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Career Advice for Job Seekers

What’s It Like Being A Soldier? – Basic Combat Training

dale olson Avatardale olson
August 5, 2006


One of the biggest questions a new soldier has is: “What’s it like being a soldier?” I would like to start off with life in basic training and provide you with a typical nine week schedule of what you will be doing. This will be a series of informational post in the coming weeks. When a new recruit decides he or she is going to join the army, thoughts of basic training are the first thing that concern them. Either they have seen movies where basic training is depicted to be a torturous event, or they have heard stories from friends and families that may not be accurate.


Below is a typical schedule that has been done assuming you were to go to FT Jackson for basic training. The Army has several places that it conducts basic training throughout the country. The schedule will be very similar with the exception that event names can be different.
Week 00 RECEPTION
Leaving behind hometowns and families, the recruits begin their journey. Haircuts are given and Army gear is issued in preparation for the start of Basic Training.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Recruits arrive at Fort Jackson for general orientation.
Day 02 Uniforms and ID cards issued in addition to the required haircut.
Day 03 The recruits brave the inoculations and undergo dental and eye exams.
Day 04 Recruits take first Physical Assessment Test. Men’s mile: 8 and 1/2 minutes. Women’s mile: 10 and 1/2 minutes.
Day 05 Classes in barracks upkeep and Drill (marching) are given to recruits.
Day 06 Preparation for arrival of Drill Sergeant and start of Basic Training.
Day 07 Personal time and chapel service.
WEEK 01: FALL IN
Once Reception Week completes, it’s now time to understand new rules, regulations and processes involved in being in the Army. Classroom instruction begins. After a week of processing through Reception, the recruits are quickly ushered into the Army way of life. In the classroom, on the field and in the barracks they adjust to the new rules, responsibilities and expectations being ingrained deep into their minds.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Pick-up from Reception. Inprocess begins. Drill and Ceremony.
Day 02 Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) Diagnostic #1.
Day 03 Drill and Ceremony.
Day 04 Battalion Commander & Commander Sergeant Major conduct Values class.
Day 05 Classroom instruction.
Day 06 Classroom instruction.
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services.
WEEK 02: DIRECTION
Leaving the classroom for the field, it’s time to test your physical and mental endurance, and also get trained in First Aid and map reading. With the Drill Sergeant leading the way, the recruits begin to navigate their way through Basic Training. Moving from the classroom to the field, they encounter physical tests that challenge their bodies and minds.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Unarmed Combat Exercise
Day 02 Victory Tower
Day 03 Teamwork Development Course
Day 04 First Aid Training
Day 05 Map Reading and Land Navigation Session
Day 06 Compass Course
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services.
WEEK 03: ENDURANCE
One thing you’ll realize in Week 03 is to believe in the mantra: mind over matter. Physical and mental challenges build as you start simulated combat drills. As week three begins, the recruits must rely on sheer determination to meet the mounting physical and mental challenges of the simulated combat scenarios.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 5 km Foot March
Day 02 Bayonet Instruction
Day 03 Bayonet Assault Course and Pugil Stick Training
Day 04 Nuclear Biological Chemical (Gas Chamber) Training and Obstacle Course
Day 05 Phase One Tests
Day 06 Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) Fundamentals Training
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services
WEEK 04: MARKSMANSHIP
Learning to shoot a rifle is more than pulling the trigger. Marksmanship courses teach new recruits not only the proper way to hold a weapon, but also how to breathe and stand while firing are equally important. The M16A2. It is the standard issue weapon of the U.S. Army, and the recruits’ new responsibility, demanding their knowledge and respect. Before a single round can be discharged, numerous nuances like breathing, stance and mechanics are covered meticulously and rehearsed methodically.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 8 km Foot March, Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM), Procedures and Fundamentals
Day 02 Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) Diagnostic #2
Day 03 BRM Grouping
Day 04 BRM Zero
Day 05 10 km Foot March, BRM Down Range Feedback
Day 06 BRM Single and Multiple Target Detection
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services
WEEK 05: TRIALS
This is where the previous weeks’ work pays off: tests in endurance and marksmanship await all recruits. This week, two of the more decisive moments loom in front of the recruits—the Basic Rifle Marksmanship Qualification and the “Fit to Win” Obstacle Course. Their fortitude, both mental and physical, will be thoroughly tried and tested.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Drill Sergeant Sessions
Day 02 Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) Pre-Qualification
Day 03 BRM Pre-Qualification
Day 04 BRM Qualification
Day 05 Phase Two Tests begin
Day 06 Phase Two Tests continue. Fit to Win Obstacle Course
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services
Obstacle Course
The Fit to Win Obstacle Course is a valuable physical fitness-training tool. The 900-meter course presents the recruits with challenges to help them develop and test their basic skills. Recruits are required to negotiate and clear up to 20 obstacles while running, jumping, dodging, climbing, traversing, vaulting, balancing and crawling.
As the recruits master the various obstacles, they also embody several of the Army Core Values. By overcoming their own physical limitations and supporting other recruits, they develop a deeper sense of personal courage, respect and selfless service.
The course includes the following obstacles:
* 3′ Wall
* Lane Guide
* Ladder on Ground
* Cement Culvert
* Cargo Net
* Low Crawl Wire
* 3′ Across Jump Box
* 30″ Balance Log
* Culver
* 40″ Deep Trench
* Horizontal Ladder
* Over and Under
* Hurdles
* Night Trench High Crawl
* Window Wall
* 40″ Wall
* High Stepper
* 5′ Jump
WEEK 06: CAMARADERIE
Each recruit is only as strong as his platoon. During Week 06, bonds are tested and trust exercises implemented. The recruits’ self-assurance is growing and they are becoming stronger, but that does not guarantee the success of the recruit, the company or the platoon. That success is ensured by the growing bond between the recruits in the field and in the barracks.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) Diagnostic #3
Day 02 Post Detail
Day 03 Deferred Issue
Day 04 U.S. Weapons Familiarization
Day 05 Buddy Movement Techniques Instruction
Day 06 Squad Defensive Live-Fire Exercise
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services
WEEK 07: CONFIDENCE
Hand grenade training; live fire exercises; foot marching; and overall physical fitness are tested in the Confidence Course. Confidence in themselves, their platoon and the Army way of life has been growing steadily over the past seven weeks. All of this will be proved true as the recruits tackle the Confidence Course this week.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Drill Sergeant Time and Uniform #2
Day 02 End of Cycle Army Physical Fitness Test and Phase Tests
Day 03 Hand Grenade Training
Day 04 Live-Fire Exercise
Day 05 Threat Briefing. Foot March
Day 06 Confidence Course
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services
WEEK 08: VICTORY FORGE
It’s time to put everything you’ve learned up to this point to the real test: a three-day field retreat to Victory Forge. All the miles have been marched and all the obstacles left behind. The recruits have arrived at Victory Forge, a three-day field outing in which they apply all that they have learned. This is the true and final test of the recruits’ skills and spirit—when they prove that they have what it takes to be a U.S. Army Soldier.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Drill and Ceremony Competition
Day 02 Victory Forge: 10 km Foot March
Day 03 Victory Forge: Night Infiltration Course
Day 04 Victory Forge: 15 km Foot March
Day 05 Personal Time and Recovery
Day 06 Personal Time and Recovery
Day 07 Personal Time, Foot March and Chapel Services
WEEK 09: GRADUATION
All your hard work has led you to this day. Family and friends eagerly await to see you complete your Basic Training course. With their biggest challenge now behind them and graduation just ahead, the recruits finish up some important details before their final day in Basic Training. Family and friends eagerly await this ceremony, as the recruits prepare to join the honorable legacy of those who have served before them.
Weekly Schedule
Day 01 Inspection Period
Day 02 Outprocessing
Day 03 Personal Time
Day 04 Personal Time and Haircuts
Day 05 Family Day
Day 06 Graduation

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