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Everyone's standing at attention in front of their bunks. Staff Sergeant Fear and his assistants are standing there wearing shorts and a T-shirt that says, "U.S. Military Basic - Pride Starts Here!" He begins to pace the aisle.

"Oh, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy. I prayed that last night was just a bad dream and that you maggots weren't really as pathetic-looking as you seemed. You girlies already look tired, and the day has just started! What kind of crap are those recruiters sending me? This is just too much to take. I've got to work it off."

"You've got two minutes to make up your racks -- Yes, I know you don't know how to do it right yet, just do something! Dress up in shorts, T-shirt, and running shoes, and get your butts down on the pad. Two Minutes! Move!"

Massive pandemonium as everyone scrambles to get their bunks made and dives into their bags for shorts and shoes.

Everyone dashes out the door and down the stairs to form up on the drill pad. It's completely dark outside, but the base has come to life. On drill pads all around you, there are troops lined up. You note that most of the groups are wearing matching shorts & shirts, just like Staff Sergeant Fear. Your group's mixture of different color shirts and shorts really stands out.

For the next hour, you learn to do exercises the "military way." You do stretches, curl-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, leg-lifts, and dozens of other exercises. The Drill Instructors seem determined to always make you do about five more of each set than what you think you're capable of.

Suddenly, the different groups start taking off down the road, running in formation. In spite of the slight morning chill, you're dripping with sweat. Staff Sergeant Fear, who has led the exercises, doing each and every one with you, isn't even breathing hard.

He says, "Okay, Maggots. We're going to take a little run. We'll wait for all the others to get well down the road first, because I don't want you to embarrass me. For this morning, all I ask is that you stay in a group, and keep your traps shut. If you're going to faint or puke, get your butts off the road first."

"Here we go........run in place now.....try to stay together......left foot, right, left, right, left, right.....I give up! Let's move"

With that, your group starts moving down the road. You're already tired. You only got three hours sleep, and the one hour of exercises have made your muscles feel like rubber. You don't know how far you can run. The group runs farther and farther down the road. You're breathing heavily; you can't take much more of this. The group keeps going. You feel like you've run 15 miles. Staff Sergeant Fear shows no sign of fatigue and looks like he will keep going for years.

You:

	Fall out of formation, to the side of the road, falling onto the grass
	Continue to stick it out
	Return to Beginning (Part I)

Above Photos Courtesy of U.S. Air Force