You arrive on bus, you go through your peeing in a cup routine. You are dividing into your divisions. Then for the next three or so days you get no sleep.
Honestly I don't remember the first three days after arriving.
You need to make sure you bring underwear, deodorant, shampoo and tampons/pads etc. You can only shave on Sundays which is when you can take as long of a shower as you like! Your recruiter should give you a list of items you need to bring. Oh- also you can bring light make-up that will ONLY be used on Grad day.
You will get shots unless you have your shot records with you. Then depending on your record you will or will not have to recieve shots.
The first week is all a head game. It's the hardest. Please don't let it get to you. They will put you in a room and show you a movie after three days of sleep deprivation that tells you if you lied they will find out and fine you and blah blah so raise your hand now and let them know. At that point they are weeding people out, and alot of people will raise their hands just so they can go home.
If you aren't in that great of shape, don't worry about it. They will get you into shape. The first couple of weeks you're there you will do a PT 0 it's a PT test that will show you where you are in terms of what time and results you need to pass Boot Camp. You will also need to pass the water test to grad as well.
All in all, it's a lot of schooling. My RDC's were actually pretty nice. They didn't really yell, unless we really really messed up. On Sundays you get a few hours in the morning after going to the galley to write letters, take a long shower, or go to church. It's a nice time to relax.
One thing to remember is that it's only eight weeks, or in my case it was ten and half, because I was in an 800 division. And we had to wait for other people to get there. We did Flags and rifle routines for half time shows!
It's a great learning experiance. By far the worst things about it are the sleep deprevation at first, and the cold cold weather in Great Lakes. You will be so proud of yourself when you complete Boot Camp.
For me there wasn't a lot of yelling, you just HAVE to pay attention and follow instructions. Ask your recruiter to set you up to talk to a sailor who recently grad, so its fresh in their minds. It's been six years for me =/
One more thing! I don't know if they're still doing this, but they had a program where you learn your sailors companion book and do your Pt test before going to boot camp and you can recieve an extra rank before going. I shipped off as an E-2 instead of an E-1. Ask your recruiter about that program. But, beware when you get there no matter what your ASVAB score, or what rank, or if you're a Nuc or not, you are a piece of shit recruit. You even get a hat to remind you of that =)
Best of luck to you
