When you join the military, you may here that you don’t want to stick out. That is partly true. You don’t want to stick out for doing all of the wrong things, but you do want to stick out for being the best. You should strive to be the best at everything. If they tell you to mop the floor, you should mop the floor better than anyone else ever has. They tell you to scrub the toilets, you make those toilets shine like new. You should try to be the best at everything you do. This will translate very well for you with anything else you do in and out of the military. Meeting the bare minimum and skating by should not be your plan. You want to excel and be better than everyone else around you. This will also translate when you are looked at as a leader or actually become a leader. If everyone around you sees how hard you try to be the best, they will also step up their game. What would hold you back from being the best at everything you do?

Military culture is an interesting culture that only someone that has been in can understand. We eat at certain hours, we eat our food at at Mach speed, we show up 15 minutes early to everything, waiting in line is not big deal, take our hats off when we walk indoors, and have a dark sense of humor. Even if you are in for one contract, a lot of these things stay with you forever. There’s no other place that changes you in so many ways like the military does. What’s the funniest thing you have heard about military culture?

Why do they harp on getting a haircut and having a specific hairstyle so much? The reason is not to control you; it is about functionality and appearance. Your hair needs to be able to fit under your hat and, most importantly, your helmet. The appearance of having well-kept hair is a sign of discipline and self-care. You are expected to look professional at all times. A haircut is something simple to maintain. When you look professional and show you care, you get more opportunities opened for you.

When you go to basic training, you don’t just go and immediately start training. You go to reception first where they start all the fun stuff to get you set up in your branch. This is where you will get you uniforms, do all of your finance paperwork, and the lovely assembly line of shots. You will stand in line and wait for hours. This is also an introduction to what hurry up and wait is. Get used to it, it will be part of your routine for a while. Have you heard any stories about reception?

What is the reason you want to join? This is important for you to figure out because when times start to get tough this is what you need to go back to. Remember why you joined. Remember what you told yourself when you signed that piece of paper and raised your right hand. I’ve had many times when I had to remind myself why I was putting myself through the hard things.