Title: Basic Training [Added by Archivist] Status: Complete Characters: Anon Rating: SFW Classification: One-Shot Author: dyslexianon Summary: Anon goes to basic training and has a wonderful time! January 10 Friday M2012021 Weather outside: Cold as balls The plane ride here was mostly uneventful, besides the occasional screaming brat or some fat Stego dude that takes up most of the leg room. Also not being able to shitpost without paying for the flight's expensive wifi was already painful enough. Luckily, I learned a thing or two about torrenting movies on my phone before leaving. “If I put that off, will you die?” “It would be extremely painful” “You’re a big guy” “For you” Hehe. We all crammed together in a large tour bus on our way to basic training, a mixture of different dinosaurs and humans all together in the same vehicle. Mostly on our phones doing whatever to pass the time. We got here late to St. Raptor and it was another two hours driving to the base on road. The further we got out, the more dark and rural it became... Our phones were the only light source out of the bus interior after awhile. I was thinking this was the start of some shitty indie horror game. But that was my brain trying to process the reality of the situation. To say I wasn’t a little scared shitless was a lie. I know what Dad said, college or the service. And well… Here I am… On our way to becoming part of the United States Army… We were no more than 30 minutes away from it. I overheard comments as we approached “Yo I heard Basic ain’t shit! they made it way easier than back in the day” “Don’t drink the juice, it gonna make your dick limp” “Man, the peanut butter shot is gonna hurt like hell I heard!” What? Juice? Dick limp? Peanut Butter.. shot? Wha- you know what, never mind. Despite being out here in the boonies, my cell service still worked. So at least I had some time scrolling on my favorite El Salvadoran Banana Farming forum for the next 25 minutes. “>not wasting your hard earned shekels on a limited edition Saurania Katana” Lmao. Annnddd sent. Totally worth my last shitpost for the next 2-3 months. Finally, we approached American civilization and we began to see fast food joints and gas stations littering the streets. It looked like your average pit stop town that was not interesting in the slightest. If not, the being the place that contained my new temporary home for the next 3 months. We started to slow down as I saw a giant Missouri-shaped stone sign. It had all 5 five of the branch's logos embossed into it. The bold white text knew I had arrived. “F O R T L E O N W O O D” Shit got real pretty quick at that point. We were just mere moments away from getting screamed at and chewed on by drill sergeants. I took a deep breath from my nose and exhaled out my mouth. We arrived at the gate as a random MP soldier went inside the bus, he told us to show our IDs. After everyone in unison put up their cards and not even a minute put them away, we enter inside. We began a little short trip around Fort Leon Wood, it was like a town within a town. It had regular roads, street lights, parks, and suburban neighborhoods. Hell, we even saw a Burger King and a Popeyes out of all things... I’ve never been on a military base before, so seeing regular cars and civilians around enjoying was definitely something I didn't picture before coming here. But it seems to be just like a normal town beside the metric fuckton of brick buildings scattered throughout. We approach a fairly spacious brick building as a common theme of most buildings here is that they were mostly made from brick. Like 98% of them actually… I was on the right side of the bus, and we had a clear view of the building. Two Drill Sergeants, one human, and the other a female Triceratops. Their hats are easily distinguishable from the moment they walk outside. They charge straight first into the bus door and climb aboard “Alright. Pull out your ID cards and hold them up in the air.” Again, everyone put out their IDs as I did so. The female drill sergeant walked around as she glanced quickly at each and every one of us. “Okay now put them away.” “My name is Drill Sergeant Avalon and this is my battle Drill Sergeant Samson, this is the 86th Reception Battalion where you’ll begin your process into entering your basic combat training.” She said in a stern voice “First things first, you will address me as Drill Sergeant, I am not a ma’am, save that shit civilians and officers. anytime whenever you are addressed by a Drill Sergeant. You respond with “Yes, Drill Sergeant” or “No, Drill Sergeant” Do I make myself clear?” “Yes, Drill Sergeant!” Everyone said “Okay, second thing is that you are going to file out into the building quickly, into the benches. The sooner you get this done the quicker we can get you to your Barracks because it’s gonna be a long fucking night if you make be." “Yes, Drill Sergeant!” Everyone said again “Alright, you got 40 seconds to get off this bus, make it happen.” We all got out of our seats as fast as possible, a bright mix of techno-colored dinosaurs and humans booked it out of the bus at lightning speed. We entered the building where we were presented with a large hall filled with benches, surrounding them were all 50 US state flags, including US territories encompassing it. A projector was alright to display some sort of PowerPoint introduction. We all quickly entered each row with bags and luggage in hand. The time was 10:46PM as I checked my cheap Casio watch. We all single-filed into one of the rows as the human drill sergeant passed papers to one of the randoms in the front row. “Alright then, my name is Drill Sergeant Samson. Welcome to the United States Army. This is the 86th Reception Battalion, here you are processed into your transition into basic combat training. It is a week-long process where you are issued your uniform, process all documents to Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System or "DEERS", and get all medical processes checked including immunization, XRAY, dental done so on and so forth. I repeat I REPEAT… this is NOT Basic Training... But you still address us in the same Army customs and courtesies as you are expected now going forth in your soldierization process. Like Drill Sergeant Avalon said, anytime being addressed by a Drill Sergeant, YOU WILL say “Yes, Drill Sergeant” or ‘No, Drill Sergeant”. We are not a “Sir” or “Ma’am. Okay?. We work for a living around here, is that understood”? “YES DRILL SERGEANT!” everyone said “Okay then, you will be passed this packet, do not fill out anything until directed by us. Next, you will pass a card that will have all of your… … [4 HOURS LATER] … Raptor Jesus Christ… After dealing with filling out countless forms, throwing out countless stuff that wasn’t allowed like gum or anything that had alcohol, including mouthwash. There goes $3 I spend on some generic mouthwash, putting away our phones into these giant yellow envelopes, and getting our night clothes or… I think they’re called PT uniforms?... and this weird water backpack thing they called a… “Camelback”? I couldn’t think straight from how tired I was. Everyone that was with me looked beyond exhausted. After following Drill Sergeant Samson outside in the freezing cold with all of our luggage and our newly issued gear, we finally made it to the Barracks. To no one's surprise, the building was just a giant brick house. The few females that were with us were separated into a different formation from the rest of the males. After we did “accountability” by sounding off by number from first to last. We finally made it inside. We climbed up two floors before were all placed on the 3rd floor. Inside were dozens of bunk beds and lockers, two sides were blocked by a small wall vertically. There were some dudes in black jerseys and their PT uniforms, holding out boxes full of assorted colored jerseys. A few more handed out Linen sheets and blankets. I was told to grab a yellow jersey. We made our way to find a bunk. The Drill Sergeant made an announcement. “Alright then, time is 0203. Wake up time is 0400. Faster you shit, shave, shower. Whatever the fuck, the faster you will get some sleep. Remember, hit time is 0400 OUTSIDE of the drill pad. Not before or After. Exactly at 0400, do you understand?” Drill Sgt. Samson “YES DRILL SERGEANT,” We all said “Alright, get some sleep. Dismissed” He walks away while he went to one of the guys in a black jersey and instructed him to do something, he headed out to the bay door. I changed out of my civilian clothing into a black shirt with “ARMY” in bold yellow font. The shorts also have the same “ARMY” yellow text only it was way smaller than the shirt. After laying down the linen that was provided, I placed my bag and the shit issued to me beforehand. My locker was an old rusted hunk of metal with the worst-sounding squeakest hinges. I placed my backpack and green army duffle into it and tried to close the locker. From how old this building and these bunks are, let’s say It took me a minute to close this thing. After slipping off my shoes and socks. My body collapsed onto the semi-firm bottom bed. Better than my mattress in my old apartment back in Volacra Bluffs at least… My eyes slowly closed as I dozed off. … [2 HOURS LATER] … *BUZZ* *CRRRRRRR* “WAKE UP WAKE UP, WAKE THE FUCK UP TRAINEES. TIME IS 0345 YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO DO HYGIENE AND FORM UP OUTSIDE READY FOR CHOW. UNIFORM IS WINTER PTS WITH FLEECE AND GLOVES ON, CAMELBACK AND JERSEY ALSO.” “OH FUCK SHIT,” I said My body jolted from the sudden announcement over the intercom as I slammed my body onto the hard tile floor. Without hesitation, even my chest ached from pain, I rushed into my locker. I fight the handle to open the stupid thing. “Winters? Fleece?” I thought to myself. Little sleep and jet lag fucked my memory well enough, after seeing one dude putting on some sort of tracksuit and beanie, it occur to me that I remember being issued something like that. Must have been the “Winter PTs” the drill sergeant talked about. I hastily dug around my duffle and found the clothing I was looking for. I slipped on both pants and jacket, finding the fleece cap as was on the label, I put on the wool gloves provided as fast as I could. I checked the time, knowing I had just 12 minutes to head out of the entrance. Everyone rushed inside the bathroom I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste. All of the sinks were occupied. After not trying to step over any tails as most of the sinks were taken by assorted dinosaurs dudes that got their way before me. It became apparent that I wasn’t going to reserve a spot for my hygiene needs. There was a water fountain but seeing the huge line that was there to fill up their water backpack things. There was no choice but to rush to my locker and put away my cheap toothbrush. Both dinos, and humans bumrush the bay doors and ran down multiple flights of stairs, me including. The Barracks entrance was opened as icy winds blasted my face and body. “RAPTOR CHRIST FUCKING HELL,” I said The temperature was no more than 15-20 degrees. It was like dipping my body into a frozen lake. My hands began to rapidly go numb as my hands lost their warmth. But I can’t complain now since this is what I signed up for, just fucking wish it wasn’t in the middle of fucking winter… I found a spot in the formation as the human Drill Sergeant came outside. He didn’t look fazed from the cold. “ALRIGHT LISTEN UP, SINCE YOU DO NOT KNOW MARCHING PROCEDURES WE ARE NOT GOING TO MARCH TO CHOW... YOU WILL GO BY ROW AS WE GO BACK TO 86TH. I WANT… THE FIRST ROW WILL HEAD BACK TO WHERE WE ORIGINALLY CAME FROM. THAT IS YOU WILL BE EATING, CLEAR?” Drill Sergeant yells out loud. “YES DRILL SERGEANT” we yelled “WHEN YOU LINE UP, YOU WILL BE SILENT AND YOU WILL SHUT THE FUCK AND EAT. DO NOT TALK TO ANYONE ONCE YOU ARE SEATED.” “YES DRILL SERGEANT “ALL RIGHT MAKE IT HAPPEN” Row by row we walked down the sidewalk heading back towards the building we came from the bus. Took no more than 5 minutes to get back. We all lined up in single file one on each side as both dinos and humans that were there, head directly into the “DFAC” as it is called. The food didn't look like the free stuff they served back at Volcano High, So that was a plus. So the selection was decent at least... I grabbed a plate with some powdered scrambled eggs, pre-cooked bacon with a side of box-style biscuits and gravy. It Looks like you were given a choice of beverages. Dispenser-style drinks, Apple juice or OJ, gatorade, and even coffee… I went directly towards the giant stainless steel container which I hope contained some crappy coffee to hopefully give some needed energy. But to disappointment, came a stream of hot water. As turned away, the drill sergeant sneak up right up to me, no more than just a few inches away. “The fuck are you doing. WHO IN THE FUCK SAID YOU CAN HAVE COFFEE TRAINEE? “I uhh” “I UHHH WHAT? YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED ANY FUCKING COFFEE TRAINEE, THAT'S FOR AIT STUDENTS ONLY!!” Drill Sergeant Samson said “Y-yes sir…” I said … … … Wait a minute… “I’M NOT A FUCKING SIR TRAINEE!, I WORK FOR A FUCKING LIVING! YOU WILL ADDRESS AS A DRILL SERGEANT AS SO I EARNED. DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?” “Y-YES DRILL SERGEANT” I yelled out “Get the fuck out of my face” I bolted out of the way as soon as I could. Fucking hell… Not even a day in the Army and I’m already grilled at… I placed my tray of GI food and everyone at the table looked at me in silence, not even saying a word while some chewed their food. I try to munch down my breakfast, but not even finishing even a quarter of my plate. Some dude yelled “ON YOUR FEET” as the whole table sat up some had multiple stacks of plates, trash, and silverware. “Hey man, you're gonna get up. One of the drill sergeants told us to start heading out.” someone said What? But I’m not even done with my food 'But.." “Yeah I know, but we have to go, dude. The drill sergeant will fucking smoke you if you stay and looks like he already wants you on his shitlist…” I sighed and threw away most of my food into one of the collection trays. Now hungry, tired, and feeling let down by my first interaction with a drill sergeant. We all head down to the main hall to start the day… … [16 HOURS LATER] … More forms, issued gear and uniforms,, more forms, give a “bluebook” with Army regulations and rank and other stuff in it, and even a debit card out of all things. At least I survived the day… Suck that I was charged $12 for a haircut even though I didn’t have any hair… The flow of anger and yelling from the drill sergeants were thankfully redirected as most of us didn’t even get to sleep the night before and were trying to sleep while everyone was studying the blue book in the main hall or other people calling drill sergeants “sir” or “ma’am” Definitely going to not repeat that mistake… Even going to the bathroom or “Latrine” as it was called now without a “battle buddy” was enough for some raptor to get obliterated from orbit by the drill sergeants because he went by himself. Thank god we were back in the barracks. After some much needed hygiene and thankfully a shower, even if it was an open shower, felt like luxury now. As I put away most of the new stuff and used the lock provided to me today. I collapsed onto my bed and try to drift away, Before I could do that, Drill Sergeant Samson came into our barracks. Someone yelled “AT EASE” as most rushed out of beds including I, the drill sergeant was holding a piece of paper. “Carry on, carry on,” He said “Alright, so here's is what is going to happen. The new arrivals of today will conduct fireguard tonight, each shift will be alphabetical and there will be two trainees per one-hour shift that will make sure that all choices and duties will be performed throughout the night. Starting with the As to the Bs today.” FUCK! SHIT! TRIGGER MOTHERFUCKER! Every colorful word went through my mind. I was internally screaming, every synapse in my brain was firing at me... I knew fucking well I’m on that list tonight… Drill Sergeant Samson then handed the paper to one of the black jersey guys, told us lights out, and went on his way. As we figured out quickly the holdovers, which were people not able to be shipped to basic right away, were the ones sort of in charge of things around the bay. One was shouting out names that were on the firewatch list. To no surprise, I got the 0100 shift… At least some rest is better than no rest I guess. I again headed forwards towards my bed and immediately went to sleep… … … … I changed out into the winter PTs, sitting at a desk as I roped this other triceratops dude who was unfortunate to get the fireguard to shift with me. We were in charge of mopping the latrine but most of our time was looking for mops to use. We were downstairs in the hallway of the barracks. If we couldn’t find the supplies needed to do our duty, then we would just sit down for an hour until our shift was over. “Hey dude, I need to use the bathroom, Can you come with me?” The tall triceratops said “Uhh sure” I replied We headed back to the bay and went inside the Latrine. Could use a nice piss break I guess… As he went to the stalls, I went to the urinal. After some much needed relief, I went to wash my hands… The triceratops dude finished up business as he came out of the stall. “Hey dude,” he said “Yeah?” “Did you notice that?” “Uhh, what?” He pointed out one of the stalls, it seemed like some guy’s tail was sticking out from the front of the stalls. “What” “Why is his tail sticking out that way?” I couldn’t give him a straight answer’’ “I.. Don’t know” He went to knock out the stall door “Hey uhh you okay?...” the triceratops said … … No response… He knocked again. … … … The triceratops decided to dare to check to see what was going on with the guy… … … “Oh fuck SHIT FUCK” He said. “SHIT FUCK HE'S FUCKING HANGING HIMSELF DUDE!” What? He began to slam his body against the locked stall, after a few failed attempts, he broke the lock to be greeted by some raptor dude with his neck hanging on to his belt, it was tied to one of the hangers on the stall door. His body laying in front of us, “FUCK HELP! HELP!” he said He ran out from the bathroom into to the bay and was yelling out “Help” It was me and the guy in the stall as I looked into his blue colored eyes. He couldn’t be more than my age. He had light yellow scaly skin, only wearing the PT shirt and shorts with a cut for his tail. For just... some reason just he reminded me of Reed… It was like someone I knew was dying and I was just standing there… My body froze as I locked eyes with his lifeless corpse. I…. I didn’t know what to do… … … All we did was just stare at each other. Wondering what led us to this point of our lives…