After Basic Combat Training (BCT), your next adventure will be Advanced Individual Training (AIT). This is where the formal part of your military education begins, and you learn your “job” in the National Guard. The length of your AIT will depend on the particular Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) that you choose. At AIT you will learn the job that you will perform once you return to your assigned unit. AIT is the second part of Basic Training.
AIT is a similar training environment to Basic Combat Training. Typically, things are a little more relaxed, and you have more privliges. Training is:
- still physical
- more focused on job skills rather than physical fitness
- a lot of classroom instruction
- hands-on training
This AIT training is specific to your MOS and is where you learn the skills necessary to do your job while also re-emphasizing basic Soldier skills learned during Basic Training. The length of AIT can vary according to MOS from just a few weeks training to as much as a year or more.
Your training will start out with your drill sergeants exerting complete control over you, but you will gradually be allowed more freedoms as you progress through different phases of Basic Training and then AIT. Once you finish AIT you are ready to join the “real Army” at your first duty station. At this point, it’s all in the hands of you and your new Unit to make sure you are prepared to do your job and do it well.
