Basic Combat Training

The transition from citizen to soldier is many things. A challenge, an adventure, a test. It's a series of questions with the answers all coming from within. The men and women who undertake that transformation, who choose to join the United States Army, do so for their own reasons, but one thing is the same for every recruit who steps off the bus at basic training. Over the next 10 weeks, they will find themselves challenged in ways that they could never fully anticipate. Yesterday was my first time on a plane. It's just busy. That's the one word I can use for it, busy. Last night at the airport, when the drill sergeant got there, I was like, oh, it's getting real now. As soon as I got here, I was, I mean, I was terrified. I mean, I'm actually in an Army boot camp. I chose to join the Army because I felt it was necessary to serve my country. Most of my friends, they're going to go to college. They're going to be in debt for who knows how long. And I know that I already have a set job. I know what I want in life and I know that the military is going to get me there. So just stay motivated, get the job done. Basic training begins with arrival at reception battalion. Essential paperwork is completed. Medical checks and vaccinations are given. Trainees get haircuts and uniforms and begin to look like the soldiers they're destined to become. When I was on the bus, I was sitting there like, this is going to be amazing. And it's going to suck at the same time. When we arrived at basic training, he said, get off my bus. And I, my heart dropped to my stomach. Like, oh man, this is going down. This is, this is it. They next move into red phase where they meet what will be their biggest source of guidance over the next few months, the drill sergeants. Trainees start to learn the fundamentals of being a soldier, building confidence in themselves and learning what it truly means to be part of a team. Now that I'm here and I'm experiencing it, I love it. When you hear someone calling you a soldier, you want to act like a soldier. You want to walk like a soldier. You want to talk like a soldier. I mean, I'm feeling the soldier more and more every day just because like you're getting adapted to the routine every day. So you're getting used to like how everything's supposed to work and how, what you're supposed to do, what you're not supposed to do. I want to make it through graduation and I'm going to do everything I can in order to do that. Training continues with white phase where even more emphasis is placed on developing critical warrior skills. Physical fitness is primary as the increased intensity begins to pay dividends in strength, stamina, as well as confidence. Yeah, your muscles are giving out. You're going to be sore and you're going to be tired, but it changes your life. And then you get into the fun stuff too. Once you phase over from red phase to white phase. Everything they do here is to help benefit us to make us a better soldier. We want to inspire our soldiers to become strong army soldiers that have those army values instilled in them versus scaring it into them. The soldiers creed and the warrior ethos. I feel like that's becoming a part of everybody here. I just went through the night infiltration course. Once I got through that first barbed wire, I was like, okay, got that down. Hit me with the next one. And that's how I feel with the basic training. Once we get done with one event, I'm just like, okay, finish that one, hit me with the next one. You can start to tell who the natural leaders within that platoon are going to be. I want my platoon to be the best and I'm not going to let anything stop me. The final two weeks of training known as blue phase will bring even greater challenges. Trainees must apply all of their developing warrior skills in events that replicate real world operations. More complex scenarios will truly test the resolve of every man and woman at basic. But they will tap into the leadership and self-confidence that have been building within them and they will prevail. And then go forward wherever the squad leader is. This uniform isn't something you just throw on. You, it's a privilege to, to put this uniform on. You wear it with pride. You look professional and you conduct yourself as such. You're used to putting on the patches every day, putting on the uniform every morning, and it's just, it becomes a way of life. I think sweating in it 24 seven definitely makes it a part of you. It just feels like another layer of skin, really. When I complete every single thing we have to do in basic training, then I will feel like I can call myself a soldier. Having met these challenges, the company will gather to reflect on all that they've accomplished as a team, symbolized by the rites of passage. After that, the day they worked for from the very beginning, graduation. When I showed up here, I was just a civilian coming out here to try and serve my country. And now, now I feel like I'm actually a soldier and I've accomplished what I set out to achieve. I always looked up to people who served in the military. So every time I wanted to quit, I always pushed through it and remembered the people who were here before me. As soon as my wife got a glance of me and she started running towards me, I teared up. I couldn't, I couldn't stop. Like it really looks professional. Like we all look like great soldiers right now. Like I'm ready to start a new chapter. These men and women have pushed beyond what they once thought were their limits and have proven to themselves that they are disciplined, physically and mentally tough. They did not accept defeat. They did not quit. They now stand ready as American soldiers. Are you ready to join them?