The enrollment period for the CCC was initially for six months, but an enrollee could re-enlist for up to a maximum of two years. Enrollees were required to take an oath, swearing to obey those in authority and follow all rules and regulations. Some of the boys adjusted more easily to a regimented life than others. Those who had come from rural backgrounds tended to have an easier time with the labor than those from more urban backgrounds. Others suffered from homesickness and deserted, finding the sudden transition from a familiar life at home to life in an Army-run camp too jarring. For the majority, however, the benefits outweighed the negatives.
For those who had been unemployed, with no prospects on the horizon, the CCC gave them a sense of purpose. Their time in the Corps improved their mental as well as physical health and taught them a sense of discipline which was to prove useful in the future.
As enrollee George Moody, Jr. said afterwards:
"The CCC showed me a lot of rights and wrongs, it grew me up, grew a bit faster than I would have grew otherwise. It kept me out of trouble, chances are. It showed me how to gain responsibility, get out and fend for myself in a proper way."