RTC Schedule

[newnavynuke]

Okay I supposedly go to RTC on April 25th of this year, but I know that I have from 3-10 (I believe) Pdays (processing days) before boot camp actually starts on 1-1 day.  So my question is this...are there set dates that bootcamps start on, and will only the guys in the airport on April 25th be in my boot camp class, or is the reason for the Pdays to have boot camp entrance reach a certain size?  Also, how long do people usually have between RTC and "A" school, and between "A" school and NPS, and between NPS and prototype.  I hope my questions are not too vague....

Thanks,
Bryan

[Already Gone]

You're not going to notice any difference between P days and 1-1 day.  You will start with no uniform, live in a temporary barracks, and have your hair for about the first 12 to 24 hours.  Then, you will get the haircut, be fitted for your seabag, and move into your company's "house".
Your P days will be just as structured as the rest.  You will march (very badly at first) from the second you get off the bus.  You will be assigned to a company immediately.  Starting the first night, you will sleep in the same room with up to 87 other guys (most companies don't get bigger than 50 to 60), you will eat with them, shower with them and catch one of the worst colds of your life with them.

Now, let me give you a word of advice.  FORGET about who is going to be in your company, why they have p days, what 1-1 day is and ALL that crap.  The schedule they gave you at the recruiting office was just to give you an idea of what's going to go on.  Tear it up.
Your job is to do as you are told, when you are told to do it.  Unless you are the company commander, the schedule doesn't mean anything to you.  Of course, the CC has probably pushed so many boots through RTC, that he doesn't need the schedule either.  All you need to know about the schedule is that they can kick you back to the beginning at any time.  There were guys transferred into my company who had already worn out a set of uniforms.  They got to go back to 2-1 day at least three times.  One guy got set back to 2-1 day the day before he was supposed to graduate.  These guys all got to spend 4 to 7 months in RTC because they couldn't stop trying to do things on their own.  Freelancing was the single and overwhelming reason why recruits got into hot water.  Every single time someone got into a jam ( often bringing the whole company with him) it was because he forgot to follow the program, and did what he thought he wanted to do instead.

It doesn't matter who is at the airport, or on the bus, etc.  If you sit together on the plane and on the bus, you might (just maybe) get into the same company, but who cares.  The idea isn't to go to RTC with a bunch of friends.  The idea is to get along and work with whomever is assigned to your company with you.

I get the impression that you (quite normally) are trying to maintain some sense of control over what's happening to you.  Get over that.  In RTC, the only thing you will be able to control is your own behavior.  Forget about everything else.  I guarantee that anything else that you try to control is going to get you into trouble.

[newnavynuke]

Hey thanks for the breakdown.  I am definately not trying to control anything that I'm not really supposed to, but it does seem that in an environment where everyhting is teamwork and structure that the earlier you can put a team together and have people to ride your ass about the structure and keep each other in line the better off you'll be.  Now granted I've never been through RTC before (obviously), but this is just logic speaking.

-B

[Fermi2]

Another bit of advice and this might sound cynical and callous. Bootcamp is not about establishing a team. Bootcamp is about teaching you a way of life and thinking.

Teams help each other out for the benefit of the team, in other words if the team gets better they'll get some tangible goal like a championship you make the weaker members better for a stronger team . Bootcamp you just want to make sure the weaker members don't impact your ability to get out on time. If they screw up, you get punished too.

I know it sounds callous but it is true. Out of 60 guys you go to RTC with you may see one the rest of your career.

Mike

[Already Gone]

Yeah, that's about right. It ain't cynical at all.  In the final analysis, teamwork is just a bunch of individuals who are each doing their individual jobs.
And it is NOT YOU who puts the team together.  You show up.  You do YOUR job.  Period.  The appearance of teamwork is the result of everybody doing that.
Of course, there will be times when it will behoove you and your brothers to pull along a weaker member, or to motivate somebody to quit f*<king up.  You will find times when the whole company gets punished for the screwups of one guy.  The reason this happens is that it is a reminder to use some peer pressure - which can be far more effective than individual discipline under some circumstances.  It is not a "teambuilding" exercise.  It is done when the CC decides that 55 pissed-off recruits can get through to some knucklehead better than he can by himself.

[newnavynuke]

Duly noted....thanks guys...I guess I didn't realize that!

[PWHoppe]

Hence the term "blanket party" although I'm sure that those are no longer used in the PC world of today.

Just follow orders, and you''ll be fine. I'm the dumbest man on the planet, and if I can do it, so can you. Good luck!