New US Air Force graduates awaiting there first trip away from the grim 6 weeks of basic training.

Platoon 4041, Oscar Company 4th Recruit Training Battalion, graduated Dec. 06, 2013. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

photo by Candy Thomson, Public Information Officer

Recruits receive weeks of seamanship and navigation training.

U.S. Army Soldiers currently in Initial Entry Training (IET) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, return home for the holidays during Holiday Block Leave on December 18 and 19, 2018. Drill sergeants and other cadre assisted and supervised departure operations from Fort Jackson; over 5,000 trainees left from multiple main-transportation hubs in the southeast, including Columbia and Charlotte airports, and an Amtrak stations. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Roby Di Giovine, South Carolina National Guard)

Family day at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Family day at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Rantings from a Private currently in Basic Training for the U. S. Army.

Pfc. William T. McIntryre Jr., honor graduate for Platoon 2102, Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, graduated Dec. 06, 2013. McIntyre is from Seabrook, N.H. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

Maj. Gen. Anthony C. Funkhouser, commanding general of the Center for Initial Military Training at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis J. Woods, command sergeant major of the Center for Initial Military Training, meet with Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Command Sgt. Maj. Alan M. Ferris, Virginia National Guard Senior Enlisted Advisor, and tour the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program Site #9 Oct. 17, 2015, at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, Va. Lt. Col. Everton E. Nevers, commander of the Virginia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, led the briefing and tour, where they saw 54 recent Virginia Army National Guard recruits conducting various forms of training. The goal of the Recruit Sustainment Program is to introduce new National Guard recruits to the basics of the U.S. Army before they attend Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training. Training includes physical training, road marches and classes that familiarize the recruits with the U.S. Army’s military rank structure, proper wear of military uniforms and military customs. (Photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)

My Senior Drill Instructor said most SDI's chose the biggest, baddest guys as their company leaders. He said he'd get an athlete that was the smartest he could find and gave them 1 stripe less than the other companys' leaders. That way they had rise to the task; or they'd get their 'ass whipped' and give him a chance to get another early. We were the best in the Battalion and SFC. Kast and I became good friends.

Pfc. Katherine J. Samples, honor graduate for Platoon 4041, Oscar Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, graduated Dec. 06, 2013. Samples is from Austin, Texas. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

More than 800 Airmen assigned to Flights 54-71, graduated from U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, December 27-28, 2023. Maj. Gen. Christopher J. Niemi, Director of Plans, Programs and Requirements, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, reviewed the ceremony. (U.S. Air Force photo by Christa D'Andrea.

Underway at Basic Military Training.

Explored #499

2018 Fall Training botany class. Gigi Charters and Thomas Roehl examine interiors of cut flowers with loupes.

Photo by Noreen Hannigan, Oct. 16, 2018

U.S. Army Soldiers currently in Initial Entry Training (IET) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, return home for the holidays during Victory Block Leave on December 18, 2017. Drill sergeants and other cadre assisted and supervised departure operations from Fort Jackson; the nearly 7,000 trainees left from four main transportation hubs, Atlanta, Columbia and Charlotte airports, and an Amtrak station in Columbia, S.C. Victory Block Leave will end on January 3, 2018. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Roby Di Giovine)

Torpoint, Cornwall

ARMN Fall 2017 trainees compare a newly restored stream to an eroded stream at Zachary Taylor Park.

September 23, 2017

Photo by Geneviève de Messières

Rct. Caleb McCready, left, and Rct. Mark Fiasconaro, recruits of Platoon 3060, Kilo Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, flip over a set of double bars on an obstacle course June 10, 2013, on Parris Island, S.C. The obstacle course is a combat conditioning tool used to build Marine Corps recruits’ strength and stamina. McCready, 19, from Bastrop, La., and Fiasconaro, 20, from Litchfield, N.H., are scheduled to graduate Aug. 16, 2013. Parris Island has been the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915. Today, approximately 20,000 recruits come to Parris Island annually for the chance to become United States Marines by enduring 13 weeks of rigorous, transformative training. Parris Island is home to entry-level enlisted training for 50 percent of males and 100 percent for females in the Marine Corps. (Photo by Lance Cpl. Caitlin Brink)

U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy Course Graduation

Platoon 4040, Oscar Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, graduated Dec. 06, 2013. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

Damn Good

This shot was taken in a Base Exchange photo booth while I was attending Basic Training for the US Navy back in the '80s. That's Mark on my right and Bob on my left. Umm, that's me in the middle, not Malcolm.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Damn Good

Artist: David Ellul doing a David Lee Roth cover.

Time rolls on

n' that's as it should be

Here and gone

Seems to move so quickly

Man, we was happy

In our restless hearts

It was heaven Right here on earth

Yeah, we were laughin'

As we reached for the stars

And we had some

For what it was worth

Those were good times

Damn good times

Those were good times

Damn good times

Hey, take a look at this picture,

Can you believe that was you?

And who's that standin' there in the corner?

Not me!!!

Ahh, the crazy things we used to do

Sure, we was acting like a couple of kids

Good to remember

You know that it is

I still feel it

Like the sun on my skin

Maybe that's better

Cause these are good times

Damn good times

Talkin' about good times

Damn good times

So it's one for the money

But that don't make the show

Count to three and I'll be ready

To follow that road (yes I will)

I see it comin'

Yeah, and this one is outs

We got heaven right here on Earth

Ain't nothin' like it

When you're reachin' for stars

And you grab one

For what it is worth

You can tell 'em

We'll be having good times

Damn good times

I'm talkin' good times (yessir)

Damn good times

I believe it was taken during month of January 1985(YES... it was VERY VERY BITTER COLD and cut right through your bones) from my basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. and picture behind is from my wedding in 1995, little over 10 years later I got married. It's just been awhile since my military time and wedding. LOL

U.S. Army Soldiers currently in Initial Entry Training (IET) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, return home for the holidays during Victory Block Leave on December 18, 2017. Drill sergeants and other cadre assisted and supervised departure operations from Fort Jackson; the nearly 7,000 trainees left from four main transportation hubs, Atlanta, Columbia and Charlotte airports, and an Amtrak station in Columbia, S.C. Victory Block Leave will end on January 3, 2018. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Roby Di Giovine)

Family day at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

The Army has relaxed restrictions on neck tattoos.

Maj. Gen. Anthony C. Funkhouser, commanding general of the Center for Initial Military Training at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis J. Woods, command sergeant major of the Center for Initial Military Training, meet with Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Command Sgt. Maj. Alan M. Ferris, Virginia National Guard Senior Enlisted Advisor, and tour the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program Site #9 Oct. 17, 2015, at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, Va. Lt. Col. Everton E. Nevers, commander of the Virginia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, led the briefing and tour, where they saw 54 recent Virginia Army National Guard recruits conducting various forms of training. The goal of the Recruit Sustainment Program is to introduce new National Guard recruits to the basics of the U.S. Army before they attend Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training. Training includes physical training, road marches and classes that familiarize the recruits with the U.S. Army’s military rank structure, proper wear of military uniforms and military customs. (Photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)

More than 600 Airmen assigned to Flights 135-152, graduated from U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, January 31-February 1. Colonel Allison Black, Commander, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla., reviewed the ceremony. (U.S. Air Force photo by Christa D'Andrea)

New Army soldiers go through Basic Training and AIT at Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma on April 17, 2019. © Vance Jacobs / Army National Guard 2019

Back of the program handed out to visiting family attending graduation ceremonies at RTC Great Lakes, IL.

Maj. Gen. Anthony C. Funkhouser, commanding general of the Center for Initial Military Training at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis J. Woods, command sergeant major of the Center for Initial Military Training, meet with Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Command Sgt. Maj. Alan M. Ferris, Virginia National Guard Senior Enlisted Advisor, and tour the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program Site #9 Oct. 17, 2015, at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, Va. Lt. Col. Everton E. Nevers, commander of the Virginia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, led the briefing and tour, where they saw 54 recent Virginia Army National Guard recruits conducting various forms of training. The goal of the Recruit Sustainment Program is to introduce new National Guard recruits to the basics of the U.S. Army before they attend Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training. Training includes physical training, road marches and classes that familiarize the recruits with the U.S. Army’s military rank structure, proper wear of military uniforms and military customs. (Photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)

Rct. Jesse Flanagan, 19, left, and Rct. Jerome Burbick, 21, drag Rct. Justin Hale, 18, across the sandy path during the Crucible on Jan. 17, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Hale was a simulated casualty that his fellow recruits had to evacuate to safety. The Crucible is a 54-hour assessment during which recruits must prove they are worthy to be part of the nation’s most prestigious brotherhood. Upon completion, recruits earn Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblems and the right to be called Marines. Flanagan, a native of Brighton, Mich.; Burbick, a native of Bronx, N.Y.; and Hale, a Currituck, N.C., native, are all with Platoon 1006, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, and are scheduled to graduate Jan. 24, 2014. Parris Island has been the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915. Today, approximately 20,000 recruits come to Parris Island annually for the chance to become United States Marines by enduring 13 weeks of rigorous, transformative training. Parris Island is home to entry-level enlisted training for 50 percent of males and 100 percent of females in the Marine Corps. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

Platoon 2102, Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, graduated Dec. 06, 2013. (Photo by Cpl. Octavia Davis)

Maj. Gen. Anthony C. Funkhouser, commanding general of the Center for Initial Military Training at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis J. Woods, command sergeant major of the Center for Initial Military Training, meet with Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Command Sgt. Maj. Alan M. Ferris, Virginia National Guard Senior Enlisted Advisor, and tour the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruit Sustainment Program Site #9 Oct. 17, 2015, at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, Va. Lt. Col. Everton E. Nevers, commander of the Virginia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, led the briefing and tour, where they saw 54 recent Virginia Army National Guard recruits conducting various forms of training. The goal of the Recruit Sustainment Program is to introduce new National Guard recruits to the basics of the U.S. Army before they attend Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training. Training includes physical training, road marches and classes that familiarize the recruits with the U.S. Army’s military rank structure, proper wear of military uniforms and military customs. (Photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, Virginia National Guard Public Affairs)

photo by Candy Thomson, Public Information Officer