Q & A

On R day, what are the top items YOU felt were necessary to have packed ( most useful )?

Keeping a tiny knife on you is a good idea because you’ll have to open up a lot of MREs second detail. I recommend also having a screwdriver for setting up the combat helmet, bringing a roll of duct tape to care for your FLC, your own toothbrush and toothpaste, comb, and shower stuff. Keep it simple. Shampoo, conditioner, razor. That’s all you need aside from underwear, and female cadets must bring their own bras.
 
During beast, your cadre are literally required to give you phone calls. It is not optional for them. During first detail, you’ll get a 10 minute call somewhere around the week-and-a-half point. Then during the ice cream social you can talk to them for as long as you’re at a sponsor’s house. At the four-and-a-half-week point your new cadre should be giving you your second 10 min call.

Bring your phone to R-day and give it to your cadre. While they can’t be held legally/fiscally accountable if anything happens to it, these cases are rare and if you do this you will get your phone back immediately following whatever wild initiation gauntlet your company has planned for you.

Then you can call your family, go on social media if you like that stuff, etc. And you have the phone back till ranger school. Hooah.

For 2021 Beast, the first phone call was 2 minutes, the ice cream social was as much as the phones could be shared and there was not a third phone call for my son. He wasn’t on restriction.
 
For 2021 Beast, the first phone call was 2 minutes, the ice cream social was as much as the phones could be shared and there was not a third phone call for my son. He wasn’t on restriction.

That’s just wrong. His cadre must’ve been bad.

Not at all. He actually enjoyed Beast. Expectations change. I was a little bummed when he didn't get a third phone call but happy he was happy.
 
My 2021’s first call during Beast was 2 minutes, I believe that to be the norm. Ice cream social was as long as he wanted pretty much, I think 45 minutes in real time. His Cadre were fine....
 
My DS is 2021 and he received an almost 2 minute call after 2 weeks or so. He did not have a third call. Many cadets gave their calls to those struggling.

A couple of us tried to do that but our cadre wouldn’t let us give anybody extra time. It seems the protocol might have changed in terms of call length and time span.
 
Do you get assigned a battle buddy, or is it a term to describe fellow cadets that become your friends?
 
As a plebe, when home for Thanksgiving or Christmas, can you wear civilian clothes when you go out in public?
 
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