Being in the Army was a whole new experience for me. I had heard a lot of stories from my friends and family who had served in the military before, but nothing could prepare me for the reality of my first week of enlistment.
As soon as I arrived in camp, I was thrown into a world of unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar rules.
Could not book out for the first two weeks
The first few days in camp were hectic, and I was overwhelmed by the constant activity and the strict rules that were in place. I wasn’t sure how I was going to survive the next two years.
I remember when we were completely cut off from the outside world and all of our needs had to be met within the camp for the first two to three weeks after enlisting.
It was what we called the confinement week, where as told by our commanders was a period of time for us to get used to army life as we transitioned from a teen into a soldier, from civilian to military.
This was especially difficult for one of my camp mates who was a smoker. He had run out of cigarettes in the first week as he had only brought two packs in and was desperate for a fix.
Offered me $50 for my cigarettes
He offered me $20 initially for me to sell him a pack of cigarettes which cost only $11 dollars at that time and I was also hesitant to sell it to him as I was quite a heavy smoker even though I had almost 9 packs with me.
The best part of this was that no one else in my section and platoon smoked and the company only had a few smokers.
Soon, his desperation got the better of him as he kept offering me higher and higher, till it reached $50.
In the end, I sold him four packs in the confinement week, made $200 from him and cut down on my smoking. It was the easiest $200 I have earned in my life.
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