Taking Flight: Boot Camp in the Air Force

By Erin O’Neill

Each year thousands of Americans answer the call to defend our nation and join the United States Air Force. But before they’re able to proudly call themselves Airmen, they have to put in their time at boot camp, known in the Air Force as Basic Military Training (BMT).

Historically, Airmen have always had one of the shortest periods of basic training—which used to be just over six weeks. But, as of November, 2008—with the global war on terror requiring the Air Force to adopt what it calls a “Warrior First mentality”—recruits, or “trainees”, now report to BMT for eight and a half weeks before graduation. In the Air Force, all trainees, both male and female, report to Lackland Air Force Base, just south of San Antonio, Texas. Since 1946, over seven million Airmen have passed through Lackland on their way to new careers within the Air Force.

Flying Solo
From the moment trainees arrive at Lackland, they begin their transformation from civilian to service member.

“Prepare for it to be a life-changing experience,” advises Master Sergeant Amy Pope. “Your significant other will not walk out [of BMT] the same person. I believe, for the better.”

During this time, they’ll be spending every, waking moment (and there won’t be too many of those) learning, training, studying, and drilling. To make the most of this time—and to prepare Airmen for future deployments—trainees are stripped of their cell phones as soon as they enter BMT, leaving them largely incommunicado until graduation. For many couples, not used to being separated for more than a few hours, this can seem an insurmountable challenge.

To handle the communication gap, many BMT veterans recommend taking advantage of the chance to go old-school and practice the lost-art of love letters.

“Write everyday,” recommends Kristie Williams, whose husband went through BMT this past November. Mandy Brake, whose fiancé Bryan completed BMT last October agrees, remembering “we could only write back and forth, but I wrote him a letter everyday.”

Another great way to use your newfound extra free time is to learn more about BMT, and what this new Air force life you’ve signed on for, is really all about.

While at BMT, Airmen will begin to receive many of the standard perks of military service, including health insurance, life insurance and a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH – if they claim ‘dependent’ family members) which is an un-taxed allotment paid to them each paycheck, in addition to their basic pay. BAH will be based on the location where the family currently lives, not where the airman is training.

For more information on the BAH, check out your Airman’s Leave and Earning Statement (LES) on My Pay (see link below). It will take at least one month before the paychecks start to arrive, and the first checks may be short if there are items deducted from pay.  Don’t expect a permanent level of pay until your airman is at a permanent duty station.


Preparing for Take-Off
As everyone knows, boot camp is a time for intense training. But what exactly does that “training” entail, on a day-to-day basis, at BMT? 

“Most of the activities focus on teaching Airmen attention to detail, discipline, military bearing and how to work as a team, and not just as individuals,” explains Master Sergeant Pope. But before trainees can begin the challenge of “real” BMT”, they have to first complete Week Zero, the processing week.

During processing, trainees spend most of their time being shuttled from one line to another. They’re given their haircuts, uniforms, and a battery of physical and medical evaluations. They’re also formed into their Training Flights, made up of 45 Airmen, and assigned a Military Training Instructor (MTI) or (TI). Although Training Flights are sex-segregated (as are their sleeping quarters), each flight is assigned a partner flight (called a Brother or Sister flight), which can be made up of members of the opposite sex. Throughout BMT, trainees will spend most of their waking, and sleeping hours, surrounded by the members of their Training Flight.

Time Flies When You’re….Having Fun?
Once the paperwork is out of the way, trainees begin their “real” BMT. They’ll spend the next two weeks getting acquainted with military life, and learning more about what it actually means to be an Airman.  They’ll get their ID cards, learn the rank structure, how to salute and how to drill. They’ll also receive their weapon, learn how to handle and maintain it, and learn the firing positions.

Their third and fourth weeks, trainees focus on combat life-saving skills and how to counter enemy threats. They head into the gas chamber, learn the basics of field medicine and how to administer Self-Aid, Buddy Care (SABC) under fire, and complete the BMT obstacle course, as well as their weapons evaluation, to ensure they know how to assemble and break down all their weapons, quickly and safely.

Halfway through BMT, many couples get hit hard with homesickness and the challenges of separation. To combat it, Brake suggests “Keep your mind busy so you don’t think about him being gone so much.” Both she and Williams took advantage of their extra alone time to go to school, while working. Brake also surrounded herself with a great support network to get her through the rough spots.

“Hang out with your friends and family,” she says. “I had amazing friends and lots of sleepovers.” Williams also advises meeting other women who are going through the same thing. “You are not alone in this process,” she says. 

By Week Five, trainees are learning Combat Arms Training and Maintenance (CATM), how to mentally prepare for combat and are beginning their Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) preparation. The week culminates in the first written examination of BMT, before trainees head out to the infamous BEAST.

After weeks of studying, Week Six gives trainees the chance to put into action everything they’ve learned with the Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Test, otherwise known as the BEAST. During this week-long field training exercise, trainees are put into actual combat scenarios and have to employ the skills, combat tactics and knowledge they’ve mastered, as well as Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE). Completing the BEAST is one of the great milestones along the way to completing BMT, and provides many trainees with their first real glimpse of the light at the end of the BMT tunnel—graduation.

With only two weeks left, Week Seven and Eight are spent beefing up trainees on the history and heritage of the Air Force, and talking about the challenges our military faces right now. Trainees learn what joint warfare really means, how to handle combat stress and compete a series of written tests to make sure they understand the skills, values and commitment they’ll need to succeed in their own, individual technical school. This is also the time when most trainees will learn what their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), or job within the Air Force, will be, and where they’ll be heading to complete their Technical Training, within that field, after graduation.