United States Army Basic Training
United States Army Basic Combat Training is the recruit training program of the United States Army, for service in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserve, or the Army National Guard.
Initial entry training is divided into two parts: basic combat training and advanced individual training.
Some trainees attend basic combat training along with their advanced individual training at one place, referred to as One Station Unit Training. Infantry recruits go to Fort Benning, Georgia through One Station Unit Training program that is 22 weeks in duration.
Other occupations also learn basic warrior tasks and skills and small unit tactics, but tend to focus on more of a balanced approach. These trainees receive basic combat training at different installations including Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; or Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Basic training is designed to be highly intense and challenging. The challenge comes as much from the difficulty of physical training as it does from the psychological adjustment to an unfamiliar way of life.
AIT consists of the remainder of the total basic training period and is where recruits train in the specifics of their chosen fields. As such, AIT is different for each available Army career path, or Military Occupational Specialty. AIT courses can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 7 months, and possibly more for foreign language training. Soldiers are still continually tested for physical fitness and weapons proficiency and are subject to the same duties, strict daily schedule and disciplinary rules as in BCT.
Upon completion of Basic Combat Training trainees earn the title of "Soldier".
Quick overview: Army Basic Training
Length: ~10 weeks of BCT, plus Reception beforehand, followed by AIT/OSUT depending on MOS.Phases:
- Red Phase : Discipline, basic soldier skills, team drills, introduction to rucking, ACFT baseline, drill & ceremony, values, safety.
- White Phase : Marksmanship, zero/qual, land navigation, fieldcraft, longer rucks, tactical movements, combatives.
- Blue Phase : Advanced field training, longer movements under load, medical/first aid lanes, culminating The Forge.
- Graduation Week : Final admin, family day, out-processing to AIT or the unit.
Overview
Drill sergeants
s are the instructors responsible for most of the recruit training that takes place during Initial Entry Training. They accompany recruits throughout the entire training process, instructing and correcting actions in everything from firing weapons to the correct way to address a superior, and are also largely responsible for the safety of recruits. They are recognizable by their distinctive headgear, often referred to as "brown rounds" or "Smokey Bear" hats, as they resemble that character's round park ranger-style hat.Battle buddies
generally refer to partners in a combat scenario. However, throughout Basic Training the term is used to describe a disciplinary principle whereby recruits are prohibited from walking anywhere alone. When traveling away from the platoon or a drill sergeant, recruits are expected to travel in pairs, known as battle buddies. Battle buddies are sometimes assigned, or can be chosen by recruits when the need to travel arises.Daily schedule
A typical day in Basic Training generally follows this schedule. Times can change depending on location, commanding officers, or when drill sergeants see a need for variation.| Time | Activity | Description |
| 4:30 a.m. | First Call | Wake up to perform personal morning tasks and conduct hygiene. For males, shaving is mandatory every morning, with some exceptions for to accommodate religious beliefs. |
| 5:00 a.m. | Physical Training | Form up in the company area, perform morning physical training. |
| 6:00 a.m. | Breakfast | |
| 6:30 a.m. | Training | Begin the day's scheduled training exercises. |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Training | Continue the day's scheduled training exercises. |
| 5:00 p.m. | Dinner | |
| 5:30 p.m. | Drill sergeant time | Time for drill sergeants to speak with the recruits about any subject they may think requires attention. Mail call is also performed during this time. |
| 8:00 p.m. | Personal time | Time for recruits to engage in personal activities, such as writing letters, laundry, showering, relaxation, or sleep. Recruits may also catch up on platoon duties during this time, such as barracks cleaning or wall locker organization. |
| 9:00 p.m. | Lights-out |
Fire guard and charge of quarters
Every night, at least two recruits from the platoon must be awake at any given time. Duties include patrolling their barracks area, watching for fires, cleaning the barracks and watching for recruits attempting to leave the barracks area. They wake the next pair of recruits at the end of their one-hour shift. This duty is called fire guard or access control guard.Fire guard stems back to the days of wooden barracks and wood-burning stoves. The fire guard would watch the stoves to make sure that the barracks would not catch fire. Since open flames are not generally used to heat sleeping areas any longer, present-day fire guard duty during Basic Training is more an exercise in discipline than a practical necessity, although if the weather gets cold enough, some groups conducting overnight outdoor training will still use a "pot bellied" stove which must be watched to prevent accidental fires. It is primarily used to ensure accountability of personnel and equipment during the night.
Charge of quarters, commonly called CQ, functions in a somewhat similar manner. CQ shifts rotate throughout the entire company, with just two recruits from the company staying awake per shift. The actual charge of quarters is the drill sergeant and the pair of recruits staying awake are the "runners", meaning that they perform tasks for the CQ. They perform some of the same duties as the fire guard shift. Only the CQ on duty is permitted to open the barracks doors and the runners must alert the CQ if someone else attempts to enter or leave the barracks.
Hands-on training
For many hands-on instructional sessions, recruits are transported to other locations on base that specialize in the given subject. For instance, a class on the use of hand grenades is given at a location where a range is already set up with the appropriate props for the simulation, including targets, fake grenades, identification stations, and a live grenades throwing bay. All trainees must throw two live hand grenades to graduate BCT.Split training option
The Split Training Option is an enlistment option available for Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve recruits. This program allows individuals to attend Basic Training during one summer, drill with their respective units once a month on weekends while attending school, and then within one year of completion of BCT, the Soldiers are ordered to AIT, Phase II of IET, and complete their required MOS training after graduation. This enlistment option is usually popular among high school students who wish to enlist as early as possible, while still attending school. The split option program is also available to seasonal workers, and college students.History
During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army trained while encamped. In 1778, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben initiated the first formalized training program. Following the war, the Army was largely disbanded in favor of militias. Following disastrous losses to Native Americans, however, the United States authorized the Legion of the United States. Led by Major General Anthony Wayne, the Legion constructed a training camp called Legionville near Pittsburgh. This is considered the Army's first basic training camp.During the American Civil War, both the Union and Confederate armies relied on volunteer state units to quickly grow their armies. In contrast to the Regular federal units, state units fought in battles with little formal training.
The United States Army began a systematic, 16-week program to train individual Soldiers when it entered World War I in 1917. The Army established more than 30 training camps to prepare state troops and new recruits. Due to the urgent need to aid France, training was more focused on mobilization than combat training. Soldiers arrived quickly in France, but required additional training once they arrived, in order to make them combat ready. This highlighted the need for a standardized training regimen that would provide new Soldiers with rudimentary combat training.
The Army was greatly reduced after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, but World War II again created the need to train a large number of new Soldiers. Recruits and draftees first reported to Induction Centers, where they were administratively and medically processed into the Army. Following induction, new Soldiers were sent to specialized training which, for combat arms, meant basic training.
Following WWII, the Army retained an 8-week standardized basic training course, but advanced training was left to the responsibility of unit commanders. Colonel S.L.A. Marshall published a book in 1947 entitled Men Against Fire, which claimed that only 25% of Soldiers had fired their weapons in WWII due to strong social norms against killing. Although his findings were controversial, the Army adapted basic training to include attack exercises. Dedicated Drill Sergeants were added to basic training in 1964. In 1973, Basic Training came under control of the newly created United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.