my ship date is 10-6-2009 for the Army National Guard. I’m running everyday and am doing pushups and situps. what else can I do to be more prepared for basic?
You don’t need to do nothing, they’ll do it for you 
It doesn’t really matter how prepared you are because they will take you to the point of failure anyway, at least for pushups and situps. No need to prep for those. Running is easy as long as you aren’t in the bottom 5-10 slowest runners, so that’s where I’d spend my time if you aren’t a good runner.
Long, slow runs every morning before breakfast are good. Don’t hurt yourself, a dog-trot is fine. Push-ups if you can do them right. Sit-ups require someone to hold your feet, so don’t bother.
Good for you and congratulations! What MOS?
According to a friend of mine: get yourself on a schedule of going to bed early, getting up early, and eating three square meals a day, because you won’t get snacks in training.
The mental part is the hardest, learning how to operate efficiently on little to no sleep. They are supposed to be pushing you to your limits, so expect it, remember that it’s all just a game, nothing is personal.
25q. i wanted 25s, and my unit needs a 25s, but there were no seats avalible for me at AIT.
Whatever you feel is best for getting you into optimum shape.
I’ve always envied the people who were in good enough shape that the drill sergeants didn’t give them a hard time.
my recruiter told me that if i can go in as a E2 if i pass a pt test. he’s supposed to give me more details tomorrow on what i have to do. anyone know if this is something i can look up?
The physical training isn’t really all that hard. It’s the mental stress that gets to you, and thgere really isn’t any way to prepare for it. I think the lack of sleep is by far the toughest thing you have to deal with.
Sounds like you’re off to a good start on the physical aspect, but don’t forget the mental. In addition to what others have said about the need to function on little or no sleep, I would ask if you have an army vet near where you live? If so, pick his or her brains about skills like putting together your uniform, polishing your shoes, and making your bed.
Other things to ask army vets about (Don’t be shy, by the way; most of them will be flattered you asked and happy to help.):
Go over basics about the weapons you’ll be using, such as maximum range.
Learn your general orders, Code of Conduct, and Army Soldiers Creed.
Learn about different types of formations and drills.
If you don’t already know how to do so, learn to operate a floor buffer. I’m serious, I saw people struggle with this task in basic.
Also, ask them if they have any smart books you can borrow. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard that term before, because you will hear it plenty of times before you are done with basic. It’s an information book that goes over basic rules and regulations in the army.
If one of those vets happens to own or otherwise have access to an M-16A2 rifle, oh happy day! Learn to strip it down, clean it, and reassemble it. Don’t bother learning how to actually shoot it; you’re better off letting the army teach you that.
Doing those tasks to the satisfaction of the drill sergeants and remembering everything when you were tired proved to be far harder than the physical training for me and a lot of others in my company. Remember that basic is as much mental as it is physical.
I’ll say it again, because it bears repeating. Basic is as much about book learning and non-physically intensive tasks as it is about physical training, and chances are, your book learning and non-physical tasks will prove to be as hard if not harder than the pushups in the mud.
Best of luck, Aceospades! Where are you going for basic training?
On edit: Almost forgot: Learn to read a map and operate a compass. Very important skill.
Thanks everyone. i have a sister flying blackhawks for Maryland National Guard (her second MOS, her first was Arabic translator) and my dad is a West Point grad, green beret, retired SeaBees Commander (O5) (long story). i’m getting good advice from them on the mental side. growing up with my dad, i’m probably well suited mentally. I’m looking for any info i can get so i’m prepared as much as possible.
Learn all this stuff, but don’t ACT like you know all this stuff, the whole point is to make you improve and learn and if you go in knowing everything then you can’t show improvement.
Why would anybody waste their last few free civilian days learning a task that they’re going to get paid to learn in a few short weeks?
The entire course is designed to take untrained people and make them into trained people. There’s no grade. If you already know everything, then you’ll be bored. Just my 2 cents.
Ohhhh, I don’t think there’s any way for a person in basic to be that kind of bored. I’d say learn it, because with each task you get down before basic, you can spend the time you otherwise would learning that task on other less mundane things. There’s always something new to learn, and if the drills see you performing the mundane tasks well enough, they’ll let you run a squad or even the platoon. They’ll spend extra time with you teaching you stuff the other recruits will have to wait until AIT or after to learn (at least they did in my basic training platoon). You’re never done learning in the military. There’s always another skill to master.
I’m almost 40, and I have yet to run into a situation in which it wasn’t good to be ahead of the curve, even in the military. Hell, especially in the military. By the way, I agree with Poysyn about not acting like you know everything. No one likes a Brainy Smurf. And whatever you do, never ever point out a drill’s mistake on anything. That’s called “sharpshooting,” and it’ll get you dropped for so many pushups, you’ll wind up looking like Jesse Ventura before you graduate. But I still say you should learn stuff before you ship out.
One thing I learned in Air Force basic, never EVER become the the T.I.'s “Special Project.” Especially not only 2 days in.
Congratulations. You leave on my 30th birthday. PT isn’t too bad. My memory sucks so the hard part for me was memorizing the soldier creed, the army song, and the general orders. Memorize those, but don’t let them know you know them. Otherwise they will give you more stuff to memorize. Even memorizing those three things you will have plenty more to learn.
When I enlisted my recruiter had a training day where everyone waiting to ship would show up, and we would learn something. We did D&C, map reading, ranks, PT, and other stuff.
Glad to see another signal soldier. I was a 25F for 4 years.
-Otanx
Be prepared to ignore copious amounts of drill sergeant spittle on your face while he screams at you.
Basic to me was actually pretty easy once you get the hang of the routine. Be sharp, crisp and ordered in everything you do. Remember it’s a mental game moreso than a physical one, even though your ass will get worn out.
Sleep as early and often as you can. Eat as much as you can at chow. Memorize everything you can.
Be prepared to be discriminated against in small ways because you are National Guard and not regular Army. I recall Reserves and NG trainees regularly being bumped to the back of the chow line in favor of regular Army trainees, which means you may get less time to eat. Wolf it down.
Don’t fall asleep in classes unless you enjoy being tormented, no matter how tired you are. Avoid eating lots of carbs at lunch to help with this.
If you’re made a squad leader, take it seriously.
You’ll be fine.
What is a 25Q?
Where is AIT for you?
Learn to work as a team as quickly as you can. It makes things much easier if everyone helps out.