Its over, thank God.

Some of you may be wondering what to expect in WTC. Well the best way to describe it is 2 months of boot camp crammed into 1 month.

If your recruiter told you it was a "gentlemen's course" or that you work 8-5 and have weekends off I feel very sorry for you.

You will work 4am-9pm everyday including Sundays. 9pm-10pm is the only offtime you will have to smoke cigs or call you family or shower or do laundry etc.

In an earlier post, Cpl Williams accurately described the three phases of formal WTC. The part he doesnt mention is the living hell that is in processing at Ft. Sill.

You will spend anywhere from 10 days - 3 weeks at Ft Sill and they dont consider that part of WTC for some reason. Ft Sill cadre will take you to the inprocessing area where you will literally cook in the bleachers for 14-18hours a day and MAYBE if you get lucky you accomplish 1-2hrs of useful processing each day.

The reason behind this is that the drill sergeant in charge of WTC are also in charge of basic training units so their time is split between the two. The will treat you like you are in boot camp too, maybe because they can't turn off drill sergeant mode. It wont matter if you are an e6 either, expect to be treated like an e1 newbie.

Chow at Ft Sill is very good, if you dont mind standing at parade rest for a minimum of 1 hour each meal while the "higher priority" boot camp platoons eat first. We stood in line for over 2 hours on several occasions.

Formations at Ft Sill are similarly rediculous. Wake up is at 0400 for a 0430 formation. At which point you will stand in formation until the busses come around 0530-0600 to take you to chow, where you will wait another hour or two in line to get into the dfac. Completely unsat!

Once you finally make it through Ft Sill, Santa Fe seems like heaven. Phase 1 at Santa Fe was by far the most enjoyable part of WTC. The weather was beatiful and the cadre was very fair compared to Ft Sill. We still had very long (16hr+) days, but at least they were filled up with useful training instead of sitting in the bleachers all day like Ft Sill.

Sante Fe also taught my personal favorite courses, the pugilist course and personal combatives.

After Sante Fe you will go to Stallion Range for the worst 8 days of your life. 100+ degree heat while wearing your IBA and full battle rattle coupled with no working shower or running water of any kind makes for heat casualties galore. The "drinking" water is so chlorinated you basically have to drop a pepto tablet in each canteen you drink to avoid stomach issues. Latrines = Big bobs porta-potty that rarely have topilet paper and are always filthy. Tip: Bring a ton of baby wipes.

The Cpl Williams that posted earlier on this forum is cadre at Stallion and hes...intense. Cadre will treat you like boot camp scum all over again. The ONLY good part about stallion is that you get very familiar with the various weapon systems the Amry employs.

After Stallion its pretty much smooth sailing. WSMR is a nice place to finish up Phase 3. You will get hot showers and chow as well as laundry access. Cadre allowed the student leadership to run most events, and they treated us as our rank warrants.

The final event in Phase 3 is the FTX, where you ruck march out to the FOB (5k) and spend 2-3 days simulating enemy attacks and practicing lanes and such. The final march back is about 10k, but you wont care because after that its finally over.

The final 2 days you turn in all your gear and recover.

Overall I hated WTC from beginning to end, but I have to admit it was solid, high speed training. You WILL get the basics or you WILL be recycled, its that simple.


Please post any questions you may have. I wont sugar coat anything I promise.

quote:

c

So during the 8 days of hell you dont shower?? Uhhh screw that?

well thanks for this....going without a shower for 8 days is nothing compared to what might be waiting for you out on the Battlefield, but hey to each his own. Personally, while it does sound like an intensive experience, it's a small price to pay to be back in uniform..congratz btw.

How many times did they make you pass the PFT? Other say if you passed the first one you didnt have to take it again and were good to go. Was that your experience?

Even in basic I showered everyday and unless you are lost for days, I don't see that 98% of people on the battlefield will be without showers for a week. In the end: It is extreme. Is it because the place this occurs just is out of date or is that part of the program, cause I don't see basic recruits going through it so why would we. There seems to be no real point to it other than they are just out of date and the army is not doing what they should be to make it more hospitable.

The place has no running water either? Is that part of the program? Survive without water? There must be more to this...

wow that must have made some additions through WTC since I went through..

I am not sure what stallion range is, must be new.
We spent a few days at some crappy fob, but all we did was zero M16's.. and they had showers, although it was cold water. We didn't spend anytime at an FTX in WSMR either, but that could be because some idiot at the nearby army base stole a saw out of the armory and ran away. That caused us to be locked down for a few days.

Overall, none of that really resembled my course except Ft Sill, which I pretty much agree with.

Can you tell me anything about the pay? My husband just went to finance yesterday at Ft. Sill at they told him he would not get paid for a month. Does that sound right?

quote:

Originally posted by jamiejame:
Even in basic I showered everyday and unless you are lost for days, I don't see that 98% of people on the battlefield will be without showers for a week. In the end: It is extreme. Is it because the place this occurs just is out of date or is that part of the program, cause I don't see basic recruits going through it so why would we. There seems to be no real point to it other than they are just out of date and the army is not doing what they should be to make it more hospitable.

During OIF1, we all went six weeks plus without a shower. In MOPP 2 24/7 and through the worst sandstorm and raining mud they'd seen for 50 years in Iraq. I'm female and that was an Aviation unit... so don't think that it's just the Infantry who live that way. BTW, once we did get a "shower," it was actually just a half blown up room with a drain on the floor and we poured water over our heads from a bucket. If you have a canteen, you can clean yourself... I'm not trying to say that WTC complaints are a joke, just that it's important to keep things in perspective. Basic Trainees get the nice stuff because they are most likely to whine to their Congressional representative if Basic is too hard. Once you get out into the Army, you're expected to develop a thicker skin. The same applies to Prior Service folks who should know better.

As far as running water... consider it a luxury as well. A water buffalo is all they figure you need... even if it does taste like you're drinking out of a rotten swimming pool. Cheers.

quote:

Originally posted by 4938529:
Can you tell me anything about the pay? My husband just went to finance yesterday at Ft. Sill at they told him he would not get paid for a month. Does that sound right?

It depends Active or Guard? Since I was guard my direct deposit and banking were in order so I got paid the 15th (I arrived the 23rd so I missed out getting paid on the 1st.) Some took longer, but they will take care of you.

I graduated from WTC at WSMR on May 16th. Everything the original poster says is absolutely correct except that we had showers every other day at Stallion range. If you didn't get showers I guess that means they removed the shower trailer that they brought in. That sucks. Being out in the heat in April/May in full battle rattle sucked but I'm sure it's much worse in the summer months especially without a shower. The good thing is that it is over pretty quick and you kind of forget how bad it was when you are done.

quote:

Originally posted by Flyinghawaiian:

quote:

Originally posted by 4938529:
Can you tell me anything about the pay? My husband just went to finance yesterday at Ft. Sill at they told him he would not get paid for a month. Does that sound right?

It depends Active or Guard? Since I was guard my direct deposit and banking were in order so I got paid the 15th (I arrived the 23rd so I missed out getting paid on the 1st.) Some took longer, but they will take care of you.

They told us that too when we went to finance around the 11th of April and I was paid on the 1st of May. I think they tell you that you won't get paid just in case you don't. My pay is still messed up from Sill though. I just got to my actual unit from training and have to go fix my pay. They took that stupid advance from the "smart card" out 3 times so they owe me that.

quote:

Originally posted by SGTLockwood:
During OIF1, we all went six weeks plus without a shower. In MOPP 2 24/7 and through the worst sandstorm and raining mud they'd seen for 50 years in Iraq. I'm female and that was an Aviation unit... so don't think that it's just the Infantry who live that way. BTW, once we did get a "shower," it was actually just a half blown up room with a drain on the floor and we poured water over our heads from a bucket. If you have a canteen, you can clean yourself... I'm not trying to say that WTC complaints are a joke, just that it's important to keep things in perspective. Basic Trainees get the nice stuff because they are most likely to whine to their Congressional representative if Basic is too hard. Once you get out into the Army, you're expected to develop a thicker skin. The same applies to Prior Service folks who should know better.

As far as running water... consider it a luxury as well. A water buffalo is all they figure you need... even if it does taste like you're drinking out of a rotten swimming pool. Cheers.

My thoughts exactly. Some of the people that post on here crack me up. I'm not pretending that I'm the most high speed soldier and pretend that WTC was a breeze. But c'mon...it's the friggin' Army! Geez! You're gonna get yelled at, get smoked, and treated like crap sometimes. And just like in a combat zone, you're not gonna get a hot, luxurious shower. Train how you fight.

Wow, I never heard anyone say WTC was HSLD (High Speed Low drag)

The only truth (from my perspective) was what was said about Fort Sill in-processing which blows to the max!

As far as Sante Fe and Stallion, if you all think that was tough I am sorely disappointed at what is coming into the service these days..

At Stallion we had showers mostly every other day..And at WSMR it was a breeze...

Stallion to me was fun, we learned a lot but they (cadre) were fair, if you acted like a PVT they treated you like a PVT, it was pretty simple to me, follow directions and things go smooth, if not they got ugly!!

It will be nice if they get to the point where the cadre has all students fro the full cycle versus three different groups of cadre, then they can weed the dirt bags out better...

Good course as I have said MANY times before...the toughest part for me in the course was dealing with all the whining A** Wipes that thought the cadre was to tough or that the student leadership was being "mean"

To the Original Poster: What platoon were you in?

I was in the class that graduated 16Jul until I got myself busted up a bit during training. The reason that there was a shower problem @ Stallion was because the pump for the Shower Trailer was bad (well, either the pump or part of the pressure system). They replaced it once but it didn't do the job. They had showers Jul 5th & 6th, don't know for sure after that. One other thing the OP failed to mention about Stallion is that they left 2 days early due to rain (lots and lots of it) and were back in barracks taking showers - so it wasn't 8 days total.

I am not trying to call BS on the OP, but complaints do nothing but foster disrespect and an attitude. I do have to agree that Ft. Sill processing needs alot of work, and sitting in the bleachers all day during Heat Cat 4 is not very fun.

Get some military bearing OP and register your complaints civilly.

(Oh.. and it is Ridiculous, not Rediculous - pet peeve)

quote:

Originally posted by 4014354:
To the Original Poster: What platoon were you in?

I was in the class that graduated 16Jul until I got myself busted up a bit during training. The reason that there was a shower problem @ Stallion was because the pump for the Shower Trailer was bad (well, either the pump or part of the pressure system). They replaced it once but it didn't do the job. They had showers Jul 5th & 6th, don't know for sure after that. One other thing the OP failed to mention about Stallion is that they left 2 days early due to rain (lots and lots of it) and were back in barracks taking showers - so it wasn't 8 days total.

I am not trying to call BS on the OP, but complaints do nothing but foster disrespect and an attitude. I do have to agree that Ft. Sill processing needs alot of work, and sitting in the bleachers all day during Heat Cat 4 is not very fun.

Get some military bearing OP and register your complaints civilly.

(Oh.. and it is Ridiculous, not Rediculous - pet peeve)

Military bearing? How exactly does accurately describing an unpleasant experience I had at WTC break military bearing?

If you enjoyed it there, good for you, you aren't me. I admitted it was solid high speed training, but I just personally didn't enjoy it, especially the cluster at Ft Sill. I seem to recall 2 or 3 ***** sessions with the company commanders where just about everyone complained about Ft Sill, so I know im not alone there.

I'm not infantry, or any type of combat MOS, nor would I want to be. I dont think its all that surprising that I didnt enjoy the stallion range portion. I qualified for the rifle portion my first try with a score of 31 so it has nothing to do with my ability, I just didn't like it. Other people get kicks from shooting guns and grenades etc, grats to them (you)...

PS I was in 1st Platoon.

quote:

Originally posted by 11113214:
Other people get kicks from shooting guns and grenades etc, grats to them (you)...

Well I hope you do know that you are a riflemen/person first in the Army, so you MUST know your common tasks or as it is now warrior skills level 1.

Maybe I am reading into your last post, but the problem I see with most of the A** Wipes coming in now is that they "feel" they are not infantry so they should not have to do the basic soldier skills, ask people that have been deployed, It isn't just infantry getting shot at over there...be prepared...

quote:

Originally posted by msjaycee:

quote:

Originally posted by SGTLockwood:
During OIF1, we all went six weeks plus without a shower. In MOPP 2 24/7 and through the worst sandstorm and raining mud they'd seen for 50 years in Iraq. I'm female and that was an Aviation unit... so don't think that it's just the Infantry who live that way. BTW, once we did get a "shower," it was actually just a half blown up room with a drain on the floor and we poured water over our heads from a bucket. If you have a canteen, you can clean yourself... I'm not trying to say that WTC complaints are a joke, just that it's important to keep things in perspective. Basic Trainees get the nice stuff because they are most likely to whine to their Congressional representative if Basic is too hard. Once you get out into the Army, you're expected to develop a thicker skin. The same applies to Prior Service folks who should know better.

As far as running water... consider it a luxury as well. A water buffalo is all they figure you need... even if it does taste like you're drinking out of a rotten swimming pool. Cheers.

My thoughts exactly. Some of the people that post on here crack me up. I'm not pretending that I'm the most high speed soldier and pretend that WTC was a breeze. But c'mon...it's the friggin' Army! Geez! You're gonna get yelled at, get smoked, and treated like crap sometimes. And just like in a combat zone, you're not gonna get a hot, luxurious shower. Train how you fight.

Does that mean i have to fight dirty too?

quote:

Originally posted by 11113214:

quote:

Originally posted by 4014354:
To the Original Poster: What platoon were you in?

I was in the class that graduated 16Jul until I got myself busted up a bit during training. The reason that there was a shower problem @ Stallion was because the pump for the Shower Trailer was bad (well, either the pump or part of the pressure system). They replaced it once but it didn't do the job. They had showers Jul 5th & 6th, don't know for sure after that. One other thing the OP failed to mention about Stallion is that they left 2 days early due to rain (lots and lots of it) and were back in barracks taking showers - so it wasn't 8 days total.

I am not trying to call BS on the OP, but complaints do nothing but foster disrespect and an attitude. I do have to agree that Ft. Sill processing needs alot of work, and sitting in the bleachers all day during Heat Cat 4 is not very fun.

Get some military bearing OP and register your complaints civilly.

(Oh.. and it is Ridiculous, not Rediculous - pet peeve)

Military bearing? How exactly does accurately describing an unpleasant experience I had at WTC break military bearing?

If you enjoyed it there, good for you, you aren't me. I admitted it was solid high speed training, but I just personally didn't enjoy it, especially the cluster at Ft Sill. I seem to recall 2 or 3 ***** sessions with the company commanders where just about everyone complained about Ft Sill, so I know im not alone there.

I'm not infantry, or any type of combat MOS, nor would I want to be. I dont think its all that surprising that I didnt enjoy the stallion range portion. I qualified for the rifle portion my first try with a score of 31 so it has nothing to do with my ability, I just didn't like it. Other people get kicks from shooting guns and grenades etc, grats to them (you)...

PS I was in 1st Platoon.

clap hands. maybe my words echoed for a month and a half cause it seems like i said that repeatedly. we're there to learn something. we didnt need all the extra garbage along with it. i learned what i had to and that was it. i wasnt there for the extra stuff. i got paid and made it through just the same as all the other infantry guys. so ha...

quote:

Originally posted by testedone:
Wow, I never heard anyone say WTC was HSLD (High Speed Low drag)

The only truth (from my perspective) was what was said about Fort Sill in-processing which blows to the max!

As far as Sante Fe and Stallion, if you all think that was tough I am sorely disappointed at what is coming into the service these days..

At Stallion we had showers mostly every other day..And at WSMR it was a breeze...

Stallion to me was fun, we learned a lot but they (cadre) were fair, if you acted like a PVT they treated you like a PVT, it was pretty simple to me, follow directions and things go smooth, if not they got ugly!!

It will be nice if they get to the point where the cadre has all students fro the full cycle versus three different groups of cadre, then they can weed the dirt bags out better...

Good course as I have said MANY times before...the toughest part for me in the course was dealing with all the whining A** Wipes that thought the cadre was to tough or that the student leadership was being "mean"

I actually liked the fact that we didnt always have the same cadre. cause if you did something to stand out. it was only for a week or so and then you were off to a clean slate. and student leadership were jerks. most of em. pretending they're better cause a fake rank that was given to them. the stuff we did didnt make sense a lot of the time. like pushing for dropping your weapon. if you were in the desert would you push if you dropped it? probably not. you'd most likely have it slung. like we were not supposed to do. i love it when things dont make sense. this is the army. You do things that dont make sense cause some stripes told you to...