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I agree. I went in 2021, and we got them then, and it’s dumb. I would have rather just finished my training without that distraction. Plus having phones leads to shit like this
They never fully get them back till graduation, at least when I went in 2021. We would get them on Sundays for like 15 minutes, then they’d be locked up again
The drill sergeants had them locked up somewhere. We’d get them for like 15 minutes on Sundays then they’d confiscate them again. We don’t have free access. It was dumb.
Slimy civilian here, came to ask that question. It’s wild to me that recruits get cellphones while still in basic. My buddies that served did so in the mid 90s and every one of them (Army, Marines and Air Force) talked about having their personal items collected and packaged up for storage at the beginning of basic, and they didn’t see it again until after graduation.
They still do that. I’m not a soldier but my assumption is during “basic” they don’t have free use of their phones. He’s likely in the “school house” part of training.
In my branch during basic you don’t have free use of your phone. You get it once a week for 5 minutes if you’re lucky, to call home. Outside of very specific high intensity courses we always had our phone after basic. The dipshits who couldn’t stay focused on learning their trade self selected into easier careers.
It’s a dumb dumb test. You’ll be an adult again when you report to your unit. Military can’t filter every distraction.
He’s still in normal basic. I’m army, and how it works, is your phone is locked up till Sunday, where they get it for 15 minutes, and it’s highly monitored.
I don't even know when this started. I went through in 2016 and we got our phones for like 15 minutes when we phased up. My brothers, who have only recently graduated airforce basic, didn't get theirs all that regularly either
Oh that’s nice, I went in 2017. Absolutely no chance lol but we were off the chain. We stayed in red phase so long 😂 we damn near went straight red* phase -> gold graduation lol
We got to make a phone call home or check our bank info/pay bills every Saturday when I went through Air Force basic. A guy in my flight got washed back two weeks because he got caught scrolling Instagram during that time. Went through in late 2021, I remember being told we got that many phone calls because of Covid and you never knew what was going on back home with it
Like I said man, I went through during Covid, so they made some changes so we could keep up to date with our families. We were still given limited time and weren’t allowed to just scroll random apps, we had to make a phone call or check banking apps
We got our phones in 2013 but it was more of a: "Hey, you guys can keep your phone in your rack... try and use it, we dare you... GO ON... TRY IT" which I felt was much worse than not having it at all lol.
After red phase, we got to use our phone if we had one for one hour on Sunday, otherwise we could use the landlines to call family in that same hour. 2010 Army
Are recruits allowed to have their phones again? I went through basic almost twenty years ago and they took our phones right away and we didn't get them back until after graduation.
I see no problem with people having phones, they just need to follow the rules about phone use like anything else. If you can't get them to obey the regulations about phones then how can you expect them to obey any regulations at all??
Phones are fine for the military training after basic. In basic they are just a distraction and I think it’s important to learn how to go without them, in case they are deployed somewhere where they can’t use them
In 2003 when I was in Kuwait waiting to move north to Iraq I bought a phone at the vendor on post. You’d buy SIM cards to use the phone. I could call home for .9 per minute while AT&T was .94per minute and they charged you 1 minute when you dialed and when you hung up they charged you for a full minute. So a $10.00 card got you 7 minutes.
But one of our guys had to go to the airport in Kuwait City and used his AT&T card on a phone in the airport and it was .16 per minute.
I can’t understand why people don’t understand that having a phone is just one more regulation you have to obey. If people aren’t disciplined enough to not use their phones, how are you going to get them to respond to an emergency at sea?
Well said. You can’t be distracted during an actual emergency while deployed. It could get people hurt or killed. Not having phone in basic prepares you to be able to do that
The only exception I can see is maybe 15-20 minutes on Sunday to call family. When I went through basic long time ago, majority of cellphones were flip phones. We didn't have access to them at all until after graduation so calling home was using payphones.
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Why the fuck do they get phones it’s lame as fuck
I agree. I went in 2021, and we got them then, and it’s dumb. I would have rather just finished my training without that distraction. Plus having phones leads to shit like this
I went in 2008, no phone for me.
That’s how it should be
What week do they get phones back now?
They never fully get them back till graduation, at least when I went in 2021. We would get them on Sundays for like 15 minutes, then they’d be locked up again
2009, same. We earned our phone time and it was a wall of phones by the laundry.
I went in 93. What's a phone? Lol
In 1992, I got one call when I arrived to let my family know I was alright, and didn't get another for about six weeks I think.
2003, mail + payphones on Sunday was all I remember, and was honestly a good way to keep us from being distracted I think
2000 and no phones. We had to wait by the phone bank for our turn to call home.
I went in 1991. No phone for me either. We wrote letters. I didn’t have a phone until 1996 and I was an E5 then.
That’s crazy, I went usmc in January and we didn’t get phones. What do you mean got them? Like in the squad bay at night you had free access?
The drill sergeants had them locked up somewhere. We’d get them for like 15 minutes on Sundays then they’d confiscate them again. We don’t have free access. It was dumb.
Slimy civilian here, came to ask that question. It’s wild to me that recruits get cellphones while still in basic. My buddies that served did so in the mid 90s and every one of them (Army, Marines and Air Force) talked about having their personal items collected and packaged up for storage at the beginning of basic, and they didn’t see it again until after graduation.
They still do that. I’m not a soldier but my assumption is during “basic” they don’t have free use of their phones. He’s likely in the “school house” part of training.
In my branch during basic you don’t have free use of your phone. You get it once a week for 5 minutes if you’re lucky, to call home. Outside of very specific high intensity courses we always had our phone after basic. The dipshits who couldn’t stay focused on learning their trade self selected into easier careers.
It’s a dumb dumb test. You’ll be an adult again when you report to your unit. Military can’t filter every distraction.
He’s still in normal basic. I’m army, and how it works, is your phone is locked up till Sunday, where they get it for 15 minutes, and it’s highly monitored.
Interesting. So he plans on doing a Q&A in 15 minutes? Bold.
They get their phones for an hour now allegedly. My fresh-from-AIT troop said that.
That’s insane. It was 15 minutes in 2021
Yep same
Given that this is just posted, the boot is probably signed out on holiday block leave.
Because the brass don’t want to “separate them from their support structure.”
No this isn’t my opinion. I’m directly quoting a GO I heard this from
I don't even know when this started. I went through in 2016 and we got our phones for like 15 minutes when we phased up. My brothers, who have only recently graduated airforce basic, didn't get theirs all that regularly either
I went through in 07 and we didn’t have them at all.
Did you guys get calls home at all back then? I mean aside from the "I made it to basic training, see you in 10 weeks" call
We got one before graduation just to coordinate shit
We got phone calls once a week in 2000. We all had to wait in line by the pay phone bank.
We didn’t get our phones, 12B here, until the last like two weeks when we got to go on pass. So me thinks this guy is a holdover.
When did you go? I went in 2021 as a 12b and we got them for 15 minutes every Sunday. It was dumb but that’s how they do it now
Oh that’s nice, I went in 2017. Absolutely no chance lol but we were off the chain. We stayed in red phase so long 😂 we damn near went straight red* phase -> gold graduation lol
I wonder if the phone thing started post Covid, because 2017 is still recent
We got to make a phone call home or check our bank info/pay bills every Saturday when I went through Air Force basic. A guy in my flight got washed back two weeks because he got caught scrolling Instagram during that time. Went through in late 2021, I remember being told we got that many phone calls because of Covid and you never knew what was going on back home with it
wait what the fuck, air force got phones now? 2018 we only got them twice for phone calls
Like I said man, I went through during Covid, so they made some changes so we could keep up to date with our families. We were still given limited time and weren’t allowed to just scroll random apps, we had to make a phone call or check banking apps
Blame way up leadership.
We got our phones in 2013 but it was more of a: "Hey, you guys can keep your phone in your rack... try and use it, we dare you... GO ON... TRY IT" which I felt was much worse than not having it at all lol.
1985 basic training, 1987 boot camp. No phones whatsoever - just writing and maybe a chance to call from the payphones on Sundays.
Air Force took my phone for 8 weeks, as it should be
Go back to calling cards and pay phones.
‘ask me anything’ buddy you’ve been there like 3 weeks wtf do you know lmfao
My man said essayons a ama
Are you even an engineer if you don’t randomly say essayons ?
He typed this during his 15 minutes of phone time he earned by shooting expert this is crazy like why not call your family
Adversarial honeypots incoming to OOP’s inbox.
I don't know shit about shit AMA
Lmao I hope the nasty girls let them have it
OK, “What did you bring to Basic that would be problematic when you’re caught behind enemy lines in the A Sǎu valley?”
Navy instead of Army so grain of salt, maybe, but we didn't get our phones in basic in '18-'19. I think that has now changed.
I went to army basic in 2021, and we’d get them 15 minutes on Sundays. I think a lot of it changed post covid
Army been getting theirs a while, why army has the most videos of kids being dumb at basic.
It’s kinda stupid.
Even in the Air Force they didn’t let us have our phones every weekend lol
Got it twice for 10 minutes besides the I made it talk.
2nd was basically to explain graduation
Lethality
After red phase, we got to use our phone if we had one for one hour on Sunday, otherwise we could use the landlines to call family in that same hour. 2010 Army
Are recruits allowed to have their phones again? I went through basic almost twenty years ago and they took our phones right away and we didn't get them back until after graduation.
They still confiscate them, but recruits get them for 15 minutes on Sundays. They don’t fully get them back till graduation
When did this start? Phones at bootcamp?
Navy boot in 2017… they had me put it in a box and mail that bitch back home lmao
In 2010, we got a call home at the phone banks on week 3 and then a 10 min call home for Christmas.
I see no problem with people having phones, they just need to follow the rules about phone use like anything else. If you can't get them to obey the regulations about phones then how can you expect them to obey any regulations at all??
Phones are fine for the military training after basic. In basic they are just a distraction and I think it’s important to learn how to go without them, in case they are deployed somewhere where they can’t use them
In 2003 when I was in Kuwait waiting to move north to Iraq I bought a phone at the vendor on post. You’d buy SIM cards to use the phone. I could call home for .9 per minute while AT&T was .94per minute and they charged you 1 minute when you dialed and when you hung up they charged you for a full minute. So a $10.00 card got you 7 minutes.
But one of our guys had to go to the airport in Kuwait City and used his AT&T card on a phone in the airport and it was .16 per minute.
I can’t understand why people don’t understand that having a phone is just one more regulation you have to obey. If people aren’t disciplined enough to not use their phones, how are you going to get them to respond to an emergency at sea?
Well said. You can’t be distracted during an actual emergency while deployed. It could get people hurt or killed. Not having phone in basic prepares you to be able to do that
The only exception I can see is maybe 15-20 minutes on Sunday to call family. When I went through basic long time ago, majority of cellphones were flip phones. We didn't have access to them at all until after graduation so calling home was using payphones.
I think this is good for new people