The fact of the matter is- your recruiter went through Basic Military Training A LONG time ago. Lackland changes a lot their policies monthly or yearly, as they are always seeking to improve the program, so the information they give you is probably outdated. Sometimes this is annoying- my recruiter told me to bring $20 cash in case of emergencies, preferably in quarters. So I could use the Payphones (more on those later,) but it turns out the payphones ONLY accept phone cards. So. A little amusing.
But my recruiter also told me that- as a married woman- all I needed from my husband was a notarized copy of our marriage license, his birth certificate, and his social security card. When I got to Lackland and tried to process my husband into DEERS (think: healthcare, housing benefits, all that jazz) they informed me that I needed a color-copy of his drivers license as well, and that put his processing on hold for almost a month while we tried to work it out via letters.
In the way of important paperwork: if you think you might need it, bring it. I'm talking copies of your contract signed by you and your recruiter- this is the only thing that shows what your recruiter promised you in the way of a job or rank or bonuses! A lot of girls in my flight didn't get their ranks at graduation because they didn't bring these. Bring your marriage documents, your spouse's birth certificate, social security card (these HAVE to be original documents, not photocopied,) bring college and high school transcripts if you're claiming college credits for rank, bring your own birth certificate/social/drivers license, bring any and everything that you think might be important. The first thing you're issued upon arrival is a padlock for a personal drawer, so don't worry about anyone stealing your information, but TRUST ME, it is so hard to get this stuff when you can only communicate with the outside world by mail!
In the way of toiletries bring: travel sized shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, and razors. Don't bring all your 5 million facial products- you're not gonna have time for it. Don't think you're gonna be slick and get the 3-in-1 body/face/shampoo stuff either- you will have a drawer that these things need to be displayed in, and you MUST HAVE separate containers for body wash and shampoo. Bring face wash- because you're gonna get sweaty and oily and dirty and you're gonna want something specifically for your face. Bring your razor because shaving your pits and legs will literally make you feel more human. It ain't even about impressing anyone, it's about watching that leg-fur swivel down the drain and feeling like you're in control of your life again.
(You're not, by the way. It's just an illusion.)
In the way of clothes: for God's sake, pack lightly! You need may 3 shirts, a couple of pairs of pants, and socks and underwear. You have to wear a regular (see: NOT SPORTS) bra to MEPS the morning you ship out, but make it a really nice one if you can. You'll be issued your uniform within your first week, and all of that stuff will go into your luggage and then into a locked room. You don't need 15 pairs of shoes and so on. You're not gonna use it, and you're gonna accumulate so much military stuff, and then you're gonna have to carry it all, by yourself, to Airman's Week and to the airport for Tech School. (You think I'm kidding. One girl in my flight had to throw away a brand new pair of Miss Me jeans after graduation, because she brought A METRIC TON of crap, and her parents bought even more at graduation. She also threw away shoes. JORDANS. It was agony to watch.)
But, I mean, make it cute stuff. My recruiter advised me to bring only plain stuff, and I regretted it. I ended up being in tech school for like a month before I finally got a package from home with some nice clothes. So bring what you'll want to wear once you've graduated and gotten out of there. (Except makeup. Just have your mom or whoever bring it to graduation for you. Seriously, you WILL NOT get to wear it. Lackland policy is NO MAKEUP AT ALL while you're on base as a trainee. If you bring it, it's just going locked into the civilian luggage room for 2 months, and they're not air conditioned, so your lipsticks going to melt on everything. Seriously, just don't do it."
You CANNOT wear jewelry unless it is ONE religious necklace- like a star or cross. You may wear your smooth wedding band, but nothing with diamonds in it. You will literally die if anyone catches you with a tongue rings or earrings, Like, ~poof~, you will perish on the spot. Don't try to sneak it or do anything crazy. You will die.
Bring good running shoes! You will be running! A lot!! Please bring shoes with good support, that you are used to running in, not your 5 year old never-moved-any-faster-than-the-ice-cream-truck sneakers that are falling apart. They will make you buy a new pair if your's are too worn out, and they will be stupidly expensive.
On that note, bring good sports bras and compression shorts! Don't wait until you get there to buy their expensive, crappy versions! You need, realistically, about 7 bras and 7 pairs of underwear. I only wore compression shorts on run day, so I only brought 3 pair and did fine. You'll be doing laundry constantly, and you'll probably only use 3 pair each of bras and underwear but stuff happens. Things get lost in laundry. So make sure you have some extra!
ONLY BRING ONE PIECE OF LUGGAGE WITH YOU. I don't care if you're willing to pay for a second bag. When you ship to tech school, you will have your military duffle bag with you, and it will be your second piece of luggage. You will literally not be allowed to leave base with more than: one personal piece of luggage, a backpack, and your duffle. And, besides, why would you want you? You can't carry all of that. Don't do it. If you have more than one bag then you need to repack because you're bringing way too much stuff. Seriously.
DO NOT BRING ANY ELECTRONICS BESIDES YOUR PHONE. I feel like this is self-explanatory.
BRING A PHONE CARD. I got one at the air port for free by mentioning that I was Active Duty Airforce.
BRING PICTURES OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND PETS. Your recruiter will likely tell you not too, because the sergeants will make fun of you, but the sergeants only go through your stuff once and it lasts for like 15 minutes. Then you have that stuff for the entire 2 months that you're there. It's worth it.
BRING AN ENTIRE BOX OF ENVELOPES. My recruiter told me to bring like 5, prestamped. So I had to buy a box and stamps while I was there. Save yourself the trouble and just bring it. I traded my envelopes to other girls in exchange for them rolling my laundry properly. These things are VALUABLE. Treat yo'self.
Bring a notebook! You're gonna need paper and pen to take notes in class, and the stuff available for you to buy is crummy and expensive. Bring highlighters, too, if you have room.
I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, please leave a comment! I'll start working on a post about Life At BMT right away and get that up soon, too.
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