I was there from June 1983 until July. Very Hot and Humid, had to drink 2 glasses of water at chow time before we could eat. We had only 10 minutes to eat.
3704 bmts june of 86. Stayed in 31 years. If i had a choice, I would do it all over again. Well, maybe the first six years anyway. And marry someone else.
That brings back memoires! I entered BMTS on March 3rd 1986. Col Sheets was the base Commander then as well. I remember getting off the bus at 3AM and there it goes. 3704 - We Prepare the Men. Seems just like yesterday. Thanks for Posting!
I Graduated BMT this past October. Interesting to see what has changed, and what managed to stay the same throughout the years. I went through an Alcatraz squadron building so the dorms all looked almost identical. Only difference I could really point out was that we had slightly different bed frames and our wall lockers had a built-in section for our trainer weapons. I remember my MTIs being a bit louder but I’m sure they only included the more quiet moments in this video lol. I Was talking with a few MTIs shortly after my graduation and apparently things got a lot more uptight for them after that whole mess in 2012, and even more so after Covid… so now they gotta follow a lot more rules when it comes to disciplining trainees. Super neat video!
Entered basic 11 Sep 87, so I recognized a lot of the film footage. My dorm was near the F-84 static display near the beginning of the video. At the time, I thought BMT was hell, but was able to adapt after a few weeks. Ended up retiring in 2017 as a CMSgt. I had a blessed career!
I was there Oct. 1986. My BMTS 3706. SSGT Virgil was our TI. I went to Chanute AFB for tech school in DEC, I was from Chicago so I would go home almost every weekend. I graduated tech school in May. Then went to Davis Monthan AFB Tucson Az. I was an A.G.E. Mech. 42331
From haircuts to uniform issue to becoming "pickles" to becoming "canned pickles", we were hit with some quick and profound changes in .02 seconds. 3706 BMTS, Flt. 716. Airman Basic "Acorn".
Except that if you got caught smoking a few joints back in those days - the USAF stripped you of rank, gave you time in the slammer, and kicked you out with a bad conduct discharge. First time offence and you being a little angel did not help. Damn the Reagans' back then.
January 14, 1986… had some good times. Wish I kept in touch with some of the guys. I only did my four years at McGuire, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Now my son is in. Couldn’t be prouder.
I went through BMT in August 1986. All I can say is this video brought back a ton of memories for me. I retired from the USAF / AFRES in 2011 with 25 years in. I wouldn’t change a thing and I’d do it all over again.
may 1984 squadron 3701 flight 466 tsgt merrick , sra doyle our T I `s and it was hot A F that summer. red flag everyday. crazy,stupid fun,times that i will never forget.
Went through in January-March 99. Remember the experience like it was yesterday. TI’s never wore their blues until the last week of training and graduation. The rest of the time they were in BDU’s. And BDU’s were still jungle camo. I think they use urban “digital” camo now.
Sept-Nov 1985 3702 Flt 185. Hated BMT for the first couple weeks, but who didn't. Thanks for bringing back such fund memories. Would love to see the rest of the video.
I remember on Jan 21 1986 I was standing underneath the overhang of the 01 waiting to meet our TI and thinking this was the worst mistake I ever made. 21 years later as a First Sergeant I was able to return to that very spot and was thinking this was the best choice I ever made.
That was the moment they got our attention. Do what they say, how they say and when. That was all you really had to do to get by. Some took a while to get it and some never did. I stayed in 31 years.
Went through basic October-Dec of 1970. Got there at midnight.. Didn't get n bed til after 3.. snuck in at 7 that morning and through a heavy metal garbage can down the aisle.. Sounded like a cannon went off.. I thought I must be having a night mare, Surely this can't be real... It was... My only real problem was making up the bed 🛌
SQ 3708 Flew from Miami to San Antonio in Feb of 76. There were 3 of us. When the flight attendant found out we were going to basic they started giving us free drinks. By the time we got off the plane we were pretty well lit up.
Sq 3701 flt 115. jan to mar 1986. What memories. My TI were tsgt Cruz and sgt Hairston. I remember them doing the good cop/bad cop games with us. One gives us base leave and the other takes it away. Lol.
Arrived at the 3707 BMTS, Flight 147 15 August 1983 at 0230. The first MTI I saw was SSgt Roerig. He didn't yell. He didn't make us pick up and set down our luggage. He just told us to go to our dorm and line up by a bunk. No yelling or swearing the whole time. Turns out he was a new TI and we were his first flight. We showered and hit the sack. We even got the sleep in. The next morning, we got the wake-up call. SSgt. Price came over the intercom yelling at us to get up and start reading our student study guides. He came up to the dorm and read us the riot act. I remember all that like it was yesterday.
3701 BMTS, flight 631 July 23rd, 1982 for me. We had the barracks with the T-38 in front of it. Sgt Hardy met us at 2:00 am, and trust me, this was not his first rodeo, he already knew how to scream.
