that sell good pair of ACU boots. Or you can just drive to the actual military base (like I did) and buy a good pair there too! One note, I went with my friend's dad who is a SGT. You cannot enter the military base unless you are with a person that has a military id. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 6 Knowledge During Beast, everyone will receive a small knowledge book filled with military and West Point information, facts, and knowledge. Some of the information that are in the book have to be memorized verbatim (word for word) and the rest, you just have to understand the information. All the information is divided into seven weeks so that each week, everyone has to pass 1st week of knowledge, and then so forth. They are fairly easy, but to make your life easier, I suggest you to start memorizing some important knowledge now. Just getting a head start will give you easier time at beast. Start Memorizing: 1.) Alama Mater- it's in the site 2.) National anthem- it's in the site 3.) Rank and Insignia- http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/insignias/officers.html 4.) Schofield's Definition of Discipline- it's in the site http://www.west-point.org/academy/malo-wa/inspirations/buglenotes.html <-Pretty much has all the knowledge. Click on the site above and there will be a list of knowledge. It's not a complete list of knowledge in the knowledge book, but many of the important knowledge are listed in that site. There are knowledge in that website that are not included in the knowledge book, so you don't have to memorize those: 1.) Legends and Traditions of the Corps 2.) Leadership Principles 3.)Black, Gold, Grey 4.) Away we go 5.) The Locomotive Yell (USMAPS) 6.) USMAPS Purpose and Mission 7.) The Soldier's Oath taken upon entering the United States Army 8.) Definitions of the Tenets of the Honor Code 9.) "Cadetiquette" 10.) Army Blue 11.) The Cadet Oath taken upon entering the United States Military Academy I suggest you to at least memorize 2 knowledge a week from this point. Guarantee you, you will be able to pass all of the knowledge faster than anyone. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 7 Meals Like every other college, you will get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't know about you, but I find food here at West Point quite delicious and scrumptious. Now, some of the things I might tell you really depend on what company you are in and who your cadre is. I was lucky enough to have a cadre who did not really care about table etiquette. As far as I know, table etiquette during Beast is quite crucial. Every mistake you make, you will get yelled at and corrected on right off the bat. I realized that by observing the tables around me that were being screamed and yelled at throughout the whole meal every day. Of course, they will teach you the table etiquette, but to make your life easier, let me straighten things out for you. You will enter the Mess Hall with your company and proceed to the designated table. Table sits 10 people: 4 on each side, and 1 on each end. It's basically a long rectangular table. On one end of the table, where all the hot sauce, barbeque sauce, and spices are languished on, is where your cadre is going to sit. Then the rest of the sits are for the new cadets (you). So as soon as you get to the table, you stand behind the chair, standing at "parade rest." Parade rest means you stand with your feet apart about 1 foot apart. And your hands behind your back, above your butt, one hand over the other making like a butterfly. Then, the PA system or speakers will announce "Regiment. Attention!" That's when everyone in the mess hall go back to stand attention, meaning feet together, head and eyes straight forward, and cupped fist on each hip. Then, couple seconds later, PA system will say "Take Seats." Then, that is when everyone take seats. Those who don't have duties must immediately have hot dog fold napkin on their laps; the folded side must be facing towards you. There should be a plate with a picture of crest on the edge of the plate. Turn it so that crest of the plate is facing straight up. Then put the knife and fork on top right of the plate, but don't cover the crest. Set them so that they are diagonal. Knife has to be on top of fork. You are all set, and just keep staring at the crest at all times while you are waiting for three table duty people to finish their duties. Cold beverage corporal sits on the other end of Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 8 the table (opposite side of your cadre). On Cold beverage's left sits the gunner. And the right of cold beverage corporal sits the hot beverage corporal. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 9 APFT They test you on: 1. Push-ups 2. sit-ups 3. 2 miles run On the second day of Beast, you will be taking your APFT Test. Honestly, everyone will be out of shape for this APFT Test, unless you are an overachiever and have prepared for this test prior to Cadet Basic Training. Over 50 percent of the new cadets failed the APFT test on the first try. Most people fail on 2 miles run because of the lack of adjustment of their body to the weather and environment of West Point. Although I was very athletic, it was very difficult for me to max the run. Unless you are in Cross country or track, just try to build your endurance during the break. I know it's going to be very difficult trying to build endurance on your own free time over the break especially when you know that break is time to enjoy and have fun. But it will help a lot if you just run 1 mile every other day, or even every day. Honestly, as soon as I got my acceptance letter, my mentality was "since I'm going to have ZERO fun at Cadet Basic Training, I'm going to use every second of my break to enjoy and party!" Well, it really hit me hard when APFT came up. I was lagging pretty much throughout the entire route on the running portion. Oh, and be sure to do at least 40 to 50 push-ups every day, then you will have no problem maxing the push-up portion. Same goes with sit-ups. Just do push-ups and sit-ups consistently every day, and you will rock the world at APFT. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 10 Things You Must Prepare 1.) Not laughing Upperclassmen will be all over you basically 24/7, and one phrase you will hear constantly is "Smirk off." Meaning, do not smile or laugh no matter what the circumstance is. Many times, there are situations where cadres just make you laugh by doing stupid stuff in front of your squad, or they just bring up random jokes. There was this one guy in my squad who had the best military bearing, and I asked him how he constrained himself from laughing all the time. He said, during the summer, he and his cousin were standing one foot apart, facing eachother, with water in their mouth. Basically, you just stare at eachother the whole time, trying your best not to laugh or water will burst from your mouth. I thought that was pretty clever. Military barrier is really important during Beast, then you will get a good military grade. So, once again, do not laugh, or smile! Learn how to do that. 2.) Get used to sleeping around 10:30pm and waking up at 5 in the morning. I mean, of course, you will eventually get adjusted to waking up early during Beast. For me, at least, I had really difficult time keeping myself awake throughout the whole day. Especially during the briefing in the auditorium, or in class, my eyes could not keep themselves open at all. I got in trouble many times keeping myself awake. For a whole month, try not take a nap. Just have a normal sleep, but do not ever take a nap. I think that would be a great training for Beast. That way, you will get used to keeping yourself awake the entire day, everyday. You can do it! 3.) Doing number 2 in a minute. (Taking a dump) Honestly, you have very limited time to use the restroom. I mean I already have been trained to use the restroom in a minute because I was in the football team for four years in high school. So, if you usually take your time in the bathroom when you do number 2, try to practice taking care of your Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 11 business as soon as possible. Just a tip of advice :) Little things you must know and prepare: 1.) You must always cup your hands at all times during Beast. Except when you guys enter the Academic building. If you don't know what cupping hands means, basically you make a fist with thumbs covering your fingers. Upperclassmen will keep an eye on your hands at all times if you have your hands closed like you are ready to fight. 2.) 3 to 5 chews when you eat I really struggled on this specifically, because I love eating, and I love eating A LOT! When you are on the table, the table commadant (your squad leader) will keep his or her eyes on everyone's mouth throughout the entire meal. They will scold, yell, and fix you so that you will never forget to have 3 to 5 chews. I'm not saying you should do this everytime when you eat, but just like when you eat like hamburger or anything, try at least once or twice every day. Just so that it won't be a big deal or surprise when it comes to Beast. 3.) Hit every corner when you walk in the barracks, and angle your arms 90 degrees whenever you walk up or downstairs. This is as important as keeping 3 to 5 chews whenever you eat. I mean, of course, they will yell at you no matter what you do, but hitting every corner and angling your arms 90 degrees are very crucial factors that you should keep in mind. Honestly, after Beast, your habit of angling your arms won't go away until for a while. 4.) Greeting! Very, very important! This is what everyone struggled on, except for those who went to USMAP prep school and prior service cadets. Because I grew up in civilian world like everyone else, I had no idea how to read the rank or the insignia engrained on upperclassmen's cover, jackets, shoulders, and Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 12 etc. I had hard time distinguishing between Firsties (Seniors) and Cows (Juniors). Most of the times, I forget what color insignia Firties had and vice versa. To make your life easier, I will break it down for you. Cows have 2 bars. Firsties have 3 bars. Cows have white insignia on their covers. Firsties have black insignia on their covers. It is that simple, but because you are under pressure at all times, you will forget. Just keep those in mind. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 13 Many Little Mistakes I made I made tons of mistakes at Beast. I mean TONS! In the beginning, I was always nervous and could not handle anything under pressure. But, as I moved further with my journey during Beast, my confidence, leadership skills, and handling under pressure got much better. But let me list out the mistakes that I made during Beast, so that you won't make the same mistake. 1. Not tucking in my boot laces (Be sure to check your entire uniform before you walk out the door. Check your roommate and have your roommate check your uniform as well!) 2. Velcro or collars all jacked up (this is another uniform issue. Just double check before the formation) 3. Shining your shoes ( I was horrible at this. If you are adept at shining shoes, then you are good to go) 4. Having eyes and head straight forward during formation (this is all military bearing; I was never good at standing still in one place. But you will get used to it.) 5. Keeping myself awake during briefing or PMEE class (try to have a mini notebook and a pen with you, so that you can distract yourself from sleeping by drawing or writing something) 6. I was terrible at regurgitating Knowledge (Okay, I am really good at memorizing. But the problem was, I tend to forget everything I memorized in couple days. I have short term memory. So, when the cadres asked me a specific knowledge from week 1, I completely blanked out. Don't let that happen to you. Be sure to keep looking back on old knowledge as well) Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 14 Power of Letters during Beast Just to let you know future plebes, letters are more precious than money or gold or anything in the world during Beast. Well, at least that's what it feels like, because beast does a phenomenal job on giving that constringent effect. So, as soon as you get your P.O. Box number from West Point, make like 1000 copies that have your P.O.Box number and hand it to everyone you know and every single one of your friends (if you do have one). Oh, and definitely, to your girlfriend, or boyfriend. Honestly, letters saved my life. Parents, please write a letter and send it to your son or daughter's mailbox prior to R-day so that letters can reach there before your son or daughter checks the mail box. Because, it feels horrible when you check your mail box for the first time and all you see is empty, gloomy hole. I saw numerous people getting heartbroken, and I don't want you to make that same mistake. And be sure to have someone write a letter every day. Probably, your parents are the best option. Because, you get your mailbox key issued around 4th day of first week. After that, you and your company will get an opportunity to check the mailbox every day. It feels glorious to see a letter sitting in the mailbox just for you. I promise you. Be sure to have someone write a letter every day. It will benefit you big time, mentally. It will definitely regain your hope. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 15 Power of Friendship Something that made me realize during Beast was that that the friends that you create here at West Point is incomparable to the friends you create in the outside world. The bonds you create here is just so strong that you will realize that peers around you will put their lives on the line to save you. You become close friends with everyone because you guys all go through pain, suffering, mourning, sickness, loneliness, and homesickness. You see others going through exact same thing as you do, if not, more. Every obstacle that you go through during beast is in a way where you cannot accomplish the mission unless you work together as a team, or squad. There is no one person mission during Beast. Everything you do here is together. You shower together, you eat together, you do everything together. I promise you, you will create friends that will defend you for the rest of your life. This is a reward you get during Beast. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 16 Money The rule is that you are only supposed to carry 100 dollars cash during Beast. Parents, be sure to give your son or daughter 100 dollars cash and on top of that either your debit card or your son or daughter's personal debit card. They will be stopping by Cadet Store a lot during Beast, and they will be buying a lot of things there. Although, many of the hygiene kits are issued, they might not be sufficient for them. For me, at least, I spent more than 100 dollars at Beast. It's because I bought vitamins, first aid kits, shaving cream, body wash and all the other accessories that I didn't pack before Beast. Some of the products West Point issues are not authentic at all. So it is crucial that your son or daughter carries additional credit or debit card with them for emergency issues, because many of the cadets had to write letters to their parents notifying them that more money is needed. Trust me on this one. I am writing everything from my personal observation, experience, and from other people's feedbacks. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 17 Personal Training in the Morning Bam! Bam! Bam! Three powerful slams on the door by our chain of command definitely woke us up. My head rises immediately with tremor. I rapidly glance at the time on the clock. It read “5:30AM” “Wake up New Cadets! Wake up!” My roommate and I quickly got off the bed, and we swiftly took off our clothes and changed it to Personal Training uniform. PT uniform is basically just plain black training shorts with dull gray shirt along with our last name engrained on the left chest. Oh, by the way, your first name will be never used during Beast. We also had to wear our white plastic belt that goes diagonally around our body. Every morning was our personal training time. More like one of the toughest physical workout, but very rewarding at the same time. Depending on how you performed on the running portion on the APFT, they will put you on fastest (black group), fast (gray group), normal (gold group), or slow (white group). Because I was very close to max the running portion on APFT, I was put on the fast running group, or also dubbed as “gray” group. Every other morning, we basically run two to three miles; also, the running route changes every time as well. Because I love physical workout, and facing new challenges, morning run was actually a very rewarding experience for me. I ran as if my life was on the line on every morning run. I consistently improved every time, and my endurance started to ratchet up like the Apple stock that soared when the first “ipod” was released. On every route, there will be at least one steep hill you will have to struggle and really fight your weak mentality side to overcome the difficulty. Don’t be one of those new cadets that fall out whenever the hill comes up, but try to be the one that leads and stays in front of everyone. You don’t want to be that sore loser that doesn’t finish until the end. I mean you will never be forced to run in the morning like this when Beast is over. So why not take advantage of it and really take it seriously and put your heart into it? On the days that you don’t do morning run is when you go to the vast field next to Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 18 the railroad where it is filled with various obstacles and pull-ups bars, and basically go through four obstacles three or four times every time. Pretty simple, right? The four obstacles are pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and dips. I really liked this workout more than running. Anyways, this is just a heads-up to all the future cadets that will be attending West Point next year! Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 19 Marching Cadence When you get to Beast, you will do inifinite amount of marching every day. And while you and your company or squad is marching, you will be proclaiming and shouting cadence in unison. I just thought it would be helpful for you guys to be familiar with marching cadence now so that you guys can have more comfortable time saying the cadence when Beast approaches. I'm not saying you should memorize them, or focus on them more than anything else. I just thought it would be nice to look through them when you are bored or have nothing to do. Anyways, here are the sites I listed below that you can click on that would give you candences that I heard over and over again during Beast. 1. https://www.nh.ngb.army.mil/Recruiting/Marching%20Cadences.htm ( every single cadence in this site is recited during Beast) 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hXECGyjTvc Air Borne Ranger Cadence on video 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rYMw2WMA2w Momma, momma, can't you see 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtyEUFhzxJs&feature=related Old King Cole 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQg6YZQOmak&feature=related Down By the River 6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1e-Wvb8gFA&feature=related Pick Up Your Weapon/ Patch Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 20 7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACje5DrLEmw Hail O Infantry 8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX6uywRrENU All The Way The websites listed above are cadences that I heard many times during Beast. There are more cadences, but I couldn't find in video forms, but just familiarizing the ones listed above will pump you up and get you ready for marching! Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 21 Ruck Marching Some people considered ruck marching as a doltish drudgery. Some new cadets found it quit challenging but very rewarding. It really all depends on your mentality. For me, at least, I thought ruck marching was one of the greatest workout ever. I mean who in the world would carry about half or third of your weight (depends on how heavy you are ^^ ) on his or her shoulder and go through the toughest route ever?! Although it was exhausting just treading on muddy ground with ten pounds bucket on your head, I felt glorious and it was one of my greatest, sublime moment when I reached the end point. I felt like I have defeated completely my weak mentality and the foes that were trying to slow me down. I have to tell you but at every ruck march, many cadets fell out from the squad due to enormous pressure and adversity that they could not overcome. When you have nothing to do, I want you to try to walk around the neighborhood or for about an hour to a designated random place with plethora of junks in your backpack. That would be a great preparation for upcoming ruck march you will face in the future. It hit me hard when 10 miles ruck march approached on a very bleak, cold and rainy day. It really felt like there was no finish point at all! Basically, it’s mentally challenging rather than physically challenging. What really pushed me forward was whenever I saw a short female new cadet pushing forward with a ruck twice as big as their bodies. That really pumped me up. I really give respect for the females that conquered Beast. Anyways, don’t ever fall out in the middle of ruck marching. Everyone can do it. It’s basically you vs. your mentality. You got it, no doubt about it! Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 22 Mass Athletics So what is mass athletics? Probably, will be and is, one of your favorite times during Beast in first detail. Beast is divided into two segments: first four week is considered as 1st detail, and the remaining four weeks is known as 2nd detail. I will be explaining profoundly about each detail later on different blog. Anyways, going back to mass athletics, everyday you will be able to participate either in company sports or try out for club or division one sports team. There will be numerous poles with signs of different sports bolted on the marching field. You will be able to try out for different sport every day depending on what your strength is. Some people just participate in company sports, because they will be able to compete with their squad leaders periodically. That is their opportunity to retaliate from all the hazing and scolding from squad leaders by showing their athletic abilities. Mass athletics is definitely your time to finally unite with your friends and have a great, relieving time. If mass athletics did not exist, I wouldn’t have survived at all in beast. I just went to sports that my friends went as much as possible because it was really difficult to see them throughout the entire beast especially when everyone is distributed into different company. We, pretty much, went to basketball since the bus takes us to the gym which is far away from the barracks. We were able to finally have a great banter together, and help each other at that point. We sat on the bleachers, and just talked rather than playing basketball. They let you do that. Sometimes, the upperclassmen weren’t even there to supervise the plebes, so we were able to take a good one hour nap on the bleachers. But, if you really want to join club or core squad sports, or know that you have the ability to make the team, be sure to try out and do your best. Many cadets knew that they wouldn’t make the team, so they just went to play for fun rather than competing for a slot. Mass athletics definitely, by far, helped me to relieve my stress and motivated me to work even harder. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 23 Resignation Process Because I went through resignation process during Beast, I do have sufficient amount of knowledge on how the resigning process works. First of all, let me give you a heads up. Every single person, besides prior service cadets and majority of USMAP cadets, will have at one point a thought of resigning due to great amount of tribulation and adversity. That is the whole point of Cadet Basic Training. It’s supposed to be tough, rigorous, time constraining, and not fun! As long as you have positive attitude, and have a fierce mentality, you can definitely get through Beast like there was no tomorrow. But, because I didn’t have those qualities, I struggled every day. On top of that, I kept making doltish mistakes over and over again, and that caused more turbulence in my life at Beast. Chain of command definitely kept their eagle eyes on me at all times and of course made me a dejected cadet at all times. Although I knew that someone or more than one person from different company during Beast was probably going through difficult or worse time than me, but I disregarded that thought and decided to start my resignation process. That was a huge, fatal mistake. Let me emphasize that. You do not want to try to resign during beast, unless you are one hundred and ten percent sure that you want to really leave this place forever. Think about it. You are in the military now. You have joined the military family. Do you think it’s that easy to separate from your linked family? Especially when the government put great amount of money and time to prepare all these training, equipments, benefits, and everything else just for you. There are thousands of people who want to be in your shoe. Think about it. So, they are going to do whatever it takes to convince you to stay here, and make the resignation process as long and as rigorous as possible. This is how resignation process works. You have to get interviewed from all your chain of command, and then the TACS, and then so on. That is not very fun, and you don’t get interviewed one day at a time. They get to choose. On top of that, during resignation process, you still have to do what everyone else is doing. You Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 24 don’t get to just relax in your room just because you started the resignation process. Nothing is changed, except that resignation process has begun. You still have to wake up early in the morning, and you still have to struggle and go through tribulation like everyone else. Resignation process takes about two to three weeks. So by the time the resignation process is done, basically you are more than half way done with Beast. And that makes you want to think, “I came this far, so why should I quit now? I managed to get through this much. I shouldn’t quit now.” Then, that is when you reconsider and tell the chain of command that you have changed your mind and want to proceed with Beast. Pretty clever, right? Very sly, but really, they made the resignation process in that manner so that you can reconsider, and think over again. After you return all the issued items, they are going to send you to a separate barrack from your Beast Company where it is filled with the ones that are resigning like you. At that point, you can pretty much do whatever you want until the departing time. But my point is, if you do want to resign, I recommend you to resign during Academic year. At least you took all that training and discipline with you; everything you have learned would be with you all your life. On top of that, you can tell people that you have accomplished Beast portion, instead of telling them that you quit in the middle of Beast. Just my advice. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 25 Counseling I am grateful that they provided counselor for every company. You have an access to a counselor’s office whenever you want. There will be many times when you will be depressed, dejected, forlorn, and really disgusted with your life because of what you will be going through during Beast. I am obliged that I was in such a great squad filled with bold, strong mentality people. If they did not motivate me and lifted my spirit up, probably even counseling would not have been sufficient for me to continue on with my journey in Beast. Anyways, going back to counseling; whenever you want to get counseled, you can ask you squad leader if he or she can take you to a counselor or make an appointment. Normally, squad leader will immediately take you to a counselor. Counseling, for me at least, was a huge relief for me. As soon as you entered the room with a very comfortable couch and the moment the door is closed, you will be able to finally talk freely and articulate your emotion and feeling to your counselor. During Beast, basically you have no freedom to talk to your peers and friends; maybe your roommate, but that’s about it. You don’t have to cup your hands when you are in the counseling room or do any other mandatory Beast procedure. You are basically back to being a civilian when you start your discourse with your counselor. I really liked my counselor. Her job was to basically neither convince you to stay or leave, but to listen profoundly and just respond in a manner where you can be comforted. I probably had counseling once every week at least. I pretty much asked her about how resignation process worked, and appropriately told her what my perspective was towards Beast. So, when you are lugubrious, depressed or dejected, feel free to immediately get counseled by a counselor. Don’t think that you are the only person who is getting counseled. At least two people from my squad were getting counseled too during Beast. Just because you are getting counseled doesn’t mean that you are mentally Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 26 wrong or anything. It is a great way to relieve all the stress and have a great banter with your counselor. Roger! Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 27 1st Detail and 2nd Detail Beast consists of two different components: First detail and second detail. Beast in my year was 7 weeks long. First detail was the first four weeks during Beast and second detail was basically the remaining weeks. So, the question is, what is the difference between first detail and second detail? From my observation, first detail was pretty much learning all the fundamentals of “how to be a cadet.” Basically, the first four week teaches us how the structure works at West Point, how to behave and react towards upperclassmen and officers, how to read ranks and insignia, what uniform to wear and basically how to follow a leader. In second detail, majority of the times we were on the field going through combat procedures, ruck marching, handling all sorts of weapons, and pretty much gaining insights on how the system works in the battle field. Second detail was more physical in contrast to first detail. First detail was all mental game; chain of command will spew out all sorts of invective, and negative comments at you, and your mission is to overcome that without retaliating with emotions or physical action. I know I shouldn’t say this but honestly, I really enjoyed second detail because of my great ardor for handling weapons. I really felt powerful when I handled 50 cal on one of the courses; throwing grenades and the aftermath impulsive explosion kept me alive and enthusiastic as well. Many cadets despised going to the field because sleeping on the wet jungle was, excuse my language, “pain in the ass.” And for those last three weeks, we were always on Army Combat Uniform. I actually felt like a warrior and a soldier in those three weeks. Shooting targets and making decisions under pressure really taught me valuable lessons. I’m not going to get into details anymore than this, because I want you to experience on your own although I did expose a lot of secrets about Beast. Enjoy! Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 28 Chaplain's Time Something positive about America is that the constitution lets anyone practice his or her religion without any disruption. Even in the world of military, they tolerate religious freedom. During Beast, you will get your opportunity once every week to go to church or a place based upon your religion and denominations. For us, it was every Wednesday, and we were divided into groups that fall into our religion. I believe the groups were dissected into Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims. If there were more, please do forgive me! Anyways, Wednesday will be your favorite day out of all the days because you get to go to church at night and aggregate with your friends. Yes, this event tops Mass Athletics. They provide you enormous amount of treats for you such as brownies, cookies, chips, cakes, and sodas. This will be the only time you are tolerated to eat these sweet boodles and junks. So what would you do when you have been absent without sodas and cookies for a long time? Of course you would instantly grab as many cookies as you can and just stuff them in your mouth. That is what everyone pretty much did; including me. I believe chaplain’s time started after first two weeks of Beast. And believe me, you will be always hungry during Beast because you are constantly running and working hard. On top of that, you finally get to practice your faith and relieve your gruesome stress. I have only been to Protestant service so I don’t know what treats other religion service provides for you, but I heard Catholic service provides more boodles than the Protestant service. I believe there are more Catholics here at West Point than Christians. But my point is, be sure to participate in Chaplain’s time. Some people actually just stay in their dorm and start writing letters to their loved ones, but I mean letters don’t give you good food like Chaplain’s time. You will be jealous to see your roommate with full stomach filled with cookies and other good junks. You don’t want that to happen. So be sure to take advantage of Chaplain’s time! Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 29 Learn How to Shine Shoes! Be sure to watch this video to learn how to shine shoes. Honestly, I am probably the worst shoes shiner, but thanks to my roommate, who is probably one of the best shoes shiner, I was able to pass all the inspection! So if you do not want to get chewed out by a chain of command, be sure to learn how to shine your shoes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO7_zHM9_Vo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQU-8AN4R6U&feature=related http://artofmanliness.com/2008/07/29/how-to-get-the-best-shoe-shine/ Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 30 First Two Weeks! First two weeks is just distressing, tormenting, unpleasant, excruciating, and .. yeah you get the idea. Everyone will be going through physical and mental ordeal in those first two weeks. I mean, of course, the intensive schedule won’t end until the Beast is over, but what I’m saying is after first two weeks of dreadful workout and drills, you will probably be accustomed to the system of Beast. And it is those first two weeks when you start to become homesick and depressed. Just remember that you won’t be the only one who will feel like that, so don’t let the hazing and scolding by your chain of command bring you down. It is all mental game. Every day, you have to pretty much wake up at 5 in the morning, and every second after that will be filled with something to do. The taps is at 10:30pm, so you do get enough time to rest your body for the upcoming ordeal. You will instantly fall asleep as soon as you wrap yourself with a warm gray blanket, because your body is exhausted from non-stop action. Just remember, expect the worst in those first two weeks, but know that once you overcome it, then you are on the right path. You will feel wonderful after you successfully finish Beast. Just know that you will obtain some sort of awards or just pure satisfaction once you complete Beast. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 31 The Gas Chamber Let me tell you this. The gas chamber, a very effective contrivance, completely conquers all the other obstacles that you will have to go through during Beast. Army’s brilliant device, or also dubbed as a torture chamber, tends to put everyone into fear, is something that every cadet has to go through. Don’t be afraid! I can guarantee you, you will live. No one has ever died off inhaling gruesome chemicals that are trapped in a cubicle room. But, I have seen various people spewing out their scrumptious lunch they ate twenty minutes prior to entering gas chamber. Honestly, gas chamber did not daunt me at all somehow. I just thought it would be a simple “in-and-out” procedure. We had all the special protective gears completely covering our bodies, including the most important gear known as a gas mask. When I first saw a very small building made with gray bricks, I thought we were entering a stark prison filled with corrosive chemicals that would tear us apart. Just by assessing that statement I made, you can tell I have seen plenty of “X-File” episodes. Anyways, when it was my squad’s turn to enter the notorious gas chamber, I saw some cadets actually freaking out and trembling in fear. We took one step at a time, and finally our entire squad entered the little cubicle room, which completely sealed off the air from the outside as soon as the doors were shut with a “thud.” I did not feel any different at all from being outside on fresh air than staying in this little room with corrosive gas. But, that was because I had protective gears completely shutting off from acrid gas entering the inner part of the suit. One of the guys in charge had us do jumping jack and some neck roll for a minute to get adjusted to the environment. He also told us to take off the gas mask for couple seconds and put it back on after clearing out the gas in the mask. That part was pretty simple and harmless. But the hard part hasn’t even started yet. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 32 There were several writings on the wall. They read “Name, birthdates, where you are from” and this long, intricate chemical word that no one can pronounce. Basically, our objective was to take off the mask and state your name, birth dates, where you are from and pronounce the entire complicated word in complete sentence or they won’t let us leave. Sounds pretty simple right? Wrong. It’s harder than it looks. I was the last person in line, and the more people I saw struggling, coughing, and crying while they were trying to pronounce the last word, it started to slowly put me in a frightened mode. Thus, my turn has finally arrived. I quickly took off my mask, and then rapidly said my name, birthdates and where I was from. Suddenly, I started coughing and it felt like my entire lung was clogging up. My eyes started to sting so much that only streams of tears started to slowly drip down to my mouth. I probably had to repeat that last, impossible word three times to get it down perfectly. One second without mask felt like a year in a boiling water- not a good analogy, but you get the point. Anyways, as soon as they released me, snot in my nose started to drip down like waterfall, and tears from my eyes started to stream down like, uhh, waterfall (lol). They had us flapping our arms like a bird so that all the chemicals that were stuck to our body can be eradicated. After they had us do that for a while, I finally felt like a normal, happy camper. It definitely remedied my cold. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 33 Validation Test Before I got my admission to West Point, all my focus geared towards on getting good score on particular tests that West Point Admission Center highly scrutinizes at. Because the application did not require your SAT subject scores and AP test scores, I completely neglected them. I realized that it hit me hard when the validation test came. Everyone is obligated to take validation tests during Beast. Meaning, if you did get 5 on any AP test, which is the highest score you can get, then you automatically validated that particular subject. Let me give you my word of advice. “Try to validate chemistry.” It makes your life so much easier here. I know so many cadets here who validated Chemistry and are obtaining one of the highest GPA in class due to more leisure time they get from it. They use that time wisely to focus on studying for other classes. Actually, try to validate as many subjects as you can. (But remember, on certain subjects, even if you did receive 5 on the AP test, you are still obligated to take that class. Such as English, they will put you on “Literature,” which I say is a lot tougher than regular Composition class.) Validating one subject will definitely help your stringent plebe year. If you are transferring from different college, getting an A in class is considered as validating. Let’s say you get 4 on the AP tests, but you know that you have ample amount of knowledge on your particular subject, and are confident to validate it. When the validation test comes up, if you score very high on chemistry or any other subjects along with 4 on your AP test, you can validate that subject. So, don’t give up just because you didn’t get 5 on the AP test. I know all you are worried about is whether you will get your admission to West Point. But, also focus on the AP tests as well. Even if you don’t get your admission, you will be able to validate a lot of classes at other colleges. Just something to think about to make your life easier. Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 34 Copyright 2008-2009 www.beastandwestpoint.blogspot.com All Rights Reserved Page 35