Are BCT and Basic Training/Boot Camp the same?

[Tekkat]

My father has told me a lot about his experience at basic training when he enlisted in the army. Was his basic the same as BCT at USAFA?

 

[KiwiBird]

My father has told me a lot about his experience at basic training when he enlisted in the army. Was his basic the same as BCT at USAFA?

These are vastly different worlds, especially so depending on what year your father entered. They are generally the same overall, but there are many specific differences. I will let someone with more experience than me tell you what those are, because I even do not know all of them.

 

[SF_DAD]

Not even close, and I haven’t attended the USAFA BCT. I am a father that went to Army Basic Training in the 80’s.

It’s like comparing a red apple and a red Ford truck. Both contain the word red (or basic) but that’s about where the similarities end.

 

[BuckeyeDad20]

His Basic is very different from modern Army enlisted Basic. Army basic is very different from USAF basic. USAF enlisted basic is very different from USAFA Basic. AFROTC Basic is very different from USAFA BCT. Everyone thinks theirs was harder than everyone else realizes or gives them credit for.

 

[IronmanDaremo]

Apples to oranges, as others have said. The programs for all services and all venues change frequently, so there is little accurate comparison.

One thing remains constant, though. Someone with a stick up their butt will be yelling at you a lot for around 8 weeks.

 

[Dad_2024]

...I am a father that went to Army Basic Training in the 80’s...

Late '80s for me! I remember the drill sergeants used to laugh at us for wearing running shoes, they'd all say "...you ladies oughtta feel lucky, wasn't too long ago, we all ran in boots like mine, so don't whine, or we'll see if this boot fits between your cheeks!" or something like that...

 

[SOG-SA]

Late '80s for me! I remember the drill sergeants used to laugh at us for wearing running shoes, they'd all say "...you ladies oughtta feel lucky, wasn't too long ago, we all ran in boots like mine, so don't whine, or we'll see if this boot fits between your cheeks!" or something like that...

I recall my DI making the "suggestion" that we do a week of Basic, the way he did it, 15 years prior. I seem to recall there being no option to provide alternatives to that gentleman.

Now....I find myself aghast at how "easy" newbies have it. I have officially hit the "back, in my day" years. God help me.....

All a matter of perspective, I suppose.

 

[Dad_2024]

...I have officially hit the "back, in my day" years. God help me.....

This year marks 30 since the end of the Gulf War, and my ETS followed less than a year later. There's no way that phrase will ever feel right.

I know there are many on here who are thinking "...what!, only 30 years, since then, you're such a youngster!", but as we start to watch the torch passing to this next generation, it's the one phrase that's oh so easy to use.

 

[Thunder]

The point of BCT is to build the foundations to become an outstanding cadet, which is incredibly different from the mission of BMT. This is why training is so different.

 

[IronmanDaremo]

My BT was at Ft. Dix from Nov. '89 - Jan. '90. Also Desert Shield/Storm vet here.

Nothing like trying to shoot on a range in NJ winter when it was -17 degrees with wind chill. Lovely day that was!! Even the DIs didn't want to be out and let us basically spray and pray to get off the range as fast as possible.

 

[Sprinter00]

Air Force enlisted BMT was a breeze. From what I have heard BCT is much harder physically, and even more leader oriented than enlisted.