Basic Training
Basic Combat Training (BCT) consist of nine weeks of intense
training designed to hone your skills, teach you new skills,
optimize your physical and mental performance. It will prepare
you mentally, physically, and emotionally to be the best that
you can be.
New recruits attend Boot Camp/Basic Training in one of several places. These include: Fort Benning, Ft. Benning, GA; Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina; Fort Knox, Louisville, Kentucky; Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville, Missouri; Fort McClellan, Anniston, Alabama; or Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma. Where you attend is relative to the location of the Advanced Individual Training (Job Training) you will attend after Basic Training.
If you enlist in one of the Combat Arms MOS’s, you may attend
Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at one location:
Fort Benning for infantry; Fort Knox for armor; Fort Leonard
Wood for combat engineers, military police, and chemical.
Visit these pages to find out more about What to learn, What to bring, and What not to bring.
How to Conquer the Most Feared Event at Basic Training: The Gas Chamber
The Top 5 Secret Tips for Basic Training Success
How to Impress Your Drill Sergeants at Basic Training
Week 1
As you adjust to Army life, you begin to learn the importance
of Army Values and learn how they shape you as a Soldier.
You will take your first diagnostic Army Physical Fitness
Test, learn how to march and prepare your barracks for inspection.
You will practice Drill and Ceremony, learn your Special and
General Orders and the Military Justice System. You will also
learn how to disassemble, reassemble, clean and sight your
M-16A rifle. This knowledge provides you the foundation for
good soldiering.
Week 2
You’ll be taught unarmed combat skills, learn first aid, map
reading and land navigation. Your confidence will be put to
the test at Victory Tower – where you’ll rappel from a 30-foot
platform. You’ll learn the Army value of Loyalty and the importance
of teamwork.
Week 3
You will be introduced to the bayonet and basic bayonet movements.
You’ll become even more familiar with your M-16A2 rifle as
you practice basic rifle marksmanship fundamentals. You’ll
learn how to defend yourself from chemical attack and continue
to improve your fitness through Physical Training. Through
examples of the Army’s history, you will learn another Army
value – Duty.
Week 4
This week emphasizes the Army value of Respect. You respect
your fellow Soldiers and your accomplishments as a team. You
continue to practice basic rifle marksmanship fundamentals
and learn multiple target detection. Your physical strength
is put to the test as you take your second diagnostic Army
Physical Fitness Test, demonstrating how much better you have
become.
Week 5
It’s time for you to qualify on your M-16A2 rifle, and when
you successfully complete the exercise, you’ll be awarded
a badge of Marksman, Sharpshooter or Expert. You’ll learn
the Army value of Selfless Service and how Soldiers have continuously
given of themselves throughout the U.S. Army’s history.
Week 6
You’ll take your third Army Physical Fitness Test and become
familiar with a variety of U.S. weapons. You’ll learn tactical
movement techniques, and as a member of a team, you’ll participate
in a defensive live-fire exercise. You’ll also learn the meaning
of the Army value of Honor.
Week 7
Your physical training will pay off as you take your final
Army Physical Fitness Test. You’re in the best shape of your
life and passing the test is no problem. You’ll learn another
Army value – Integrity – and know the Army Values that have
been instilled in you to this point will help you overcome
the challenges of the Confidence Course.
Week 8
You’ll learn the meaning of Personal Courage, the final Army
value. Your soldiering skills are tested during the Warrior
Field Training Exercise. All your training comes into focus
and you perform each task flawlessly. You’re almost finished
with training, and you’re gaining more confidence and skill
every day.
Week 9
You have been empowered by your training, and you are ready
to contribute your skills to the team – the U.S. Army. You
prepare for graduation with a new sense of purpose. The seven
core Army Values are now an integral part of your life. On
graduation day, you feel a sense of pride you have never felt
before. Your parents, relatives and friends will feel it too.
You are a Soldier in the Army of One.
Graduation Dates:
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Enlistment topics interest.