The Journey - Part Three - To Orlando

 

On February 20, 1990, I woke up in a totally civilian world for the final time. I had to be at the recruiter’s office mid-afternoon for the final steps before being sent into Chicago. I was at my parent’s house in Lindenwood, and we planned on a big lunch at Red Lobster. I called my fiancee one final time before we left to say my goodbyes to a few family friends in town. 

Lunch was just my mom and me. I made sure to really pack it in since I wasn’t totally sure when my next meal would happen. We had a couple of final things to wrap up at the recruiter’s office, and then he took us to the bus. One other guy was riding along to O’Hare with me. Once we were there, we had to take another bus to MEPS. My recruiter did not explain much of what would happen once we were at MEPS again. I thought we would be put on a plane to Orlando that night. But, instead, we got on a bus and went to the hotel in Des Plains again.

This time the marines there treated us a little harsher. They did not really tolerate our sloppy replies to their orders. It was a rather eye-opening experience since the next day would get totally real for us all. As we left the bus, I lost track of the other guy from Rockford. He was going to Great Lakes and then to SK school. We were all given rooms and told when it was time to eat. We were also told when we would be woken up the following day. One other piece of advice, get some sleep since tomorrow promised to be a very long day.

Not sure how I swung it, but I got a single room. Most people had to pair up. While at dinner, I sat with a guy going back into the Army. We spoke about his prior service and our plans for our respective services. A little later, he and I found the bar in the hotel. We enjoyed a beer when one of the Marines barged in and started giving us a hard time. Since most of the people there that night were minors, he thought we were too. After showing him our IDs, he sat down and had a beer with us.

His attitude slacked up considerably during that 15-20 minute talk. He reminded us not to get drunk since tomorrow would be a very long day. He even let us in on a secret; they would be getting us earlier than they initially told us. Sort of a welcome to the military they do to everyone.

After the Marine left, we had a couple more beers and then found our way to the game room. It was jammed with people just having one last night of fun. Some were dancing, some got in final smokes, and some were trying to score one last time. Myself, I played some pool won $10. I then went to my room pretty early, around 9:00 PM. My room was close to the game room, and the noise stayed pretty constant. Lucky for me, I can typically fall asleep even with the noise. Around 1:00 AM, the Marines broke up the remaining crowd.

At 5:00 AM, there was a pounding on my door. The Marine from last night was correct. It was earlier than the 0600 we had been told. I was up, showered, and eating before most of the others. Many did not eat since they did not get up on time. We were on the bus to MEPS at 0600.

At MEPS, we basically sat around until after lunchtime. Then we were all jammed into one large room. Groups of names were called out, and one person was given a packet of papers for the group. Each group was assigned when their transportation would take them to O’Hare.

One guy, Paul, and I were going to Orlando. We finally made our way to O’Hare by midafternoon. Our flight wasn’t until maybe 9:00 PM, so we had plenty of time to wait. A few groups from MEPS passed us going to their flights. I bought us a couple rounds of beers, and we ate while waiting.

As the time drew closer, I began more excited and more scared. The flight down went smoothly. After we landed, we sort of blindly looked around the airport until we saw another group of confused people. Eventually, we found the bus and made our way to the base. Excitement built as we passed the guardhouse.

We stopped at the RIF building and stood in a hallway, waiting to begin our next steps. I recall it was a humid night. A Chaplin came down the hallway and spoke to each of us. He spent more time with some since he noticed they looked scared.

Finally, we made our way into a large room, where we started filling out some paperwork. Men on one side, women on the other. There was a blackboard with our company numbers, C077 and K051. That is who we would be for the next eight weeks.

Our bags were searched for another “illegal,” we were given orders to shower, shave, and get in a rack. I had a mustache, so that had to come off. Most of what happened that night is a blur. It was already after midnight, and I was pretty tired. The room with all the racks was already dark, so finding an empty one was difficult. But, we all finally did find one.
Oh yes, sleep. It felt oh so amazing. You all know what is coming next, don’t you, the trash can.

Not sure if they just banged on it or tossed it into the compartment, but it did the trick. All of us jumped and made it to the “line.” In the middle of the room paced one of our Company Commanders. He introduced himself and the other CC. Chief Engley, who is a member here, then went on to introduce Petty Officer First Class Adams. Now, I admit I was totally disoriented and confused, but I seriously thought he meant me. Why not? After all, my last name is Adams. So, sure he had to mean me.

I nearly took a step forward when the actual Petty Officer Adams walked past me. That was close to my first be mess up. After some fine words of encouragement, we stumbled outside into the dark morning. Humidity hung in the air, and totally foreign sounds filled my ears. It was the sounds of recruits heading to the galley. Their cadences filled the air in a melody I had never heard or imagined before.

All of the new people marched to the galley in RIF formation, 5 wide and with a monotonous left/right cadence being called. We still had long hair and were in civilian clothes. Oh my, this was going to be interesting. I’ll wrap up that first day tomorrow.