Getting Ready To Go? Check Out This Packing List!

So, you're packing for BMT? Did the list your recruiter gave you have a date of several years ago? Well, lucky for you, I have access to people who have been through already, and have given great pointers on what to pack, and what not to pack! (See www.aimhigherin.com for even MORE useful tips on BMT) I created this list for my good friends on the September shippers group on Facebook (USAF BMT September 2012 -- Search it!), and shared it with the October shippers group there, too! (USAF BMT October Shippers 2012) So here we go! (Keep in mind I directly copied and pasted it from there!)

This is just a rough draft, that I mostly just copied from aimhigherin.com! If you see things that should be added/removed, go ahead! Just leave a comment of why you decided to add/remove that item, that way we're not all wondering =] Try to keep this in some sort of order, that way it's easier to understand! **Keep in mind that Erin is Reserves, s

o some of these items may be specific for RES/ANG members, and not AD.**

Paperwork

-Twenty copies of orders/Enlistment Contract (Reserves/ANG item)

-Unit Personnel Records (Reserves/ANG item)

-Social Security Card

-Driver's License/ID/Military ID (Military ID is for Reserves/ANG, AD are issued theirs at BMT)

-Birth Certificate

-High School Diploma

-College Transcripts

-Marriage License

-Glasses Prescription/Contact Lenses Prescription

-Medical Prescriptions (To include Birth Control)

-Dependents' Birth Records 

-JROTC/ROTC Certificates

-Civil Air Patrol Certificates 

-Naturalization Papers

-Alien Card

Clothing

-3 Days of Civilian Clothing (Ex: 2 pairs of jeans, 3 T-Shirts, 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of underwear for men, since you are issued yours.)*

-6 pairs of underwear (Females)*

-6 Sports Bras (Females)*

-3 pairs of compression shorts/spandex (Black)

-1 "Regular" Bra in nude or white for Blues (Females)

-Shower Shoes (Plain black flip flops from Wal-Mart, Target, or Old Navy will suffice)

-Running Shoes (Wear these down there, your MTI may let you keep them)

-Watch

 -Cell phone and charger

Toiletries

-Shampoo/Conditioner**

-Body Wash**

-Shaving Cream (Males)**

-Toothpaste**

-Toothbrush (full size)***

-Toothbrush holder

-Tampons/Pads for one cycle (Females)

-Deordant**

-Hairspray (Females)**

-Gel (Females)**

-Razor(s)***

-Q Tips

-Brush/Comb

-Hair Ties/Bobby Pins/Conair Bunmaker(Females; this MUST match your hair color)

*Keep these in neutral colors, just in case (Black, White, Gray, and Nude)

**If you're flying there, these items MUST be 3 oz or less! Buy them in a clear/white color if possible. Aerosol products are also a no-no.

***Non-electric! These MUST be regular, disposable type products.

Keep in mind, pretty much all of these items are optional, and WILL be available to you at the BX/Shopette/Mini-Mall. However, you need to bring at least 3 days worth of these things, because we don't know when our first trip to these places will be. Males MUST bring shaving equipment, as you will be required to shave that first night, and every day thereafter. If you choose to only bring yourself, and nothing else, that's your call. You won't be kicked out. However, I will state again to bring a minimum of three days worth of these things. It'll make your life a bit easier.

Most importantly, do not stress out because you can't find something. I know it's difficult not to stress, but they have the things you need there! The most common stresser is the rectangular toothbrush holder. Just put your toothbrush in a Ziploc bag or buy a cheap, round holder to get you through until you make your first trip to the BX/Mini-Mall. It's important you focus on your PT regiment, and spending time with your loved ones relaxing before you go! Don't sweat the small stuff! =D

To Enlistment, and Beyond!

Hello, all!

I've decided it's about time I started documenting my journey through enlisting in the United States Air Force. I've attempted to make a few YouTube videos, but never uploaded them. I find myself talking for at least 12-45 minutes. No exaggerations here, folks. Anyway, let's get down to business.

I started the process of enlisting for AD (Active Duty, get used to the acronyms, it's all the military knows!) in early April, 2012. I had started thinking about it in mid-March. On my very first meeting with my recruiter, we went ahead and set up a date to take the ASVAB (I think I'm just going to make a page solely for acronyms. But this one means Armed Services Vocational and Aptitude Battery). I spoke with him a couple of times between those dates, then I headed across town at 1800 on a Tuesday to take a 3 hour test. We didn't start until 1900 ish, so I finally got my results around 2230. It was an exhausting night, but I more than qualified for the Air Force. My recommendations for studying for the ASVAB are to purchase the book, ASVAB for Dummies. It literally (figuratively) saved my life. I'm 22 years old, haven't been to college in 2 years, and been out of high school about 4 years. You could say I'm a little rusty. Anyhow, I bought it on my Kindle, for roughly $9, I don't remember exactly. I'm just kind of guessing =] I took it everywhere. I was reading bits of it on my break, walking into stores, walking out of stores, taking baths (I had to be careful on those!). You name it. The best study tips I found were to just concentrate on the parts of the exam that you needed to score the best in for the particular job(s) you wanted. I was dead set on getting Public Affairs when I first started. More on that later, though.

So, you've got your ASVAB test date, you've got your book, now what? Study, of course! But really, what now? Well, what I did was extensively research anything and everything Air Force. Luckily, my sister-in-law and her husband in currently AD. They just went through BMT and Tech School less than a year ago. She was able to give me TONS of info, it also doesn't hurt that we have the same recruiter! Anyway, I was watching videos, reading blogs, Googling, just absolutely going crazy. I was on my phone constantly looking things up (my laptop had been out of commission for a while, so I just got a new one about 3 weeks ago). www.airforce.com was my lifesaver. I was on that all day, every day. It was my homepage on my phone. It still is, and I've gotten a new once since then. It's even my home page on my laptop. Back to the ASVAB, though. Another great tool, is www.military.com where they have practice tests! They've got short versions, and the full length versions. Those actually helped out a lot. I got the same score every. single. time. on there. I ended up making like, 4-6 points higher on the real deal. Awesome sauce. Where do you go from here, though?

Your recruiter should be contacting you within 5 days (at least mine did!) to tell you your sub-scores. These include the General, Administrative, Electrical, and Mechanical aptitude areas. These are the areas I was talking about earlier that help determine what job(s) you qualify for! From there, you should be submitting all of your paperwork (DL, SS card, HS diploma, transcripts, BC, Marriage License, etc.) so your recruiter can prepare you for MEPS. From what I've heard through some friends, they all went to MEPS within a couple of weeks of initially meeting with a recruiter. Mine had been on extra overload starting like, a month after my ASVAB. He was literally doing two jobs at once, so he fell a bit behind. I was okay with that, because I get where he was coming from. I'm going to dedicate a whole post (possibly two) to my MEPS experience. So stay tuned for that!

A little about me, though....

As I said earlier, I'm 22. I'm also married! It'll be 3 years in December, but we've been together for 6, and were BFFs for 2.5 before that. Basically, I've been married to him like, half my life haha! He's very supportive of the military, and my decision to join, he just doesn't want to leave home. I'll pretty much leave it at that, since this is supposed to be an uplifting, informational place =] Let's just say, I have no idea where we'll be at in a year. Anyway....I have a sister, she's exactly 1 year and 2 weeks older than me. She's a super nerd. You can find her website at www.noobtheory.com and search Noob Theory on Facebook and like it! She is a master at physics and all things science. So is her husband. Weirdos. I just wanna make sure nothing blows up around me, and that's all the science I need. I love her, though. =] My mom had me laaaaate in life. Like, 38, late. She'll be 60 next month. Yikes, that's weird to think about! She raised us all by herself. My dad passed away when I was 3 years old of Bacterial (idk what different kinds there are of this) Meningitis. I also had an older sister who passed away 3 months after he did. She got the Ecoli virus, and her immune system couldn't fight it off. I got a tattoo that says A^2 (Asquared) because both of their names start with an A. It's on my left shoulder, close to my heart. My mom raised me to be a strong willed, independent, confident person that never lets anyone bully me, tell me I'm not good enough, or tell me my beliefs are wrong. I admire her so much for that. She truly is my hero.

I'm here to help every person I can go through the enlistment process of the Air Force! If you have any questions at all, I'm more than happy to answer. Although I haven't been to BMT, I know plenty of people who have. I can certainly ask them questions you may have, or might even answer them based off of what they've told me. As soon as I make it through BMT (whenever that will be!) I'll definitely update with everything I'm allowed to tell! =]