Sleeping conditions while in bootcamp
 

I'm a real light sleeper and I'm curious what the sleeping conditions will be like at bootcamp? I can only imagine what it will be like with 80+ people in one room... Is it hard to fall asleep? Did get woken up a lot from other people? Is it very quiet? Are you so exausted after each day that it was not a problem falling asleep and staying asleep? Would it be better to have the top or bottom bunk?

I'm a light sleeper, but I never had a problem falling asleep at bootcamp, you're generally pretty worn out by the end of the day. I only really woke up a lot if I had watch that night or if my bunkmate did.

I preferred the top bunk because you don't have to worry about hitting your head. Bottom bunk was probably a little darker though (and also easier to get out of, if your bunkmate opens their rack it can be tricky to get out of the top rack). It also depends where in the compartment your rack is. I loved being in the dark back corner, being right outside the fishbowl wasn't as nice (for both noise and light levels). We didn't get to pick though, it was at the RDCs discretion. Recruit leadership will pretty much always be right around the entrance/fishbowl area but everyone else was determined somewhat randomly.

I found it was easier to make the top bunk. You have stuff hanging from hooks at the end of your rack and you were not supposed to move it while you make your rack. The flip side is after a long day, climbing up into the top rack sucks. It is also really hard to climb down quietly without waking up your rack mate.

For the first half of boot camp I went to sleep right away but the second half it sometimes took me a little while to fall asleep. A lot of that will have to do with your division though. Some divs just freaking talk all the time after lights out and can't figure out how to freaking whisper.

We always had a large amount of people stay up after lights out. People will be writing letters, talking to friends, working out, stuff like that. You're usually pretty tired at the end of the day though, so falling asleep is easy. I had a bottom rack once I got out of P-Days and I loved it. It feels a lot more cozy to me. Plus it's darker and with your towels being in the way, you're a little more hidden from prowling night watch RDCs (Depending on which direction your rack is facing). Top rack is pain at first, but you get used to it. Just remember to take it easy coming down after you've gotten your peanut butter shot :rofl:

I read in some other forum that you cant really write bootcamp letters every night and can only on the weekend? That's what someone says they werent allowed to write each night. You think choosing a rack closest to the bathrooms is good?

The only time you're technically allowed to write letters is holiday routine aka Sundays and holidays. These are also the only times you can mail them. But once the lights go out and the RDCs leave, some people will write. You can get in trouble if the OOD comes in and catches you, but generally they only come in once per night and they never came in right after taps for us, usually like 1AM.

Close to the head is convenient, but if anyone's awake in the middle of the night, they'll probably be in the head so it might be a little noisier.

You can, just don't get caught lol A lot of interesting things can happen after taps. Our OOD didn't rove our berthing until around 0200ish. Also you don't get to pick your racks, your RDCs pick them for you. It's just luck really. A lot of movement and noise is near the bathroom, so I wouldn't like it personally.

Our RDCs were pretty chill. People wrote letters every night. Some even fell asleep writing lol. As long as your stuff's squared away when your RDCs get there in the mornings, you're good.
We all chose our own racks at first, but when people started getting separated, RDCs moved us to fill the empty racks.
A rack by the head or fishbowl is a not a good choice if you're a light sleeper.