How Long is Military Boot Camp?

If you are planning to join the US army, then you will need to attend a military boot camp for basic army training. These boot camps prepare you for the rigorous physical training that soldiers in the army have to undergo. As a recruit you will be expected to pass all the phases of the military boot camp before you pass on to advanced training levels and then join the army. How long is a military boot camp is a question that many people heading to one often ask. In this article we tell you more about the duration of a boot camp and also what to expect from such a training program.

Military Boot Camp Overview

While attending an army boot camp you will be expected to pass the grueling physical exercise test they put you through before starting the training. For male cadets, this test includes having to do 13 push ups, 17 sit ups and running a distance of one mile in less than eight and a half minutes. This physical test is cake walk compared to the military boot camp workout that you will have to perform as a part of your daily schedule. In order to attend these camps you need to be at least 18 years of age but in case you have parental consent, then you will be allowed to give the test. The maximum age limit is fixed at 42. In case you are less than 17 years of age, you could attend a boot camp for teenagers to prepare yourself for the camp that you can attend when you are of age. You need to have graduated from high school in order to get into the camp and need to be of sound health without any debilitating disabilities. It is also not possible for single parents or people with more than 2 children to attend military boot camps.

There are five military boot camp locations in the United States where basic training happens. These boot camps are situated at Fort Benning in Ohio, Fort Jackson in South Carolina, Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Fort Knox in Kentucky, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The largest military boot camp is at Fort Jackson providing training to 50% of the male recruits to the army and 80% of the female recruits.

Duration of a Military Boot Camp

The duration of a military boot camp is nine weeks. The entire training period is divided into three phases and each phase lasts for three weeks each. The first phase is known as the red phase or the Patriot phase. This phase consists of training sessions with grueling exercises and a phase in which the recruit is hauled for the tiniest faults that he or she makes. There are intensive workouts and boot camp exercises and they are designed to push you to your limits. Recruits are trained in hand-to-hand combat in this phase. In Phase 2 which lasts for the next three weeks you will be trained in weapons. Known as the white or Gunfighter phase, this is when a soldier is trained about bayonets, tanks and other weaponry. In the final phase which is known as red or warrior phase, the recruit learns about nighttime operations. At the end of this phase, the recruit is expected to pass a physical test in order to progress to advanced training levels.

Most military boot camps tend to be easier on recruits, in case as a youngster they have attended some sort of military boot camp for kids, which enables them to use the skill they learned then. Military boot camps allow you to join the army which enables you to serve your country and its allies in case you need to defend it against enemies.