Hi my name is Daniel Silva and I’m a Cav Scout (19D). Joining the Army was something I have wanted a long time for myself. I wanted to serve my country and provide better opportunities for my future.

During my time as a Future Soldier, I experienced a lot of hurry up and wait. In my process for enlistment I had a lot of going back and forth.

I loved doing PT at the station with Recruiters and the other Future Soldiers. Physically I prepared myself with personal pt, with p90x and working at the recruiting station once a week. The last thing I wanted to do as a civilian was to spend time with as many friends and family as possible. The hardest part of saying goodbye was saying goodbye to my son.

 I was nervous and excited to begin the next chapter in my life. Leaving later in the year, I was excited that I knew I would have the opportunity to come home over Christmas break for Block Leave/Exodus. I couldn’t wait to ship and I would look at all kinds of information about my job and what to expect. I spent a lot of time on YouTube watching all the videos about my job. I spoke with buddies of mine that went to BCT and got some pointers, too. I remember thinking about being in front of Drill Sergeants and that was intimidating. I didn’t want to mess up and I wanted to stay off the “radar.”

We had the Shark Attack and that was alright. Things are cool now with our squad and the Drill Sergeants. They were intimidating, but they taught us valuable information, and are now more relaxed.

I think red phase was the worst. It was a large squad with a large amount of people wanting to do things differently. The most challenging part of red phase was learning to work together and getting smoked when some people couldn’t follow orders or messed up. I love getting letters from family and friends, and now that our squad recently graduated from the BCT (part of the OSUT) we’ve got a few privileges. I can use my phone to call family and friends and hear about my son. We were warned that we can lose these privileges though.

Another hard part of BCT is following orders on missions where new leadership is appointed. Things are done differently than you are used to, or the way things were previously done. Just listen to the direction instructed onto your leaders from the Drill Sergeants. Stay positive and stay motivated. Stay connected with friends and family and the time will fly by. It’s always encouraging to receive letters and pictures - so stay in touch with friends and family.