Military

What is the hardest part of Army basic training?

The Hardest Part of Army Basic Training: Embracing Uncertainty

What is the hardest part of Army basic training? I would say for me personally, it was a lot of the unknown, right? Not knowing what's going to happen tomorrow, what's going to happen in a few hours, you know, not knowing if you know you're going to get yelled at, not knowing if you're going to get smoked and have to do a bunch of exercises and kind of unpredictability, you know, there's a lot of things that they're trying to kind of keep you on your toes, trying to help you kind of think in a stressful environment and everything like that. So they don't fill you in on every single thing. So you don't know exactly what it's going to be like. It's not like in school where you know tomorrow there's going to be a test or you know that tomorrow there's going to be this, you know. There are some of that element in basic training, but there's also a lot of surprises. And some of that was kind of the hardest for me of just kind of the worry about what's going to happen now. What are we going to go do? We're getting marched over this location and what's going to happen when we get there? Some of that uncertainty, unknowing thing was difficult and a little bit stressful, but it's there for a reason.

The hardest part of basic training is the unpredictability and not knowing what will happen next.

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The hardest part of Army basic training, in my opinion, is the element of the unknown. The unpredictability of not knowing what will happen next, whether it's getting yelled at or having to do intense exercises, can be challenging. Basic training aims to keep you on your toes and develop your ability to think under stress. They intentionally withhold information to create a more stressful environment. Unlike school, where you know what to expect the next day, basic training includes surprises and unexpected situations. This uncertainty and constant worry about what will happen next was personally difficult and stressful for me. However, it serves a purpose in helping trainees adapt to unpredictable circumstances and build resilience.

Do you get weekends off in Army Basic Training?

No Days Off: The Reality of Army Basic Training

Do you get weekends off in Army basic training? No, definitely not. The closest thing you'll kind of get is like, on like, let's say Saturday for example. Saturday you're probably doing some sort of training still. You don't get any kind of time off on Saturday. You'll still be doing training, doing things on Saturday. The closest thing you kind of will get is sort of on Sundays, where Sunday you'll have time to like go to, like you know, to go to church. You know, you want to go and go to practice for whatever your religion is, then you can go to the church to listen to the pastor and listen to the preacher talk and everything like that. And if you don't do that, then you're usually gonna stay behind and clean up the barracks. And there's little moments of time where you'll get a little bit of time off to like write letters, use phones maybe, do other kinds of things, personal hygiene, everything. But essentially, you won't get any days off. You won't get that until possibly sort of like on family time at the end when you're graduating. After that, that stuff doesn't come until you actually get to your unit. In basic, no days off.

No, Army basic training does not provide any days off. The closest thing to a break is on Sundays, where you will have some time off for religious practice or to clean the barracks and do other personal tasks.

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In Army basic training, weekends off are not given. On Saturdays, you will continue with training and activities. The closest thing to a break might be on Sundays when you have the opportunity to attend religious services. If you choose not to attend, you'll likely stay behind to clean the barracks. During these times, there may be brief moments for personal tasks like writing letters, using phones, and personal hygiene. However, it's important to note that there are no days off during basic training. The possibility for time off usually comes during family time at the end of training or once you have completed basic training and join your assigned unit.

Inside Look: United States Army Basic Training

What is basic training like? Well, speaking from the Army standpoint, since that's where I was at, I was in the United States Army, basic training, right, it's designed to make sure you can work under pressure, make sure you're in shape, and make sure you learn the basic fundamentals of being a soldier in the United States Army. So, key things is you're going to wake up really early in the morning, it might be like 4 o'clock in the morning, 5 o'clock in the morning, whatever, wake up, do a little bit of hygiene, do physical fitness for about an hour, hour and a half, two hours, depending on how the drill sergeants want to do it. Then you're doing training throughout the day, you're probably getting yelled at here and there, getting smoked, which means you have to do a lot of exercises, doing some physical training, things like, you know, road marching, going to weapons qualification, gas chamber, all that kind of stuff. And then there's also a combination, somewhere in there, of some actual classes where you sit in a classroom environment and learn something through slide shows and everything. So, that's throughout that whole entire 10 weeks, a lot of getting yelled at, a lot of training, a lot of things going on, going to bed late at night, getting a little bit of sleep, but in the end, it trains you to be a United States Army soldier.

Basic training in the Army is designed to make sure you can work under pressure, stay in shape, and learn the fundamentals of being a soldier. It includes waking up early, physical fitness, training throughout the day, classes, and getting yelled at. It's intense but helps train you to be a soldier.

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Speaking from my experience in the United States Army, basic training is designed to prepare individuals to work under pressure, be physically fit, and learn the fundamental skills of being a soldier. The day typically starts very early, around 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. After some basic hygiene, there is a period of physical fitness training that can last between one and two hours. Throughout the day, there are various training activities, which may involve being yelled at by drill sergeants and participating in exercises and physical training. These activities can include road marching, weapons qualification, and experiencing a gas chamber. Additionally, there are classroom sessions where participants learn through slide shows and lectures. The entire 10-week period of basic training is filled with intense training, limited sleep, and a lot going on. Ultimately, it prepares individuals to become United States Army soldiers.

Which experiences or training in the military do you feel have been most valuable to your leadership development?

Military training and experience: Key to leadership development

Which experiences or training in the military do you feel have been most valuable to your leadership development? Well, so it kind of sounds kind of simple and kind of easy, but my actual leadership training was probably one of the key things I went through. At that time it was called PLDC and BNOC, now it's called BLC and ALC in the United States Army, and those two courses teach you how to be a leader at, you know, different kind of levels. And I learned a lot of things like, you know, how to teach a class, how to, you know, do counseling, how to do different things for leading soldiers and taking care of soldiers and everything, basic fundamentals like marching and all sorts of other stuff that still kind of applies. So a lot of it comes from that, but also a lot of it comes from the actual experience itself. Probably the last role that I had in the Army as a section sergeant in the ammo section of my last unit was probably one of the biggest ones because I was a section sergeant, I had 10 other soldiers under me and a lot of different scenarios that you kind of experience and everything to kind of learn from. Going to deployments with these individuals, going to the National Training Center with these individuals, and a lot of various kind of scenarios that kind of played out that really kind of helped me develop and kind of learn the do's and don'ts, the right way, wrong way to do different things, and it really kind of built up my skills to make me overall better, to kind of better be able to adjust to different situations and know how to apply myself.

My most valuable experience in the military was my leadership training, which taught me how to teach classes, counsel, and lead soldiers. I also learned a lot from my role as a section Sergeant, where I had 10 other soldiers under me, and had to learn from various scenarios such as deployments and National Training Centers. This experience helped me develop my skills to be able to adjust to different situations and apply myself accordingly.

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The most valuable experiences and training in the military that have contributed to my leadership development are my leadership courses and my role as a section sergeant. In the United States Army, I went through courses like PLDC and BNOC, now called BLC and ALC, which taught me how to be a leader at different levels. These courses covered various aspects of leadership, such as teaching, counseling, and taking care of soldiers. I also learned fundamental skills like marching that still apply today. However, a significant part of my leadership development came from the actual experiences in my last role as a section sergeant in the ammo section of my unit. Leading 10 soldiers and going through deployments and training scenarios like the National Training Center provided valuable opportunities for learning and growth. These experiences taught me the do's and don'ts, the right way and wrong way to handle different situations. They helped me develop the skills needed to adapt to various circumstances and apply myself effectively as a leader.

Can you describe a typical Sunday schedule during Army basic training?

Inside Look: Sundays in Army Basic Training Revealed

Can you describe a typical Sunday schedule during Army basic training? So, for the most part, it depends on if you're going to go to church or not going to church. If you are going to go to church, then you'll probably spend a couple hours in the morning going there. You'll probably still wake up pretty early and do like personal hygiene and everything, and then they'll take you to church pretty early. If you're not going to be doing church services, then you're kind of staying in the barracks and just cleaning. They spend all morning cleaning. You go to lunch, you know, when it's lunchtime around like 11, 30, 12, somewhere around there, come back, and you'll probably even though, you know, church will be over by then, so then all the people that went to church will be back as well. And then in the afternoon, it's probably just more cleaning. It might be cleaning in the barracks, it might be cleaning outside to pick up weeds, to pick up trash, all sorts of things. Spend some time maybe, you know, taking care of, you know, certain other kind of items that are just cleaning kind of things, but for the most part, they'll keep you busy in some way. They'll find something for you to do. Usually, that's a lot of like area beautification type of things that you're kind of doing and doing different details and different cleaning and different other tasks they find for you.

On a typical Sunday during Army basic training, you may either go to church in the morning or stay in the barracks and clean. In the afternoon, more cleaning tasks such as area beautification will be assigned.

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A typical Sunday schedule during Army basic training can vary depending on whether you attend church or not. If you go to church, your morning will involve personal hygiene followed by a couple of hours spent at the church service. If you don't attend church, you'll remain in the barracks and focus on cleaning tasks. The morning is dedicated to cleaning, with a break for lunch around 11:30 or 12. After lunch, those who attended church will return, and the afternoon is typically filled with more cleaning activities. This may involve cleaning the barracks, tidying up outside by picking up weeds and trash, and attending to various cleaning-related tasks. The goal is to keep trainees busy with area beautification and other assigned tasks throughout the day.

Mastering JBCB: Teaching Soldiers Critical Navigation Skills

What do you teach at Fort Carson? So I teach soldiers how to utilize a system known as JBCB. It's the FBCB2 system. It's the Blue Force Tracker, however some veterans may know it as, but essentially it's a navigation system that soldiers utilize to track other friendly units, their allies, coalition forces, send up reports, and all sorts of things on the battlefield. So typically it's mounted inside your vehicles and soldiers would use this out on missions whether they're deployed, training environments, whatever, and they also have another version of the system that can get set up like inside of a building or inside of a tent. But essentially I teach soldiers how to use that software so that way they can be proficient with it in a combat environment and in the field. And then I also have a maintainer course that I also teach as far as how to teach people how to like maintain it, how to troubleshoot it, how to like configure and set it up. So I teach the JBCB system at Fort Carson.

At Fort Carson, I teach soldiers how to use the JBC P system, which is a navigation system used to track friendly units on the battlefield. I also teach how to maintain, troubleshoot and configure it.

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At Fort Carson, I teach soldiers how to utilize the JBCB (FBCB2) system, also known as the Blue Force Tracker. This system is used for navigation and allows soldiers to track friendly units, allies, and coalition forces, as well as send reports on the battlefield. It is typically mounted inside vehicles but can also be set up in buildings or tents. My role is to teach soldiers how to use the software effectively in combat and field environments. Additionally, I teach a maintainer course that focuses on troubleshooting, configuring, and setting up the system. In summary, my main focus at Fort Carson is teaching soldiers how to use the JBCB system.

Christopher Chaos answers your Military questions. See all the advice Christopher Chaos has and get answers to your own Military questions.

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I served almost 11 years on active duty in the US Army. I deployed twice to Iraq. During the day I am a military instructor on Fort Carson where I teach US Army soldiers and have done that for 10+ years. I also create Army related content on my YouTube channel with over 100K subscribers and more than 20 million views. 