I'm back. Any questions?

V

vampsoul

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5-Year Member
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To those of you who know me, hello again. To newbies on the forum, nice to meet you. I just finished USMA CBT and will be marching in the ADay parade tomorrow. If you have any questions about CBT, applications, interviews, reogy week, or anything else related I am all ears (well, eyes...).
 
I'm back Any Questions

Welcome back, how did you do and did you like it?

RGK
 
CBT has two many components: mental and physical. There will be physical challenges, though, and that is where the mental comes in. A major part of CBT is realizing that your mind is stronger than your body, and you can will your body to do more than you would have ever thought possible. Mentally, you must always keep in mind that CBT is learning experience on both sides. The cadre are feeling out how to lead and train while you feel out how to be a squared away new cadet. Take their advice into account, learn from them, but don't get overstressed by every correction they make.

I actually enjoyed a lot of CBT. I loathed ruck marches, but loved finishing them. I dreaded hard runs, but I am amazed by how much I improved over the course of the summer. First and second detail are very different from each other. First detail will make you unhappy you are there but won't necessarily push you to question your ability to make it. Second detail will make you question if you can finish, but it is much more exciting. The people you endure both details with- the people you rely on and support in turn- make the entire summer an extremely rewarding experience.
 
Got a couple questions:
-Were there any mistakes you made that impacted you emotionally?
-When you were in the "house of tears" how was your experience?
-The ruck marches... were they feet wrenching? I heard from a cadet that your feet get are all blistered by the end
-I'm sure "quitting" comes across everyone's mind one point or another so if/when it did, how did you keep yourself going?
Congratulations on completing CBT "sir" :)
 
hkim93 said:
Got a couple questions:
-Were there any mistakes you made that impacted you emotionally?
-When you were in the "house of tears" how was your experience?
-The ruck marches... were they feet wrenching? I heard from a cadet that your feet get are all blistered by the end
-I'm sure "quitting" comes across everyone's mind one point or another so if/when it did, how did you keep yourself going?
Congratulations on completing CBT "sir" :)
Click to expand...

She might not like being called sir...
 
Imma let you finish, but CBT was the GREATEST THING EVER!

We got to shine shoes, get yelled at, memorize ancient paragraphs, run to running formation, get yelled at, wear camouflage with grey hats, walk with heavy things in rucksacks, wear stupid glasses, wear sandals in the shower, pee in sinks, pee on trees, wake up at 5:00 on Sundays, go to 5:45 breakfast formation on Sundays, not sleep, pass out in briefings, DRINK WATER, beat the heat, get yelled at, make beds, sleep on top of beds, make beds, fall off cliffs at 22:00, fall off cliffs because that's the quickest way down and you were like "F%$! it.", fall up stairs, fall down stairs, chafe, get yelled at, get inspected, get yelled at, Check canopy gain canopy control, get yelled at, AND.....

It was all worth it.

Sure, I was being a little facetious, but there's some cool stuff in there too.
Add some shooting and PT and that's pretty much CBT.

Seriously, though, you learn a bunch about yourself. Definitely a positive experience, IMO.
 
hkim93 said:
Got a couple questions:
-Were there any mistakes you made that impacted you emotionally?
-When you were in the "house of tears" how was your experience?
-The ruck marches... were they feet wrenching? I heard from a cadet that your feet get are all blistered by the end
-I'm sure "quitting" comes across everyone's mind one point or another so if/when it did, how did you keep yourself going?
Congratulations on completing CBT "sir" :)
Click to expand...

- Everyone makes mistakes. The cadre will find ways to correct the most squared away cadet. The first couple mistakes hit you hard, because most New Cadets are not used to messing up. You learn to roll with the punches and learn from your mistakes. But, uh, don't leave your knowledge book in your ACU pocket when you change into white over gray.

- the CS gas did not really affect me that badly. It felt like I ate a jalepino then rubbed the stem all over my face. It stung, but it wasn't the end of the world.

- Ruck marches hurt the back of your heals and the ball of your feet when you get really sweaty. Bring moleskin and you'll be fine.

- I usually thought about giving up in the middle of a ruck march or a hard run. I just kept thinking "left foot, right foot" over and over, and at some point you reach the end.

PS, as was said above, I'm a girl :wink:.
 
Oops, sorry
Revision--MA'AM!!!!

-How did you put up with the lack of sleep?
and thank you:D
 
A lot of nights I actually got more sleep than I usually do at home, because they try to give you 7 hrs. On nights we were in the field or had to be up early for something or had a ruck march, though, sleep was often nonexistant. You get used to sporadic sleep patterns and drink water to keep yourself awake during the day. You start having sleep related mood swings where one minute you're hyper and the next you're dead. Just look around at your classmates all doing the same thing and the hilarious sight is enough to keep you awake and in fairly good spirits.
 
Vamp, I'm just in my hotel room after leaving my DS and his good friend after a weekend of fun and discovery at West Point. From the A Day parade, to our meals out, it's been a fantastic experience being here at West Point. While I grew up only about 20 miles south and have visited here about 5 times in the last 3 years, I never really realized how honorable and extraordinary West Point is!

I wish you and the rest of your great class the best! Never give up and try your hardest at all times! As I said above and I'm sure you know, West Point is extraordinary! Good luck and thank you for your dedication and service to our great country as you start academics at West Point tomorrow! :thumb:

Just thought I'd say that...
 
Vamp,

I saw you during the A Day Review and you were looking very confident and ready to take on whatever the Dean had to throw at you. Congrats on conquering the Beast and good luck during the rest of your West Point adventure. I have a nice photo of you from the review which I can PM to you if you're interested.

Thank you again for organizing the pre-R-Day dinner. Though my DS was skeptical of attending at first, he mentioned a couple times that it was a great time and he was very glad we went.

Just wondering, any idea if everyone who attended the dinner stuck it out until the end Beast?
 
Congratulations!
Did you feel like you faced any additional challenges (especially physically) just for being female?
What made you want to go to the academy in the first place?

Thank you!
 
I wanted to add my congratulations!

My hubby and I were also at West Point for A-day watching our cadet. What an honor to see all of you accepted!

We are so proud of each and every one of you and so honored that you have chosen this path.

Thank you!

Sheri
 
Sorry I haven't been on- it has been a busy couple of weeks. Challenges for being female? Yes and no. For instance, on the muscular strength and endurance exercises I always needed assistance on pull-ups but smoked the guys in sit ups. Due to my tiny stature, ruck marches were incredibly difficult. On a whole, though, gender didn't get in the way of any female's success if she had the motivation to be there. Why did I choose the academy? Challenge, opportunity, commeraderie, and a strong sense of purpose. It has not let me down thus far (although there are those touch and go moments at 5:15am on Wednesday morning while mopping the floor in the dark in preparation for WAMI:shake:)
 
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