Basic Training

There will be more PT, including new exercises, wind sprints, and yet more running. You will be completely trained in the care and use of your basic weapon – the M-16. Marksmanship training is emphasized and you are introduced to the bayonet and basic bayonet movements. You are introduced to the various firing positions, range procedure, coaching, steady hold factors, and the use of scorecards. Your second week ends with preparation for inspection of your platoon formation.

This week is devoted almost entirely to rifle marksmanship. You will practice firing from all positions, rapid reloading, rapid fire, moving with a loaded weapon, sight adjustment, firing at surprise targets, and aiming points. You will also get in some practical PT. You will be paired off in simulated hand-to-hand combat and grass drills. Another inspection comes up too conducted in ranks with and without weapons.

It is time for M-16 rifle qualifications, also called firing for record. Here’s where all your practice pays off. If you shoot well, you might earn a Sharpshooter or even an Expert badge. You will make tactical daylight marches, learn security and dispersion discipline, practice guerrilla exercises, and pair off in simulated hand-to-hand combat. And, of course, you will do more running, wind sprints, and pull-ups. You will have another weekly inspection – in ranks, with weapons.

This week, you will be on bivouac, living in tents and performing soldiering skills in the field. You learn basic first aid, camouflage, taking cover, setting up defensive positions, and continue to work with your M-16, including a night fire exercise. Even in the field, you can’t completely escape PT, bayonet drills, and hand-to-hand combat training. Inspection of your living area and weapon this week is tough and exacting, and by this time, so are you.

Now, the training intensifies and the pace quickens as you prepare for your final proficiency tests. Night training includes a tactical march and possibly an infiltration course. You will learn about other weapons – machine guns, grenade launchers, and mines. Map and compass reading, judging terrain, and determining distance and direction are also part of the training. PT is now a general review of physical contact exercises. In fact, you will review everything you’ve learned up to now and you will be amazed at how natural it’s become. Inspections will include a display of field gear, a check of foot and wall lockers, in ranks with weapons, and a thorough check of the barracks.

You are almost there. Your M-16 now responds to your will. You have met and mastered the physical and mental challenges put before you. Now there is another, larger component of soldiering that you will also master: character. Character is the foundation for all you will do as a soldier and all you can become. BCT has brought you this far; the Army National Guard will take you further. Throughout your training, you will learn the seven Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage. You will learn how they sustain a soldier in times of peace and conflict. You will study Army National Guard ethics and standards of conduct. You will study human awareness, race relations, and prevention of sexual harassment. And you will know, through honoring duty and country, the legacy of those who served before you.

Welcome to the homestretch. All of your training has been directed toward these final days – and it pays off in all of your proficiency tests. You are not struggling through your push-ups and sit-ups anymore, and you feel better, mentally and physically, than you ever have before. Finally, there comes the day you’ve been waiting for – graduation! You will put on your Class A uniform and march smartly onto the parade field. It is a proud occasion for you and your family.