Editor's Note: While this aritcle is intended to address the American Cadet Alliance's annual training camp and is somewhat ACA-specific, there are many pointers here that apply to any cadet program's summer training.

Hello, I'm Cadet Senior Chief Petty Officer Joseph M. Land, Jr. I'm the Senior Cadet Advisor to the National Commandant and this will be my seventh Annual Training. I thought I'd write a few pointers for those of you new to ACA Annual Training. I've broken them down into a couple of categories to help you out. These are things that are tried and tested, so trust me they work. If you have gone to camp before and know something else you think would be helpful for people to know feel free to send it out over the ACA-NET. A special thanks goes out to C/SSgt Farley for her contribution and special insight to the hints that females especially need.

Preparation

• Start drinking less soda NOW. By reducing the amount of sugar your body intakes now you will not feel "weak" at camp by not having all that sugar.
• IMPORTANT! Make sure you study your knowledge before going to camp. General Orders, Meaning of Aye, Aye Sir, Mission of the ACA, etc… all of this will be on the AT 2005 website. ( www.adventurebeginshere.org ) soon.
• Stencil everything you bring and make sure you wash it all at least once before you pack it. This insures that the stenciling won't wash off. I recommend buying a stenciling marker from a base exchange.
• Start waking up relatively early to get your body ready.
• You should also be running and exercising to be ready for camp. Make sure you do these early in the morning after you wake up so you are used to doing this.
• Make sure to bring an address book with the addresses of your friends and family because at camp you WILL have to write to somebody. We don't care if it's your girlfriend/boyfriend but make sure the envelopes aren't too embarrassing.
• Get a good pair of insoles for your boots. They will help reduce the number of blisters you receive on the bottom of your foot.
• Make sure that you bring an address book you don't mind people from camp putting their info in. You'll make a lot of friends at camp if you bring this they can be friends for life.
• If you wear contacts bring a pair of glasses. You are not allowed to wear contacts on the firing range. It is unauthorized, dangerous (risk of gun powder getting under your contacts and messing up your eyes), and you won't shoot as well.
• If you wear glasses, bring an extra pair if possible. Don't wear your good pair on the Obstacle course or during PT in case they fall off and get stepped on.
• Make sure you bring extra of all the essentials. You don't want to have to borrow someone else's underwear do you? Also extra brigade T-shirts are a good idea…we wear them a lot during camp. You can never have too many boot blousing bands.

Special Tips for Females

• If a female recruit's hair falls below the lower edge of their collar, they are obligated to wear their hair in a tight bun. No hair accessories should be excessively visible, and all hair accessories will match the color of the recruit's hair. (Wal-Mart is a perfect place for all of your hair needs. I recommend purchasing a pack of hair-ties from the "Hair-Care" section of the store in your hair color; they come in different shades of black, blonde, brunette and red.)
• If the bottom of a female recruit's hair is short enough so that it falls above the lower edge of the collar, then the hair may be worn down, however, it must be in a neat, trimmed, feminine style.
• No eccentric hair styles or colors are to be worn, including any color that would not be considered a natural color (this includes bleached), or any two-toned highlights.
• Whether a female recruit's hair be worn up or down, hairspray or gel must be used to secure any loose pieces or "fly-away's." For recruits wearing their hair in a bun, I recommend aerosol hairspray with the highest amount of hold. For recruits wearing their hair down, a pump hairspray with lower hold would be a better choice.
• Hair pins are a helpful item to have, however no large or eccentric clips that would be excessively visible are allowed.
• While the Annual Training Equipment List requires females to bring with them to Annual Training only one white sports-bra, it may be a good idea to bring more than that due to the fact that physical training may be performed more than one time per day, and other physical activities will be performed in the utility delta uniform.
• For the Marine and Army brigades, females wear a V-Neck white undershirt with the service charlie/service class C uniforms; no white should be visible above the collar of the blouse in these uniforms.
• While ACA regulations say that one religious pendant, and one promise ring OR class ring may be worn, it would not be wise to bring with you to AT any piece of jewelry that is of value to you, due to the fact that it could easily get lost or destroyed.

At Camp

• Good shower shoes are a must. Wear them or another form of footwear at all times. If you don't, you will contract Athlete's foot or worse. Believe me they are not called shower shoes for no reason.
• The first few days are tough, don't take it personal. A lot of people get nick names try not to get offended by them.
• Get Gold Bond Medicated Body Powder or equivalent. Rub your feet down with this before you put on your socks. This keeps your feet from getting moist from sweating and greatly reduces the amount of blisters you contract.
• Make sure you take a shower and brush your teeth every chance you can. Don't be shy. People will notice you less if you take a shower with them then if you reeked next to them in ranks.
• If you are someone that is so inclined to attend religious services, attending Church Call can really help you last the upcoming week. Also try to bring a Bible, reading a few scriptures each night is a good way to strengthen your resolve.
• Make sure you use teamwork throughout camp it will make everything go easier. Never make your rack alone, always have someone help you and you in turn go help them. Two heads are better then one and three are better then two.
• Watch what you eat at camp, don't eat too much but make sure not to eat too little…it could lead to serious heath issues. Don't be alarmed if you don't make use of Fort Stewart's fine restroom facilities for the first few days. Because of the nervousness of being at camp and the stress your body tenses up making it so you don't feel the need to go to the restroom. But if you don't "go" after awhile you'll get sick but don't worry too much, the tenseness will eventually subside
• Have fun. Annual Training isn't easy, it's not meant to be. But, you will make friends that can last a lifetime. Have fun, learn new things and find out what you are made of.

I look forward to seeing each and every one of you at Annual Training. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Cadet.Joseph.Land@gmail.com.

I look forward to a great Annual Training.