United States Army Basic Training

Other occupations also learn basic warrior tasks and skills and small unit tactics, but tend to focus on more of a balanced approach.

Soldiers 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 BCT.

Since open flames are not generally used to heat sleeping areas any longer, present-day fire guard duty during Basic Training is more an exercise in discipline than a practical necessity, although if the weather gets cold enough, some groups conducting overnight outdoor training will still use a "pot bellied" stove which must be watched to prevent accidental fires.

The actual charge of quarters is the drill sergeant and the pair of recruits staying awake are the "runners", meaning that they perform tasks for the CQ.

This program allows individuals to attend Basic Training during one summer, drill with their respective units once a month on weekends while attending school, and then within one year of completion of BCT, the Soldiers are ordered to AIT, Phase II of IET, and complete their required MOS training after graduation.

Led by Major General Anthony Wayne, the Legion constructed a training camp called Legionville near Pittsburgh.

[7] The United States Army began a systematic, 16-week program to train individual Soldiers when it entered World War I in 1917.

[11] The Army was greatly reduced after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, but World War II again created the need to train a large number of new Soldiers.

Advanced Individual Training depends on the Soldier's determined Military Occupational Specialty, or MOS, which is selected upon enlistment into the Army.

Soldiers requiring air transportation to their training locations are flown via commercial flight at the Army's expense.

[18] The U.S. Army has four sites for BCT:[19] AIT is conducted at the corresponding school for the recruit's MOS (see Advanced Individual Training).

Reception Battalion (RECBN) is the period that begins when the recruit arrives at the Army post where he or she is to undergo Basic Training.

FTC involves daily, rigorous physical training and diet monitoring by Master Fitness Trainers (MFTs).

Recruits in FTC are provided two chances each week to complete the physical assessment test and upon passing are allowed to move on to the next phase of Basic Training.

FTC is not to be confused with FTU, a place where recruits who sustain injuries during Basic Training may also be assigned for rehabilitation.

Following the recruits' successful completion of the Field Training Exercise (a final, culminating exercise prior to graduation), the Phase IV blue guidon is sometimes traded for a tri-color red, white, and blue guidon that symbolizes successful completion of all three BCT phases.

Recruits are often subjected to group corrective action for even minor infractions, the purpose being to develop an acute attention to detail and foster a sense of common responsibility among the unit.

For this and many other exercises, soldiers are sometimes issued fake rifles known as "rubber ducks," so that they can become familiar with the proper handling and added weight of their weapon before they have actually been trained to use it.

More recently, recruits have begun to be issued fully functional M16A2/A4s during the first week of BCT to allow for early familiarization with the weapon.

Classroom instructions are given in each of the seven "Army Core Values," which include loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage (meant to spell out the mnemonic LDRSHIP, or leadership).

There are also classes held on subjects that involve day-to-day personal life in the Army, such as sexual harassment awareness/prevention and race relations.

These skills are put to the test at the compass course, where recruits are divided into groups and must navigate their way to a series of points throughout a wooded area.

Victory Tower is an exercise where recruits must navigate through several obstacles at extreme heights, including climbing and traversing rope ladders and bridges.

Recruits are trained in evaluating and properly treating casualties, ranging from dressing a wound to application of a tourniquet and dehydration treatment.

During this phase, an Army Combat Fitness Test is administered to determine whether the recruit has successfully met the requirements for graduation.

Drill sergeants will make much of this an adversarial process, working against the recruits in many of the night operations by trying to foil plans, et cetera.

Following their FTX, recruits then move into the final week of training, often called "recovery week," At this time, soldiers must service and/or repair any items they are not taking on to AIT including weapons, bedding, issued equipment (helmet, canteen, gas mask, et cetera) as well as ensuring the platoon barracks is in good order to receive the next platoon of trainees.

This week also includes a final fitting of the recruit's dress uniform as well as practice for the graduation ceremony, which takes place at the end of the cycle.

Graduates of AIT are automatically enrolled in structured self-development, which is an online program that feeds into the basic leader course (BLC).

AIT schools include (not a complete list): A recruit can be discharged from the Army before the conclusion of Basic Training.