Upon arriving at your Basic Training Location, you will enter yet another processing station called the Basic Training Reception Battalion. Basic Training Reception can take anywhere from 3 to 7 days, or sometimes as much as 10 days, just depends on when you arrive and when the next basic training schedule begins. These days do not count towards your actual Basic Training time, but are necessary in order to get you assigned to a unit in order to begin basic training. Upon arrival, you will be given a chance to call home and tell them you made it there safely.
Basic Training Reception consists of:
- Getting your Army gear (such as uniforms, bags, boots, pt uniforms, gloves, and much, much more). Everything you get in initial processing is yours to keep, forever. Just be sure to write your name somewhere on EVERYTHING that you receive. You never know when someone else might try to claim something of yours as their own. It happens all the time, even by accident. Remember, you’ll be sharing laundry rooms, so you want to be able to identify what’s yours, just a tip!
- Getting your basic training shots. Yeah, nobody likes shots, but it’s the only way to keep everyone from getting sick from being cooped up for the next 9+ weeks. The number of shots will depend on your history of shots, and your allergies. Expect to get at least 1. View our Army Shots page for a list of required vaccinations!
- Getting to know your new “best friends”. Reception battalion is a very relaxed week, it’s the perfect opportunity to get to know people. It’s a little harder asking about someone later in basic training while doing pushups 🙂
- And just like everything else in the Army, sitting and waiting. Just don’t enjoy the fatty foods served at the initial processing chow halls too much, you’ll regret it.