USAFA Basic Training

M

M005E

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
1
Hello,

On November 7th, I received my appointment to the Air Force Academy. That being said, I want to make a good impression during BCT. Could any current/future USAFA Cadet tell me any specifics about what happens during the six weeks? More importantly, what are some good ways to train for BCT?

Thanks,
M005E
 
M005E said:
Hello,

On November 7th, I received my appointment to the Air Force Academy. That being said, I want to make a good impression during BCT. Could any current/future USAFA Cadet tell me any specifics about what happens during the six weeks? More importantly, what are some good ways to train for BCT?

Thanks,
M005E
Click to expand...

Congratulations - make sure you add yourself to the appointment thread.

My DS's goal was not to strive for attention, but for the cadre to trust that he could both complete his assigned tasks but be counted on to help the other basics through theirs.

My two suggestions are 1) check your ego at the door and 2) get great shape before BCT starts (if you are not struggling with the physical components of BCT, you'll have more energy available to deal with the other aspects of your training).

Congratulations. Train hard, enjoy your senior year, and give your mom a hug.
 
Tips for BCT:
1. Arrive in good physical shape
2. Take training seriously--the program is there to help you develop into a follower and leader
3. Don't take criticism personally--BCT is there to make you better, that involves some changes

Work hard. Don't quit. Help your classmates.
 
Run, run, run some more. USAFA is at 7,000 feet. Unless you’re from another high-elevation place, you will feel it. And nothing makes BCT harder than not being in shape. The better your conditioning, the better you’ll be able to cope with the mental strain and to help your classmates — both very good things at BCT.
 
I didn’t really know anything about basic before going in, so you and mostly everyone else will do fine, but knowing some stuff beforehand could be beneficial. One of the main points of basic is to make you perform under pressure with confidence. Multiple times, the cadre said they would rather us try and fail confidently than not do it at all like greeting them even though you might not know their full name (which you’re supposed to when you greet). Additionally, never leave a wingmen behind and finish as a team. You will learn more about this, but they are trying to make you realize that the team is #1, at USAFA and in the operational Air Force. If someone is getting berated and is the only one doing pushups, you get down with them and do it too. Some people didn’t quite get this concept and are struggling to fit in the squad after Basic since they were not mostly “selfish” but just didn’t seem to care that much about their classmates. You’re starting with an entirely new set of people, so all those qualities that defined you in High School aren’t there anymore. It’s a chance to make a good impression so do it right, and set a new standard about yourself.
 
1. RUN RUN RUN RUN, and then run with weights on your ankles (especially if you are from a sea level area). Be in the absolute best physical condition of your life.
2. You may have been the emperor of your highschool, the high priestess of the IB program.... you will NOT be so on I-Day or on any other day until Recognition (March). Check your attitude at the door and learn some team work skills. Learn to take orders and learn to bring your other squad mates along.
3. Quit whining about everything that is uncomfortable, inconvenient, not as you'd like it. Adult life can be like that, a lot.
4. Remember, and try to remind Mom and Dad as gently as possible, you are not in civilian college, but are now a member of the US Military. You have full adult rights (except drinking, and no pot for you, despite Colorado's idiocy), but also, full adult responsibilities. Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not. Know it going in and you won't be so snarky when you're there.
5. Your high school, despite what all your neighbors have told you, is not the end all/be all of the teen universe. State champs in Lacrosse? Yay! Best Math program in the county? Boy howdy! You are just as likely to room with a kid who's never seen a cow in real life, never ridden a commuter train, never mucked out a horse stall, never seen the ocean, never driven a car, never had a sibling, never had a room he didn't share with his ten brothers. In other words, you are in a new, and very real, world now, and learn to accept people as individuals instead of as part of pre-defined groups. (Though NARPs do come to mind, and they are a majority, not a minority at USAFA {NARP: Non-Athletic Regular Person}
6. Recall that your parents still think of you, especially your dear and devoted mother who gave you life, kissed your booboos, cheered on your 5th grade high jump, and sat in the rain while you ran around a soccer field for 3 hours, your parents will always first think of you as Baby Johnny, or Lil Susie. Don't get your flight suit all in a twist because they call you "too often" or send you your favorite Rice Krispie treats in the mail. Set up a weekly time (after BCT) to chat, and don't forget them at home. They walk past your empty bed every day (and want to make it into Mom's Sewing Extravaganza or Dad's Tool Time TruckStop), wondering how things are for you.

Be good and go to Church. :)
 
fencersmother said:
1. RUN RUN RUN RUN, and then run with weights on your ankles (especially if you are from a sea level area). Be in the absolute best physical condition of your life.
2. You may have been the emperor of your highschool, the high priestess of the IB program.... you will NOT be so on I-Day or on any other day until Recognition (March). Check your attitude at the door and learn some team work skills. Learn to take orders and learn to bring your other squad mates along.
3. Quit whining about everything that is uncomfortable, inconvenient, not as you'd like it. Adult life can be like that, a lot.
4. Remember, and try to remind Mom and Dad as gently as possible, you are not in civilian college, but are now a member of the US Military. You have full adult rights (except drinking, and no pot for you, despite Colorado's idiocy), but also, full adult responsibilities. Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not. Know it going in and you won't be so snarky when you're there.
5. Your high school, despite what all your neighbors have told you, is not the end all/be all of the teen universe. State champs in Lacrosse? Yay! Best Math program in the county? Boy howdy! You are just as likely to room with a kid who's never seen a cow in real life, never ridden a commuter train, never mucked out a horse stall, never seen the ocean, never driven a car, never had a sibling, never had a room he didn't share with his ten brothers. In other words, you are in a new, and very real, world now, and learn to accept people as individuals instead of as part of pre-defined groups. (Though NARPs do come to mind, and they are a majority, not a minority at USAFA {NARP: Non-Athletic Regular Person}
6. Recall that your parents still think of you, especially your dear and devoted mother who gave you life, kissed your booboos, cheered on your 5th grade high jump, and sat in the rain while you ran around a soccer field for 3 hours, your parents will always first think of you as Baby Johnny, or Lil Susie. Don't get your flight suit all in a twist because they call you "too often" or send you your favorite Rice Krispie treats in the mail. Set up a weekly time (after BCT) to chat, and don't forget them at home. They walk past your empty bed every day (and want to make it into Mom's Sewing Extravaganza or Dad's Tool Time TruckStop), wondering how things are for you.

Be good and go to Church. :)
Click to expand...
+100. Fencermother hits another one out of the park.
 
Get in good shape, but at the end of the day the hardest thing about basic was getting used to the unforgiving nature of it. You will be yelled at and you will be uncomfortable, but just don't take yourself too seriously and you'll get through it. You'll also get some great stories and make some amazing new friends. Anyone in decent shape can complete the physical tasks for themselves, but you should make it your goal to be able to put yourself under someone struggling with pushups or be able to take 1 or 2 rifles so your classmates don't fall out of formation during a rifle run.
 
Make sure you run alot, but also do the small exercises that help strenthen your shins. you dont want injuries. Go in there with a great attiryude and expect it to be really hard. YOu may surprise your self as to how well you handle the stress. If you are feeling really excited learn the third verse of the airforce song. It will come in handy after BCT. I am a mom so I wasnt there but I have heard some things from my son. Good luck!! Aim high!
 
psessions said:
Make sure you run alot, but also do the small exercises that help strenthen your shins. you dont want injuries. Go in there with a great attiryude and expect it to be really hard. YOu may surprise your self as to how well you handle the stress. If you are feeling really excited learn the third verse of the airforce song. It will come in handy after BCT. I am a mom so I wasnt there but I have heard some things from my son. Good luck!! Aim high!
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on shin-strengthening exercises? I want to make sure I don’t get shin splints when running.
 
The best defense against shin splints is to build up your running mileage gradually. Shin splints are a stress injury that occur when someone ramps up volume too quickly. It’s worse when you’re starting from scratch. So build up smartly until you have a good base.

Shin splints and stress fractures are a fairly common injury during plebe summer (doolie summer?), when many mids/cadets show up without having built an adequate base. If you make it to an SA, best way to prepare is to run, run, run.
 
One of my guys had a lot of trouble with shin splints before BCT. He got these really hideous black nylon-stretchy things which he wore running (we had no natural track where we live, just really STEEP brick, 100 year old, Pennsylvania streets). These things did help, and of course, ice was his best friend. The problem resolved when he was at BCT (because he was in fantastic shape), mostly due to the natural running surfaces.

Ice will change your life. :)
 
1. Be in good shape. You want to run a lot, though during basic the longest I ran was at the end of basic, it was about 4 or so miles. Normally we would only run maybe 2-3 miles at most throughout the day. Most people who went to the clinic and got injured during basic did so because of shin splints. Apart from that make sure you’re well rounded physically and can hold a front lean for a while.

2. Know that you will NOT be the best at everything, everyone was really good at one thing, but you have to find that one thing.

3. You will fail. Everyone failed at something. If you see someone failing at something encourage them.

4. Be prepared to get screamed at... a lot. There’s not a lot you can do to prepare for that early just know it’s going to happen.

5. Try to learn some knowledge early, there’s several videos and other posts with stuff to try to learn.

6. If you’re religious go to church when they offer it, if you aren’t religious, still go to church for whatever religion you want, it is worth it to get away.

7. Get close with your flight, the more you learn to rely on and help each other, the better. They will become some of your best friends, who you’ll also be living with for at least the next 2 years. So don’t make enemies of them.

8. Have fun. It’s hard to the first few days, but after that it gets a lot easier when you figure out the time and place.

I made some of my best memories during basic, it’s one of the best experiences of my life that I would never give up.
 
One thing I read here:

They can yell at you, they can make you do push ups...but they can't stop time. As tough as BCT is, it will be over eventually.
 
fencersmother said:
1. RUN RUN RUN RUN, and then run with weights on your ankles (especially if you are from a sea level area). Be in the absolute best physical condition of your life.
2. You may have been the emperor of your highschool, the high priestess of the IB program.... you will NOT be so on I-Day or on any other day until Recognition (March). Check your attitude at the door and learn some team work skills. Learn to take orders and learn to bring your other squad mates along.
3. Quit whining about everything that is uncomfortable, inconvenient, not as you'd like it. Adult life can be like that, a lot.
4. Remember, and try to remind Mom and Dad as gently as possible, you are not in civilian college, but are now a member of the US Military. You have full adult rights (except drinking, and no pot for you, despite Colorado's idiocy), but also, full adult responsibilities. Is it fair? Maybe, maybe not. Know it going in and you won't be so snarky when you're there.
5. Your high school, despite what all your neighbors have told you, is not the end all/be all of the teen universe. State champs in Lacrosse? Yay! Best Math program in the county? Boy howdy! You are just as likely to room with a kid who's never seen a cow in real life, never ridden a commuter train, never mucked out a horse stall, never seen the ocean, never driven a car, never had a sibling, never had a room he didn't share with his ten brothers. In other words, you are in a new, and very real, world now, and learn to accept people as individuals instead of as part of pre-defined groups. (Though NARPs do come to mind, and they are a majority, not a minority at USAFA {NARP: Non-Athletic Regular Person}
6. Recall that your parents still think of you, especially your dear and devoted mother who gave you life, kissed your booboos, cheered on your 5th grade high jump, and sat in the rain while you ran around a soccer field for 3 hours, your parents will always first think of you as Baby Johnny, or Lil Susie. Don't get your flight suit all in a twist because they call you "too often" or send you your favorite Rice Krispie treats in the mail. Set up a weekly time (after BCT) to chat, and don't forget them at home. They walk past your empty bed every day (and want to make it into Mom's Sewing Extravaganza or Dad's Tool Time TruckStop), wondering how things are for you.

Be good and go to Church. :)
Click to expand...
fencersmother tells it like it is! Realize that if your shoes aren't laced properly, you'll get yelled. If they are laced perfectly, you'll get yelled at. If your push ups are weak, you'll get yelled at. If they are perfect form, you'll get yelled at. It's not personal. It's the system and the system works.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top