Military recruit training

U.S. Army recruits learn bayonet fighting skills in infantry Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Recruit training is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel. It may be common to all recruits, officers being selected on the basis of competency shown during recruit training, or for the enlisted ranks only. Officer trainees undergo more detailed programs, which may either precede or follow the common recruit training, taking place either in an officer training academy (which may also offer a civilian degree program simultaneously), or in special classes at a civilian university.

The process of transforming civilians into soldiers, sailors, marines or airmen has been described by military historian Gwynne Dyer as a form of conditioning in which inductees are encouraged to partially submerge their individuality for the good of their unit. Dyer argues that this conditioning is essential for military function because combat requires people to endure stress and perform actions which are simply not present in normal life.

The nature and extent of this conditioning varies from one military service, and one nation, to another. Some systems of training seek to totally break down the individual and remold that person to the desired behavior. Other systems attempt to change the individual to suit the organization, whilst retaining key elements of the recruit's personality. The differences between the two approaches are often subtle.

Standard uniforms are issued and recruits typically have their hair cut or shaved in order to meet grooming standards and make their appearance as uniform as possible. The haircut is one method intended to increase cohesion. Recruits are generally given a service number. A significant part of basic training is psychological. The reasoning seems to be that if a recruit cannot be relied upon to obey orders and follow instructions in routine matters--be they folding one's clothing, standing at attention, paying proper attention to hygiene--it is unlikely that he or she will be reliable in a combat situation, where there may be a strong urge to disobey orders or flee. The recruit who cannot work as part of a team (the unit) and comply with the routine tasks of basic training, therefore, is more likely to place him/herself, comrades, and the mission in jeopardy. The training regularly includes physical fitness, and instruction in military courtesy, tradition, history, and uniform care and wear.

Resocialization

Main article: resocialization

Resocialization is a sociological concept dealing with the process of mentally and emotionally "re-training" a person so that he or she can operate in an environment other than that which he or she is accustomed to. Resocialization into a total institution involves a complete change of personality. Key examples include the process of resocializing new recruits into the military so that they can operate as soldiers (or, in other words, as members of a cohesive unit) and the reverse process, in which those who have become accustomed to such roles return to society after military discharge.

Recruits are typically instructed in "drill": to stand, march, and respond to orders in an unquestioning manner. Historically, drills are derived from 18th-century military tactics in which soldiers in a fire line performed precise and coordinated movements to load and fire muskets. Although these particular tactics are now obsolete for the most part, drilling performs a psychological function by inculcating the response to commands and training the recruit to act unhesitatingly in the face of real combat situations. Learning drill commands also enables the modern infantry soldier to maintain proper position relative to his peers and thus maintain the shape of his or her formation (arrowhead, line abreast, etc) whilst moving over uneven terrain. Drill can also serve a role in leadership training. Combat situations include not only commands to engage and put one's life in danger, but also commands to disengage when military necessity so demands. This conditioning, which ideally results in instant response to commands, is essential for military function, because without it, a military unit would likely disintegrate under the stress of combat and degenerate into a mere armed mob. According to Finnish Army regulations, the close-order drill serves four functions:

• is essential for the esprit de corps and cohesion for battlefield
• gets the recruits used to instinctive obedience and following the orders
• enables large units to be marched and moved in an orderly manner
• creates the basis for action in the battlefield

A criticism of drill is that it is a fairly inefficient method of training, based on behavioristic method, which does not enable the subjects to learn anything by heuristics, and can be used only to instill very simple and trivial things, like series of movements, therefore consuming resources from combat and weapons training.

Recruits are usually subjected to rigorous physical training, both to prepare for the demands of combat and to weed out the less able or insufficiently motivated. This also builds morale and provides a sense of accomplishment for the remaining recruits who have met the physical requirements.

Army and Marine recruits are nearly always trained in basic marksmanship with individually-assigned weapons, field maintenance of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, physical fitness training, first aid, and basic survival techniques. Navy and Coast Guard training usually focuses on water survival training, physical fitness, basic seamanship, and skills such as shipboard firefighting, basic engineering, and signals. Air force training usually includes physical fitness training, military and classroom instructions, as well as field training in basic marksmanship, first aid, and protective equipment usage.

Australia

Most of the recruit training in the Australian Army is currently held at Army Recruit Training Centre (ARTC) at Kapooka, near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. Recruit training is 80 days long for members of the Australian Regular Army and 28 days long for members of the Australian Army Reserve. In basic training recruits are taught drill, weapons and workplace safety, basic equipment maintenance, marksmanship, fieldcraft, radio use and defensive/offensive ops.

Regional Force Surveillance Units

Training for recruits in the Regional Force Surveillance Units usually differs greatly from training in the rest of the Army. For instance, NORFORCE recruits attend an additional 2 week course at the Kangaroo Flats. Recruits from areas covered by the RFSUs often come from indigenous cultures radically different from that of the general Australian population, and as such many regular standards and methods of training are not as applicable in their case.

Royal Military College Duntroon

Recruit Training for Officers in the Australian Army (known as ICT - Initial Cadet Training) takes place at Royal Military College, Duntroon (RMC). The ICT is conducted for approximately 7 weeks after which staff cadets continue military instruction in skills such as weapons training, military history, leadership, strategic studies and other such skills at Section, Platoon and Company levels. Trainees at RMC hold the rank of Staff Cadet and, if successful in completing the course are commissioned as Lieutenants. The overall full-time Officer Training course at RMC is 18 months long.

Canada

Centralized recruit training in the Canadian Army did not exist until 1940, and the creation of Basic Training Centres across Canada; previously, recruit training had been done by individual units or depots.

The Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force were unified into one service, the Canadian Forces in 1968. The Canadian Forces Training System, a unified system for all the services, was devised and remains in place today. Most non-commissioned CF recruits in the Regular Force (full time) are trained at Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School at St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Regular Force officers complete their Basic Officer Training and Initial Assessment Phases at CFLRS as well, before moving on to Second Language Training and their occupational training. After basic training, personnel are trained in the specialty of their "environment". Members of the Maritime Branch undergo a five week sea environment training course and members of the Land Forces Command undergo a 20 day Soldier Qualification course.

Reservists, particularly the Army Reserve, may conduct basic and trades training part-time, generally alternating weekends. Due to increased integration of the Regular and Reserve Force, many reservists attend courses hosted by the Regular Force. Members of the Army Reserves complete an 8 week BMQ/SQ course (Basic Military Qualification and Soldier Qualification) during the summer. The Naval and Air Reserve jointly conduct BMQ for its recruits at the Naval Reserve Training Division Borden equivalent to Regular Force BMQ, at Canadian Forces Base Borden. The Navy trains its personnel in seamanship, firefighting, damage control and other skills after BMQ, in the Naval Environmental Training Program (NETP) in either Esquimalt or Halifax.

Israel

Main article: Tironut

The recruit training of the Israel Defense Forces (called tironut in Hebrew) varies depending on the unit, where virtually each unique unit completes a different training course. Recruits are certified as riflemen after the completion of the training, where Rifleman 02 is the easiest and least demanding level (for non-combat units), whereas Rifleman 07 (for infantry) is much more difficult. Every combat corps and some combat support and non-combat ones have their own training base for the recruit training, while most non-combat units train in all-army bases for the certification of Rifleman 02.

Individuals desiring to become officers must apply to be trained at a facility in the Negev desert called "Bahad One" (abbreviation of "Basis Hadracha", Instruction Base). They must abide by a Code of Conduct and can be dismissed at anytime for failing to abide by that Code, which includes failure to pick up a piece of paper on the ground or failing to offer a seat on a bus to an elderly individual.

Pakistan

Main article: Pakistan Military Academy

The Pakistan Military Academy (or PMA) is a Military Academy of the Pakistan Army. It is located at Kakul near Abbottabad in the North-West Frontier Province. The Pakistan Military Academy is equivalent to Sandhurst, West Point or Tironut and undertakes training of the prospective officers of Pakistan Army. The academy has three training battalions and twelve companies.

Enlisted Men undertake training at the Regimental Center of their chosen regiment.

Singapore

Main article: National Service in Singapore

In Singapore, national service is compulsory. Recruits enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces have to go through Basic Military training (BMT). Based on their medical Physical Employment Status (PES) grading, recruits may undergo standard, enhanced, modified, or obese BMT conducted at the Basic Military Training Centre on the offshore island of Pulau Tekong. During the course of their BMT, they are expected to learn command drills, go through obstacle courses, survive field camps, undergo fitness tests, throw live grenades, learn how to operate a rifle and master the basics of being a soldier. They are also expected to mingle with other recruits from their platoon despite being from different walks of life. At the end of BMT, they will have a passing-out parade (POP) to signify the transition from civilian to soldier. After BMT, the recruit will then be posted to a military unit which is determined by their life skills and suitability for deployment. Recruits deemed with good leadership skills will progress to School of Infantry Specialists(SISPEC) to be trained as specialists or to Officer Cadet School(OCS) to be trained as officers. Besides leadership, academic qualifications are also taken into selection for those who are to progressed to become commanders.

United States

In the United States, recruit training in the Army is called Basic Combat Training, in the Air Force it is called Basic Military Training or "BMT", in the Navy and Marine Corps, it is called Recruit Training and in the Coast Guard, it is called "Basic Training." Boot camp is a USA term for describing the training facility for new enlisted recruits when engaged in Basic Combat Training, Basic Military Training (BMT), Recruit Training or Basic Training.

Extreme levels of aggression and intimidation are an integral part of most boot camps.

Some services present a badge or other award to denote completion of recruit training. The United States Army typically issues the Army Service Ribbon (issued after completion of Advanced Individual Training), and the United States Air Force presents the Air Force Training Ribbon and the Airman's Coin. The United States Marine Corps issue the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor once initial training is complete to signify that the recruits are now Marines. The United States Navy replaces the "RECRUIT" ball cap the recruits have worn throughout training with the "NAVY" ball cap upon successful completion of "Battle Stations". The United States Coast Guard's basic training graduates place a Coast Guard Medallion on their ball cap.

For honor graduates of basic training, both the Coast Guard and U.S. Air Force present a Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon. The Navy and Marine Corps often meritoriously advance the top graduates of each division one pay-grade (up to a maximum of E-3).

Coast Guard

Recruit training for United States Coast Guard is held at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey. The training lasts for 8 weeks. U.S. Coast Guard is unique in that it fires the Sig Sauer P229R pistol during the training. The training also covers basic seamenship, drill, and firefighting. Although the USCG is a part of the Department of Homeland Security, rather than the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard is fully a military service, USCG personnel are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and "Coastie" boot camp is just as "military" as the other U.S. services, though there is an additional emphasis on maritime law enforcement. During their time at TRACEN Cape May, the recruits are subjected to the usual "boot camp" atmosphere of yelling and motivation. The recruits are designated as Seamen recruits (SR). They must adhere to strict rules such as hygiene and uniform regulations and obey all lawful orders. Coast Guard drill instructors are called "Company Commanders."

After completing boot camp, recruits can select their rate and then attend an "A" school. "A" school is a long-term technical school providing specific instruction about a rate. The "A" schools last 2 to 5 months. Some rates receive apprenticeship training instead of attending an "A" school.

Air Force

The U.S. Air Force’s Basic Military Training (BMT) is eight and a half weeks long and is conducted at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. During BMT, personnel are referred to as trainees until they have started their sixth week of training, which is when they are referred to as Airmen and are allowed to wear their dress blues. Trainees receive military instruction (including the Air Force core values, flight and individual drill, and living area inspections), academic classes (covering topics such as Air Force history, dress and appearance, military customs and courtesies, ethics, security, and alcohol/drug abuse prevention and treatment), and field training (including protection against biological and chemical attack, basic marksmanship on the M-16 rifle, and first aid). Following BMT, airmen go to a technical school (or “tech school”) where they learn the specifics of their Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC), which is similar to the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) in the Army and Marines, or the Navy's NEC (Naval Enlisted Classification) code.

Lackland AFB has been associated with BMT for almost the Air Force's entire history. For a brief time between 1966 and 1968, the Air Force operated a second BMT at Amarillo AFB, in Amarillo, Texas.

It was announced in Feb. of 2006 that an additional 2 weeks of BMT will be added. The additional time will be used for "warfighting skills" that would be encountered in a deployed location.

As of Sept. 2007, Air Force basic training is still conducted in 6-1/2 weeks. The additional 2 weeks is to be added to the program on November 1, 2008. The training will be 8-1/2 weeks long and has been tailored to incorporate some of the additional warfighting skills within the current program.

Army

Main article: United States Army Basic Training

In the Army, the location where a recruit is sent for Basic Training depends on his or her chosen Military Occupational Specialty, or MOS, which is selected upon enlistment.

Basic training is divided into two parts, which commonly take place at two different locations, depending on the chosen MOS:

• Basic Combat Training, or BCT, is now a 10-week training period that is identical for all MOSs.
• Advanced Individual Training, or AIT, is where new soldiers receive specific training in their chosen MOS. The length of AIT training varies depending on the MOS and can last anywhere from six weeks to one year.

The U.S. Army has five sites for BCT:

• Fort Benning, Georgia
• Fort Jackson, South Carolina
• Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
• Fort Sill, Oklahoma
• Fort Knox, Kentucky

Female Army recruits are sent to Fort Leonard Wood (Missouri) or Fort Jackson, which have gender-integrated training.

Basic Combat Training is divided into three phases. During Phase I, (Also known as "Red Phase") recruits are subject to "Total Control," meaning their every action is monitored and constantly corrected by drill sergeants. The first week of training is commonly referred to as "Hell Week," due to the intense period of adjustment required on the part of the new recruits. Marches are common throughout basic training. Recruits are sent to the "gas chamber" during Phase I, as part of training for defensive chemical warfare. They are also introduced to their standard-issue weapon, the M16A2 assault rifle.

Phase II (Also known as "White Phase") is where soldiers begin actually firing weapons, starting with the assault rifle (M16A2). Other weapons the recruit becomes familiarized with include various grenades (such as the M67 fragmentation grenade) and grenade launchers (such as the M203). Recruits are then familiarized with the bayonet, anti-tank/armor weaponry and other heavy weapons. There is also an obstacle course which the soldiers are expected to negotiate in a certain amount of time. Additionally, there is continual, intense PT, as well as drill and ceremony training. At the conclusion of Phase II, soldiers are expected to demonstrate proficiency with the various weaponry in which they trained.

US Army bayonet training.

Phase III "Blue Phase" is the culmination and the most challenging of all the training phases. During the first week, there is a final PT test. Recruits that fail are frequently retested, often up until the morning of their cycle's graduation. If they do not pass they are recycled to another platoon until they meet the fitness standards. The final PT Test is the Standard Army Physical Fitness Test. A minimum of 150 points is required to pass US Army Basic Training. During this phase, the recruits move on to longer and more intensive "Bivouac" (camping) and FTX (Field Training Exercises), such as nighttime combat operations. Drill sergeants will make much of this an adversarial process, working against the recruits in many of the night operations, trying to foil plans, etc.

Marine Corps

Main article: United States Marine Corps Boot Camp

A Marine Drill Instructor inspects his platoon shortly before Lights Out.

United States Marine Corps Recruit Depots are located at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. All female enlisted Marines go to Parris Island. Men go to either, depending on whether they were recruited east or west of the Mississippi River. The Marine Corps' 13-week long recruit training is the longest in United States Armed Services.

Marine Corps Recruit Training is divided up into three five-week phases and further broken down to individual training days. While there are 69 training days, recruits also go through pre and post training processing. Phase one mainly consists of learning recruit life protocol, PT, MCMAP training, academic classes, Pugil stick fights, first aid training, initial drill, a series inspection, and the confidence course. Phase two is completely in the field for west coast recruits, with half of the time is spent on marksmanship training on the rifle range, the other half with field week and the crucible where skills such as patrolling with squads and fire teams, land navigation, the gas chamber, and more. For East coast recruits, phase two is swim qualification, rifle qualification, and Team Week, a week of maintenance duties for the island as a sort of relative break from training. Phase three brings the San Diego recruits back to the recruit depot where they finish up with swim qualification, final drill, final inspection, more PT and confidence courses, and graduation. Parris Island recruits finish with field training, final drill and inspection, the Crucible, and graduation. Note that recruits going to either depot receive the exact same training, if in a different order.

Recruit training for Marines is a 13-week long program, and is followed by infantry training which is mandatory for Marines of all military occupational specialties (MOS) at the Schools Of Infantry located at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (for Parris Island graduates) and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California (for San Diego graduates). Marines with an Infantry MOS (03XX) are assigned to Infantry Training Battalion (ITB) companies A-D for two months of training. Marines with non-infantry MOS designations go to Marine Combat Training Battalion (MCT) companies E-H for 3 weeks of training. ITB and MCT are both run by the School Of Infantry, but MCT is a more generalized form of training whereas ITB is longer and MOS-specific. After graduation from the School of Infantry, Marines who have a non-infantry MOS will continue on to yet another school for training in their specific job field. Infantry Marines will normally proceed directly to their fleet unit.

Navy

A Navy Recruit Division Commander conducts "Instructional Training" to correct substandard performance during boot camp.

Main article: United States Navy Basic Training

The U.S. Navy currently operates boot camp at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, located at Naval Station Great Lakes, near North Chicago, Illinois. Instead of having Drill Sergeants or Drill Instructors like other U.S. Military branches, the U.S. Navy has RDC's (Recruit Division Commanders) that are assigned to each division. Training lasts approximately eight weeks (although some recruits will spend as many as nine weeks in training due to the somewhat complicated processing cycle). Days are counted by a system that lists the week and day that they are on, for example 7-3 for week 7 day 3. The first approximate week is counted P-1, P-2, etc. which denotes that it is a processing day and does not count as part of their 8 week training period. Recruits are instructed on military drill, basic seamanship, basic shipboard damage control, firefighting, familiarization with the M9 pistol and Mossberg 500 shotgun (the Navy no longer gives instruction on the M-16 in boot camp), pass the confidence chamber (tear gas filled chamber), PT, and the basic essentials on Navy life. Recruits also attend many classes throughout boot camp on subjects such as Equal Opportunity, Sexual Assault Victim Intervention, Uniformed Code Of Military Justice, Recognition of naval aircraft and vessels, and more. In order for recruits to pass boot camp, they will be physically and mentally tested on a 12 hour exercise called Battle Stations which consists of 12 different scenarios consisting of firefighting, first aid knowledge, survival at sea, mass casualties, bomb detection and many other skills that they have been learning in the past 7 weeks. After completion of boot camp, freshly minted Sailors are sent either to various "A" Schools located across the United States, where they begin training to receive their ratings (jobs) or to apprenticeship training, where they then enter the fleet without a designation.

The Navy formerly operated Recruit Training Centers in San Diego, California, Orlando, Florida and Port Deposit (Bainbridge), Maryland. As of 2007, only RTC Great Lakes is currently in operation with no plans to open new training centers or re-open past training centers.

See also

• Australian Army Recruit Training
• Army.ca a Canadian website discussing the recruiting process and basic training of the Canadian military.
• Basic School
• Full Metal Jacket, a motion picture by Stanley Kubrick.
• Military Academy
• Officer Candidate School
• Reserve Officers Training Corps, also known as ROTC.
• Royal Marines recruit training
• Royal Military College, Duntroon
• United States Army Basic Training
• Advanced Individual Training

References

• USAREC (2003). U.S. Army DEP Guide: Army Terminology. United States Army Recruiting Command. Fort Knox, KY (USA).
• USMC Recruit Depot San Diego. Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Headquarters Western Recruiting Region. MCRD San Diego, CA (USA)
• Media:The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp, by Sgt. Michael Volkin. Savas Beatie, 2005. ISBN 1932714111
• How to Survive Boot Camp (US)
• Army Testing New Basic Training Schedule (U.S.)
• Canadian Forces BMQ (Basic Military Qualification)
• Canadian Forces website (forces.ca)