Thank you
My DS will be there June 27th. Anything you can tell about Beast ( how to prepare/things to get / any do not do list). Any other information to prepare him and us will be helpful. We are going through many messages you tube on what to buy ( boots/socks/ multitool....) your on ground experience will help. We are from Texas so preparing for east coast will be factor too.
a lot of Anxiety above
Hello!
First and foremost, I want to suggest not worrying too much, or at least not in front of your son. I know that sometimes my parents being nervous really exacerbated my own personal stress levels, so try to feel out what he might need from you leading up to Beast. I know parents worry, but just know that the hard part is over (getting accepted)!
Honestly, coming from Texas, the East Coast shouldn't be too bad. My family just moved to TX this summer from Washington state. The summers in NY aren't too much different than those in TX, except maybe a little more humid. If you can, just have your son work out outside when it's hot as much as possible - if it's not hot, encourage him to wear layers to generate heat. I cannot stress enough the importance of preparing for the heat here. I thought I was prepared; I was not. As for working out - run. Run, run, run, and when you think you've run enough, run more. This is a philosophy that I STILL struggle to adopt, and I wish that I had really focused on before Beast. Be able to run, do push-ups, and do some pull-ups, and he'll be plenty ready for Beast.
As for what to get, my big-ticket item was prickly-heat powder, believe it or not. I got the worst heat rash after exercises in the field, and prickly-heat powder helped me tremendously. Other additional items that I would recommend are a full kit of blister bandages and moleskin, a Leatherman multitool (I seriously recommend Leathermans - they're pricey, but SO worth it), and a 2-3 inch knife of some kind (Gerber, Benchmade, SOG would be some good brands to look at - the Gerber ones hold up particularly well to the battering they receive during summer training, and are reasonably priced). Absolutely ESSENTIAL would be Fox River socks. I don't care if anybody tells you anything different - these are the BEST boot socks. Everybody and their mom wears the tan ones here. They have them in summer lightweight varieties - that would be PERFECT for Beast. They also make some for the winter that are heavy duty that my mom got for me for winter this year, and my feet have been thanking me with how toasty they have been the past few weeks. I would also recommend some sort of anti-chafe balm such as Body Glide, assorted additional bandaids, and your own sunscreen (the stuff they issue is just terrible). Those things, to me, are the biggest ticket items. If your son wants to write you, I recommend sending him with a ton of pre-stamped envelopes, or even just a few, with a few additional stamps. USMA provided some for us initially, which was great, but I was a long-winded writer and sent my parents letters almost every day, so I ran out pretty fast.
Also, get your son boots and low quarters before Beast (at LEAST a month before, but earlier is better) and have him break them in! For boots, any that are AR670-1 compliant are allowed, but I'll list some common brands just for you to peruse:
- Belleville Khyber
- Garmont T8s
- any of the Danner 8 inch coyote boots
- Oakley Coyote Boots
- Nike SFB Gen 2s
- Belleville ONE XERO boots
I am really partial to the Danners, but almost everyone I know swears by the Garmont T8s and the Bellevile ONE XERO's. I didn't have any luck with the Garmonts, which is why I offer so many suggestions; have your son try a pair, and if they don't feel right, keep trying different ones until they do. It sucks to walk around in the woods with shoes that don't fit your feet.
I'm so sorry for the ginormous post, but I hope this helps! Congratulations to your son, and good luck this summer!
