Water consumption at COT

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On the Air Force website it states that you must drink 3 glasses of water with every meal, but that you could get a waiver if you can't drink that much. Do they really let you do that and does anyone know if the waiver is hard to get? I cannot drink that much water because I will get sick and have to use the bathroom, bad, all the time.

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You have to have a valid medical reason to get a waiver. Needing to pee all the time's not a medical reason. You'll be surprised at how much you won't need to pee relative to the amount of water you're drinking.

The glasses aren't big glasses. They're a bit bigger than a juice glass. Believe me - you'll need the water - ESPECIALLY if you're going in the summertime.

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I didn't realize they did this in COT like they do in basic. So next question is, do we really run every day unless weather does not permit? Is the run in formation. Just curious how close physically this is to basic.

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NOTHING like BMT in that regard. No formation runs. You have one timed run for your first PT test and then one timed run for your second PT test. I think I remember having outside PT three times a week when I was there - and the running was self-guided around the track for thirty minutes. You also do one 5K run - it's not for a grade per se, you just have to complete it.

It rained a couple of times when I was there and we had PT in the hallway of the dorm - really - what a nightmare that was.

You could work out on your own in the evenings, and I probably should have, but I didn't have the energy or the inclination half the time. I passed the PT test when I got there and passed it again just before I left, so I'll admit I didn't kill myself to go to the gym. I went a couple of times mainly due to peer pressure :) but some folks went every night and I have no idea where they got the energy for that. To be honest with you I preferred to have the extra sleep - you won't get a whole lot of that while you're down there.

They do the whole water thing because you'll dehydrate in a minute down there. You're exhausted, your sleep schedule sucks, you're running a mile a minute and you don't realize it. It's not like BMT though in that you can get sodas, coffee, etc - if I hadn't had coffee while I was down there I would have died. But you do have to have the three glasses of juice or gatorade or water with every single meal, and it's not hard to do.

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Specializes in L&D, mother/baby, antepartum.
On the Air Force website it states that you must drink 3 glasses of water with every meal, but that you could get a waiver if you can't drink that much. Do they really let you do that and does anyone know if the waiver is hard to get? I cannot drink that much water because I will get sick and have to use the bathroom, bad, all the time.

Being one of your sisters in the "constantly have to pee" category, let me be the first to give you a big hint on how to get around the three full glasses: fill them FULL of ice before you put the water/powerade into the glass. No rule about that. The ice takes up plenty of space so there is much less space for the water. Like Carolina said, if you are there in the summer you'll probably need all the extra fluid.

In my case I ended up getting a waiver and only had to drink two glasses with each meal. I'm small (5'1" and 110lbs). As a rule I NEVER drink with meals--it's how I was raised. I don't like to fill up on drinks when I can fill up on food :) Anyway, at COT all that drinking made me physically ill, restricted how much I was able to eat, and in one short week I had lost 10 lbs! Not good for someone who is already small. I went to the IDMTs, told them my problem, and viola! waiver received. I was still able to stay hydrated but I was also able to eat more food, which in my case was absolutely necessary.

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Specializes in ED. ICU, PICU, infection prevention, aeromedical e.

Don't we get a camelback water thing there too? They provide us with that?

Also, wondering about carrying things throughout the day, little essentials... Do we carry our purse, our backpack?

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Being one of your sisters in the "constantly have to pee" category, let me be the first to give you a big hint on how to get around the three full glasses: fill them FULL of ice before you put the water/powerade into the glass. No rule about that. The ice takes up plenty of space so there is much less space for the water. Like Carolina said, if you are there in the summer you'll probably need all the extra fluid.

In my case I ended up getting a waiver and only had to drink two glasses with each meal. I'm small (5'1" and 110lbs). As a rule I NEVER drink with meals--it's how I was raised. I don't like to fill up on drinks when I can fill up on food :) Anyway, at COT all that drinking made me physically ill, restricted how much I was able to eat, and in one short week I had lost 10 lbs! Not good for someone who is already small. I went to the IDMTs, told them my problem, and viola! waiver received. I was still able to stay hydrated but I was also able to eat more food, which in my case was absolutely necessary.

I meant to edit for the ice - even I did that a few times!

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Don't we get a camelback water thing there too? They provide us with that?

Also, wondering about carrying things throughout the day, little essentials... Do we carry our purse, our backpack?

Yep, you'll have a camelback that you'll get to keep. The water is disgusting, though - if you go to a sporting goods store you can buy CAMELBACK FRIENDLY flavor packs. DO NOT put Kool aid or Gatorade in a camelback; you'll end up with a straw full of sugar you'll never get out of it and you'll ruin the inside bladder.

You can carry a backpack (black or dark blue; most folks have black) to class and I highly recommend it.

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Specializes in mostly in the basement.

y'all might not want to go out and buy or bring any particular backpack/carry-all as it could become a standardization issue(depending on your particular class) with the rest of your flight and it's possible they'll want all of you to purchase the exact same one once you're there.

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Thank you for all the advice. So, if I end up having to drink all the water, how many bathroom breaks do we get during the day? If I have an emergency and have to go will I be able to leave to do so?

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That will depend on the class instructor.

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y'all might not want to go out and buy or bring any particular backpack/carry-all as it could become a standardization issue(depending on your particular class) with the rest of your flight and it's possible they'll want all of you to purchase the exact same one once you're there.

I'll throw out what we were told - we were told they had laid off on standardizing bags because it was impossible for everyone to purchase the same bag from the OTS shoppette - they didn't keep them stocked - and the only place you can go for the first two weeks or so is the OTS shoppette. (The summer surge classes exceed three hundred people and that must have been a nightmare.) The BOT folks - the line officer side - actually get attaches and I'm surprised they haven't done the same with COT (although I'll admit I'm glad they haven't because they have to pay for them and they're cheap crap).

They had also stopped standardizing blues because it was becoming impossible Air Force wide for people to get everything in their size (this may not be an issue now since it seemed that last year blues shirts of any style, especially for women, were in short supply Air Force wide). So I'd go prepared for that at the very least.

You'll need a plain black bag once you get to the AF anyway to carry in uniform - that much is definitely true.

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