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| The Army's basic training program consists of nine muscle-numbing weeks in which the Army toughen up the flabby, speed up the sluggish, and drum out the weak. To the
uninitiated, basic training resembles a factory process where a kid is tossed into a hopper; a crank is turned, and later a trooper is spit out. But the process is much more involved. Basic Combat Training is conducted at various military installations
within the continent of the United States. Each installation conducts Basic Combat training in accordance with the guidance provided by the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. |
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The first stop for new recruits is the reception station, where a sergeant barks, "Show me your orders." From there, recruits march to a barber's station, where the heads are
cropped close to their scalps.
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At the next stop, recruits are issued a new wardrobe comprising of combat boots, the battle dress uniform (BDU), gloves, shoes, socks, under-wear, towels, and a duffel
bag.
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Dinner in the messhall |
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During the remaining days at the reception battalion, recruits undergo a dental exam, inoculations, mental testing, fill in life insurance forms and benefits paperwork, and
receive their ID cards and dog-tags. |
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WEEKS 1 and 2: There are numerous acronyms in the Army, but "PT" or physical training, is the most common. Recruits perform situps, pushups, and other conditioning exercises at
their Drill Sergeant's request. Recruits are taught the proper way to tuck blankets when they make up their beds. They learn how to wear their uniforms and about Army values, customs and traditions. By the end of the first week, they are able to identify
a staff sergeant by his three chevrons floating over a rocker or a major by his gold oak leaf. They learn to salute everything above them, even if it's "only a buzzard circling overhead."
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WEEK 3: The third week of basic finds trainees continuing PT and other types of instruction, such as "D&C," drill and ceremonies. In addition they learn rifle-bayonet fighting,
as well as undergo a wall-locker and field-equipment inspection.
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WEEK4: Fourth week experiences such as pugil-stick sparring, land navigation, and close-combat skills pale when compared to the gas-chamber exercise. Ten at a time, trainees
wearing gas masks enter a chamber saturated with tear gas.Once inside, they must remove their masks and state their names, ranks, and birth dates. The effects of the tear gas -burning noses and throats, aching chests and lungs-are immediate. When they
emerge from the chamber, the lesson is learned: gas masks aren't an inconvenience; they're a necessity. |
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WEEK 5: By the fifth week, trainees begin learning how to use a variety of hand grenades. After practicing pitching dummy grenades, which explode but are harmless, from prone,
kneeling, and standing positions, trainees advance to the real thing, fragmentation hand grenades. For this exercise, they move to the grenade range's "live bay" where they throw two live frag grenades apiece. From the control area, a hole-ridden
detonation pits can be seen behind a concrete wall. The first trainee steps toward the firing line, pulls the pin, hurls the grenade high and hard, and crouches.
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WEEK 6: The main lesson of the sixth week is proper handling of an M-16 rifle. Trainees learn to align sights and hold their rifles steady. They also practice rapid fire and
night fire and spend two days on a firing range. When it's all over, they must qualify at a minimum level of "marksman" by hitting at least 17 targets out of 40. To earn a "sharpshooter" badge, trainees must score 24 out of 40; "expert" requires 28 out
of 40. This week also includes individual tactical training, where trainees maneuver on their bellies under barbed wire, bayonet a dummy, spar with a pugil sticks, sprint while live machine gun fire sprays above their heads, and climb over walls as
simulated bombs explode nearby. |
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WEEK7: An eight-mile hike faces trainees this week. They march in column formation, with staggered lines and five meters' distance between each trainee for safe dispersion. No
talking or smoking is permitted. They are ordered to keep their weapons pointed out, because their enemy is not a fellow trainee.
WEEK 8: The final PT test takes place during week eight, but with seven weeks of physical
conditioning behind them, most recruits meet the challenge with little difficulty.
WEEK 9: While this is the last week, there's still much for trainees to do, starting with a tactical bivouac, where for several days, they dig foxholes, conduct
bayonet practice, and scrimmage against other platoons. After a 15-mile march back to post after the bivouac,only one more thing is required of trainees prior to graduation: the End-of-Cycle test, better known as the Super Bowl. To pass it, trainees must
have mastered the wide range of material the drill sergeant has pumped into them for the past two months. Among other things, they must demonstrate their ability to administer first aid, set up and retrieve claymore mines, fire LAW rockets, and report to
a commanding officer.
Upon passing the End-of-Cycle test, trainees have two days to take care of administrative business-turn in equipment and get files in order to take along to their next assignments. Finally, it's graduation day when trainees
officially become soldiers. After basic, every soldier departs for Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Where soldiers go to receive advanced training depends on what military occupational specialty, or MOS, they pursue. An MOS is a soldier's official job
description. Those soldiers who choose to pursue the 45T MOS are sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for training. |
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Home Page
45T Advance Individual Training (AIT)
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