Schedule
Saturday: We flew in the night before we had to report and stayed at IHG Abrams Hotel. This is the best option as the hotel is on post and getting a hotel off post can be risky.
Sunday: The report time on your orders will most likely say 1200. Most of the class was there and ready a few hours before this, yet we did not get started at all until 1200.
Monday: Clothing and sales. This is where you will have the opportunity to purchase any packing list items that you have not bought before.
Tuesday-Friday: These days you will be either inprocessing or doing classes.
-Inprocessing: This will be a variety of appointments including medical (visual, shots, etc), dental, DEERS (in case you don’t have a CAC and to enroll family/dependents)
-Classes: This will be put on by the cadre in between inprocessing appointments and will include classes on a lot of Army basics such as wear and appearance of uniform, drill and ceremony (marching around), Army physical fitness (ACFT, PRT, etc.), and many others.
Saturday: PT (Physical Training) with the commander in the morning. We went on a 2 mile run at about an 8 minute pace. Then we received a pass to go to the PX on base for a few hours to buy extra things we may still need.
Sunday: This was Easter Sunday and they allowed us to attend the Church service of our choice. There was no training scheduled at all this weekend (most weekends we train on Saturdays) so we did laundry and had free time to do personal things (call home, civilian job stuff, etc) in the barracks.
Miscellaneous Notes from Week 1
-There will be a lot of downtime during this first week while you wait for everyone else to complete their appointments. Bring notes, reading/study material, the DCC SOP, etc. with you to keep you busy while you wait. I’d also recommend during this time to grab battle buddies and practice Drill and Ceremony, especially if you’re new to the military.
-The more prepared you are according to the packing list and welcome letter, the less stressed you’ll be this week. However, there were people who came with literally no paperwork and no clothing items and were able to gather everything they needed, so if you don’t have everything you will most likely be fine as well.
-Early mornings. Each day this week is a pretty early wake up between 4:00-5:00am. Many people had difficulties with this and difficulties staying asleep during the day during all of the powerpoint classes and especially without coffee (yup, no coffee is allowed in 6 weeks at DCC).
-There is no PT this week, except on Saturday morning. It might be smart to do some PT in the evenings to get acclimated to the weather and especially because you won’t be doing anything physically demanding during the days.
-Running. Make sure you begin a running/exercise program before attending DCC. A lot of people are out of shape and struggling. If you are prepared physically, then it would eliminate a lot of stress/problems for you while you're here.
-Rooming situation: You will share a room and bathroom with one other roommate. Rooms are basic essentials: (desk, chair, bed, closet). Beds have to be made every morning in a military manner (youtube "hospital corners") and rooms have to be cleaned/organized in a certain way.
-Most days this week ended between 1800-1900 and then you were free to do what you'd like in your rooms.