Basic Training

Army Basic Training (also known as Army Bootcamp) is the program of physical and mental training required in order for an individual to become a soldier in the United States Army. Basic Training is conducted at several Army posts around the United States, including Ft. Benning Georgia, Ft. Bliss Texas, and Ft. Jackson South Carolina.Basic Training is designed to be highly intense and challenging.

Basic Training is divided into two parts:

  • Basic Combat Training (known as Basic Training)
  • Advanced Individual Training (AIT)
Don’t go to Basic Training unprepared! Get our Basic Training Preparation Checklist to ensure you know what to study before you go!

Army Basic Training

Basic Training (BCT), consists of the first ten weeks of the total Army Basic Training period. This is where individuals learn about the fundamentals of being a soldier, from combat techniques to the proper way to address a superior. Army Basic Training is also where individuals undergo rigorous physical training to prepare their bodies and their minds for the eventual physical and mental strain of combat. One of the most difficult and essential lessons learned in Army Basic Training is self-discipline, as it introduces prospective soldiers to a strict daily schedule that entails many duties and high expectations for which most civilians are not immediately ready.

Basic Combat Training is divided into 3 parts, each lasting 3 weeks:

Advanced Individual Training

Advanced Individual Training (AIT) consists of the remainder of the total Basic Training period and is where recruits train in the specifics of their chosen field. As such, AIT is different for each available Army career path, or Army Job (MOS). For example, if an individual has an Army MOS of Human Intelligence Collector, they would be sent, following completion of Basic Training, to the Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. If an individual instead had the MOS of Army medic, they would be sent, after Army BCT, to the Army Medical Department School at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

AIT courses can last anywhere from 6 to 52 weeks. Although many AIT schools don’t center around combat the way Basic Training does, individuals 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 Basic Training.

One Station Unit Training (OSUT)

For a couple of different MOS’, you will be sent to what is called One-Station Unit Training (OSUT). This means that your Basic Training and AIT will be conducted in the same area, back to back. For example, enlisting as MOS 11B (Infantryman) will send you to OSUT in Ft. Benning, Georgia. There you will undergo your Basic Training, then immediately start and complete your AIT, all in the same place, with the same drill sergeants.

Army Basic Training Key Tasks

You will do a lot of stuff in army basic training, however, there are only certain requirements needed in order to graduate. Be sure to download and read the Basic Training Task List which explains the Army basic training key tasks!