Before actual basic started we had to start loosing our personal identity. We were civilians and we needed some time to make the transition from civilian life to military life.

I'm not sure how long this took, I suspect 5 to 7 days. Our barracks seemed to always have something going on almost like a constant level of chaos. Seemed like people were always coming and going and I guess they were as they arrived from the induction centers and then were moved on to basic training companies.

I particularly remember the latrine and the first time I had SOS. One think missing was privacy and I remember going into the latrine the first time and seeing the toilets. Just a row of toilets. No stalls just toilets. OK, when you gotta go you gotta go, privately or publicly. It was just part of the transition from civilian life to military life.

And then there was SOS. This was a breakfast meal that most people would call chipped beef, or some other gravy, on toast. But in the Army it was 'Shit on a Shingle'. Actually I thought it was pretty good, kinda hit the spot.

Many transitions happened during those days including the first haircut. As I recall there were three chairs with a 'barber' at each chair. I'm not sure what qualification these 'barbers' had but I doubt it took longer than 5 minutes to master this hair style. Each draftee, there were probably some recruits amongst us but most of us were draftees, must have been in the barber chair for less than a minute. It was a few swipes with the electric razor and the hair was all gone. And as I recall we even got to pay for the haircut.

You wouldn't be complete without your new set of clothes. It didn't take long for this part either. The styles were the same and there was just one color to choose from. They really made it easy on a guy. The boots were the most challenging in that you had to find the pair that fit so that took a little time. In a short period of time we were ready to go. I'm not sure if we just got the fatigues at this time or if we were also fitted for our dress uniform. I suspect they might have taken measurements since we would not need the dress uniform until graduation, 8 weeks in the future.

I don't recall much beyond this.

And then it was off to the real basic training.