Posted on Mar 18, 2019
PVT Radio and Communication (COMSEC) Security Repairer
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I know theres PT every morning and stuff but;

How often do you run more than a mile in PT? (based on experience I guess cause you never know for sure) and did you do cadence runs? and how long generally?

The more important question:

What's done on a day to day basis? Like when you don't have a ruck or the obstacle course or the gas chamber or field exercises or anything major, what do you do? Is it classroom stuff?

(For the Army, in case someone from another branch sees)
Posted in these groups: Basic training logo Basic Training
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Responses: 7
LTC Jason Mackay
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Edited >1 y ago
PVT (Join to see) Individual experience may vary. They just changed BCT to encompass more shoot/move skills.

You will not have any significant down time and your days will Be intensely managed and regimented.

By week: https://jackson.armylive.dodlive.mil/about/typical-training-schedule/

By Phase: https://www.goarmy.com/soldier-life/becoming-a-soldier/basic-combat-training.html

Formation movements and runs are a large part of the initial entry training. You won't go anywhere by yourself the entire time. At a minimum you'll have a battle buddy with you. You March to chow, you march to the barracks. File from the right column right! march. You get on buses/cattle cars, you get off buses and cattle cars. You run in formation in which cadence calling is a motivating tool. Helps take your mind off running. You'll extend the left....then PT in formation unless you are doing some sort of PRT drill (sprints, carries, grass drills etc).
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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And in Army ROTC we did do cadence runs, nothing exotic, of course...at USAF OTS, we didn't do them...I think I'd been exposed to some of the gas mask stuff when my Army ROTC unit had been at Ft. Dix, as I recall, though I'm not entirely certain, in retrospect....
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Capt Daniel Goodman
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I was Army ROTC, then went USAF OTS afterward, as I hadn't finished the program...Army ROTC wanted 2 miles in 18 mins or less, in fatigues and combat boots, USAF OTS wanted a mila and a half in 12 mins or less, in shorts and sneakers...I managed the Army ROTC run time and nearly got allowed to go to Ft. Bragg for summer camp, I had an ankle sprain, my run time went up, so I was dropped from the program...I had to apply twice to USAF OTS, writing a letter requesting waiver, then went through it twice, getting recycled once...I made the USAF OTS run time by literally one second, I kid thee not, with a pacer (one of my roommates) behind me, screaming at me in exhortation all the way (we were allowed that, for whatever reason)...it'd help to know what other services you've looked at, whether you're in college now, associates, bachelors, grades, GPAs, STEM coursework you've done, what MOS you'd want, or what other fields you've looked at in any of the other services...there's always classroom stuff, in all services, always, you'll get all the usual service orientation about not just what branch you'd go into, other branches as well, and all the nuts and bolts of normal service life...you'll get up early every day, we always got up by 5 AM at USAF OTS, we were run ragged till at least 9 or 10 PM at night...your rooms will be inspected, you'll drill incessantly, regardless of which service...we didn't have to go to the firing range, as the ammo was deemed too expensive, so we were taken over to the Lackland enlisted side for the obstacle course...when I'd been Army ROTC, my unit drilled a good deal at West Point, the unit itself no longer exists, we had to be in formation with the West Point cadets, on the orienteering range for map and compass, on their obstacle course, as well, also rappelling down the West Point rappelling cliff, plus on the firing range at Ft. Dix in NJ...there are numerous videos on YouTube, for all services, many of which are extremely accurate, as well as well worth your time to peruse, I assure you...also, it'd help to know if you've worked at all thus far, and, if so, at what level, doing what...what types of bosses you've had, also...you'll also find yourself supervised, and rated, by both civil servants, as well as active duty personnel, I did, as did others I worked with, you will also, that much I can promise...when you're working, you'll be done, when you're done, and until then, you're not done...I was made to stay in the office I was in often till 3 AM, then had to do a briefing the next morning, only to be called basically an idiot, and find myself more often than not getting screamed at, I'm not saying that'd also happen to you, of course, I can only tell you it most definitely happened to me...the single most important thing in going in is to take the time to ADEQUATELY research ALL services, NOT JUST ONE...and even then, you need to understand service life seemingly often takes on virtually a life of its own, entirely, and rarely, if ever, winds up the way you'd expect, NOT because anyone lies to you, that never happened to me, ever, it just happens because, in my case, I DIDN'T research things adequately, DIDN'T take sufficient time to do so, and wound up in a unit I never expected to be in, doing work I hadn't planned on, though I was trained for it, under the wrong people, for all the wrong reasons...over time, I adapted, though not nearly rapidly enough...you'll have additional duties, fund raising, charity drives, be expected to volunteer for all sorts of goodwill stuff, all the while trying to maintain some semblance of a normal existence outside of work...you wanted the truth of service life day to day, that's it, I didn't see everything, however, I saw a good deal, I'm not telling you all that to dissuade you, I'm telling you all that to try to educate you, specifically because you ASKED to be educated, honest...so, if you'd care to chat further, I'll try to explain more, try to elaborate as I'd said, hobbies, interests, reading tastes, eventual aspirations as well, I find on here, esp with career/educ questions, the more somebody relates, the more I and others can suggest, OK? I hope that was all of at least some interest...I hadn't enlisted before I went in commissioned, had I done so, I likely would have adjusted far more readily, as well as rapidly, I knew many at USAF OTS who'd been prior enlisted, they did actually have, in the main, a far easier time adjusting to existence there, for precisely the reason that they'd already been acclimated before they got there, honest...as I'd said, if you'd care to chat further, I'lll try to explain more, if you'd like, OK?
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