FROM ADMIN: IMPORTANT!

[Craig]

Hey all,
This came from a a really great source of info and I need to pass it on to you guys....Here is the info:
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Hey Craig, I just wanted to give you a heads-up for your deppers.
Something new is going on with recruits graduating and being held back at Great Lakes due to "anemia."

We've been alerted there have been 3 since yesterday that can't leave!!!! Please advise your deppers to seriously get into taking vitamins and/or eating a lot of red meat prior to BC to get their iron levels up. I cannot figure out why this is going on. Sounds like they have been doing blood draws on the recruits either right before or right after Battle Stations. This is a new 'thing', do you know about this or why they might have been doing this?
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So guys, start taking those vitamins. One thing you don't want is to be stuck at RTC Great Lakes waiting for your iron levels to go up. It would totally suck. Vitamins are cheap... Start taking them....
Craig
NavyDEP Admin

[TYWong]

So why would they be drawing blood before/after battle stations?

Also (since you can't take vitamins while you're in RTC anyways) Eat red meats, egg yolks and green greens, like spinach, broccoli... etc to get your iron up through foods.

[rac]

Hey all,
This came from a a really great source of info and I need to pass it on to you guys....Here is the info:
-----------------------------------------------
Hey Craig, I just wanted to give you a heads-up for your deppers.
Something new is going on with recruits graduating and being held back at Great Lakes due to "anemia."

We've been alerted there have been 3 since yesterday that can't leave!!!! Please advise your deppers to seriously get into taking vitamins and/or eating a lot of red meat prior to BC to get their iron levels up. I cannot figure out why this is going on. Sounds like they have been doing blood draws on the recruits either right before or right after Battle Stations. This is a new 'thing', do you know about this or why they might have been doing this?
-----------------------------------------------

So guys, start taking those vitamins. One thing you don't want is to be stuck at RTC Great Lakes waiting for your iron levels to go up. It would totally suck. Vitamins are cheap... Start taking them....
Craig
NavyDEP Admin
Vegetarians beware...

[ejrwelch]

vegetarians can get by but they'll have to bulk up on their spinach! yikes this makes me sad since I know Ive had iron trouble in the past! -_- I shall hope for the best though!

[Haasino]

When I went through, there were a lot of Nuke, Aircrew, and AC recruits who ended up in THU because of "bootcamp anemia"... usually females for some reason. Some were discovered during their initial special physicals... others were discovered when they went through a second physical for another special programs waiver in THU. If they're testing blood after Battle Stations now, it's probably because they realized it wasn't just an issue isolated to just Nukes/Aircrew/ACs.

The biggest issue with this is probably diet... nobody teaches you how to eat at RTC, and there are a lot of recruits... especially the teenagers... who may have never actually learned how to monitor their diet. I saw a lot of recruits who ate little more than Lucky Charms and PB&J sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You all have to be aware of what you need to fuel your body! Vegetarians... you may want to consider your choices because there are barely enough options for the carnivores to keep them properly fueled.

[ejrwelch]

well its usually females because we have our "girl time" and even with a proper diet that can cause a slight iron deficiency. May be if it keeps up as an issue they will have a nutrition brief added to the P-days! Even before I heard about this I was/am worried about my initial blood draw since it may fall on a bag lunch day -_-. Thankfully I havent had an recent issues with my iron but now I am going to be on alert for any signs before I leave!

[rac]

Yeah I know numerous anemic girls but only a few guys. I personally have never had trouble because I always have spinach salad vs lettuce salad and eat red meat often enough. Remember that a lot of vitamins that are tablets end up excreted instead of absorbed.