Prior enlisted at Beast

InHocSignoVinces

USMA Appointee C/O 2017
5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2012
Messages
23
I'm curious to see if anyone on here is prior enlisted and has some insight on how Beast compared with real BCT. My initial impression is that with a shorter period, private rooms, and not having Drill Seargants living with you would make it somewhat easier. Would most say it was the initial shock of military culture that made it difficult? I am by no means trying to belittle Beast, but rather I'm trying to gauge how gruelling, comparatively, priors found it. Thanks in advance.
 
I'm curious to see if anyone on here is prior enlisted and has some insight on how Beast compared with real BCT. My initial impression is that with a shorter period, private rooms, and not having Drill Seargants living with you would make it somewhat easier. Would most say it was the initial shock of military culture that made it difficult? I am by no means trying to belittle Beast, but rather I'm trying to gauge how gruelling, comparatively, priors found it. Thanks in advance.

Where did you do BCT?
 
As a prior- enlisted Marine, I'd love to hear some real comparison, as well.

honestly, the hardest part of bootcamp for me was being homesick.

Loved the training, but yeah, I'm sick in the head, too...
 
I'm with ya...I loved the smokings! They only improved my APFT scores. But I feel like a large portion of HS student's discomfort at USMA comes from being introduced to the military environment. That said, I CANNOT wait for the gas chamber again!!! Such an awesome day :)
 
I'm with ya...I loved the smokings! They only improved my APFT scores. But I feel like a large portion of HS student's discomfort at USMA comes from being introduced to the military environment. That said, I CANNOT wait for the gas chamber again!!! Such an awesome day :)

OK...I might not have loved EVERYTHING about the training, but you get my drift. The PT, the discipline, the time at the range, heck I even liked close order drill. Yeah, NBC training was nothing if not unforgettable.:shake:
 
Your biggest challenge at Beast will be the de facto leadership role you'll be thrust into as a prior service soldier.
 
I'm curious to see if anyone on here is prior enlisted and has some insight on how Beast compared with real BCT. My initial impression is that with a shorter period, private rooms, and not having Drill Seargants living with you would make it somewhat easier. Would most say it was the initial shock of military culture that made it difficult? I am by no means trying to belittle Beast, but rather I'm trying to gauge how gruelling, comparatively, priors found it. Thanks in advance.

I don't know how much guidance I can be considering that I'm not prior service.

A guy in my beast squad was a 13B and went to Benning. He thought Beast was a joke.

One of my best buddies here is an 11B out of Benning. He too thought Beast was a joke.

These aren't Drill Sergeants. They're 20 year old kids. Both the New Cadets and the Cadre will look to you 24/7 for your opinion and help.

To quote my beast squadmate, the 13B guy, "At Benning, I was doing a great job if the the Drill Sergeants didn't know who I was. But the hard thing here is that you're expected to not just square yourself away, but square away everyone else too."
 
Having been a Beast PSG many many years ago and a basic training battalion XO many years ago these are two related but very different events. Basic training transforms civilians into soldiers. It has a much wider demographic population from which it must produce soldiers trained to a minimum level in basic soldier common tasks. There are recruits there who will fill every niche of the Army and have a huge standard deviation in abilities, intelligence and physical ability. It often uses the lowest common dominator to get everyone to basic soldier proficiency. There are a limited amount of Drill Sergeants for sometimes huge numbers of recruits so their methods as well as goals are different from Beast.

Beast has the goal of turning new cadets into cadets ready to be Plebes at West Point. The population tends to be smarter, more motivated, generally more physically fit. The cadre when compared to Basic are younger and less trained and experienced. There are more officers and NCOs around for oversight. The cadre is being graded as well. Time is split on events that contribute to being a successful cadet as well as learning some of the basic soldier skills. You have a few more years to learn all of the basic skills. Any prior service candidate ought to show up proficient in at least 50% of the stuff that will be totally new to everyone else. They also tend to be older and have already made the stressful change from military to civilian. If it wasn’t easier for them, you should be worried.

However, being out of school for a while, some will struggle with the transition back to full time student. They will be expected to help their buddies with all of the stuff they should already know. They cant be a “ghost” in the squad and expect to hide. Some will get dinged for being a know it all unless they have a helpful attitude. It is an opportunity to shine and do even more than most new cadets.
 
As a prior who did Beast last summer, heres what I can say.

The physical/military aspects are definitely easier (especially being exposed to it already). The hardest part for me personally was the running - being older, I felt like the younger guys straight out of sports in high school were in better shape than me. I also wasn't used to all the hills here.

The intellectual aspects (memorizing USMA + military knowledge) is more challenging and demanding than BCT (memorize a few creeds/basic knowledge).

The toughest transition for most priors is the transition into the academic year. However, being more mature and managing your time wisely are more valuable than being fresh out of AP Calculus or AP Chemistry in my opinion (I tend to surpass the majority of my peers despite being out of high school for 3-4 years), so don't assume that you will do poorly academically.
 
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