Ahh the long and dreadful days spent in AIT... I don't miss them at all other than perhaps all the time I had for reading my sci-fi novels at the end of each day and jaw-jacking with my buddies. For the most part, each day was the same for the respective two phases we went through: Phase 1 - EMT & Phase 2 - Combat Medicine. The days generally went something like this for phase 1: 0500 wake up followed by a 0530 Physical Training formation which lasted until about 0700. We would always go eat chow directly after PT and then shower. The worst part so up to this point was waiting in line for that breakfast. One of the worst parts about being in training in the military is the lack of freedom in eating whatever and whenever the hell you want. After chow, we marched to our barracks, showered and changed into regular duty uniforms and headed down stairs for our morning formation to march to the class rooms. We marched alot and everything was at least a ten minute march. We all did pretty well staying awake for the death by powerpoint that is EMT phase. There are little hands on skills to learn but a ton of information to absorb and be tested on. This being an introductory course into the medical field it was all fresh knowledge to most of us and therefor challenging. Except for the doctor we had from Cuba who easily passed every exam with no study except for his own personal study to keep his own credentials. He only joined for the citizenship, good for him. After morning class we marched to the chow hall and waited what seemed an eternity to eat. We always waited because there are training companies Alpha through Foxtrot that are also competing for chow time. Each company has 4 platoons and each of those platoons has around 50-75 people. We waited for chow a lot.
It was worth it though because chow hall food at Fort Sam was bangin'. That and my group of buddies formed early on into an extremely tight clique. We were known by our classmates; they knew where we sat so we never wandered to look for different seating. Our gimmick for meal times was that it was a constant flurry of insults at one another for anything and everything. Any tiny failure was dug up and amplified to the applause of the rest of the group in sneering laughter and smirks! Any victory was cast to the pigs who trampled it down into the mud so as no pride could be had and no joy was shared when talking about individual successes. It was ruthless and humorous beyond belief. I think I laughed more during these times than perhaps in my entire life! Eventually we would grow tired of insulting each other and occasionally hold a dinner for schmucks kind event. Either a member invited another student to sit down with us or someone unwittingly sat too close and they became the target for our pack of wolves. Sometimes the guests would leave, wounded and usually bent out of shape. Other times we found them to be enjoyable and good sports and would dish out insults that were fresh and cut like a weapon of which we had not seen before. They were good times and bad times. Was it right? Was it healthy? Probably not, but we laughed our asses off almost every day and that's just how we coped.
After lunch was a slug fest for our brain and mental discipline. After loading up on food at lunch time, having been starved of any snacks, we would often succumb to the after meal comas and slip off into milliseconds of sleep. I actually fell asleep, sitting up at the desk once and snored myself awake. More than a few times an instructor would tell us wake up during the longer and more grueling afternoon learning sessions. Eventually after the 2nd week, our instructors started doing nap time right after lunch. After sitting down and getting accountability he literally turned off the lights and we would lay down on the floor. It was amazing. The EMT phase learning was tough mentally but we got through it. My buddies all did at least, a few people in the class did not make it and were subsequently reclassed to another MOS or were given the chance to recycle to the next class.
The combat medicine portion was much, much more physical. Not only did we have more practical exercises to do in the classroom but after the 3rd week or so almost everyday was spent outside doing something. Litter carries, patient drags, battle buddy carries, TQ drills and endless amounts of patient assessments. I meant we did the same stuff day in and day out for about a month and a half to the point where it was muscle memory. Your mouth would be saying the assessment as you went along but you wouldn't be aware of the words but rather the shapes of the words when your mouth moved just like the motion of your hands going over the patient, blindly following the commands of your mouth. That's exactly what the Army wants though: medics who don't think about treatment but simply execute when the situation arises. That's how it is with any Army training I've done that's related to combat scenarios: you train the same, simple, redundant task until it's carved into the lining of your skull so your brain can reference it at any moment. Airborne School, Air Assault School, Expert Field Medic Competition, Tactical Combat Casualty Care course... the amount of things I've learned are vast, deep and almost completely useless outside of pretty specific situations in the military.
Anyways, throughout AIT we all dealt with the grueling death by powerpoint, redundant physical training and constant badgering from the instructors and our platoon sergeants. After hours, which meant after we ate "Dinner" at 1700-1730, we were released until our 2000 bedtime formation. Around 3 hours of freedom a day!! Sometimes I studied, but usually not. Most days I would just mill about with my buddies or sit in my room and read novels. Half of the time I went to the gym or would go on additional runs. Bedtime formation was always a big ordeal because this was the formation most people were late too. Either they were asleep in their rooms, on post somewhere or actually skipping the formation the result was the same: we all stood there until every single solider was accounted for and present. Sometimes if it was just one person we would get dismissed, knowing that when that person showed up they would have hell to pay to the Sergeant on duty. Most nights I talked with my then girlfriend and read my novels to sleep. This girl is no longer my girlfriend but a bullet I dodged only by what I'll assume is divine intervention or dumb luck. She's in jail currently and my wife of almost 6 years now has a degree, serves in national guard and is a phenomenal mother to my two boys and the one boy in her womb. I am truly thankful that relationship didn't work out...
Anyways, again, most nights sleep found me quickly as I read alot by my lamp light. My roommate didn't mind me reading and had an eye mask. He didn't snore and neither did I, so sleep came easy for us. We each awoke at the same time and motivated each other to get up when we didn't feel like it. We weren't buddies but we were roommates in a tough situation for 4 months so we got to know each other pretty well. I'm thankful I roomed with him and not the guy next in line alphabetically, because that guy was a prick and he's lucky I didn't beat his ass in basic training when he was my roommate.... Good times.
Rinse and repeat this daily cycle for four months and you've got AIT in a nutshell for combat medics. I wouldn't do it again ever unless my life or my families life depended on it. I just wish my lunch times were that amusing still!