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GREAT LAKES (NNS) -- When recruits first arrive to boot camp at Recruit Training Command, there is a select group of facilitators whose duty it is to spend the first few days introducing them to military life at the start of their naval careers.
While some Recruit Division Commanders spend roughly eight weeks training and turning civilians into basically trained Sailors, the facilitators at the USS Pearl Harbor barracks have only a few days to prepare the newly arrived recruits on what to expect during training.
Once they're assigned a division, which averages about 80 recruits, they are brought to their temporary compartments in the USS Pearl Harbor where they will be housed for a few in-processing days before moving into their permanent barracks, or "ships" as they are referred to at RTC.
For Steelworker 1st Class Zachary Joyce, leading petty officer, USS Pearl Harbor, these first days are ideal for making an initial good impact on the recruits.
"We're the ones who immediately begin training them following the night of arrival staff who greeted them when they first arrived. Even though they were at night of arrival already learning about training, by the time they get to the Pearl staff, their minds are a bit lax as they have been up all night and they may have already forgotten what they just learned," said Joyce. "We are strict but firm. We're not going to sit here and cuss at recruits and we're not going to belittle them or be derogatory because we realize that they are all civilians who just arrived here. That's how we keep our cool."
There is an average of 27 to 30 facilitators working at the Pearl Harbor with the majority of them as RDC facilitators during their one-year hold period from training divisions. Each new division is assigned one facilitator with the integrated division receiving two for both male and female compartments.
This is the second hold position at the Pearl for Joyce who awakes at 2:30 a.m. to begin his day.
"We receive the recruits anywhere from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. and depending on what day of the week they arrive, we may have them for a few days before their RDCs pick them up," said Joyce, who graduated from boot camp in September 2001. "If there aren't enough recruits to fill a division, then we'll have them longer as they must wait until the following week for more recruits to arrive."
Joyce and the rest of the staff guide the recruits through a number of routines they must complete including how to stamp their uniform items and belongings, females learn about how to properly wear their uncut hair, medical appointments, how to fold and stow their uniforms, and how to make their rack, among many other instructions.
While many recruits are doing as told and following instructions, discouragement may begin to set in with recruits who are second-guessing their decision to enlist.
"The day they arrive there's always recruits that want to go home. In fact, within the few first days I'll ask them if they could go home right now, how many of them would, and at least 50 percent of them will raise their hands," said Joyce.
That's his cue.
At this point, Joyce reminds them of the reason they chose to join, especially those wishing to use the GI Bill - which provides educational assistance to service members, veterans and their dependents for their higher education - as Joyce is continuing doing so.
"I tell them about my schooling and how I'm earning degrees and haven't paid for anything except for the books, with so many benefits regarding college for the recruits and their families, said Joyce, who holds Associate's degree in general studies from Columbia College and is finishing up a Bachelor's of Science in workforce, education and development from Southern Illinois University later this month. "Some think they are not fit for the Navy, but I tell them, 'everything you do here builds up to what you're going to do out in the fleet. Everything about boot camp is attention to detail so learn that here and then go to your follow-on training and then get out to the fleet where it continues getting better.'"
On the flipside of recruits training well, the staff also must deal with recruits who are disobeying orders and not adapting well to their new surroundings.
"It can be frustrating when we get a new batch of recruits and none of them are listening or have any type of military bearing, but one thing we need to realize is we don't know where any of them came from," said Joyce. "They come from every corner of the world and many types of home environments. This is a shell shock to everybody and we can't expect them to immediately have military bearing within the first days.
Joyce will pull some recruits aside individually to counsel them in private. He also understands that recruits may arrive to boot camp with home or personal issues on their mind, which is causing them to act out.
"We can't be their buddies and we're not here to be their friends or have favorites. We're also not recruiters - our job isn't to get them in the military but I do want to keep them here. Sometimes I'll spend half hour on one recruit and by the end of the conversation they'll be all gung-ho with a new attitude and are willing give it a few more weeks," said Joyce.
The Pearl Harbor staff is able to have early or late shifts and still be able to have time for collateral duties for the command or the ship. Joyce has utilized this valuable time to strengthen his naval opportunities.
"This position is a very demanding and strenuous job. Petty Officer Joyce has shown his leadership abilities by attaining his Master Training Specialist and helping qualify several of his peers by holding training, participating in pre-boards and oral boards," said Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic Bradley Free, leading chief petty officer, USS Pearl Harbor. "He is only one of a few first classes that holds the assistant command duty officer qualification that is generally held by chief petty officers."
For Joyce, the camaraderie at the Pearl Harbor is prevalent among personnel including the recruits with whom he can share his naval experiences.
"If I have the recruits for an entire weekend, I'll have time to share sea stories - not for fun, but in the aspect of how it can help them in throughout their career or life changes," said Joyce, who has trained 10 divisions. "As RDC's training a division for eight weeks, we have a lot going on and it isn't always easy to spend quality time talking with the recruits individually, but here at the Pearl we do have more time and have a good rapport with them."
While the staff at the Pearl Harbor may only see the new recruits for no more than a few days, each new week brings in another new training group of recruits and the training cycle begins all over again with new opportunities to have an impact on their future.
"Yes, some might be difficult to deal with, they're young, they're not listening, they're not paying attention, they just don't care, a combination of all that can be frustrating, but it's understandable," said Joyce. "There are plenty of recruits who have pros and cons at what they can do. Just because someone can't do one thing doesn't mean they're not good enough. After sitting down and talking to them, many of them are thankful for the advice we offer them. I really enjoy this side of the base and for any staff hesitating in coming to work here, once you've been here a few months there will be a complete turnaround about how you feel about the place and all you can achieve while here."
Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes physical fitness, seamanship, firearms, firefighting and shipboard damage control along with lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline. About 30,000 to 40,000 recruits graduate annually from RTC and begin their Navy careers.
For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/rtc/.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.26.2018 13:17 |
| Story ID: | 263402 |
| Location: | GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 399 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sailors Making Sailors: USS Pearl Harbor Staff Guide Recruits During their First Days of Boot Camp, by Susan Martin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
