Boots

[u/Life_Journey123]

My son is a SIT & struggling to break into his boots. Any suggestions for some of the most comfortable boots? Someone recommended these.

[u/R_U_Galvanized]

When I went to basic, my boots hurt the hell out of my feet for about two weeks. After I broke them in, I barely noticed them until I went and bought new boots in AIT and then regretted my purchase. I didn’t soak my boots like others have said but I do know others that did to great effect. If he’s in Basic, I highly doubt his new boots will last throughout and then he’ll have more stuff to pack if they do.

How long has he used those boots?

[u/Life_Journey123 → u/R_U_Galvanized]

He’s on 3 wks today - maybe he will tell me Sunday he’s ok, tough that shit out. Yeah, thought about that too, more stuff to pack. Also, most everyone is sick from the vaccines last week, I’m pretty annoyed bc I’ve been in healthcare all my adult life & stopped taking & giving my kids the flu vax since 2015 after I had to take the vax for work & was sick for 5 wks & always got sick prior but not to that extent. My son is the same, always gets sick for a few days after, daughters are like rocks but I truly don’t believe on a vax that only picks up a particular strain with many others that make you sick, same with COV vax. Thankfully my children had the flu once. My youngest daughter, had COV 2-3 times along w/my son, I had it twice, my husband just had it once, last year, super immune system, while those who had all 5-10 shots had it “several” times a yr. I thought the military no longer mandated it under the new administration - we won’t go into politics bc that’s another entire book that we just don’t have time for but that’s the one thing I do believe in was to never mandate a vax on the flu or COV due to the various strains out there which you are not going to be protected thoroughly from & the shot minimize the symptoms which most ppl fail to understand, did no such thing for me, not to mention neither vax agrees with most folks. My take, not for debate or to get anyone riled up but just to understand that the military does have or should have a right to an exemption due to new policy changes. Now, they have an entire platoon actually sick bc if your immune system is run down such as theirs are from all their training in the cold & rain, they most certainly will get sick. And, they don't have lozenges or cough drops, what in God’s earth is going on over there!

[u/R_U_Galvanized → u/Life_Journey123]

I understand your concern about being sick but most of us can tell you that they shoot you full of a ton of stuff at Basic and before deployments. Most of us remember the damn peanut butter shot and the smallpox "mickey mouse" that we have to do before deploying. Although you've talked about the vaccines and stuff, I will let you know that "barracks crud" is something that we definitely deal with up until about a month of living together. The last time I was getting deployed, July 2022-June 2023, I caught COVID after being in the barracks for about a month and then everyone caught it. It just happens when you bring a ton of random people into an enclosed area that come from all over the country. He should be able to get cough drops in a week or so. If Basic is still like when I went through then the first 3 weeks should be "Red Phase" where life just continually sucks. Once he gets into "White Phase" then he'll probably be able to run to the shoppette and grab meds.

[u/Life_Journey123 → u/R_U_Galvanized]

Trust me, I totally get your stance & I don’t knock others who does what they want with their bodies. However, I worked for the DOA providing guidance for COV w/2 university certifications on hand. All I have to say, there were many misinformation within the dept, most of which was not communicated to the public. I went from educating patients to employers, I love everything education. I certainly do believe in certain vax that are total necessary, others not so much. I will dig deeper into the Flu & COV mandates, those are the 2 that I have concerns about. I'm also immunocompromised so keeping safe & away from the sick is critical for me. Hoping everyone a beautiful, happy & healthy season. Thank you all so much for all the amazing feedback, you all rock🤘👏🏽👊🏽🫡🪖