Culminating Blog

          As a whole experience of my training with my Army Recruiters and my fellow future soldiers I had ups and downs yet I am happy that I still manage to keep going with the training program until now. Being part of the Future Soldier Training program gave me the opportunity to somewhat feel and go through some similar kind of training that my recruiters already went through when they were in boot-camp. The best part of it was learning about the US Army itself because I entered the training program being scared and not as much knowledge about the Army, where all I knew was about wars, guns, dying, and much more but as I would go every week i learn something about the Army that's changing how I should see the Army because its almost the same exact opposite of how I use to look at it. As of my hours it was not hard for me to achieve because I still needed to go to my training since I am now a future soldier.
         Some personal gains that I got out of training is about time management, working with different people, not giving up, and I have gained more confidence. With time management, it all began when I went to my very first training because I was actually late where one of the highest rank Sergeants within the San Francisco area put me on blast for being late where he specifically said "if one of you guys are late, everyone's late" and while he was saying these words he was straightly looking at my eyes to the point where I knew it was my fault why we started our training late. And from then on I managed to not be late to any of my training. Working with different people was also an accomplishment for me since I was with different age groups and where I was also the youngest one in the training program. Yes, I have worked with different people before but this was new for me because we literally had to work together as a team to complete a special task because if we don't we were somewhat had to pay our leader some physical workouts if we didn't. And lastly gaining confidence was an important gain for me because now I know I can tackle almost anything in my life with my head held high onto achieving it. And now I am not as scared because the things that I am doing now and what I'll be doing in my future is something that is scary yet I am ready to tackle it with all my heart and mind. The best part of my experience, and even until now is how I can say I am part of that 1% who decided to join the Army.
            A challenge I went through was feeling intimidated in the beginning and the reason why was that in some of the trainings  I was the only female and adding to that was how I was the shortest and youngest of them all. Within that point I felt as if I would not achieve on the workouts and other physical test that we would do in the program. But when I was getting used to it I stepped back and told myself that I can actually do this because I just had to believe on myself and just keep going and don't give up. And now I believe that giving up is just in the mind and with a person giving up, they will not get anywhere with their life. Time management was also a challenge for me in the beginning because I had a hectic schedule with school where I had to think about making time for this training because this will eventually become my future. And the hardest challenge that I think I went through with this experience are the physical workouts, especially passing the physical test because my body is not used to the workouts that we would usually do since in the past I haven't really worked out as hard as I do now yet with the training my body is now slowly going through a phase of being stronger to be able to achieve the workouts that we do in the training program. Where it also makes me happy because it's also making me be conscious of my health and body.

13th Training April 9, 2014

For this training it made me quite nervous because we have a physical training assessment test which means we have to pass our push up, sit up and the 2 mile run. When I got to the office there was actually a big number of my fellow future soldiers that were already there and they were stretching to get ready for our PT test, so I joined in to stretch while we were waiting to Sergeant Granados. When he got to the office he told us that we were going to the near by park again where we will be doing our PT test. We lined up in a formation outside the office and wait for him near the van, then we were off to the park. When we got to the park he told us to be in a big circle around him, where he told us what we were going to do. As much as he wanted us to do all the PT test we only had time for the push up and sit up because we sort of started late for our training that day. Within the circle we had to pick a partner to do the PT test for the push up and the sit up. I was with another female future soldier as my partner. From there Sergeant Granados showed us how to do the push and sit up properly in the military kind of way. After that we lined up to get ready for the test. I was first to do my push up before my partner, this consist of doing as many push up you can do in 2 minutes, which was the same for the sit ups as well. For the push up I was quite confident that I would do great because I can managed to do a decent amount of push ups. But for my sit ups it wasn't good because I barely got to the range I should be in based on my age and weight. But Sergeant Granados told me to keep practicing and to keep doing good on my push ups. After the test we had 5 minutes to rest and to stretch. Then Sergeant told us that we were going to do some kind of running workout since we did not have time to do the actual 2 mile run. With this run it made me feel so exhausted especially because it was so hot in the place that we did our PT test. We had a run-jog session based on his timing. When he noticed us getting tired he told us that we were done, then we went back to the office after that.

Time logged for this session: 2 hrs.

Total time logged: 25 hrs. 

12th Training April 2, 2014

Since Sergeant Granados was on a leave we had other recruiters lead us trough the training. We were suppose to have Physical Training Test but all the recruiters had an important meeting to talk about to where we switch our training talking about Resiliency, SHARP program, I AM program. We had the same training we had couple weeks ago which are power points that talks about how prevent being sexually harassed with fellow troops and to know what to do if a soldiers or future soldier is going through these stages. Throughout the power point slides the recruiters asked us different examples to goes with the scenarios that we have to know about the different programs. It took us more than hour to get through all the slides then after we had to say our Soldier's Creed out loud since we have to memorize and recite this with our heart and to always remember to live by the words with the Soldier's Creed We were to say the Soldier's Creed all together, loudly and proudly. Since not all of us still did not know it we were to keep on saying it over and over until the recruiters were satisfied on what they have heard. And when they were finally satisfied we had the permission to go home.




Time logged for this session: 2 hrs.
Total time logged: 23 hrs.

11th Training March 26, 2014

For this training it was something different because this was more like a family day with the soldiers and the other future soldiers. We had a barbecue day at Gellert Park. I had my mom, cousin and some of my friends to support me. Once all of us future soldiers were at the park different recruiters from different ranks made some speeches to motivate us future soldiers and to let us know that we should be proud or ourselves for having the decision to join the Army because it takes guts to sign up to any military services. A Sergeant told us about our military, on how we have the best military in the whole world. One of the speeches of the Sergeants that hit me the most was about how 1 out 4 people only gets in the Army which made me realize that when I began the process I only had 25% onto getting enlisted. With all the speeches that the soldiers told us, I as a future soldier have to think and know what I am doing in the near future because once I do something inappropriate I am also bringing the Army with the inappropriate action that I am doing. And that we should always live through our Army Values and the Soldier's Creed. After all the speeches we had to chance to sit with our family and friends and eat and to also to socialize with the other future soldiers and their families and friends as well. After everyone was done eating our new leader, Sergeant Granados told us what we were doing next week and he told us that he will be in a leave for a week but we would have Physical Training Test next week.




Time logged for this session: 2 hrs.
Total time logged: 21 hrs.

10th Training March 19, 2014

For this training it was pretty simple and straight forward because all we were going to do was to workout. When I got at the station there were some of my soldiers buddies already, then we just waited for out other soldier buddies to come. Then we went upstairs to the room that we usually go to for our regular soldier classes. This was where we were to stretch and get ready for our workouts. When it was at exact 5:00pm we started the training. Sergeant Granados told us that we were going to the near by park and do our workouts there. So we were to gather all our belongings and go outside and wait for him near the van that we were going to use and in a proper formation. It just took us couple of minutes to get to the near by park and right away we were asked to listen properly on what we were going to do. He showed us 6 different kinds of workouts and that we were to do them with a partner for a minute per workout. I had another female future soldiers as my partner and the first workout we got was the mountain climber, which was sort of hard for me to do at first because I just ate before the workout. Next workout was the frog jump, then squats with a bag of sand which was around 10 to 15 pounds, at this point of the workout I felt really tired yet I didn't give up and kept going. The other workouts that we did were the push up, over hand clap, and the rower. A minute may be a short time for us to think but with the workouts that we did I felt like I was working out for an hour per exercise. Yet this workout made me more stronger and to not give up on to quick. After the circuit workouts we rearranged the cones and Sergeant Granados told us to run around the cones for at least 10 minutes, which we did but it was very tiring especially because it was so hot on this day. The last for of workout that we did was the dog form of running then crab form of running from a side to another then sprint back to the starting line. Then after all the workouts we went back to the station and and had the permission to go home.



Time logged for this session: 2 hrs.
Total time logged: 19 hrs.

9th Training March 12, 2014

For this training this was the first time that our new instructor will be training us, which is Sergeant Granados. Right when I got there I was told to go upstairs where my other battle buddies were. They were reciting the Soldier's Creed when I got there so I just joined in with them. After about 3 minutes after I got upstairs Sergeant Granados came up and made me sign in and he told us to do some exercises which included the overhead clap, push up and some kind of squat exercises and that we would only stop when he was back. So in total for all the exercises me and my other battle buddies did every exercise more than a 100 times. This literally made my body feel so tired but I managed to take all the pain in and just suck it up. After that we talked about some changes that me and battle buddies want to change with the training that we currently have. Some changes that we said we wanted were more physical workouts, 8 grid map grid reading and more time to actually know each other where it would make us more comfortable to work with each other. We also had the chance to introduce ourselves to our new instructor and also to the other new future soldiers that just got enlisted. This introduction was quite funny because every single one of us each have very diverse personality but it was fun because it made me and my other battle buddies to not take things that serious but at the same time have fun and be happy on what we are all doing. During this training my very first recruiter who I talked to first about the army came upstairs and then he told me that I did good on my push ups because Sergeant Granados was actually watching us during out workout. This became the highlight of the training because I felt like I made them proud and made them think that I can do this. And this also made me be more motivated to do a lot better and keep going until I get to the top of my goals. We probably didn't do too much but we had very interesting things to look up to in our future trainings with Sergeant Granados.



Time logged for this session: 2 hrs
Total time: 17 hrs

8th Training March 5, 2014

The training we had this day was a mandatory training we have to have once we get enlisted so this was more like a training that I once had before. This training was a very similar training from thevery first time I went to training. We had to learn about the SHARP and ACE organizations in the army because these are the organizations that helps us if we have any problems either sexually or anything that is bothering our mind that can lead us to either death or anything that is close to that kind of situation. For this training it was pretty much a chill training because we just watched powerpoints of other oraganizations that can help us by any chance in the Army to fix any problems. And also for this training our regular instructor, Sergeant Vananzo was back. But when we were done with this training Sergeant Vananzo told us that there will be some changes for our trainings because another recruiter will be taking over to train us, who was Sergrant Granados. They both told us that from now on he will be our instructor.


Time logged for this session: 2 hrs
Total time logged: 15 hrs

7th Training February 19, 2014

During this training we had another instructor to manage us for our training but on this it was a Future Soldier Training. We had Sergeant Cabrera where he thought more depth on the ranks and also more on our Army Values and the General Orders that we have to memorize by heart. The values acronym is LDRSHIP where this letters represents meaningful words that every soldier memorize and know at all times either in or out of duty. This words really inspires me because this is avery strong words to represent the Army. The letters stands for Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. For the general orders we have to know as well because these are things that we have to in case of any kind of emergencies and just anything in genreal that we have to tell our leader. Then after that he gave us like a pop quiz about the different ranks in the Army. He made every single one of us go up to the board to draw how the rank insignia look like based on which rank he tells us. And when it was my turn I was sort of nervous because I didn't study about the ranks that much but I still drew the right insignia on the board.And when one of us draws the wrong insignia everyone in the training would have to do 10 pushups as a whole group which was another factor why I was nervous. Then after this we went outside to tackle on some marching which was sort of bad because very little of us knew which marches he wanted us to do because ou regular instructor didn't teach it to us yet and because Sergeant Cabrera wasn't used to teaching future soldiers what we needed to do. But it was all good because we all learned something new after all the marching. And since it was cold and gloomy outside we went back inside the station because Sergeant Cabrera didn't want us to get sick or anything. When we got back up we tried to form the formation if we were to do exercises which was sort of hard to understand because our space in the station was quite small but I managed to get how to do it afterall. And this pretty much ended our training where we also got big poster that has the Soldier's Creed on it.


Time logged for this session: 2 hrs
Total time logged: 13 hrs

6th Training February 12, 2014

For this training day since our instructor Sergeant Vananzo was on a leave another soldier was to instruct us. But this was an important day of training because all of us future soldiers had to be there because we had an annual physical training. There was probably about 16 or 17 us during this training which would normally be 8 or 9 future soldiers. Since this was an actual physical training we were all in our army t-shirt and workout clothes. Right after the clock strike 5 pm we started jogging from the San Mateo Recruiting Center through the near neighborhoods. As we were jogging we also had some chances to sing songs that normal soldiers would to inside the bootcamp, which I thought was fun and funny because some of us future soldiers were quite bad at singing but as a group I think we did alright. For this jog though e had to make sure we were jogging as a team and if someone was left behind we had to slow it down and wait for them. since we were jogging  and running through the neighborhoods we thought a way on how to cross the street which was when two of our leaders from our wolf pack goes in front of us then goes to our side left and right to make sure that none of us gets run over by a car. We probably jogged for about 25 minutes until we reached a nearby park where we immediately did some exercises which included push ups, planking, and some intense arm exercise which burned my arms a lot. We also had some chances to have partners to do some exercises as well which included the military sit ups and some leg workouts. After the exercises we had about 2 minutes of resting then back to some more intense workouts. During these exercises we were on grass and when ever we had to go down we had to do it which annoyed me at first since it was grass and it was also sort of muddy because it just rained the day before but I got over it after couple of minutes since I know it'll be worst in bootcamp. And lastly, the last thing we did was run, sprint, jog our hardest and just give it our all which I actually did and it made me be proud of myself because I have never pushed myself that hard into running and especially because I was already tired of the workouts that we did. We probably did couple of laps then out instructor Sergeant Hererra decided to go back to the station because it also started getting dark. We also jogged as a team to the station with some more Army songs. Overall, this was probably a training day that I enjoyed the most because I literally felt like I was at bootcamp.




Time logged for this session: 2 hrs
Total time logged: 11 hrs

5th Training February 5, 2014

For this training we had the regular training we call future soldiers class. In the beginning of the of the training we started having conversations about any concerns or any questions that me and my battle buddies probably have about the training that we are currently doing and or anything about the army in general which also includes the basic training and how we should all get ready for that since all our deployment date are getting a lot closer and closer. This was also when three of our battle buddies actually went to their basic training already. After that conversation we were challenged as a team to use a map and figure out the places that our instructor told us to do, and we did this for about 20 or 30 minutes. Then throughout the rest of the training we went outside to practice marching and also the different positions we have to do when our leaders shout out the positions we have to be on. As a team of future soldiers we did a pretty good job keeping up with the instructor. And the last thing that we did was to practices the others standing faces we have to do and to keep it that way. Our instructor Sergeant Vananzo showed us where our fingers and hands are supposed to be in various positions and how we should stand properly.



Time logged for this session: 2 hrs.
Total time logged: 9 hrs.

4th Training January 29, 2014

Since things had been getting back on track our permanent place to train from now on is at San Mateo Recruiting Center until further notice. As of this training we were once again had to do some kind of workout. Just near the recruting center Is Hillsdale Mall where we up to Its parking lot and did our workouts there. First thing that we did were easy warmups then we all had to work as a team to do some simple jogging and running positions with synchronization yet a couple of us had a hard time keeping up because we were either too fast or too slow but as we were doing it more than once we all began to understand the task we all had to do as a team. After about 4 cycles of running back and forth we were to begin the actual workout. But this time our soldier trainer made it a little bit of fun by using workout cards which are cards that includes different kinds of exercises for me and my fellow future soldiers to do. With the workouts it included the whole body to be put to work to stay in shape for all our ship dates for basic training.




Time logged for this session: 2 hrs
Total time: 7 hrs

3rd Training January 15, 2014

I got trained at San Mateo Army Recruting Station again. For this day me and my other battle-buddies which turned out to be all females because 2 of our other guy battle-buddies were already shipped out to Basic Training and the others couldn't make it. But in this training we were put to intense workout which mostly included our arm and one of our reference was our Army Pocket Physical Training Guide, which included different exercises that the army would usually do first to begin our day once we're in Basic Training. Some of the exercises includes the bend and reach, rear lunge, rower, push-up and more that basically includes the whole body to be put at work. We completed the whole part of the 1st Conditioning Drill. We also went outside to run and really get into a hard arm workout.
With this workout my whole body was literally put to work to the point where i felt like giving up on the workout that we were doing but my fellow future soldiers motivated me to keep going which I did which made proud of myself because I usually give up on these kinds of thing quickly. Yes my body hurts so bad but it also felt good because at least I amd letting my body get used to it because it will be a lot worst in Basic Training. And finally at the end of our 2 hour workout we named our platoon the Wolf-Pack.



Time logged for this session: 2 hrs.
Total time logged: 5 hrs

2nd Training January 8, 2014

My training was at San Mateo Army Recruting Station for this day. In the beginning of the training me and my other battle-buddies were to recite out the Soldier's Creed the army proper way with the right posture and standing. And throughout the training we learned about the different ranks that goes on in the army, where I knew which rank I am in which is in E-1 and gets to be called Private Baptista. My platoon sergeant also thought us the different standing positions where we practiced it outside the building with the rest of the future soldiers. Then we went back inside the building and he thought us some of the different acronyms that gets used in the army. These acronyms are used as shortcut to some words and phrases used in the army and also helps us understand the different sounds to not get confused with the similarity sounds of words. The last thing that I learned during this day of training is how to read a map where we use this special kind of protractor to spot places in the map.



Time logged for this session: 2 hrs
Total time logged: 3 hrs