Women in army

The Boot Camp experience is also known as: Basic Combat Training, BCT (the Army loves its acronyms), Basic Training, Boot, and Basic.

One of my preparations for BCT: chopping off all of my hair!

I was amazed by how many people were mad at me for shearing off my "Crowning Glory".

I cut off all my hair because of the intense training I was about to experience. I thought it would make my life easier if I didn't have to worry about moldy hair. In the end it was a very good thing that I cut my hair, though it made me sad to lose whatever cuteness my long hair gave me. Ok, on to "business".

Pre-Basic

Before I joined the United States Army I poured through the internet looking for any kind of information that could help me. I wanted so badly to know what it was like to be in the Army. I already knew what it was like for the Soldiers I'd already met, but none of them were females like me. Let's face it, there is a difference between males and females in the military, and I wanted to know that difference. Unfortunately I never found any helpful information, so I up and joined the U.S. Army and experienced it myself.

What to Do/Know Before Joining the Army:Decide if your hair is going to work for you while you're at Boot Camp. My hair was long and I wasn't about to fix my hair up in a bun every day. With the intense training I would have to fix my hair all of the time, especially with the sticklers the Drill Sergeants are about soldier representation. A soldier also told me that some of the female soldiers he knew got moldy hair; and when I started training, I could see how that was possible. The female's who didn't cut their hair always had to have it up in a bun. They took their showers and when they were done their hair practically just jumped into the bun position. Sometimes there wasn't much time to take showers, so then the Drill Sergeants were thoughtful enough to take us training in the rain and mud; and afterward we would all go camping, in the rain. It's easy in these conditions for a bit of mold to cultivate in the knot that is our hair.