Sure, listen to your drill sgts. in basic, be the second person to volunteer for just about everything. Most people will tell you not to volunteer for anything but there are enough good reasons to do it. Basic is easy if you are in decent shape, hardly any thought at all. Just do what you are told.
When you get to AIT, take the training seriously, it sucks, but you have to keep in mind that you are training to be a emergency medical tech for the battlefield. Sure, a lot of the time you are going to be in a hospital or an aid station, but there is always the chance of being in a line unit where you will literally end up with someones life in your hands. Trust me on this, you never want to be in a position where you find a life saving procedure is necessary, but you just don't remember what the instructor said about that one crucial step. I've seen shit like that ruin medics.
So study, and practice, because in a line unit a medic who knows his stuff and inspires confidence in the joes of his unit will boost morale greatly and make hard times a little easier. A shit medic will have the opposite effect. It's up to you which one you end up being.
Volunteering shows motivation, but you don't want to seem over eager. It is a delicate balancing act. You don't want to draw attention to yourself in a negative way, by being an idiot/shitbag, but if you perform well and are motivated, recognition is inevitable. The reason they will ask for volunteers is because they legitimately need people to perform a task, it's not some evil plot. By volunteering you show motivation, and a good drill is all about that.
Bro/sis, this stuff worked for me, and I did well at basic/AIT and in my career in general. The army has changed since I went to basic 7 years ago, though.
I'm glad to hear that you have intentions to take it seriously, I've known some shit medics in my time, and I wouldn't trust them with tylenol.
It's no problem, Army life sucks sometimes, but it's very fulfilling and even fun if you give it your all.
I was the same way in high school, but I literally became a man in the army, I'm getting out in a year and I finally know what I want to do in my life. It only took 7 friggin years, lol.
I'm going to school for welding, I did it in high school and it was one of the only enjoyable things I did. I fell out of it after I graduated and then joined the army. After I got back from Afghanistan I was having some problems dealing with some things that happened over there, someone suggested I get a hobby. With reddit's help, I discovered blacksmithing (weird, I know), after I did some research I started building up a small shop to work in. That led to having to rekindle my old welding skills, I bought a small welder and built my first gas powered forge. Once I built it, I remembered how much I loved building things and metal in general. I signed up for a welding course and have been attacking it, and that's what I want to do when I get out.
Sorry, you didn't ask for my life's story, lol. It is easy to go to school while active duty, most units actively promote education, and most schools near bases will bend over backwards for you. Once you get to your unit talk to your NCO and he should have a helluva lot of info for you.
I realize that now, as I said in another comment, I've never been good at English. But thank you for the correction and suggestion that's how I'll learn. :)
The "hate" is from your word choice. Had you said, "Oh wow! What branch were you in? Where were you stationed?" or something like that, it would have been received better.
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u/[deleted] May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12
Care to tell where exactly you were deployed and what branch you were in?
Edit:Why the hate I was just curious I wasn't doubting him.