Yes Sir, No Sir: The Four Most Important Words for Boot Camp Survival

   

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          As the plane wheels came to a screeching halt on the runway, 

the nerves began to set in.  Everyone was to meet up at a special 

place at the airport. Yes, there were others like me that were about

 to have their lives changed forever. With a quiet nervousness and 

apprehension throughout the group, we boarded a bus in the dark 

of night. Unaware of what awaited us at the end of the ride. 

 Knowing where we were going did not help ease the anxiety, as no 

one knew what to expect once we got there. This new world we 

were approaching, was a mystery to us all. The fortunate ones 

were able to nod off to sleep during the ride.  Most, like

myself, sat there too scared to sleep. Then it happened. The bus 

doors slammed open.  We were ushered at a rapid pace out the

 door, stepping on the heels of those in front of us.  All we heard 

were several loud commanding voices screaming, “Welcome to 

basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.”

          This was to be our new home for six very long weeks, and 

these were the voices of the people who were going to turn a group 

of very individual, opinionated, and diverse group of civilians into 

a team of strong, prideful, and specially trained members of the 

United States Air Force.  The first thought that entered my mind 

was “What have I done?”The only four words I remember uttering 

that night terrifying night were,“yes sir, no sir”.

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           It was one o’clock in the morning as we stumbled over one another, being pushed through a food line in a cafeteria.  The memory is still vivid, remembering thinking to myself “oh look steak, wow they are feeding us good.”   We were ordered to stand at attention until every seat at the table was filled and we were not to utter a word unless spoken to.  We had 5 minutes to choke down our meal. This almost felt like the last supper must have felt.  I just knew someone had betrayed me and my life would end the next day. 

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        With our food stuck somewhere between our mouth and our

stomach, they then separated us into male and female 

groups. The process of stripping away our identities was about to

begin.  First to go were the trappings we used to express our 
individualism, our clothes.  In exchange we received matching clothing.  This was done in order to create a feeling of being a part of a group or team.  Through this whole process the only words that came out of our timid, petrified mouths were “yes sir, no sir”.  After the outer layer transformation was complete it was time for us to get some sleep.  If that was possible.  We crept quietly into a large, dark, ominous room where several bodies lay in a peaceful slumber.  Oh how I envied their ability to shut out the world and drift away into a place that was not the terrifying one currently in.  Once everything was put away, I slid between the sheets onto a small, cold, hard mattress and surprisingly my eyelids closed.

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          Daylight came too soon, awakened by a sound like cold metal banging in our ears. As I pried my eyes open I saw that it wasn’t metal, it was the screaming voice of our training instructor.  Her words rang out for all to hear. “The Air Force wants you to learn how to do things the right way, and that is the Air Force way”.  She went on to say that over the next six weeks we could expect a lot of exercise, learning and stress.  The mission was that at the end of the six weeks we would have obtained new skills, discipline, and mental toughness, to prepare us for a future as Airmen in the United States Air Force (air-force.com, n.d.).

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           Every day was filled with not only hot scorching temperatures outside but hot explosive tempers inside.  We woke up to the same bugle music at five a.m. every morning.  It was not music to our ears, knowing that what followed was grueling calisthenics and a mile run.  Everything was done as a group, even the running.  You could hear our feet slapping the ground in unison, and our voices chanting words that we repeated after our T.I.  Those who couldn’t keep the pace had to drop out to the sidelines.   Myself being one of those poor souls who felt the shame of running behind the pack while receiving the wrath of the T.I. and the looks of pity from your teammates.  Each day strength built, muscle by muscle, allowing for less humiliation by being able to stay in the pack a little longer.  Also each day the yelling from the T.I. became less about discipline and more about encouragement.  At that time you could smoke in basic training.  You were actually rewarded by being able to fall out of formation to have a cigarette.  That is where I picked up a very unhealthy habit, but fortunately stopped smoking a little over two years ago.

           Even though the addition of that bad habit was part of my life for many years, what was learned in basic training made me into the strong independent woman that I am today.  On graduation day, the tears of fear and sadness that were shed 6 weeks before, were now accompanied by smiles of pride as we paraded by our families and the commander in our Air Force blues.   Our goal had been met.  We were no longer that straggly group of individuals trying to find our way in the world.  We were now a well- organized, disciplined, and specially trained unit of the United States Air Force.  When the Commander shouted out “Are you ready to graduate?”  Our right hands snapped up into a crisp firm salute as two words rang out simultaneously into the air “yes sir”.

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                                                              Reference:

 Air Force Basic Training: retrieved from; http://www.air-force.com/info/basic