<p>Hello to one and all...I am KateMac's daughter and just got done with my first semester. I know we learned alot from these threads and I thought I would put my two cents in from someone who has just gotten done with what many of you are looking forward to doing. Some of this will be pretty specific to females because I am one, so sorry to the guys who may have to wade through stuff they don't care about. </p>
<p>BEAST. I remember having no clue as to what anything was going to be like and really just more worried because I had no clue what was coming. Well here it goes...R-day will go by like a blur and hopefully at the end of the day you will think, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Just do what you are told. There are signs posted about where you are supposed to go and if you don't know, ask one of the civilians. They will be nice and for the most part know what is going on. Other than that, there isn't much I can tell you to help you out, just one of those things you will have to go through. </p>
<p>First detail is "how to be a cadet." You will practice marching and rifle drills and if you get a good squad leader or PSG (platoon sergeant) they will give you tips on how to shine your shoes, brass, and help you set up your TA-50 (ruck sack). You'll wake up for PT and do that. Take that time to have a little fun...the cadre won't get mad if you are being motivational so help out a buddy. If one of the other New Cadets is having trouble next to you, encourage them and help them out. If you have 2 quarts on you, carry theirs and don't let them fall out. Falling out is not an option for anyone. Don't do it and don't let your friends do it. Unless you are literally broken or having a heart attack (one of the kids in my company did actually have one) then keep trucking. Life does not get eaiser if you fall out, it gets harder. After PT you will run up to the showers and have about 15 minutes if you are lucky from the end of PT until breakfast formation. You will shower and change into white over grey in that time (girls will do your hair too) and fill up your 2 qts. After breakfast you will go to briefings. Sexual harassment, academics, you name it, you will be briefed on it. Don't fall asleep. Don't let your buddies next to you fall asleep. Sleeping brings no good news for you or your buddies. If you don't have a briefing you will have issue points. You'll be given everything and the kitchen sink and think that nothing else will fit in your flight bag and then they give you another pair of shoes and pants. Take your time at the issue points. Make sure that the shoes you try on are actually comfortable because you will actually wear them, so if they don't fit, ask for a different size. The people there might get kind of snitchy, but it is their job to help you, so let them do their job. No one will yell at you for talking there so take that time to get to know some of the New Cadets around you and loosen up. The more you find time to be "human" again the better Beast will be for you. Try to not be the first person out of the issue points because then you will stand there with your knowledge book in the sun and just a greater chance for you to get hazed. Once you get up to your room with everything, put your name on it. It will save you a lot of grief when you loan something out to a buddy and they say they gave it back or whatever, you will know because your name is on it. Underwear, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, everything. Label it. When you get issued your pants and shirts...make sure they fit. If they don't, ask for a different size. As one of my friends puts it, "I have an incredibly expensive wardrobe of incredibly ill-fitting clothes." Don't be afraid to ask because you will be paying for it and wearing it for four years. When you get in your room you will have random things in your drawer and not know what to do with it. I would recommend having one of your drawers with nothing but little issued things like your sewing kit, stamp kit, brasso, and so on. That way you know where all that is and then the other drawers for whatever you want or need.</p>
<p>First detail is attention to detail. Put your uniform on right and help out your buddies. I was in a three man room and we decided that no one would leave the room until we were all ready to go. The first person done would help tie shoes while the other girl would put up her hair. I think at one point I zipped someone's pants while they brushed their teeth. You will get closer to some of your friends than you ever thought was possible. One day one of my roommate's forgot her belt, and the other girl and I got yelled at for it for letting her forget it. You will learn to help out your battle buddies whether you like it or not. </p>
<p>Change of detail will come around and your cadre will try and freak you out by telling you horror stories about your new squad leaders and platoon leaders and so on...don't let them scare you. For the most part second detail is very field oriented...they will be focused on getting you all soldier-ed up instead of hazing you for not squaring your corners perfectly. Now by no means should you do stupid stuff like talk in the hallway or not cup your hands, but the point is that they will generally not be more haze-happy than first detail. </p>
<p>Change of detail will be your first chance to meet your potential sponsors. When you go to their house, have fun. Strike up a conversation and be personable. They want to hear about your family, where you are from, what your cadre are like, R-day horror stories and so on. However, refrain from speaking about bowel movements or gross stuff... one of the new cadets decided to talk about stuff like that and it made everyone a little uncomfortable. That particular New Cadet was not invited back. Don't be intimidated by your sponsor's rank- they have families and are parents just as they are colonels and majors. But again, be on good behavior and make your parents proud. </p>
<p>Like I said, second detail is very field-oriented. You will spend most of your time out shooting, in the gas chamber, eating MRE's and going to Buckner. My class was the first class to do this and from what I understand it really is much better training. In today's Army, very few situations require shelter halves so they have added more training that is very applicable to the war we are fighting now. We did a lot of room clearing and this year they added mounted ops and convoys. Second detail in terms of what you do day to day stinks if you don't like infantry type stuff, but it is more fun because you don't have to "lock it up" 24/7. </p>
<p>Little-known fact, passing off all of your knowledge is not a requirement to graduate from Beast. But you should do it anyway. When you have time in your room to shine shoes and brass and stuff, read knowledge out loud to help your roomies learn it too and the best way I found was to just say things over and over again. During briefings I would write them over and over in my little notebooks. Repetition is the key...</p>
<p>Now for my list of what to bring...this is all female based, but some things will be applicable to guys too. I will try to explain things that may not make sense...</p>
<p>*Shampoo (the stuff they give you is 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, body wash. Gross)
*Bath gel (bars of soap get gross and will hit the shower floor...gross)
*Face wash
*Conditioner
*Hair ties (make sure they match your hair color and are on some kind of metal ring or clip. They will disappear.)
*Metal clips, not bobby pins. The kind that snap when you bend them...bobby pins will fall out of your hair and be difficult to keep track of.
*Hairspray or gel...I recommend spray because gel is messier.
*Hairbrush
*Pads
*Tampons
*Q-tips (These are more for cleaning rifles than ears....so bring alot)
*They will give you a toothbrush and toothpaste so I wouldn't really bother bringing those
*Dental pick- go to your local dentist and buy a few of the metal dental picks. The sliver ones that look like little they have little hooks on the end. These are life savers when it comes to cleaning rifles. You will be shooting a lot of blanks and those will gum up your M16 like no other...
*Febreeze. Lots and lots of febreeze. you will smell. your clothes will smell.
*Chap-stick. one of those things no one thinks about until they need it.
*Leatherman. I actually never used mine, but others swear by theirs.
*Compression shorts (if you want them, make sure they are thin and snug, or else they will ride up and cause more problems. I brought a couple pair and never used them.)
*white socks-tall athletic ones. They don't give you enough and no one will know the difference if you have your own...as long as they are the tall kind. Don't show up with the short ones.
*Blister band-aids. The band-aid brand kind come in a blue and silver box and say ampules on the box I think. They are way better than mole skin.
*Athletic tape- to tape down the blister band-aids, otherwise they will not stay stuck to your skin.
*Fan. you are allowed a fan. Try to find the kind that clips on to something.
*Sports watch with an alarm
*Flashlight...small maglites are perfect
*Ziploc bags...a box of small ones and a box of large ones
*500 mph tape- if you don't know what it is, don't bother worrying about it
*550 cord-again, if you don't know what it is, don't bother
*Lighters
*Neosporin and band aids
*White cotton underwear- bring some that fits you....they give you enough but they give you the granny panties and if you want to feel somewhat like a girl, you can bring more.
*They issue you a grand total of four sports bras. Bring white or grey bras and lots of them so you can put on a clean one when you take a shower. </p>
<p>Your parents can send you boxes as long as there is no food in them. Have them send whatever you don't want to carry on R-day like the fan and neosporin and stuff you can live without for a few days. You will get to go to the C-store but depending on what company you're in there may be nothing left. I was in Echo and there were no swiffers and no febreeze left. those are the kinds of things I would have parents send a couple of days after R-day. Have your parents send you a swiffer, paper towels, windex, and 409. </p>
<p>Lights out is at 10 and they will enforce that for a while. However, you are allowed to go to the bathroom whenever, so use that to your advantage. I actually had a hard time reading all the letters I got, so around 1130 or so I would grab a few of them and read them in the bathroom. Sounds stupid, I know, but it worked and it was a way to avoid getting yelled at for using a flashlight. If you end up using the blister band aids and athletic tape, I found that if I woke up about ten minutes before we were supposed to get up and put all that stuff on and then leave it on all day you will be good to go. It will last through the showers and the athletic tape with keep it dry wherever the blister is. Take the tape and bandaid off at night and let it dry out over night. Baby powder then if it needs something to help soak up moisture, but I never really needed foot powder. Take care of your feet for sure though. When they tell you to change your socks, change them. Air out your feet, even if they feel okay, those next few miles may make them hurt pretty bad. </p>
<p>A few don't be's....</p>
<p>Don't be that guy who takes too much food. The people at the end of the table get food first and just remember that everyone is hungry and everyone wants to eat.</p>
<p>Don't be that guy who doesn't help out. When there is some crappy detail to do, make sure you do your part and stay motivated. If you help your buddies out, they help you out.</p>
<p>Don't be that guy who leaves something...a cover, your rifle, your 2 qt. Check yourself off to make sure you have everything.</p>
<p>Don't be that guy who thinks the title "New Cadet" means he can leave his brain at home. Think things through before you say them or do them...</p>
<p>FOR THE FEMALES:
I will try and touch on things that will deal with you specifically- if you have questions beyond this, just let me know.</p>
<p>The period. Some people swear by birth control so they don't have to worry about it or deal with it, but honestly, you will maybe have your period twice and it is not that big of a deal. Just deal with it like you normally do. Bring midol. You'll make it.</p>
<p>Boyfriends. Starting a relationship during Beast with one of the guys in your platoon/company is not allowed. And to be perfectly honest, it is darn hard to look like a pretty girl so you will kind of wonder about the guys who might try and start something. As far as dating a civilian guy, it can work. Both of my roommates now are dating civilian guys and they are doing well. One of them has been together with her boyfriend for three years and the other a little over a year now. They have their issues like any West Pointer/civilian couple, but they are doing well. It is really up to you and whoever you are dating to see if you want to keep anything going. As far as dating during the academic year...plebe year is rough. If you feel you can do it and have a handle on academics and such, then go for it. </p>
<p>Sexual harassment. You will groan and mumble everytime you have to sit through a briefing on this, but I guarantee you will have to deal with this in one way or another. Guys can be really stupid, especially West Point guys. (sorry for those of you who kept reading) There are a group of them who think they can do and say whatever they want. You're not allowed to be friends with upperclassmen on facebook or anything or AIM with them unless you are on the same team and not in the same company. So if some cow in your company friends you, do not accept. Don't message them back. If one of them says something inappropriate to you either in person or in an email, make sure you first and foremost protect yourself. Save whatever they send you or write it down. Try ignoring them at first if you feel you can ignore it. If they don't quit saying things or get the message that you are not interested, send them an email explaining that you are uncomfortable with whatever it is they have done/said. Dealing with this kind of stuff sucks, but dealing with it is the important part. You will run in to sexual harassment as an officer and take what you deal with at WP as learning opportunities to become more confident in your ability to stand up for yourself and perhaps help a friend who needs it. Please, do not be that girl who thinks that she can get away with sex with an upperclassmen. No matter how cute he is and how wonderful he seems, that reputation is not worth it. The chances you will get away with it really are slim to none, leaning more to the none side. This is not a regular school and the standards are there for a reason. If an upperclassman male is pressuring you to do anything with them, they are not worth it and they have a lot to learn about senior-subordinate relationships. The respect chain of command is in place if you feel you need to take up something inappropriate that has been said. It is a long process but it works. Sometimes it may not need to go that route. Often times if you tell your team leader about it, they can handle it on a lower level and it works just as well. It is all situational-do what you feel needs to be done. </p>
<p>Hair. Don't cut your hair. It is frankly more of a hassle to deal with than a bun and most of the girls who get it chopped off end up hating it. One of my good friends did it and she is now having to deal with the pains of growing it back out. Oh, and don't dye your hair blue the day before R day. Trust me, it happened. I preferred to wash my hair once a day because it simply was too hard to wash it three times a day and washing it all the time simply kills your hair and it will fall out like mad. I would french braid my hair and tuck the end up and use hair ties to keep it in place. I used Bed Head hair gel at first, but it was too rough on my hair, so I got hairspray. I would do this after the night shower because my hair is easier to do when it is wet. </p>
<p>Well....I hope this has helped. Shoot me any questions. I will try and help you with whatever you need...</p>
<p>-The Plebe.</p>