I am beginning to prepare myself for military service.?

Uh, brutal honesty you want?

Okay, why would you join the Guard in October? They are being shipped overseas---women too!---to the criminal war in Iraq that the U.S. is fighting. They also have duty in the more dangerous Afghanistan, which is not an illegal war.

I suggest you hold off on your patriotic desire until we at least pull out of the illegal war that is the Iraq occupation.

The best physical exercises are running a minimum of 3 miles, 2-3 times a week, doing upper body strength improvement such as sit-ups, push-ups, flutter kicks, weightlifting, dips, pull-ups and chin-ups. Those will best prepare you to be able to pass some of the physical rigors of basic training. Mental exercises are things you will have to learn while you're down there. As long as your heart is into it, your mind will be too. as for the comment regarding "that by joining the national guard and being deployed to Iraq, you are more likely to get raped by another soldier than by an Iraqi" is not entirely true. Yes, bad people do bad things, but for you to blanket all male troops saying that you will be raped by one of them, is outright wrong. As I said, bad people do bad things, but bad people also get their butts whooped by good people who believe that betraying your own is the worst thing that can be done. That report is also over a year old. Rapes among troops are down drastically. Update your sources. And make sure you thank those who give you the opportunity to speak so freely.

My brother is leaving in a month for Coast Gaurd training. He was told to exercise regularly and work on building up his physical strength.

If you have a problem with procrastination, you're going to be miserable. The military doesn't even know what that word means. They expect you to do as your told when your told.

Run

Start slow and get used to it. Do it 1 k a day for a while. Then go to 2k every other day. Cardio is the right way to go. Do sit ups and push ups small amount one day and stretch yourself every other day. Start slow if you aren't athletic. Look at Basic training qualifications and try to qualify before you get to basic training. Be willing to do what they tell you and only what they tell you. If they tell you to take the bed sheet off the bed but not to tell you to put it away don't. take it off and have it in your hand ready for an order. Even if every other time they tell you to "take the bed linens off and put them away" Don't assume that they have said to put them away. Have a friend do stuff like this to you. Tell you one thing and then tell you to do it over and over until your use to it then change and see if you listen to what he/ she says.

Work out, work out, work out. Do cardio and lots of it. Work on upper body strenght...you're going to need it. Make sure you can run 5 miles with 50 lbs on your back. That will start you out with Boot Camp. Toughen up....learn not to cry and to stare straight ahead without laughing. Don't worry about procrastinating....they won't allow it. Cut your hair...short. You will be glad you did. The army is not big on showers out in the field. Lastly....(and I only say this to the women who enlist).... Keep saying to yourself...."Put on your Big Girl Panties and deal with it". This is what my son did before he left for boot and made it through with flying colors.

Additional: You should be very proud of yourself. Hooah!!

run run run, lots of pushups, lots of sit ups, don't worry about being a procrastinator, cause you don't have a choice when you get there, they tell you to do something, you don't say, I'll get to it later. The best advice I can give you is do what ever you can to NOT stand out, blend in as much as possible, you don't want them saying your name

if you dont mind going to war then by all means go..however remember that: ". Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq."-LA times

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-...