6 quick tips sergeants wished their new troops knew
SUMMARY
Ah, the new soldier. A blessing for the command and an absolute nightmare for the first-line supervisor. You don't know if they're about to blow a few paychecks worth of money on strippers, salvia, or an overpriced Camaro. Worse, they could be the kind to hit on local girls and accidentally stumble into the first sergeant's daughter. Here's what the sergeant wishes the new kids would know before they even showed up:
Seriously, don't buy the car
OMG, you have a bonus check, and a few paychecks and so many people want to loan you money against your guaranteed government paycheck (unless you are in the Coast Guard, and then it's mostly guaranteed but not totally, right?).
But you can Uber for a week or two and wait to buy a car you actually like at a decent price instead of getting the first Camaro you can see on the lot.
Really, you don't need to get laid right away
Yeah, it's been a long time since you got some. Unless, of course, you were one of the folks hooking up with randos behind the port-a-potties at basic training during blue phase which, ew, gross. You need to get checked out.
If you can get some on your first week at a new duty base, congrats. If you happened to get some back home during leave, good work, but don't jump through a bunch of stupid hoops to get a new notch in your belt here the first week. Feel free to take a couple of weeks to get the lay of the land, find out who's likely healthy and who is or isn't a good idea for a partner.
Stumbling into the first dark room you can find is a good way to trigger IEDs, not a good way to enjoy yourself.
Drink in moderation
Yeah! You can finally drink again! Time to —!
No. Just no. Go get a couple of beers and sip on them. New soldiers drinking until they asphyxiate on their own vomit is the stupidest of cliches. Get drunk. Enjoy it. Get tipsy. Fall over once or twice.
Just don't drive, and don't keep drinking until you fall over a balcony. Please. Your NCO support channel has their own stuff to do this weekend that doesn't include talking to the MPs about your untimely demise.
Avoid literally any place that advertises to you
Don't care if it says "We accept junior enlisted," "Finance E-1 and up," "All ranks welcome" — if it advertises to the military, you shouldn't be there. Those signs are basically the equivalent of a "Free Candy" sign on the side of a van, and you're the unsuspecting child.
Please, don't get in the van.
If (s)he has a military dependent ID, (s)he's not for you
It does not matter how many times he or she bats their eyes at you, flexes their pecks, or makes obscene gestures with their mouth while pointing at your belt, you are not to engage with them if there is a single sign that they might be the child of a military member or married to one (especially married to one).
Just go find a local hottie...or maybe set up an online dating account.
Do like, four sit-ups every day
Yeah, you're out of basic and AIT. Congratulations. But when your physical training drops to just the morning formations, there's a chance that you're going to start sucking every time you squeeze yourself into some overly tight PT shorts. So, please, for the love of all physical training regulations and military readiness, just do a couple of sit-ups every night before you nuzzle up to your PlayStation controller.
