Ask someone the first thing that comes to mind when they think of America. I guarantee
at least half of the population will say freedom.
Have you ever thought of how we became “land of the free, home of the brave?”
America is free because of the millions of men and women who risk their lives
to make sure America dominates over all other countries.
Serving in the military is no piece of cake. Apparently the television network,
FOX, thinks the military is all fun and games and they seem to be going out of
their way to mock it.
It seems as though every month some station has to invent a new “reality”
show. To be honest, I never heard of “Survivor” until it was over, and
I don’t care if those people ate bugs or whatever they did to win money.
Another show, “Temptation Island” tested the morals of media viewers
and became quite popular. While I don’t agree with the morals of that show,
if those people want to risk their relationships for it, so be it.
However, this new “Boot Camp” survivor series crosses the line. Not
because it is another survivor show; I couldn’t care less if there were 50
“Survivor” series. But I will not keep my mouth shut about one on boot
camp.
This show is a complete mockery of everything our military persons go through
to guarantee our freedom. It’s a mockery of the military, and if you want
to read far enough into it, it can essentially be viewed as a mockery of our freedom.

Why does this bother me so much? Why do I care so much about this particular show?
In addition to the aforementioned reasons, I have one more, a personal reason
that is what drove me to write this column.
The first time I saw a preview for the boot camp show was the Tuesday of spring
break. The Friday before, I flew down to Texas to watch my boyfriend graduate
from boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base.
All the hard work he and others went through is being completely laughed at by
FOX. It makes me sick that a television show thinks they can adequately show what
the military is like by giving people money to participate in their fake little
show.
In the real military, every enlisted person goes through personal hell, also known
as boot camp. Depending on which military branch they enter, their hell will last
anywhere from seven to 14 weeks.
Imagine being in the boots (the ones you shined last night for an hour and are
sparkling so your training instructor can see his reflection in them) of a trainee.
If you’re lucky you might get four hours of sleep each night, and that’s
pushing it. After the “nap” you get each night, you go through such
intense physical and mental training each day you wonder how you’ll ever
be able to survive to repeat it the next day, and the day after that.
In addition to all this training, you better make sure everything in your barracks
is spic-and-span, and don’t ever slack on your detailed jobs.
All of your freedom (you know, the freedom you’re risking your life for)
is taken away. You can’t speak without permission, eat without permission
or even sit down without permission. Count your lucky stars that you can breathe
without permission.
You are mentally torn to pieces and physically it takes every ounce of energy
you have inside of you just to take the next step (but you better make sure that
step is in sync with the rest of your flight).
Don’t mess up, that’s asking for another week of hell, or at the very
least, being so ripped apart by your 5-foot tall TI that you’re ready to
jump in front of the next passing car.
Sound rough? This isn’t even an ounce of the hell our military persons go
through during boot camp. This is why they deserve the utmost respect, and this
isn’t even going into everything they encounter after boot camp.
Obviously FOX feels differently. In my opinion, they think it’s just another
money-making idea, and a great way to mock our military.
I know what my boyfriend was like before going through hell (boot camp), and I
know what he is like now. I will admit those seven weeks were rough for me, but
compared to what he was going through, I was walking on sunshine. Those seven
weeks took him and tested him, and he passed.
He graduated from boot camp with honors, but more than that, he graduated with
maturity, respect, honor and pride. He is 6-foot tall and rather built and had
to take orders and criticism from a 5-foot tall, skinny TI.
He learned more about himself than I think he ever imagined. Granted, this is
my personal story based on someone close to me, but it is the closest I will ever
come to actually knowing what our military persons endure. I sure as hell wouldn’t
learn it from a TV show.
To me, the media is taking the honor all military persons earn and laughing at
it. What’s even worse is that ignorant, greedy, dishonorable idiots are not
only accepting this, they are participating in it! And people will actually tune
in to watch. Let me reword that … IGNORANT people will tune in to watch. It
completely disgusts me.
Maybe when the idiots are done with their little money-provoked escapade, the
losers will wonder why they were so stupid and the winner may be a little richer.
But they will never go through the actual military experience of boot camp and
emerge with the maturity, respect, honor and pride real survivors of real boot
camp have.

E-mail the author: Heather KinghornLIFE Staff Writer