• Know the Sailor's Creed
• Know the 11 General Orders of the Sentry
• Know the Sea Cadet Oath
• Know the Cores Values

Learn the proper responses and when to use them

• "Yes Sir", "No Sir", "Yes Ma'am", "No Ma'am" (when answering a yes/no question asked by an officer.)
• "Aye-Aye" (When you are given an order, you say Aye-Aye to indicate you understand and that you will do it.)
• "No excuse, Sir/Ma'am". Don't say "I'm sorry". If they say "Why aren't your shoes shined?" just use this answer.
• "This recruit does not know but will find out, Sir/Ma'am/Petty Officer/Chief" - when you don't know something.

Learn the proper way to report:

• Approach the door and with an open and smack the door 3 times with your open palm.
• Wait for the command "ENTER!" (you might wait a while)
• March smartly to the desk/podium/person and say confidently and clearly, "Seaman Recruit Jones reporting as ordered."
• If they ask "What are your orders?", it might be "Report to Recruit Training, Sir/Ma'am." or "Deliver this message, Petty Officer" or "Report to Sick Call, Chief."

It's a 24 hour clock. Most importantly don't say "hours" after the time. 0800 is "ZERO EIGHT HUNDRED", not "EIGHT HUNDRED HOURS". 2100 is "TWENTY ONE HUNDRED". 1830 is "EIGHTEEN THIRTY."

The military phonetic alphabet uses 26 code words to represent each letter of the alphabet. The functionality of the Military Phonetic Alphabet is a communication tool for military and civilian people alike, most often used to detail error-free spelling by phone.