Joining the military and/or graduating from military basic training is no longer a simple matter. A smart candidate will prepare him/herself not only to see a recruiter, but before leaving for boot camp. In addition to the information you can find right here in our About.com U.S. Military pages, we recommend the following books:

1. Arco’s Guide to Joining the Military
An insider’s guide to the recruiting process from the Chief of Air Force Reserve’s Recruiter Training, Lt Col Scott Ostrow. If you want a real “tell it like it is” book about the military recruiting process, this is it.

2. Honor, Courage, Commitment: Navy Boot Camp
The story of 81 men and women, from the time they arrive at the Chicago Airport, to the time they graduate (and in some cases not graduate) from Naval Boot Camp at Great Lakes, Il.

3. Barron’s Guide to Military Careers
From the publisher who brings the renowned ASVAB study guides, a general guide to military enlisted and officer jobs, in simple, civilian (not military “gobbly-gook”) language. A great book when trying to determine which job you want to try for in the military.

 4. Army Basic Training: Be Smart, Be Ready
An “insider’s guide” to Army basic training, written by the former commander of an Army Basic Training Company at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. As a basic training commander, the author was in the unique position to see what goes on “behind the scenes.”

5. Into the Crucible
Want to know what it takes to become a Marine? This book chronicles the events of the 54-hour graduating event, the “Crucible.”

 6. Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot
The true, detailed six men and two women undergoing the testing process for becoming carrier-qualified pilots of the navy’s FA-18 Hornet. If you want to see what it takes to qualify as a Naval Aviator, this book is a good start.

 7. Airman’s Guide
The complete reference on what it takes for a sucessful career as an Air Force airman and NCO. Includes detailed information on dress & appearance, decorations, promotions, career planning, duties & responsibilities, assignments, and more.

 8. Life in Army Basic Training: On Duty
An accurate and detailed description of the 9-week Army Basic Combat Training program (basic training) by one who has “been there.”

 9. Enlisted Soldier’s Guide
The essential guide for the first-term soldier. Includes detailed information on dress & appearance, decorations, promotions, career planning, duties & responsibilities, assignments, and more.

 10. The Real Insider’s Guide to Basic Training
Advice and hints about how to make it through the basic training programs of all of the military services. New edition, published in Feb 2003. Much more extensive than the previous edition.

This article is written by Rod Powers for About.com.
To read about the full article, please click here.

What is defensive driving?
It is a training, a practice, and most of all, a mindset for motor vehicle drivers. The bottom line is that it seeks to guarantee at all possible costs safety in traveling.

Defensive driving may be achieved through proper adherence to a variety of general rules of the road as well as practicing driving techniques. Most states in America actually require drivers, particularly those who have committed offenses, to take defensive driving courses.

A driver who understands defensive driving is one who possesses the knowledge, skills and the right attitude while driving. He knows the traffic rules, is highly skilled when it comes to driving but not lax or overconfident, and has a right attitude towards driving and others on the road.

A regular day in a military school starts with a wake up call at exactly 6:00 A.M. The cadets will then have a series of physical fitness activities. The breakfast or the “first mess” is often delicious and nutritious. Morning classes, usually around six periods, follow that is 45 minutes each. But before that, they are called for the morning military formation, inspection colors ceremony and announcements. Lunch is the second mess around noontime. Two classes in the afternoon are more of tutorials. These classes are mandatory especially for those cadets whose been falling back, or those who got below 70% in any subject. Every cadet is expected to participate in sports and other activities until dinner is served around 6:00 P.M. They then study from 7:00 P.M. until approximately or exactly 9:30 P.M. By 10:00 P.M., all lights are out.

Like any other emotions, anger is normal and even healthy. Everybody is angry once in awhile. Yet, when it comes to be too frequent and out of control, anger becomes destructive. Most of the time, anger is mistaken as a behavior. It is because of the resulting unpredictable and inappropriate actions that the kids show. Anger and behavior is related, but anger could never be a behavior or the other way around. However, anger can ruin a teenager’s life. It will destroy relationships, create school problem and personal struggle.

To some extent, angry teenagers could be admitted to military schools, but not all of them could qualify. Why? Because there are kids whose anger is already out of control. The environment of military schools could do such teenagers harm by aggravating their conditions.

Whenever your teenagers approach you and tell you that they are being bullied,maybe you ought to listen to them. Maybe it is not the first time that they are being bullied. Maybe they are finally telling you because they could not deal with the situation anymore.

Remember that most teen kids never talk to their parents about these kinds of issues. They often prefer to settle it on their own. Most of the time, they just let everything be because they are afraid. Yet, even if parents will deal with the situation, when school starts the bullying starts again too.

Teen kids, who are being bullied, could be partly right. However, parents should also confront the matter and then do something about it as soon as possible. One example is transferring the kids to another school, if not, sending them to a more safe and self- encouraging school like a military school.

A military school can provide a strong foundation to develop teen personality. See, the stronger the personality of the kids is, the lesser the possibility that they would be bullied.

There are several reasons why kids learn to bully other kids. For adults, it may just seem like a child’s play but bullying has been an alarming act. Yet, why do these teenagers become bullies:

* They often see others do it. Worse yet, they learn the behavior from adults. For instance, domestic violence could be a source of bullying.
* Bullies do what they do because they usually think that their actions are acceptable, because everybody else is doing it. Like, everyone in the “popular” circle are expected to treat everybody else like trash.
* Bullying itself creates a certain strength and power over other kids.
* Sometimes, bullying becomes a defense mechanism so that other bullies would keep away from them.